Reman U
- Author: Noah Rickun
- Subject Matter: Customer relations
- Issue: Trusting your customers
Good Eggs. Good Guys. Good Business.
First in a series
I’ve been standing in line for 30 minutes or so by the time I realize I may not get to eat breakfast today. I’m in line for, what I’ve been told, is the most amazing breakfast burrito on the planet. Apparently it’s no secret, because Good Eggs is packed. Imagine a Qdoba or Chipotle but instead of meat, these guys make eggs, potatoes, and vegetables and wrap them up in a giant tortilla. There are three things on the menu: basic, standard and deluxe wrap. And there are 100 people in line to order them at the counter.
Good Eggs describes itself as “A Door County breakfast cabana serving omelet wraps made to order on the shores of Ephraim’s beautiful Eagle Harbor.” I’m salivating from the smell of the food the owner is cooking behind the counter, the sounds the eggs make when they hit the griddle, and the smiles and reactions on the faces of those lucky souls who got here before me as they take their first bites.
And then, out of nowhere, I see something that makes my heart stop: Good Eggs doesn’t take credit cards. And guess what? I don’t have any cash on me. I wave my wife and kids over from their picnic bench outside and ask them if they have any money. Nope. I’m starving at this point and the kids are mad at me because they want eggs. I flag down one of the young women behind the counter and double-check about the credit cards.
- “We don’t take credit cards, no,” she says. “But we have an ATM over there.”
- Phew. I’m saved. Or so I think.
- “But the ATM is out of order right now,” she says.
- No eggs for this guy. Damn.
- “We’re happy to take a check,” she says.
- “Who the heck carries a checkbook?” I think to myself, but I simply say, “I don’t have any checks. I guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
- “We also take customer promises,” she says.
- “What’s a customer promise?” I ask.
- “It’s when you order whatever you want and tell us you’ll come back later with the money,” she explains.
- “But what if I don’t come back?” I tease.
The girl smiles, looks me dead in the eyes, and says, “We trust our customers.”
Then she walked away. I ordered my eggs, ate the most amazing breakfast ever, and let the lesson this young girl just imparted on me sink in.
Good Eggs trusts their customers to pay them back. I did that ten minutes later. And now, as a loyal Good Eggs customer, they can trust that I’ll be back next summer and I’ll tell everyone I know (even you, reading this now) to go there if you’re within 100 miles of Door County at any point during your life.
I’ve been thinking about how businesses can show their customers that they trust them.
- In what ways and to what extent do you trust your customers?
- How do you show them that you trust them?
- What does that trust do for business?
