Give ‘em the Pickle

 In 1963 Bob Farrell opened Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor & Restaurant in the Portland area. He prides himself on having the best ice cream, burger and fries in the state. One day Bob receives a letter from a customer saying that he has come to Mr. Farrell’s place for a number of years and had always loved the food, service and the fact that whenever he asked for an extra garlic pickle with his burger, he would get one. He loved that. The last time he visited Farrell’s, he asked for an extra pickle and the waitress said that she would have to charge him 75 cents for it. He felt so disturbed by this “new policy” that he wrote to Mr. Farrell and said, if he was going to be charged for an extra pickle, he‘s taking his business elsewhere. Upon finishing reading the letter Bob immediately sent a letter back to the customer assuring him there was no “new policy” and that whenever he came back that he would get an extra pickle at “no charge“. Then Bob had a staff meeting relaying this letter to his employees and hung up a big sign that read, “Give ’em the pickle!”

The moral of the story is that every business has to find out what their customer’s pickle is, and then GIVE ‘EM THE PICKLE!!!!!!!

Bob Farrell has become the number one speaker for service training in the country and even has a video out in which he relates stories of excellent service and the not so excellent service. I had my office of sales people and staff watch this video and we are all practicing the “Pickle Principle”.

We all love good service and when we experience it, we always recommend and patronize those businesses. My business is now 42 years old and I have built it on the same Pickle Principle. Give me a call and I’ll tell you what I know over a coffee and a.... pickle!