FOH BOH licious

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the eleventh in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry. Here are examples from the restaurant industry:

Restaurants

Lou Mitchell’s (#83 submitted by CAA’s Simon Green) “There are reasons native Chicagoans and tourists alike consider Lou Mitchell’s a must-visit — from the donut holes and milk duds while you wait to the double-yolk eggs that make every dish even more sinfully indulgent, Lou’s knows how to do breakfast. Located in the South Loop, the restaurant has been a Chicago institution since 1923, and decades later, they’re still dishing out thick French toast, enormous platters of pancakes, fresh-baked pastries, and of course, those famous skillets. The extras are just as delectable. Lou’s boasts pure maple syrup, fresh-squeezed orange juice and slabs of toast served with every omelet. Be prepared to make some new friends — chances are good you’ll be seated next to strangers at one of the lengthy tables. Even if you don’t bond with fellow diners, the employees’ perpetually friendly smiles — and free Milk Duds for the ladies — guarantee that you’ll want to return soon.”

Toy Boat (#144 submitted by Molly Holtman of Bite)  ”Toy Boat, a great dessert shop on Clement Street in San Francisco, throws in two complimentary ice cream cones (cake or sugar, your choice) when you purchase a pint of ice cream. It’s kind of fun to eat ice cream in a cone at home. Plus, their rocky road and pumpkin ice cream is fantastic.”
[Nice simple complimentary touch from Toy Boat . . . sweet genius]

Sushi Time (#164 Submitted by John Phelps III) “I travel for work about once a month to Southern Delaware. If I happen to drive past Smyrna DE, about a half hour from my office, I always try to stop at this great sushi joint right off the highway called Sushi Time. The fish is always fresh and the service is always friendly, but what I think is really cool is the sushi chef aways gives you a different free appetizer before your order is ready. It is always something really delicious, always different, and in any other resturant it could be a $4-6 plate.  I always go back and I tell everyone about the place.”

AJ Bombers (#152 Submitted by Phil Gerbyshak) One of my favorite Purple Goldfish is AJ Bombers (@ajbombers) in Milwaukee. Joe and his team consistently provide the Purple Goldfish by offering free peanuts… shot at you in metal WWII bombers. It’s way fun to get those from the bartenders.  Making AJBombers even more fun is the fact he is on Twitter, recognizing customers and anyone who mentions the place, hosts Tweetups at Bombers, has guest bartenders where he donates shots folks can sell…with all proceeds going to the charity of the guest bartender’s choice. Full disclosure: I’ve been a guest bartender and raised money for my charity.  Last but not least is everyone who wants one can get a Sharpie and put their Twitter handle anywhere they want at AJBombers, so when friends come in, they can look for your Twitter name and leave you a tweet…in real life.”

BLT Steakhouse (#182 Submitted by Jamie Goldman) “BLT Steakhouse in White Plains gives a cheddar popover to start your meal along with bread. The popover has a card on the different ingredients and how it compliments the meal.”

Maroni Cuisine (#223 From Clark Johnson)  “Maroni Cuisine in Northport NY is consistently rated by Zagat voters as either the best or among the best restaurants on Long Island. Mike Maroni beat Bobby Flay in a throwdown! The meals are exclusively customized tasting menus, prix fixe, with all the wine you can drink included.  At the end of the meal, hours later, guests are generally presented with jars of Maroni Pasta sauce as a Thank You. Once you have used it, you want to go back for more (both the meal and the sauce!).”

Bistro Montage (#226) Tucked under the Morrison Bridge in Portland is a restaurant that boast a handful of purple goldfish. Here are 3 of my favorites:  1. A signature dish in Spam and Mac. Macaroni & Cheese with your favorite mystery canned meat.  2. Oyster and Mussel Shooters – slimy fellas served in a shot glass with some cocktail sauce and horseradish. Once ordered – the waiter or waitress will immediately scream to the kitchen . . . OYSTER SHOOOOOTER  3. Your leftovers get wrapped up in tin foil. Move over balloon animal guy, the staff at the Bistro will WOW you with their animals. Check out this scorpion.

Alligator Lounge (#205 submitted by Matt Sheehan)  Matt recommends the Alligator where the pizza is always on the house:

“Inside what was once the Galleria pizza place, this bar’s turquoise walls, pink flamingoes and Romanesque details don’t quite gel, yet one crucial feature remains intact: the arched, wood-burning oven. Because of the owners’ sensational idea of serving free personal pizzas every night until 3:30 a.m., this unremarkable joint has turned into a loveable hangout that’s a great first or last barhop stop. Young and old Williamsburg folk congregate along the bar, in the maroon, open-angle vinyl booths, and around the green pool table. A booming jukebox and Big Buck Hunter Pro game in back provide entertainment. A selection of 10 draft beers complements the delicious crisp-crust pies, which are on the house with every drink; toppings like pepperoni, caramelized onions and flavorful sweet sausage are available for an extra $2.”

[Taken from NY Magazine article by Karen Hudes]

Pizza Shuttle (#221 by Phil Gerbyshak) “I was just thinking about one of my favorite Milwaukee Purple Goldfish, Pizza Shuttle. From the original Andy Warhol “Purple Cow” in the dining area, to the fantastic hold messages (old ones are archived at http://pizzashuttle.com/old.html), to the old Pizza Shuttle trading cards they let people collect of their drivers, to the fact you get free pizza on your birthday, to the in-store photo booth perfect for taking pictures, it’s all fun. Couple that with late-night delivery of pizza AND frozen custard AND chicken AND burgers, fun, unique people who work there and you get an amazing place to eat and an experience for everyone.  Another wonderfully inventive thing they do: The world’s largest pizza, available for dine-in only.”

Besito (#238 submitted by Lilliam Villafane Di Giacomo)
The following excerpt from a NYT Review posted on their website under Press mentions the churros and worry dolls.

“The best dessert was the churros given gratis to every table. The warm, long spirals of fried dough rolled in cinnamon sugar were delivered in a white paper bag. Along with them we were given tiny Mexican “worry dolls” to be put under our pillows to take away worries. My only worry was the amount of delicious food I’d just eaten.”

Wilsons (#333 submitted by Jody Padar) “At my favorite ice cream store in Door County Wisconsin. They put a jelly bean at the bottom of the ice cream cone. So it doesn’t drip. They also give the biggest scoop ever. It’s tradition. The girls who scoop the ice cream live upstairs. There is never a night in the summer where the line is short and everyone happily stands on the porch waiting. They were featured on the Travel Channel. And were sold for a few million dollars a few years ago. Not bad for a ice cream store.”

Thai Basil (#306 by Jack Campisi) “Thai Basil in Greenwich, CT is a Purple Goldfish. Not only do they have great Thai food, but excellent service as well. But their lagniappe is the curbside pick-up. They are located on a busy and crowed stretch of road in downtown Greenwich. Parking at dinner time can be a nightmare, and could prevent you from even attempting take-out. Well, have no fear. You can give them your credit card number when you place your order and then give them a call when you are pulling up to the restaurant. You pullover and they will run out, hand you your food through your window and let you sign your receipt right in your car. And they always do it with a big smile. In no time you are back home, enjoying a nice meal.”  (If you go and you like some heat, try the Spicy Fried Rice)

Gumba’s on Murphy Street in Sunnyvale, CA #336. From Marty Desmond who left a comment on Kelly Ketelboeter’s post, ‘What is Your Purple Goldfish’
“I went for breakfast, with friends, at one of our favorite places Saturday. We sat outdoors for the first time since street construction began months ago. As we were served, I watched how much fun the employees were having. I told my friends that it was great seeing the restaurant busy again and that I knew the construction hurt much of the business on that block.
I went back Tuesday evening for a quick dinner. As I was eating, the owner came up, patted me on the back and thanked me for my business Saturday morning. Then, he told me how happy he was to see my friends and inquired about them. He asked if the dad had found another job, knowing that he was laid off months ago.
We talked for a few moments more, and then he patted me on the back again, thanked me once more and walked off. I watched him walk away and thought about why I enjoyed that restaurant so much. The food is great, but it’s the experience that makes it worth going back. I realize that no fewer than four of his employees approached my friend to tell them how much they had missed his family. The culture of that business includes personal relationships whenever possible. I think that is a missing ingredient in so many businesses today.
This restaurant has endured six months of lagging sales, due to people wanting to stay away during construction. Yet, they were genuinely concerned about the lives of the people who walked through their doors. To me, every question of “how is your friend” is a purple goldfish.”

Arigato Sushi (#355 submitted by Owen Clark) “In Roseville, CA Arigato offers half-priced sushi, all the time. Started as a promotion when the place opened but business was so successful they never got rid of it. Even though I know it’s permanent it still makes you feel like your getting a great value every time you go in. Especially because the menu still has the full-prices and you don’t really see the savings until you get the bill. Also, sushi is good enough that they could be charging a lot more.”

Salute (#401 from Peter Hurley)  “Had lunch today at Salute in New York City (270 Madison Ave). Nice upscale restaurant that caters to a business crowd. Upon sitting at the table I noticed a purple goldfish. Each table came with a tiny notepad similar to those you would get at a conference or hotel. It was for notes if needed during lunch. The small pad was branded with Salute’s marks and contact info. A nice little keepsake compliments of the restaurant.”

Vinny’s Deli and Pasta (#424 submitted by David Diamond)  ”I love your project — it is a very clever idea, and I am a true believer that the cost of these little extras more than pays itself out in customer loyalty and good will.  My best example is the local deli in my town — Vinny’s Deli and Pasta — where it is basically impossible to not get a free drink — coffee, soda, whatever, while you are waiting for your order to be prepared. The magic is that there is no policy, no signage, it just always happens.”

The Mermaid Inn (#429 from Jordan Stark) “The Mermaid Inn (3 locations in nyc) gives each person a free small cup of chocolate pudding with whipped cream and a fortune teller fish at the end of the meal. Very cool.”

Bar Breton (#477 submitted by Keith Green @keithstweets ofSynergy Events)
“First, congrats on the winning the trip, well deserved! Looking forward to hearing stories and who you meet at the conference. I had a nice lunch in NYC earlier this week and thought of your project. At the end of my lunch at Bar Breton on 5th Avenue, I received two chocolate cookies. Granted, they were tiny-probably between the size of a quarter and a half dollar-but just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth when clearly, dessert wasn’t needed off the menu. The cookies were served in a tiny bowl, not much larger than the cookies, making for a cool presentation.”

Nagoya Restaurant (#512 from Eric Wiberg) “Every time Nagoya Japanese restaurant in South Norwalk / SoNo CT delivers their (excellent) food, they add a “compliments of the house” special freebie, which is always high quality, always different, and always elicits gratitude. The freebie ranges from complex California sushi roll type samples to edemame, a dessert, or a soup. They are small but of high quality. The freebies introduce us to foods we would not normally try and always make us eager to open the delivery and see what is in store for us. On each gift is a simple black magic marker saying “on the house” or “house special”. they have never mentioned it on the phone or delivery person, never failed to include it, and never asked for anything in return. In return we give them our total loyalty for all Asian food purchases for our house and guests. We’ve never even eaten in the restaurant or met the staff (aside from friendly drivers) but because of this simple “Purple Goldfish” gesture, we are die hard fans of Nagoya of SoNo and suspect that we are not the only recipients of their discrete kindness.”

Two Urban Licks in Atlanta (#523 from Bobby Stern) ”Two Urban Licks provides complimentary valet service for all customers.”

Nagasaki (#553 submitted by Tina Franks) “My purple goldfish is a local story… hope it makes the book! A local Japanese restaurant, Nagasaki, in Howell, NJ, offers their consumers an unbeatable lunch special. Choice of 3 rolls, soup & salad for $9.99. Despite the fantastic offer and quality food, the restaurant was struggling to keep their lunch business afloat. Several months ago, under new management, they started serving complimentary edamame for parties of 3 or more (representing a $5 value). I have seen their lunch business more than double since they have launched their new “Purple Goldfish” initiative. Their traffic and table sizes continue to increase as Word of Mouth travels.”

First Watch Cafe (#643) Submitted by Steve Curtin. Need an umbrella on a rainy day. Feel free to grab one at First Watch Cafe. Return it for an added bonus: a fresh cup of coffee.

Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay #660 “If you’re even slightly tuned-in, you’re no doubt aware that Michael Mina is widely regarded for his skills as a chef, most notably with fish and seafood. But you may not know that he absolutely rocks french fries and onion rings.
No lie, french fries and onion rings, two of the standouts of our recent dinner at Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay. The skillful preparation of them proved why these two simple things — often deservedly scorned — have solid footholds in the culinary landscape.
The french fries were a lagniappe, served shortly after we ordered our wine. Fried in duck fat, they had an extreme crispness that sharpened the contrast to their fluffy interiors. They were served as a trio (a favorite Mina conceit) with one portion dusted with smoked paprika and served with barbecue sauce, one served with aioli, the other with homemade ketchup. Servers at Stripsteak point out that entrees are served a la carte, but with a lagniappe as generous as this, that point is easy to argue.”

Sparks Steak House #651. Tweeted by Steve Curtin The professional waiters at Sparks Steak House in New York City are adept at changing the table linens between entrée and dessert courses without removing your wine glasses or exposing the tabletop.

Maison de Macarty #683. From a tweet by @cowboychef:
“Hand tempering some more chocolate today and making some pralines for the staff at The Joint..Lagniappe works both ways, fellas!!! xo”

Lolita #701 Submitted via e-mail by Matt Sheehan.
“How are things with you? I see that the Purple Goldfish Project is moving along swimmingly (horrible joke, I know). Anyways, I was out to dinner in the Back Bay last week and I had a head on collision with a piece of marketing lagniappe. Lolita, a hot new Mexican restaurant and tequila bar on Dartmouth and Boylston, gives free cotton candy with your bill at the end of the meal. They also give you a complimentary grapefruit- and tequila- flavored shaved ice palette cleanser when you first arrive at your table. The original Lolita is in Greenwich, so maybe you can take the Misses for your next date night and see what it’s all about!”

Taranta #808 in the Project was submitted via e-mail by Andrew Sweet.    He mentioned an interesting use of QR Codes by Chef Jose Duarte. Andrew talked about a segment he watched on Channel 5 in Boston (click here to watch) that highlighted the Peruvian inspired Italian restaurant in the North End.  Taranta uses squid ink to place QR codes on plates using fresh locally sourced seafood. Diners can scan the code to visit ‘Trace and Trust’.  It allows you to track where and when the fish was caught.

Broadway Grille #868 is submitted by Mary Ann Baehr:
FROM a friend in CA……Broadway Grille in Burlingame offers FREE LIMO pick up and return for Burlingame residents….my friend has used it many times and says it’s ALWAYS a big hit with visiting guests….. Limo Lagniappe!

Capital Grille #876 is taken from a blogpost by Roy & Ren:
For Roy’s Birthday this year, I surprised him (& Ria) with tickets to “Mamma Mia!” We made a day out if it in NYC, and decided on The Capital Grille for the celebratory Birthday dinner. We had always wanted to go there, and boy, were we glad we did! They really made it a special and scrumptious Birthday for Roy!
When we arrived, we had an inkling of how special they were going to make the evening, when the hostess asked which one of us was Roy, and wished him a Happy Birthday! I had mentioned in the reservation on Open Table, and they not only noticed, but it seemed everyone there knew it was Roy’s Birthday and made sure to give him their well wishes! Nice!
We were then escorted to our table, and on the crisp white tablecloth, there was shiny Birthday confetti and a Birthday card from The Capital Grille! Wow! Now we knew for sure this was going to be an extra special dinner! But the treats didn’t stop there! Our server, Sonny, came over and introduced himself, and not only wished Roy a Happy Birthday, but also brought over a complimentary champagne toast for all three of us!
Sonny was a delight, and was so knowledgeable on the entire menu, and really helped us to make our selections. He also did some nice finishing touches to make Roy’s Birthday even MORE special – but more on that later. You all want to hear about the food, I’m sure!
Next, it was time for Sonny to add more to the specialness of the evening. He brought over a digital camera and took our picture and then proceeded to come back, moments later, with a printed photo in a nice paper frame to commemorate the special evening! Again – Wow! And then, as if The Capital Grille hadn’t already done so much to ensure a special evening, they brought over the yummiest Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake for Roy’s Birthday – again, on the house!! It was full of dense, chocolaty goodness, a perfect wrap up to our meal!
The Capital Grille, really went above & beyond, to make it a very special Birthday dinner for Roy. In addition to the food being excellent, the service was one of the friendliest we have experienced to date in an expensive restaurant! To top off the evening, after dinner, we walked down the street to see “Mamma Mia!” for Roy’s birthday surprise! Its a great show (especially from the third row!) and since it’s so close, you could make an evening out of both, like we did! You will definitely have a great time at The Capital Grille!

Primo #903. (a restaurant at the JW Marriott in Orlando)
The bar at PRIMO has a fantastic appetizer called ‘Rosemary Almonds’. My colleague Keith and I remarked that we really enjoyed the complimentary almonds. Our bartender mentioned that they were the original recipe of the founder of the restaurant.
Literally the very next thing we know the bartender is handing Keith a complimentary bag of ‘Rosemary Almonds’ with the recipe attached.

El Tiempo Cantina #920 Chips & Salsas. There are plenty of awesome chips and salsas around town, but there is just something about El Tiempo’s take on the classic that really gets me. It could definitely be the three frozen margaritas (which I’ve confirmed are stronger than their non-frozen counterparts) that I never fail to down while waiting for a table at the always-packed Montrose location, but that’s beside the point.
Crisp, hot and slightly salty, El Tiempo’s freshly baked chips are accompanied by not one, but two salsas. The red roasted-tomato salsa is sweet with just a hint of heat, the perfect way to ease into the meal. The green dip is creamy without being too thick, a cool and mild touch to the warm, salty chip. Both salsas are good in their own right, but combine the two and I’ve reached salsa nirvana.

Parisian Restaurant #906. Taken from a 2005 post by Joe Kissell:
On our last trip to Paris, Morgen and I met some friends for dinner at a restaurant that had gotten some very good reviews. The owner of the restaurant arrived at our table to take our orders, and we told him the prix fixe set menu sounded good. He looked strangely concerned, as though we foreigners couldn’t possibly know what we were getting ourselves into. “You understand,” he asked, “that this meal includes an aperitif, an entree, a main course, a dessert, and coffee…and an unlimited quantity of wine?” We nodded and assured him that we knew the routine. He smiled slyly and said, “Ah bon. There will also be…some surprises.”
A few moments later, a small dish of sausages arrived at our table—an amuse bouche, or a sort of pre-appetizer—along with some fresh bread. Then the advertised courses appeared, one by one, until finally, after coffee, the owner returned with a bottle and four small glasses in his hands and a conspiratorial expression on his face. “A little something to conclude your meal,” he offered, and poured us each a glass of marc, a potent digestif distilled from the bits of grape skin left over when wine is made. Splendid. We would have enjoyed the meal thoroughly even without the unadvertised extras, but the unexpected attention to detail left us with an even warmer feeling about the restaurant.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) –

Your experience is now your marketing. How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

Click here by 4/27 for a free Kindle version of WYPG?

Buy the paperback here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S

Lessons from PG Hall of Famer Pizza Shuttle

You don’t become one of elite independent pizzeria in the country by accident. Over the last 27 years, owners Mark Gold and Louis Siecinski have built Pizza Shuttle into a Milwaukee landmark. The restaurant entered into the Purple Goldfish Project at #221 back in 2010 by Phil Gerbyshak. Pizza Shuttle has a whole school of purple goldfish.

Here are my favorites:

1. The Purple Cow (hat tip to Seth) – How many pizza places have a framed Andy Warhol on display?  Genius interplay of pop culture and a homage to the dairy state of Wisconsin.  Cheesy . . . YES and that’s the point.
2. A Picture Booth – Take your experience home with you with a branded strip of black and white photos.  Great memento for a date with your squeeze or a night out with your friends.  A picture may be worth a thousand pizzas.
3. The Largest Pie in Wisconsin – Be memorable by offering a $39.95 gut buster.  According to this articleby Josh McDonald it looks like they throw in the ice cream as an added lagniappe.  Nice touch.
4. FREE WiFi – This is becoming a no brainer as of late.  But again – how many pizza places are offering you complimentary wireless access?
5. Unique hold music - Imagine wanting to be put on hold???    Smart move when you have a robust delivery business.  Create some fun messages so people can be entertained while they wait.

A few weeks ago Phil Gerbyshak had an opportunity to sit down with Mark Gold to chat. Here’s the short interview:

Marketing Lagniappe Takeaway – Be unique and care. Connect with your customers on an emotional level.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – This was taken from a post by Phil Gerbyshak at philgerbyshak.com back in January:

This interview (and Stan’s book) offers tips and insights to help small businesses create a consistently outstanding customer experience for their customers, one worth talking about to everyone, online and offline.

Now on with the interview.

Phil: What is a purple goldfish?

Stan: A purple goldfish is giving a little something extra to your customer at the time of purchase. It improves your customer’s experience with you. It differentiates you from your competition. And most importantly, it gives your customers something to talk about, online and offline.

Phil: What is lagniappe (pronounced lan-yap)?

Stan: The concept has acdtually been around since 1840s. It’s creole (French and Spanish). La Napa is Spanish for the gift. Twain wrote about it in Life on the Mississippi. He said lagniappe was a word worth traveling to New Orleans to get.

Phil: What were some of your favorite Purple Goldfish?

Stan: AJ Bombers and Pizza Shuttle are 2 of my favorites from Milwaukee that you submitted. (NOTE: Links to these stories can be found at the end of this interview). But rather than use those, I’d like to share 2 or 3 others.

First, I love DoubleTree Hotels. They give you a wonderfully large and warm chocolate chip cookie as soon as you check in.

Another of my favorites is the restaurant chain Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which is not everywhere yet, but it will be soon. When you walk in, there’s a huge vat of ballpark peanuts to nosh on. Also, when you buy fries at Five Guys, you not only get the fries in the cup, you get some “bonus fries” which is another handful or two in your bag.

Southwest Airlines is a final example with their “Bags Fly Free” program. And Southwest really does a lot with many little added values.

Phil: It seems to me that creating Purple Goldfish starts with the culture. Would you agree?

Stan: I wholeheartedly agree. A Purple Goldfish is what I call a beacon. It attracts people to it, it guides the way when things are tough, and it shines a light on the entire company.

A Purple Goldfish is really an unexpected extra without any expectation of return. It’s just that little extra. Great companies get this, and companies that are struggling don’t.

Another thing to remember: Happy employees create happy customers. Do a little extra for your employees and help them do a little extra for your customers. The more you can empower your employees to do the little extra, the more you can make all the difference to your customers.

Phil: What similarities did you see between all the companies you caught in your Purple Goldfish net?

Stan: In collecting 1001 purple goldfish, it became clear there were 2 major categories:

1) Value Examples – the tangible type of goldfish where you give extra value to your customers, like extra fries.

2) Maintenance Examples – All about the little things you can do to make it easy for the customer to deal with you. One of the categories is from the convenience perspective.

What do you do when your customers are waiting? Waiting is inevitable, so find a way to do something extra. Another one is how do you recover from a mistake?

My favorite example of service recovery is an elder care company from Canada called Nurse Next Door. When someone at Nurse Next Door screws up, they apologize and send a fresh baked apple pie (think of this as humble pie) as a sign of “Hey, we screwed up. Sorry about that.” They’ve been able to track this down to customers they’ve retained, and customers that have come about as a result of these accidental screw ups – and recoveries.

Phil: Why do you think more companies deliver Purple Goldfish to their customers?

Stan: Mainly because of this fact: 90% of customers don’t complain out loud – they complain with their wallet and go somewhere else with their business, so there’s no opportunity to do service recovery. There can be no other explanation.

Phil:What’s one easy way to provide your customers a purple goldfish?

Stan: Unfortunately, there is no simple thing. Find what your company does that’s signature and find a way to add a little something extra to that.  Think about what one thing you can do to stand out, and be sticky – to make folks love you and want to tell your story to a few friends – or a few thousand friends.

Something else: I think the biggest myth in marketing is MEETING EXPECTATIONS. Just like being on time. It’s a myth – either you’re on time, or you’re late. It’s just like that for expectations. Either you exceed expectations, or you fall short. There’s no middle ground.

Meeting expectations is like playing prevent defense in football. It only prevents you from doing one thing – winning.

Phil: How can we find more about you and the Purple Goldfish book?

Stan: The book site is easy to spell and remember: http://purplegoldfish.com. If you want more examples and marketing insights, here’s one that’s harder to spell, but is my main site, http://marketinglagniappe.com.

Some final thoughts from Stan: The best businesses don’t just do one signature thing – they have a whole school of Purple Goldfish to exceed their customers expectations, each and every time they connect.

The Quest for 1,001 Green Goldfish

I recently completed a large project. I had set out to find 1,001 purple goldfish. Examples of companies that strive to exceed customer expectations via a sticky concept called g.l.u.e (giving little unexpected extras). Signature extras that help you stand out in a sea of sameness.

It resulted in What’s Your Purple Goldfish? 12 ways to Win Customers and Influence Word of Mouth. In honor of being green and Earth Day, I’m giving away free copies of the e-book on Amazon between 4/23-4/27. Get your gratis copy of WYPG? by clicking here. Please share with a friend or 3,000l

Now its time to climb the next mountain in my lagniappe trilogy. It involves answering the following question:

Who is more important . . . employees or customers?

This is a great chicken and egg debate with regard to leadership. Who comes first? I introduced this question over at Switch + Shift (a tremendous blog on leadership by Ted Coine and Shawn Murphy). What became clear during my research is that brands who understand the concept of lagniappe for customers, also embrace the concept with employees. Both are equally important. Taking care of employees and investing into the “little extras” for staff help build a dynamic culture. Here is a great quote by Vince Burks of Amica Insurance reinforcing this focus.

At Amica Insurance – the concept of lagniappe is not just a part of our brand ethos; it is ingrained in everything we do. It therefore extends to our most valued resource – our employees. In fact, that is the secret to our success.

Excellent benefits. Advancement opportunities. The latest technology. A real work/life balance. And an open and regular line of communication with each other and with senior management. Taken together, we give our employees all that they need to succeed … and more.

This is absolutely essential. Satisfied employees lead to satisfied customers. Long term employees lead to long term relationships with customers. And pride, trust, and morale are all contagious.

Further, well-trained, long-term employees know how to get the job done quickly, efficiently, and effectively. They know their customers. They know their colleagues. They know their company. And they therefore know how to “get to yes” with ease and a sense of grace.

This is good for the customer. This is good for the company.

This post will officially start my next quest here at marketinglagniappe.com.

I’m going to actively crowd source 1,001 examples of green goldfish. Why green for employees? First and foremost, green is one of the three colors of Mardi Gras (purple, green and gold). New Orleans is the birthplace of lagniappe, the overarching concept for providing “little extras.” A word that Mark Twain once said “was worth traveling to New Orleans to get.” The second reason deals with money. It’s well documented that financial compensation is not a strong long term motivator. This Project will explore the “little things” that can make the big difference in establishing culture.

Similar to the Purple Goldfish, it is my belief that employee lagniappe provides the following three benefits:

1. Differentiation – a way to stand out in a sea of sameness. Give the company a remark-able difference or set of signature differences.
2. Retention - keep employees happy and they’ll stick around longer.
3. Word of Mouth – create a culture that attracts talent. Become a desired place to work and you’ll get more A players.

How about helping me with an example or three?  Here are a few thought starters to get you going:

Google - “20 percent time program”. According to Jonathan Strickland in ‘HowStuffWorks: How the Googleplex Works’, the company allows its employees to use up to 20 percent of their work week at Google to pursue special projects. That means for every standard work week, employees can take a full day to work on a project unrelated to their normal workload. Google claims that many of their products in Google Labs started out as pet projects in the 20 percent time program.

Zappos -”The Offer” The offer is part of the four week new hire paid training. The training immerses the group into the culture and Zappos’ laser focus on customer service. At the conclusion of training, everyone is offered $3,000 to leave. According to Fast Company Co-Founder Bill Taylor, “It’s a small practice with big implications: Companies don’t engage emotionally with their customers–people do. If you want to create a memorable company, you have to fill your company with memorable people. How are you making sure that you’re filling your organization with the right people? And how much are you willing to pay to find out?” In case you’re keeping score at home, roughly 2-3% of trainees have taken the offer since it was rolled out.

Reebok “Thinking inside the Box” – Some organizations have a company gym. Other may subsidize or pay for gym fees. Reebok took this to the next level in 2010 by converting a brick warehouse at Reebok’s headquarters into an employee exclusive CrossFit “box’’ or workout center, with six coaches and extensive equipment [named CrossFit One]. About 425 employees at Reebok are taking part in Canton. This benefit reinforces the company’s new mission: to get consumers moving. Participants lost over 4,000 pounds collectively during 2011.

Please leave your example in the comments or e-mail me at stan [at] 9inchmarketing.com. Help me catch a 1,001 green goldfish.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – Here is a short highlight video from my keynote at the UPIC Summit in Cincinnati:

Some Quick Extras

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the tenth in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry. Here are examples from the QSR industry:

QSR’s

Caribou Coffee (submitted by Laura Howells) Caribou Coffee gives you a complimentary chocolate-covered coffee bean with your coffee. This makes me so happy that I seek out the Caribou Coffee whenever I have a layover at the Minneapolis airport.

Starbucks (from John Miller) The free cup of brewed coffee with a pound of beans at Starbucks. Not only is it a $2 perceived value, it is instant gratification and appreciation of the brand/ product. (from Peg Connor)

Dunn Brothers Coffee #892 was recommended by Eric Fletcher from a post by Laura Click on the blog SocialCMO:
In Laura’s words:

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Dunn Brother’s coffee. I have blogged about them before and often tweet about my love of their vanilla iced nirvana or coconut lattes.

But as much as I love Dunn Brothers, I can’t always sneak away from the office to get a cup of their sweet, delicious coffee.

A few weeks ago, I lamented on Twitter about how I could really use a cup of coffee and that I wished Dunn Brothers delivered. They responded and asked where my office was located and said they might just surprise me some day.

Well, yesterday was that day!

The owner of the store, Fawn, showed up with a growler of Infinite Black, their cold-pressed coffee, a bottle of vanilla syrup, cream and a few cups with ice in them – everything I needed to make my own vanilla iced nirvana and share with friends!

I was impressed. I was already a raving fan, but this just took my loyalty through the roof.

The genius part about this is that the growler they gave me is refillable. When I bring it in, I can get it filled up with cold-pressed coffee for $10. So, not only did they reward my loyalty, they gave me another reason to come back into the store. Brilliant.

Rewarding your loyal customers and clients will pay off in dividends. If you do something to make your customers feel special, you won’t be able to stop them from spreading the word.

Want to make your loyal customers feel like royalty? Here are some things to keep in mind:

■Pay attention to preferences. Take time to really get to know your customers. Find out what they like, don’t like and what makes them tick. Dunn Brothers knew knew which beverage I liked because I tweeted about it before. You have to take time to listen and have an ear for catching cues that your customers give.

■Do something unexpected. People love surprises, so offer a gesture when they least expect it. Don’t wait around for the holidays to do something special. Throw in something extra with their next order, drop by their office with some fun treats or send them tickets to that concert they’ve been talking about.

■Go over the top. Dunn Brothers could have just brought me a beverage. But, they took it a step further by giving me a kit that will last me for days. And, it was hand-delivered from the owner. If you want to make an impression, be bold. Go big. Your customers will love you for it.

■Don’t turn it into a sales push. It’s awfully tempting to throw in a sales pitch or a discount coupon with your kind gesture, but don’t. It will only backfire. Do something nice without the expectation of anything in return. I promise you that your clients and customers will talk about it without you asking them to. And, if you do it right, they’ll keep coming back for more.

■Give something shareable. People love to share stories about gifts and prizes, so why not give something your clients something they can share? Dunn Brothers gave me some extra cups of ice so I could share my cool treat with friends. Think I told them about what happened? You bet I did! Give something that clients can share with co-workers, friends or family members and you’ve just built in an automatic way for them to spread the word about you.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – A funny commercial from Brusters Ice Cream:

Your experience is now your marketing. How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your GLUE? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Buy the book here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S

Extra Service

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the ninth in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry. Here’s a bunch of examples with a personal touch:

Personal / Professional Services

Mario’s Barber Shop (submitted by Jeff Mard) Free lolipop w/haircut (they have cool lollipops, not just regular ones)… does the trick for my 5 yr old every time.

Plaza Cleaners in PDX (#123 submitted by Blue Young) “I think it counts, though it’s not so typical. They will clean someone’s suit for free if they’re unemployed and need the suit for a job interview. Look here…
http://applicant.com/how-one-business-is-helping-the-unemployed/[Very cool and unique purple goldfish in a sea of dry cleaning sameness]

UPIC Solutions #993. Submitted via e-mail by Winston Faircloth from:

Hi Stan,

We first connected last year when I heard about your project on a marketing podcast. Since then, I’ve taken your concepts to heart within my own organization.

Our non profit IT organization provides application hosting, PC support and database management services to United Way organizations across the US. We have tried to find that little extra we could provide our members and several months ago we found it. We added an unlimited Microsoft Office online training subscription for every staff member at every United Way we support as our little extra when UW purchases our help desk package.

Thanks for your work and the inspiration it brings to us.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – Here’s a look the client thank you gift from Image Brew:

Image Brew 2011 from Image Brew on Vimeo.

Your experience is now your marketing. How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your GLUE? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Buy the book here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S

Dot Com Extras

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the eighth in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry.

Here’s a dozen examples from the click and mortar realm:

Online

Amazon (#165 Submitted by Adam Brett) “The frustrating free packaging is a brilliant idea. I’m sure having your little ones you have battled the wires before trying to open up a gift”

Chegg (#235 from the folks over at Gaspedal)  “College students love Chegg for their cheap textbook rentals, free shipping, and eco-friendly business philosophy.  Chegg believes that renting a book instead of buying it new helps save trees. This isn’t just their corporate mission statement, the company actually functions around this core value. For every book they rent, they plant a tree in return.  As the customer finishes their transaction, Chegg presents a world map and asks the customer to pick a country or region to plant their tree in. It’s a simple, visual way of engaging during the transaction process and giving back to the community at the same time.  Customers can then tell the world what they did by linking their Chegg transaction to their Facebook profile or Twitter account.”

Zappos (#493 taken from Peter Osbourne’s blog ‘Bulldog Simplicity’)
“My son lost one of his dress shoes at school the other day. Don’t ask. I don’t know how you lose one shoe.
So last night (Tuesday) he and his mother went to the store where he bought them. Nothing in his size. They get home and for a variety of reasons they don’t get online until about 10 p.m. They find the shoes and my wife calls Zappos to confirm that we’ll get the shoes by Thursday with one-day shipping. I’m not clear on the rest of the conversation, but Zappos waives the overnight delivery charges. No reason given, but it sounded like it was because we were first-time buyers. It’s like Tony Hsieh was sitting outside the house when we ordered Tyler’s shoes.  As a first-time buyer, Zappos didn’t just exceed our expectations. They obliterated them. And that leaves me with two questions for you, regardless of whether you’re a retailer, a consultant, or a person within a large company…

1. When was the last time you obliterated a customer or client’s expectations?
2. How can you “Zappos” someone’s expectations the next time you deal with them?”

Perpetual Kid (#549 from Ariel Savrin-Jacobs) “Last week I bought a few fun things online for my dorm room from PerpetualKid.com. It was my first time buying from them, and I’ll certainly be a repeat customer. The site is overall really fun (for example, I got measuring cups that stack like a Russian nesting doll), and it definitely didn’t hurt that my order placed at 10 pm on the 18th shipped the next morning and arrived on the 20th. But the best part of it all was the surprise “finger monster” (for lack of better words) sitting on top when I opened the package. While I don’t quite know what to do with it, I sure got a kick out of it, and I bet many other customers probably did too. I’ve attached a picture of this rubber “finger monster”. Hope it helps on your way to 1,001 and I will let you know if I come across any others!”

Johnny Cupcakes (#636) Submitted in a tweet by David Knies @davidknies of themarketing / design agency Launch Control. David’s tweet “@9INCHmarketing stan check out @johnnycupcakes and what they do in their shipments to customers!”
It turns out that Johnny Cupcakes and a few purple goldfish with a mail order shipment. Here is a comment from a T-shirt forum: “What a great display. So, there was a. the box, b. the tissue paper, c. the bag, d. the shirt, e. the hang tag, f. the oven mit label, g. the home alone card, h. the business card, i. the button, and j. the candy.”

Penzey’s Spices #718
Taken from a tweet by @nelderini
“Bumpersticker lagniappe included in my peppercorns order from Penzey’s: Love People. Cook them tasty food.” Classy. Love those guys.”

MIIR – #816. Submitted by Tyson Adams of liveglocal
Buy a bottle and one person in the developing world gets clean water for a year
http://vimeo.com/19735915

#800 L.L. Bean taken from a post by Barry Dalton @bsdalton

My friends recently decided to take up hiking the Appalachian Trail as a hobby. I could probably think of about 3 dozen more leisurely activities to pick up as a “hobby”. But awesome for them!
So, about sixty or seventy miles into their latest trek last week, they were strolling within a few miles of my house and asked to camp for the night for a hot meal and a shower. So, after devouring half the food in the house and getting cleaned up, we all sat down with a bottle of wine to hear some stories.
My friend proceeds to tell me that at a campground, he and a fellow hiker got their Bean Boot laces crossed, whereby the stranger ended up accidentally putting my friends boots into his backpack and hauling off down the trail. My friend, upon later putting his fellow long-departed sojorner’s size 14 boots on his size 9 foot realized the mix up.
He called L.L. Bean from the trail (in our connected world were noplace is “out of range”) and told them of his dilemma. The Bean rep told him that he would FedEx a new pair of boots in the right size to my address for next day delivery. In return, they asked him to send the old boots back to them when he got back home.
Oh, did I mention that they treated this like an exchange? Like….he didn’t have to buy the new pair of boots. And get this. The boots they were sending him cost thirty bucks less than the old ratty size 14s he had in his sack. So, Bean sent him a gift card for the thirty bucks! I couldn’t make this stuff up!
We finish the wine (and one or two more bottles, I think), went to sleep. And sure enough, around ten am the next day, the FedEx guy delivered a brand new pair of warm, dry Bean Boots to my door.
So, do you think my friend will buy his next ten pair of boots, and all his other outdoor, Daniel Boone, trail-blazing gear from L.L. Bean for the rest of his hiking days?”

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – An upboxing of a Johnny Cupcakes order:

Your experience is now your marketing. How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your GLUE? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Buy the book here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S

Rainy Day Extras

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the seventh in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry. Here’s a half dozen examples that provide a little extra coverage:

Insurance

USAA (submitted by Liz DiLullo Brown) “USAA offers a program called Movers Advantage. The program recommends a realtor to use and the opportunity to earn rewards for going through the program. Our first key moment of lagniappe with USAA was when they offered to move UP our closing date. It took us a total of 3.5 weeks to close. In a time of mortgage crisis, they made it painless. Then after closing, we received a call from USAA. It was the representative for the Mover’s Advantage program. Because we had participated in the program and received our financing through USAA, they were sending us a check (equivelant to cash!) for $1,350. Yes, $1,350.”

Allstate Insurance #674 Good Hands℠ Roadside Assistance is the first free-to-join, pay-per-use, roadside assistance service that is available to all drivers, not just Allstate customers.
Allstate created Good Hands Roadside to offer protection to the 35 million American households that don’t have roadside assistance services. The company also wants to provide an alternative for the 52 million households with roadside assistance that pay annual fees. Studies show the average driver uses their service only once every three years.

“With the launch of Good Hands Roadside, Allstate continues to broaden the definition of protection with new products and services consumers want in the ways they want them,” said Chuck Paul, group vice president, Emerging Businesses, for Allstate. “This is just another option individuals can use to protect what matters most.”

Allstate suggests taking two minutes to pre-register before road “Mayhem” strikes at www.goodhandsroadside.com to improve response time.

Always Care #857. Submitted by e-mail from Rene Milligan: In Rene’s words:

Thanks for the Tweet mention today. I was doing some research for our company’s current ad campaign, and stumbled across your Purple Goldfish blog. I am shocked I didn’t see it sooner.

Please see our current ad, attached, for some of the “lagniappe” we offer our customers. And please follow the link to our Lagniappe landing page: http://www.alwayscare.biz/lagniappe/

Our lagniappe is not exactly “little” things (a FREE Health Advocacy Program that helps insurance clients steer through medical claims, referrals, coordination of benefits, etc. is pretty significant), but compared to the actual product purchased (critical illness insurance policy), you can see that our lagniappe really is an add-on, the relative equivalent of a thirteenth donut.

Anyway, we offer lagniappe with each of our products:

- Dental and Vision insurance customers get FREE personalized ID cards with a list of the participating network providers closest to their home.

- Life and Disability insurance customers get a FREE employee assistance program with face-to-face counseling sessions (financial, legal, or just social), to help deal with loss of a loved one or ability.

- Critical Illness and Accident insurance customers get the health advocacy program mentioned above FREE.

- And EVERY customer gets FREE access to our Hearing Savings Plan, which offers significant discounts on hearing equipment, hearing aid batteries, and phone counseling with hearing professionals.

We also do an “initial bill review” (trial bill) for each of our group customers when they set up a new product with us. It helps catch errors in insurance plan enrollment, eligibility, dependent status, and beneficiary BEFORE a group’s first bill is sent. Saves so many headaches for benefit plan administrators! Seems simple, but none of our competitors, that we know of, do this.

Sort of like Zappo’s free two-way shipping or Doubletree’s chocolate chip cookies, these features are add-ons that add satisfaction to our clients’ benefit experience, and help keep them as our clients (sticky!).

Plymouth Rock Assurance #916 Get Home Safe Plymouth Rock Assurance wants to help prevent accidents, not just respond after they happen. That’s why we offer Get Home Safe as a free benefit to our personal auto insurance customers. This unique service provides a free cab ride if you feel you can’t operate your car safely.
Whether you’re too tired to drive, had a little too much wine at dinner, or just don’t feel safe driving for any reason, you don’t have to get behind the wheel. Your cab fare is on us!
Get Home Safe. More than just insurance. Plymouth Rock Assurance.

State Farm #977. From a post by inbound marketing specialist Ellie Becker at ER Becker Company: Some years ago I went to get into my car in my parking garage to find it had been hit. A Good Samaritan had left a note on a scrap of paper on the windshield saying they’d witnessed the hit and run. They gave me the make, model, color and license plate number of the car.
I duly made a police report and informed my insurance company of many years, State Farm. The representative I spoke with obtained the police report and ok’d my claim less my $500 deductible, which I paid.
Several months later I received a call from State Farm’s investigations department asking if I had any documentation about the incident other than the police report. I had kept the original windshield note in my accident file and faxed a copy.
Six months after that, I received a check for $500 from State Farm. There was no explanation, so I called before depositing it to be sure there was no mistake. Here’s what I was told:
“When you gave the investigations department a copy of the witness’ note, they saw that the police officer had gotten one number of the license plate incorrect on his report. We were then able to track down the person who hit your car and go after his insurance company for reimbursement of your claim and deductible, which we refunded to you.”
WOW!! If that’s not a Purple Goldfish, I don’t know what is! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told this story over the years.
The positive word of mouth has, I’m sure, gotten State Farm far more than the $500 that I never would have known about, were it not for their proactive, honest customer relationship building – not to mention their persistence.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – A look at the Allstate Good Hands Roadside Assist from Mr. Mayhem:

Your experience is now your marketing. How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your GLUE? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Buy the book here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S

Little Extras with Staying Power

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the sixth in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry. Here is a bunch of  examples to sleep on:

Hotels / Resorts

DoubleTree Hotels (a tri-fecta submitted by Matthew Hirsch, Kelly Leslie and Tom Haidinger)  They give warm chocolate chip cookies to all guests when they check in:http://doubletree.hilton.com/en/dt/promotions/dt_cookie/index.jhtml

Carnival Cruises (#64 from Micky Baehr) “On Carnival cruises, each night after returning to your cabin, a towel is on your bed, cleverly folded into various animal shapes … elephants, rabbit, giraffes, in addition to a good chocolate mint on your pillow. As if you need more food on a cruise!”

Courtyard by Marriott (#57 submitted by PR Workbench’s Jack Monson)
“A few years ago, I was traveling to the Twin Cities often and stayed several times at the same Courtyard By Marriott in the suburb of Eden Prarie since it was close to two clients’ HQs. By the third trip in a few weeks’ time, I had a nice surprise waiting for me. I walked in after a cold and delayed trip from Chicago to see a big sign in the lobby saying “Welcome Jack Monson”. The manager informed me that I was their guest of the week and gave me a card for free breakfast in the morning. Not a huge thing, but guess where I continued to stay everytime I had to travel to Minneapolis over the next year…”

Hotel Burnham (#141 submitted by Mark True – Brand Warrior and Copywriter @ McLellan Marketing Group )  ”On the two occasions I stayed there, The Hotel Burnham in downtown Chicago left me a bottle of wine and then a bottle of root beer with a personal note from the manager. The root beer was the second gift, after I thanked them for the wine and told them that I’m not a wine drinker after the first visit!”  [Nice personal touch by the Hotel Burnham . . . kudos for getting it right the second time around as a great lagniappe isn't a 'one size fits all proposition']

Kimpton Hotels (#109 submitted by M.B.) “Kimpton hotels do all kinds of lagniappe-ish things – Free Starbucks coffee and tea in the morning; Cookies and / or fruit always available in lobby, Free wine reception with pretty good and often interesting wines each evening (@ Hotel Monaco in SF, they often have Tarot card reader or other added entertainment) and there’s always free wireless internet access that works well. (Should be a standard but is not at most hotels…)  Buildings, themes, decoration, art and lobby architecture always different. Rooms have many unique styles, but you know that the beds, amenities, service will be at a similar standard in all.  They are proactively kid and pet friendly.  Their signature special lagniappe is the goldfish you can bring to your room to keep you company. I think they still do it at several of their hotels.  Here’s the URL for the Kimpton Guppy Love program: http://www.kimptonhotels.com/pdfs/pet/Pet-PR-Guppy-Love-Program.pdf
Here is a link to a post on ‘guppy love’ from Kimpton.  I love the baggage promotion they are doing.

Beaver Creek Ski Resort (#129 submitted by Drew Grieco) “Every day at 3pm, Beaver Creek’s cookie time chefs serve hot, chocolate chip cookies at the base of the Centennial Chairlift (Chair #6). The perfect ending to a perfect day.” [Love the fact that you have to be 'in the know' and show up at an exact time]

Hotel Murano (#181 from Mark Brooks) “A friend of mine, Brian Forth, recently made a reservation at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Wash.   After making the reservation, Brian tweeted about how he was looking forward to having a staycation with his wife in honor of his birthday. When the couple entered the hotel, they were greeted by name and given an automatic upgrade at no charge. When they entered the room, they found a welcome package including gourmet cupcakes. Naturally, Brian tweeted some more about all the nice surprises. Upon check-in, he inquired about whether the hotel shuttle would ferry he and his wife to a local steakhouse for dinner. Later, he posted the same question on Twitter. About 3 minutes afterward, the phone rang in his room and the concierge informed him that the shuttle would be available whenever it was needed.  So Brian tweeted again. And the culmination of those tweets, from a respected local business owner [Brian], had arguably more marketing power than any local advertisement the hotel could have purchased with the money they spent making Brian and his wife happy. Think about it: the cupcakes cost $5, the rest of it was just awareness and hustle.”

Hotel Vitale (#194 Submitted by Michael Tambone) “I often travel to San Fancisco on business and stay at the Hotel Vitale. Because I stay there often, they place a hand written note in my room welcoming me back accompanied by a small box of boutique choclates. And when the valet attendants bring my car around, they place “Hotel Vitale” bottles of water in the cup holders automatically. Nice touches!”

Las Ventanas al Paraiso (#236 submitted by Joe Sorge – owner of the legendary AJ Bombers)  The lagniappe story that I’d like to add is one of the super luxury resort Las Ventanas al Paraiso of the Rosewood group of properties. While the world has come to expect unparalleled facilities and service from this company and this resort in particular, nothing could have prepared my wife and I for the lagniappes we would experience here. On our very first full day at the resort, while we were enjoying all that Los Cabos has to offer, the guests services group at the resort was busy preparing a personalized mending kit to match our wardrobe! Done in a slightly larger than matchbook sized kit emblazoned with the Las Ventanas logo. We’re quite proud of ours. At the end of each evening as part of the resorts “turn down” service for each suite, they left a small token of each day at the resort. This is a small sand pottery sculpture of some shape or form, one night a starfish, another a seahorse and yet another a sea turtle. We have quite a collection.

CuisinArt Resort & Spa (#284 from Rob Gallo)  “You might just find a bottle of great rum in your room…and a bowl of their home grown cherry tomatoes.”

Hotel Monaco (#290 submitted by Rob Gallo)  “The staff is friendly and helpful, even going so far as to hand us umbrellas as we headed out the door on a rainy day. Rooms are clean, and boast a hip decor. I especially loved the plush animal-print bath robes, available to each guest. Turn down service was a bonus. We arrived back to the hotel each evening to find ice in our ice bucket, the bed turned down with chocolates on our pillows, relaxing jazz music playing in our room, and the lights dimly lit. WOW! In addition, the wine hour each evening made our stay over the top.”

Fjeldheim (#268 submitted by Nic Nelson) “There are a lot of vacation homes in the Lake Tahoe area. Some of them are as big as we are, some are as luxurious as we are, but none match us in both categories. This is actually a problem. How many groups of 20+ people are looking for a fully-appointed luxury chalet? (most settle for big cheap “tourist sheds”) How many high-end families actually want 9000sf and 9 bedrooms? (most high-dollar customers come in groups of less than 7, even when an extended family or two families are traveling together)  We try to close the deal, and we win repeat customers, largely because of the “lagniappe” we offer: little things like free handmade custom-glazed Fjeldheim coffee mugs, or a gift basket of wine, chocolates, cheese and crackers to the person who made the groups reservation, and sometimes big things like event shuttle service (allowing guests to park at the free casino parking at the bottom of the mountain, and shuttling them up to Fjeldheim) or even setting up a Christmas tree for them so that it was ready and lit when they walked in the door.”

Marriott (#410. Taken from a blogpost by Eric Stoessel) “Marriott has partnered with COVERPLAY for a new Tots Travel Too program, which aims to make it easier for families traveling with young children. The news release says the program will provide guests, upon request, with a travel crib and laundered COVERPLAY removable slipcover, as well as a free bath gift (animal squirt toy) and parents can also contact the front desk for complimentary items they may have forgotten, like outlet covers, baby shampoo, oil, etc. The program is for five of Marriott’s brands: Courtyard, Fairfield Inn & Suites, SpringHill Suites, Residence Inn and TownePlace Suites.”

Hotel Mela (#470 submitted by Lisa Church)
“As a CXO (Chief Experience Officer), keeping an eye out for “purple goldfish” is an obsession and a passion! One of my favorites is the Hotel Mela in NYC. They offer a “Desires” Club for guests that allows you to select your favorite snacks and soft drinks, which you find awaiting you in your stylish room when you arrive. Each day of your stay, your favorites are left in your room along with a personalized note. The Hotel periodically asks you to update your “favorites” (via email) to ensure they are still meeting your Desires. Now that’s unexpected service!”

Shelter Harbor Inn (#481 submitted by Tim Heath)
“My teenage daughter and I were rolling south along Route 1 in costal Rhode Island on a recent Sunday morning and we stopped at the Shelter Harbor Inn in Westerly for a sumptuous country breakfast. It all worked and soon after we placed our orders we were both pleasantly surprised with complimentary warm raspberry scones. Hats off to the Shelter Harbor Inn for the added value to an enjoyable moment.”

McCurly’s Tours (#522. Submitted by Lindsay Willott of customerthermometer.com) “McCurlys (a car rental company in Grand Cayman) picks you up at the airport and takes you to your vacation villa or resort where your rental car is waiting for you, with the option of a free stop at the local supermarket to stock up on essentials on the way. The customer really wins here – they don’t have to drive after a long flight (and potentially a few beers!) and they get to buy the essentials before getting to their villa, meaning they don’t have to go back out on unfamiliar roads one day 1 if they don’t want to. And finally, the car is at the villa, not at the airport, so no long form-filling, waiting in line or trying to find the rental car in the lot.”

Marriott (#547 from Kelly Ketelboeter of The Experience Factor) “At the Renaissance Marriott downtown Chicago, they offer the option for easy check-in where you let them know the approximate time of your arrival and the method. A staff member will then meet you in the lobby with your keys and anything else you need. No need to stop by the front desk and wait in line!! Get right to your room and start enjoying the view of the Chicago skyline.”

Caledonia Golf & Fish Club (#575 submitted by Jeff Day) “Caledonia in Myrtle Beach, SC offers a cup of chowder at the turn, which is cooked and served right in front of you on the tenth tee – it’s a unique experience.

Ritz-Carlton (#564 submitted from a posterous post by Barry Peters)
“The delicate balance between customer and workforce focus is many times achieved by suitably empowering employees.
The classic example of this done well (luckily experienced personally) is the only 2-time MBNQA winner, Ritz Carlton, in the service sector. Many case studies and books have been written strewn with success stories of how empowerment increases employee satisfaction (i.e., workforce focus) while obviously maintaining customer focus.
For those not familiar with the Ritz, each employee is taught a 3-step service process:

1. A warm and sincere greeting.
2. Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest’s need.
3. Fond farewell.

It is this second step that is key. Employees are able to spend up to $2,000 to fulfill each guests need. Employees are incredibly satisfied with their work as they can personally make a difference. There has been much written about empowerment and influence as a primary success driver and how they aren’t mutually exclusive depending on the customer life cycle.
I had the opportunity to witness it first hand at an RC property recently in the Caribbean. When I checked in, the “casual” conversation queried what I’d be doing at the reception desk. I replied, “scuba diving.”
I later returned to my room after grocery shopping to find a small wicker basket including some small dive items and a beautiful book on the best dive sites in the area.
Feeling the experience an empowered employee can deliver as a recipient only validates some of the academic discussion. Workforce focus truly contributed to customer focus!”

Westin St. Francis #672 “As a favor to guests, one hotel washes every coin it receives, just like it’s done since 1938. The practice at the St. Francis hotel in San Francisco is said to have started when hotelier Dan London observed that some coins sullied a woman’s white gloves. At the time, coins were used for everything from tips to payphones to taxicabs. Back then washing the coins were a full-time job. Now it’s only 10 hours a week, but the practice continues, passed down from one generation to the next.

Hard Rock Hotel #737 Submitted via e-mail by Rick Liebling of Coyne PR
Gratification. That’s what the luxury brand experience should embody. And what’s more gratifying than getting a unique amenity like a world class Gibson guitar delivered to your room at no charge? The first power chord you nail after that six hour meeting, that’s what. So forget in-room movies. Just Check In and Rock Out. Only at Hard Rock Hotels.
Guests may choose from Gibson’s SG Standard and Les Paul Studio, as we’ve got plenty (see the guitar descriptions below). Plus, with the Pocket Pod Amps and high-def ‘Beats by Dr. Dre’ headphones we’ll also provide, you can rock out at hard as you want with zero noise complaints. As there’s no charge or time limit to the program, we encourage you to sample the guitars and keep them for as long as you’re staying in the Hotel.

Four Seasons #730 A bow and arrow aren’t just tools for William Tell. At Four Seasons Resort Lana’i in Hawaii, you are invited to try your hand at archery or clay shooting for a chance to win the prestigious crystal pineapple.

Kimpton #704 Submitted via e-mail by Eileen Scully: “Kimpton Hotels sent me a pair of their signature slippers over the holiday.”

Disney’s Old West Resort #833 comes from Oyster.com. Unlike at the more upscale Disney resorts, the service at Old Key West is a bit more sparse — room service is limited to pizza delivery and there are no business services. You do, however, get extra, personal touches. At the front desk, for example, kids get twisted balloon toys when they check-in — something I didn’t see at other Disney properties. And at the on-site restaurant, Olivia’s Cafe, I witnessed staff members gives little prizes to kids who put up artwork on the restaurant’s doors. Many of the families I spoke with during my stay explained that the friendly and reliable staff was a big reason they regularly returned.

Four Seasons #818 in the Project was recommended via Josepf Haslam @josepf via a tweet: It comes from a post by Thomas Marzano @thomasmarzano:

It wasn’t until my last trip to Palo Alto, where I stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel, that I had a firsthand experience with customer engagement through social media.

A smooth landing

Before arriving at the Four Seasons I posted a tweet where I mentioned @FSPaloAlto and expressed how much I was looking forward to relaxing at their spa after the long journey. To my big surprise @FSPaloAlto replied to my tweet fairly quickly asking me if they should make reservations! WAUW! I was impressed!

Once in my room I found the following handwritten note welcoming me.

You can imagine that this put a huge smile on my face! It made me realize how a personal handwritten message can suddenly give a big hotel chain such as the Four Seasons a human and personal feel. Most importantly I felt welcome!

Enhancing my customer experience

Although I had a basic room, I was very happy with the high quality of it. A very big bedroom with a very comfortable bed, huge TV and an awesome bathroom with a huge bathtub!

So after a lovely night sleep I woke up and tweeted the below tweet to my followers.

Again @FSPaloAlto was quite quick in their response and as you can see, next to wishing me a good morning, they also took the opportunity to “up sell” me a dinner in the hotel restaurant (which is a very good restaurant by the way). This is very clever, I totally welcomed this tweet and did not mind the up sell at all. Actually I found it quite thoughtful!

But nothing prepared me for what I found in my room when I returned during the afternoon. Another handwritten note, but this time wrapped with a little present. Based on the morning tweet I posted about the great bathroom, they gave me a bottle of bath salt to fully enjoy the bathtub experience! This really blew me away. The thoughtfulness is incredible, and I was just delighted! (and had myself a perfect bathtub chilling!!)

Service becomes great and personal with social media

Now you can imagine I was getting quite spoiled, and at the same time I thought this was the best physical experience social media ever gave me, next to meeting great tweeps in real life.

To my astonishment when checking out the sweet lady tweeting for @FSPaloAlto came to personally wish me a safe trip home, this completed the experience. People talk to people, not to brands.

What can I say; I think this is an awesome example of how social media can be leveraged by the hospitality industry. Four Seasons clearly understands how important personal experiences are and have jumped on the social media bandwagon to increase their level of service. A good investment, as they not only give people like me a great experience, they have turned me into a brand advocate.

Universal Studios – #750. Universal tries harder taken from a post by Lou Imbriano @louimbriano

They are two very different parks, but with Disney being the 800 pound Mouse in Orlando, it is easy to understand why Universal seems to be trying harder. They are providing customer service that Disney isn’t, and perhaps cannot, due to sheer volume. The most glaring difference is in lodging on property in Universal Studios as compared to staying on property in Disney World.
The most pleasant customer service play is that when you stay at one of Universal’s three in-park hotels, you automatically receive Universal Express and it is unlimited at both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (which can also be purchased in the park for a hefty fee of $70.99 per person, per day). Universal Express is similar to Disney’s Fast Pass, where you are able to go into a quicker line to get to the ride or attraction. In Disney, Fast Pass is free, and everyone has an opportunity to access quicker lines based on appointment times set for riding or viewing. Disney’s Fast Past is a nice mechanism that allows you to enjoy more rides during the day, and if you know how to properly plan your timing to run around and work the system, you will have a much more pleasant experience than by always waiting in the regular lines.
Universal Express pass beats out Disney’s Fast Pass hands-down. If you are a guest at one of the Universal park’s hotels (Hard Rock, Portofino or Royal Pacific), the only thing you have to do is show your room key at the ride entrance, and you are “express” all the way to the front of the line. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and received this perk. In an unscientific calculation, we estimated that flashing our room key saved us anywhere from 50% – 75% off our wait. When the posted wait time on specific rides stated 60 minutes, we were typically in line for 15 minutes max with the Express pass. During our stay, we probably saved a full day of not waiting in lines. This courtesy to its hotel guests is an over the top amenity that is worth not only a mention, but a rave review. If we were to purchase Universal Express for a family of four, it would have cost over $280 a day, or almost half the cost of a two-room “Kids Suite”. That’s incredible value, no matter how you calculate it.

Great Wolf Lodge #877 is taken from a blogpost at Steve Cody’s RepMan:
This guest blog was authored by former Peppercommer, Isaac Farbowitz, who now makes a living selling medical supplies.

All too often, brands fail to live up to their names and promises as loyal RepMan readers know. However, this past weekend I had an amazing experience where a brand lived up to every bit of its name and I wanted to share it as an example of a company “getting it right.”

When it became clear on Thursday of last week that Irene was going to poke her ugly head into the Tri-State area over the weekend, my wife and I decided to pack up our six kids and head west to the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. We weren’t taking any chances with falling trees, flooded streets and heavy rain, not to mention six kids with no TV, computer or Wii!

The weather wasn’t that bad in the Poconos through Sunday around noon and we assumed we escaped the worst of it. But around noon, the winds really kicked up and within minutes the power was out in the hotel. And with no power comes a closed water park, no arcades and not much to do in a hotel for kids- at least not in any hotel not named Great Wolf Lodge!

Within minutes of the power going out, there were announcements that there was a power outage and that the hotel was working with the power company to restore it and get an estimated time it would be back. They then announced that there were backup generators for the lobby and hallways and that there would be a movie for kids showing in the lobby ASAP.

While the movie was playing, they handed out bottled water, chips, cookies and many snacks to all the kids and literally had every staff member handing out beer, wine and soda to all the adults. Once the movie was over, they put on Wii dancing and had hundreds of people dancing with staff members in the lobby. (The picture in this blog is a photo I took of the dancing- four of the kids are mine). The site of adults and kids dancing in a lobby during a hurricane was surreal but no one was complaining about the lack of power or the weather.

After dancing, the hotel announced that power should be restored in the next two hours and they had a whole dinner buffet set up (free of charge) for all guests including hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, salads and drinks for all to enjoy. Once dinner ended, another movie was put on for kids and shortly thereafter the power was restored.

Great Wolf Lodge clearly had a plan in place to deal with a potential power outage and they executed it to perfection! Not one guest was complaining and many were seen thanking the hotel staff for doing their best to make it the best day possible given the conditions. Every staff member had a smile on their face as they fielded questions and they did everything they could to make it a GREAT day for guests in spite of the hand they were dealt.

And the kicker to show just how well Great Wolf Lodge handled the storm- when we were checking out we were talking to a staff member who asked our kids “what was the best part of the trip” and the kids response: “movies and dancing in the lobby when there was no power.” Great Wolf lived up to its name in a great way!

Lancaster Hotel #936 Hear a buzzing noise? That would be from the 10 beehives on the roof of London’s Lancaster Hotel, which create the honey given as a free VIP guest amenity.

Cadogan Hotel #940 allows you to ‘Get in Touch with Your Wilde Side’
Guests in Room 118 of London’s Cadogan Hotel, the site of Oscar Wilde’s arrest for gross indecency, will find a complimentary replica of the writer’s smoking jacket available to wear — epigrams not included.

Benjamin Hotel #929 capitalizes on a growing complimentary trend.
The “Sleep Concierge” at New York’s Benjamin Hotel will equip you with one of 12 different types of pillow ranging from buckwheat to magnetic to anti-snore, plus white noise machine.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – Kimpton’s COO Niki Leondakis talks about social media and the empowered customer:

Your experience is now your marketing. How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your GLUE? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Buy the book here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S

Little Extras that add up

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the fifth in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry. Here is a handful of examples you can bank on:

Wells Fargo (from Suzanne Lainson) I’ve been going to the same savings-and-loan for years. When it was World Savings, they offered free coffee in the lobby. It wasn’t good, but it was something. When World became Wachovia, they eliminated the coffee. Now that Wachovia has become Wells Fargo, the branch I go to (I don’t know if they are all like this) is now offering GOURMET coffee. Yay!! It’s very nice to have a good cup of coffee when I am waiting in line.

Umpqua (#295 Taken from Joseph Jaffe’s book ‘Flip the Funnel’) “Umpqua, a West Coast bank chain based in Portland, OR has tellers place customers’ cash on black wooden trays along with a silver chocolate coin embellished with the bank’s logo. [Editors Note: Add in Free wifi and their own brand of free gourmet coffee. Put it all together and you've got some sweet free perks]

TD Bank is rife with lagniappe. Jim Donofrio pointed out this school of purple goldfish.

1. Open 7 days in an effort to be America’s Most Customer Friendly bank
2. Green pens with the TD Bank logo. They can be found everywhere . . . from a local restaurant to large scale charity event
3. Penny Arcade. The first thing you see when you walk through the door.
4. No barriers between you and the tellers within the bank. This promotes a friendly atmosphere.
5. Green lollipops for the kids and dog biscuits for Rover . . . everyone leaves with a smile on their face and a wagging tail.

TD Bank #716
Submitted via e-mail by James Mayer.
He recommended a post from Changing Winds: TD Bank and their extra hours. As Clark expressed in an interview with the Financial Post Magazine (February 2011):
“…the great thing about our model is if I put a branch on a corner in New York City, I know five years later I will have more than 25% of the local business, because at some time in that five years someone will come by at 4:02 pm. Their branch will be closed, they’ll look across at our store, this beautiful store, there will be someone giving dog biscuits to somebody’s dog, they’ll walk in and there’s a greeter that’s unbelievably friendly, and they’ll say, ‘So why am I banking at the guy across the street?’
On Sundays we send our bankers out to all the small businesses and say, ‘You’re open, we’re open, and you bank with the bank that’s closed.’…It’s a very simple concept: Just be open longer and give better service.” Clark also noted, for example, that their branch at 2 Wall Street, which opened five years ago, now has US1 billion in deposits.”

Wells Fargo #859. Wells Fargo submitted via e-mail by Steve Curtin:

Stan, the other day I exchanged some coins at a Wells Fargo bank, using its automatic coin counter in the lobby. After all the coins are deposited, the counter totals the amount, printing two totals on a slip of paper that is to be presented to the teller for redemption. The first total reflects the total worth of the coins (e.g. $61.27). The second total reflects a 9% service fee deduction for non-customers (e.g. $55.76). Although I’m not a Wells Fargo customer, they’ve never given me the non-customer total in the three or four times I’ve used their coin counter in the past couple of years. It’s a 9% “little extra” that I’ve noticed and appreciated.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – Here’s a look at Umpqua’s Innovation lab in Portland. Design, community and little extras make cents:

Your experience is now your marketing. How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your GLUE? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Buy the book here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S

Extras in a package

The Purple Goldfish Project was an effort to crowd source 1,001 examples of marketing lagniappe. Brands that give little unexpected extras (g.l.u.e) in order to drive differentiation, improve retention and promote word of mouth. This post is the fourth in a 12 part series looking at the top 200 examples from the Project by industry. Here are nine entertaining examples.

The Fillmore (submitted by Gene Willis a.k.a Chief Wahoo) One from San Francisco…The Fillmore, a famous music auditorium which has hosted everyone from The Grateful Dead to Snoop Dogg….at the end of each show they hand out a limited number of music posters….free. Each poster has it’s own unique artwork, and the date of the show and artist. People collect the posters, and sometimes look forward to getting the poster as much as the show. Generations of posters are framed and make-up the walls. Also, when you enter the Fillmore, there is a bucket of free apples and someone who welcoming you to the Fillmore. No wonder it’s one of the most loved places to see a band perform live.
Some thoughts on why I love the Fillmore example and why I think the posters + apples are brilliant. It scores high on the four ingredients of a marketing lagniappe:
Unique – the posters are handbills that are distinctive in size
Relevant – it’s not cookie cutter, each poster is designed with the artist in mind
Limited – a limited run creates that ‘one of a kind’ special feel
Authentic – the posters are handed out when the concert-goers leave the venue.  It’s a nice small gesture that leaves a positive note.  A great tradition.
[In the early days Bill Graham often stood next to a huge bin of fresh apples at the front exit saying good night to the patrons and handing out apples]

Sea World (#345 submitted by Kami Huyse) “For stranded European passengers in Orlando due to the Ash cloud, they are offering one free admission per stranded passenger”

Sons of Maxwell (#340 from Dave Carroll of ‘United Breaks Guitars‘) “Dave was a keynote speaker at the 2010 NewComm Forum. I had a chance to catch up with him to discuss customer experience. He shared a great story about his Mom Sharon who manages all of the mail order sales of his CD’s. Dave talked about how his Mom would knit a dishcloth for fans who bought 3 CD’s. This wasn’t advertised. Imagine the surprise when a fan receive that in the mail with their CD order.”

PGA Tour (#483 submitted by Barbara Karasek)
“In tough economic times, free is the most fantastic four letter f-word ever. To meet the rise in demand for affordable sporting events, we created new ticket policies to allow free, trackable tickets to be made available for military, military dependents and kids 17 and under at many PGA TOUR events. Like you, acronyms are fun to create and sometimes easier to remember. Our ACE in the hole is a product that is Affordable, Community-focused, and Entertaining.”

Lady Gaga (#503 submitted by Tim Baran @uMCLE)  ”Say what you will about Lady Gaga — her persona is over the top and outlandish; her music videos are blasphemous (we’re looking at you, Katy Perry) — but one thing you can never say (without it being sorely untrue, anyway) is she doesn’t love her fans. Her connection with her Little Monsters is undeniable and the lengths she’ll go to to prove that are boundless.

Several Gaga fans camped out in early July in front of the Rockefeller Plaza and braved the scorching New York City heat a day ahead of her concert appearance on the Today Show to ensure they get a prime spot.

Once Gaga learned that her Little Monsters were going all out to see her perform, she sprung into action to make sure the wait was a bit more bearable. “My little monster sweeties are already camped outside today show! I love u! Will be sending u pizza and water all day!” she tweeted.

Disney + (#537 submitted by Rick Cerrone)
Normally, the word “plus” is a conjunction, but not in Walt’s vocabulary. To Walt, “plus” was a verb—an action word—signifying the delivery of more than what his customers paid for or expected to receive.
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of examples of Walt “plussing” his products. He constantly challenged his artists and Imagineers to see what was possible, and then take it a step further…and then a step beyond that. Why did he go to the trouble of making everything better when “good enough” would have sufficed? Because for Walt, nothing less than the best was acceptable when it bore his name and reputation, and he did whatever it took to give his guests more value than they expected to receive for their dollar.
Perhaps one of the best examples of Walt’s obsession for “plussing” comes from Disney historian Les Perkins’ account of an incident that took place at Disneyland during the early years of the park. Walt had decided to hold a Christmas parade at the new park at a cost of $350,000. Walt’s accountants approached him and besieged him to not spend money on an extravagant Christmas parade because the people would already be there. Nobody would complain, they reasoned, if they dispensed with the parade because nobody would be expecting it.
Walt’s reply to his accountants is classic: “That’s just the point,” he said. “We should do the parade precisely because no one’s expecting it. Our goal at Disneyland is to always give the people more than they expect. As long as we keep surprising them, they’ll keep coming back. But if they ever stop coming, it’ll cost us ten times that much to get them to come back.”

Essex Steam Train (#627). Taken from a ride on the ‘North Pole Express Train’.
Each year the Essex Steam Train runs the North Pole Express. The hour long train ride is highlighted by visits on the train by Rudolph, Santa and Mrs. Claus. One of the little extras on the ride is provided by the elves. They give all the little boys and girls miniature ornamental bells. “They have a beautiful tone” according to President Rob Bell. The bells are signature to the Essex Steam Train. They are handcrafted by a local Connecticut manufacturer named Bevin Brothers in East Hampton.

Disney #653 Taken from a blogpost by George Bradt
“Disney is committed to guests enterring parks that look as good as they did on the day they were opened for the first time. As soon as the last guest leaves at the end of every day, crews start repairing anything that needs it, touching up the rest, and making things look practically perfect in every way. They refuse to leave any guest’s initial impressions to chance and implement that with an obsession to detail that is a source of pride. The last thing they do before opening the doors in the morning is paint any brown spots on the grass green. That’s what they mean by obsession to detail.”

Tampa Bay Lightning #953. Submitted via e-mail by Lee Silverstein of Tampa Bay Job Coach: The Lightning’s new program for their season ticket-holders is the first of its kind in professional sports. All full season ticket holders received a home game jersey with their respective season ticket commitments.
In addition to the sweater’s distinct look, a microchip is inserted in the sleeve, thereby allowing season ticket holders to be identified at concession stands and merchandise shops throughout the St. Pete Times Forum. By scanning these embedded sleeves, fans receive a 25% discount on all concessions in the arena and a 35% discount on all merchandise purchased at the Times Forum during Lightning games.

Today’s Lagniappe (a little something extra thrown in for good measure) – Here’s a fun interview with Dave Carroll of ‘United Breaks Guitars’ fame:

How do you stand out in the sea of sameness? How do you win repeat customers and influence word of mouth? Is your CX sticky? Are you Giving Little Unexpected Extras?

What’s Your GLUE? What’s Your Purple Goldfish?

Buy the book here for $9.95 using this special discount code: GL546Y5S