Mitch’s blog on Saturday influenced this blog. At what point do you change your consumer actions based on unacceptable service? And have you changed your own professional behavior based on your personal experience?

Mitch’s blog reminded me of a situation we had encountered several years ago. Routinely we ate at a local Italian restaurant every Thursday night. With four kids, we always ordered a lot of food. We also tipped generously as we understood the importance of the tips to the staff. We also thought that our business was appreciated.

 One day, my husband noticed an unknown $2.50 charge on the bill. We questioned the waitress-who was our waitress every Thursday-as to the reason for the charge. The waitress was clearly embarrassed as she told us that it was for a cup of extra sauce which my husband had ordered, which he routinely did.  My husband asked whether she could ask the owner-who knew us well and always stopped by our table-to remove the charge.  Again, she was clearly embarrassed and answered that she had.

We paid the bill, left our usual tip and left. On the way out we encountered the owner who said nothing but put his head down. We never returned and found another local restaurant to take our kids to on Thursday evenings.

Over the years I wondered whether the owner realized the amount of business the $2.50 charge cost him. As a business owner, I took our actions as a lesson. I always listen to my client’s thoughts and questions about billing.  If a charge is minimal to me but upsetting to the client, I will remove it.  The clients are, almost always, appreciative of the credit and it often rewards me much more than the amount I forgave.

How do you take your own personal service experiences into your professional experience?