In Ecuador as elsewhere, exceptional customer service is the path to a successful business

By Jeff Van Pelt

Why should you strive to give exceptional customer service? Why not just good?

I will focus mainly on restaurants, but this advice applies to most kinds of businesses. And lest I be accused of being negative about Ecuador, I point out that I first wrote this article for a publication in the United States years ago and have just modified it here with more recent experiences.

The answer to the above question is that, first, people may eat at a lot of different restaurants that serve a similar quality of food, and they may have a hard time deciding which food is best. (For other kinds of businesses, substitute “merchandise” for food.) However, they will remember which ones have the best – and worst – service. Exceptionally good or bad service elicits an emotional reaction, and emotions imprint in our memories. As an example, you probably don’t remember what you had for dinner three days ago, but you may vividly remember a special birthday party you had when you were a child, or something kind a friend said or did a year ago. The latter memories were imprinted by the strong emotions that accompanied them.

Customers are much more likely to return to restaurants where servers are friendly and responsive.

All it takes is one bad experience with a business for someone to never go there again. It may be illogical – maybe the waiter or chef just had a bad day and things are generally better – but it is an emotional reaction. Furthermore, it is estimated that people are five times as likely to tell their friends about a bad experience as a good one.

Examples of poor service
I hear lots of complaints about baggers in grocery stores putting all the heavy items in one bag, or canned goods on top of sandwich bread or potato chips. Proper bagging techniques should be part of initial training and job performance evaluations.

There is one restaurant where the food is excellent but the servers seem to have a culture of aloofness. No smiles, no small talk. Once I sat down and waited a good while without anyone even speaking to me, while three waitresses stood nearby chatting. I left.

Some restaurants will serve food past its prime. I understand that it costs money to throw away food, but it is even more costly to lose a customer and have them tell their friends about it. In a small, now-defunct pizza restaurant, I asked for a sausage pizza. The waiter/owner said that will take 20 minutes, but I can give you a pepperoni pizza in five minutes. Not thinking about his motive, I said okay. The pizza I was served was obviously made hours ago, if not longer, and reheated. I never went back.

In a small food market in Buenos Aires, where we were stranded for two months due to Covid, the owners and employees were somber and not at all friendly. We were usually the only customers in there. Two other markets nearby had friendly staff and were always busy. We started going there.

I can´t tell you how many times I have gone to a restaurant during their posted hours and they had not opened yet. I not only don´t feel like waiting around for 30-60 minutes, but I don´t usually go back another day because I don´t want the inconvenience again. Similarly, it is frustrating to get no response to your message on their posted WhatsApp, Messenger, or email.

Examples of exceptional service
In an almuerzo restaurant I was served sopa de guatita (beef stomach soup). The waiter/owner could see that I didn´t care for it so he offered to replace it with a different soup.

We once ordered pizza for delivery. After a long time waiting we called the restaurant to find out what happened. We were told, “The motorcycle delivery driver had an accident and your pizza got ´smooshed.´” They said it would be on its way as soon as possible. A little while later, the owner of the restaurant knocked on our door with the pizza and refused to take any money for it. That is still one of my favorite restaurants in Cuenca.

One business was considering a move to a more remote location. They asked their customers on Facebook if that move would affect their frequency of shopping there. A number of people said they would be less likely to go there because it was not convenient. They didn´t move the business and it appears to still be very popular.

At a restaurant that doesn´t open for lunch until 1:00, I told the manager that my biking group eats at 12:00 or 12:30 after our rides. She said that if I contact her the day before she will open earlier for us.

One restaurant let us put our bikes in their kitchen as there was no good place to lock them.

I asked on Facebook for examples of stand-out customer service. I heard from many people about polite and helpful staff, patience with their poor Spanish skills, the owner or chef coming out to greet you, receiving prompt responses to messages via the above methods, offering to call you a taxi when you are finished, remembering you and even your “usual” order when you return, and too many more positive comments to include them all.

Steps a business can take to elevate their customer service
First and foremost, the owner or an experienced manager needs to be on site as much as possible to monitor the kind of service customers are given. When a lapse is observed, intervene calmly to remedy it and later coach the employee politely on what is expected of them.

Treat employees kindly and with compassion. If they sense that you care about them they will be movtivated to help you succeed. If not, they may consciously or unconsciously undermine your business.

You want employees who don’t just do their job to get a paycheck. You want them to enjoy their work. You want employees who love to help people and make them happy. You may have to mentor them to get them to that point.

View customer complaints as gifts. It isn´t fun receiving complaints but it means the customer wants to help you improve your business. They are telling you what you need to do to keep them as a customer – and it probably applies to other customers as well.

When someone complains respectfully, or simply makes a suggestion, stop what you are doing and practice active listening. With your words and nonverbal cues, show them that you are interested in hearing what they have to say. Ask questions for clarification if needed. Take a problem-solving approach and use solution-oriented language; for example, “How can we do a better job of this?” “I will take care of this for you.” Don´t make excuses or blame someone else. Even if you find that you can´t deliver, they will remember how you responded to their concerns. And finally, thank them for their helpful input.
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 Jeff Van Pelt earned his masters degree in social psychology from New York University and his doctorate in counseling psychology from the College of William and Mary in the United States. He has worked as a psychotherapist, wellness program consultant, and health and psychology writer. Jeff and his wife are retired and have lived in Cuenca since 2013.