EM Superhero

On Saturday afternoon I was on my way back from Stratford in Warwickshire, having spoken to the trustees and workers in the Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.   I was absolutely desperate for a cup of tea – I had been offered lunch, but the last thing you should do when speaking is eat at the same time – not a particularly good look!     On my way back I had decided against stopping at the two service stations on the way and opted instead to stop at a Little Chef in Oxfordshire.

I have visited Little Chef’s on quite a few occasions over the years but not in recent times  but as I had avidly watched the Heston Blumenthal TV show when he worked with Little Chef, I felt compelled to make a visit.

I stood at the entrance sign – and waited and waited and waited.  No one came.   So I walked in.  The restaurant was completely empty and I wondered whether it was actually open.   No!  The chef was reading the Saturday papers and eventually the waiter came out.   I must admit that the restaurant was very clean – but perhaps because there was little to do?   Anyway I chose a cup of tea and a tea cake.

It arrived – promptly – and with butter and jam.

I took my first bite and it was really hard.   Not warm, and soft and delicious!    The looks of my tea cake were deceiving…..  I wondered whether to bother complaining – and then I remembered that I should!  That Little Chef would value and appreciate my comments.  So I did.   Imagine my surprise, when the waiter admitted that everyone complained about the tea cakes.  They were always hard.   And although he would happily make me another one – they were all the same.    They arrived frozen – they had to be thawed and then toasted.   He made me some toast instead.     With a little prompting (although it didn’t take much) the waiter proceeded to tell me that Little Chef were only interested in profit.   They had reduced the size of the bread, that staffing levels were cut and that most people complained that the food was not good value considering the quality.

I asked whether these comments had been told to Head Office and he simply shrugged – what is the point?

Why am I writing this blog?

I suppose,  because it made me wonder about yet another iconic British brand which seems to have completely lost its way.   Where the focus on customers has been lost along and instead it is profit, profit, profit.   But don’t they realise – in the ivory tower of Little Chef – that without customers they won’t have a business?

I often say in my talks to business owners ,  “When was the last time you took your customers journey?    From the moment you start speaking to your customers through to the time they make a decision to purchase and beyond?…… Is it a walk in the park, on a beautiful sunny day, with ducks on the pond and a beautiful picnic or is it simply a hellish ride on the Northern Line tube at rush hour?

None of us should be complacent.

All of us have a choice about where we do business and with whom.   So do our customers.    A successful business takes time to understand their customers, listen to them and react when appropriate. On their website – www.little-chef.co.uk – there is mention of “Friends of Little Chef” – clearly someone, somewhere has decided that profitable customers are loyal ones – where they are treated with respect and feel valued.   But there is little point in undertaking such an initiative unless you are prepared to actually do something.