Do you remember this tune?
Here are the words:
Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
The very successful Cheers show on TV had the above opening song at the start of every episode. There was something about the idea that people would know who you are when you get there. How often does this happen? Are there places where people really know you when you visit?
This came to my attention when one day when we had George Miliotes talk to one of our business groups about best practices in world-class companies. George, along with chef Cliff Pleau, co-founded Disney’s California Grill, and George was its first general manager from 1994 up until 2002, when he and Cliff left to create Seasons 52 for Darden Restaurants. He has helped create two incredibly popular restaurant experiences–something few people get to do. So George knows what it takes to make a restaurant succeed. George talked one day about the fact that in the restaurants he managed, he easily knew the names of some 1000 of his top customers. He also knew the names of all of his employees. I can’t help thinking that knowing the names of your guests makes a difference in the success of your organization.
How about you? Do you know your customers? How many do you know by name? Doesn’t matter if you are a dentist’s office, a retail store, or an insurance group. Knowing your customers begins by knowing them by name.
Stay tuned to tomorrow’s post, where we’ll talk about not being a number.
