Subway vs. Chipotle: A Battle of Customer Service Apathy & Awareness
Save for a class of disconnected customer management thought leaders, most recognize that the “Zappos experience” is not warranted—or even desired—in many interactions. Not all customers are looking for friendships with cashiers and customer service representatives. They are simply looking for painless, efficient transactions.
Desiring a quick transaction is not, however, the same as demanding an impersonal, unfriendly or apathetic one. Whether engaging a customer in a lengthy, intimate conversation or swiftly moving him through a checkout line, an agent must always display an immense appreciation for the customer and a passion for creating the desired experience.
Both Subway and Chipotle are at their best when they can rapidly guide customers through the checkout process. Unfortunately, when it comes to their Upper East Side iterations, only one, understands that efficiency is not an excuse for apathy.
Sub(par)Way
Given that I grab “pre-dinner” from my local Subway at least three nights a week and virtually always interact with the same three staff members, I have personal reasons to condemn the experience. Only one of the three routinely greets me even though I am clearly the restaurant’s most frequent customer. None seems enthusiastic about my patronage. None responds to my own pleasantries with more than a nod of recognition. None, despite the fact that I order the exact same thing every day each month (whichever sub is on sale for $5), knows me or my order. None cares about my experience.
But insofar as I get a cheap, quick meal that fits decently into my daily nutrition program, I overlook the frustrating elements of the experience. And insofar as I keep returning, I cannot necessarily blame the obviously short-sighted staff’s failure to adapt (a big picture thinker, however, would recognize that a repeat customer is not necessarily a loyal one – and if a competitor emerges with a stronger experience, an annoyed customer will bolt in a heartbeat).
Others, however, are not as tolerant. Over the past few months, I have personally witnessedseveralcustomers declare frustration with a particular staff member’s attitude and etiquette. One made it clear he was not going to return, and another left in the middle of his transaction. Considering the low-key nature of the typical Subway experience, such hostile, aggressive reactions register as especially damning.
What drives such hostile damnation? The staff member in question never smiles or says hello when initiating the order process. Neither his tone nor his demeanor reflects even the slightest hint of warmth. He neither makes eye contact nor gives any indication that he cares about the details of the customer’s order. When asked to explain ongoing promotions, he often sighs before making a half-hearted effort to clarify. Once he begins constructing the sandwich, he typically ignores the customer until he feels he requires additional information.
As a result, the employee is exceedingly prone to errors. He is a frequent source of customer frustration.
And, worse, insofar as he demonstrates no appreciation for the customer, his reaction to mistakes and complaints is one of apathy rather than empathy. Instead of overcompensating for his misstep in order to keep the customer satisfied, he creates more dissatisfaction by adhering to his style of underperformance.
When the aforementioned customer, frustrated by how many times his question about a sandwich seemed to be falling on deaf ears, began to leave the restaurant, the employee did not apologize or make any attempt to win back the customer’s trust. He just stared blankly. His job, in his mind, is to robotically prepare sandwiches. If that works for the customer, great. If not, then Subway—at least when he is on staff—is not the place for that customer to get food.
The employee’s performance is not simply unacceptable against the “Zappos standard.” It is also incompatible with the Subway experience. While deep conversation and creative service techniques might not be relevant to the average Subway transaction, efficiency, accuracy and comfort absolutely are. A customer wants to move quickly through the line, offer his order and pay without hassle, frustration or significant effort.
By positioning himself to make mistakes and offering none of the assistance or warmth needed to minimize the customer’s burden, the employee fails at even providing a stellar transactional experience.
Frustrating in its own bubble, the apathetic approach to customer management comes across particularly poorly when compared to the service offered by the similarly structured Chipotle.
Doubling the Satisfaction
While I only visit my nearby Chipotle location once every two or three weeks, I am amazed at how many staff members seem to recognize me and anticipate my order. They do not attempt to construct the entire order without my assistance, but they do know that I typically want a burrito bowl with brown rice and double meat.
The employees smile, joke and demonstrate kindness even though they are serving a line significantly longer than that at Subway. Whereas I have never seen more than three people waiting for a sandwich at the local Subway, I have never seen less than fifteen in line for a burrito at Chipotle.
Their affability does not come at the expense of efficiency – they do not create unnecessary bottlenecks by overly chatting with customers – but it does come with the reward of an enjoyable experience. By showing an actual interest in customers, the employees rarely make mistakes. When they do, they are always pre-emptive in their effort to make the corrections. They do not stare blankly and accusingly the way the Subway employee does.
For the Chipotle customer demanding accuracy, efficiency, consistency and affability—which are demands common to the quick service restaurant patron—this particular location delivers without fail.
And beyond working to get the order right, the Chipotle staff impressively demonstrates awareness of the sentiment within its environment. It does not simply want to be right; it wants to be best.
This past Friday, I found myself underwhelmed by the quantity of meat included in my “double meat” bowl. While the employee technically did place the standard two spoonfuls of meat into the bowl, she seemed to be putting about one-and-a-half spoonfuls into the regular portion bowls. Since the extra fee should entitle me to double what the average customer is receiving, I admittedly felt a bit cheated.
I had no plans of complaining, but when the employee wrapping the bowl (and instructing the cashier on how much to charge) asked if it was double meat, my face and passive aggressive tone clearly reflected my disappointment. “Yeah…apparently,” I responded.
While the Subway employee made no effort to quell the frustration of a customer who declared his intent to leave, the Chipotle employee immediately sensed my disappointment. She looked down at the bowl, looked back at me and declared, “Nope. This is single.” She knew very well that it was a double meat bowl, but she knew that the customer’s sentiment was paramount.
Through that welcome gesture, the Chipotle employee proves the level of nuance that exists within even the most transactional customer experiences. She did not attempt to deliver Zappos’ happiness or create Disney’s magic. She did not ask about my pets or loop me into a conversation about my hopes and dreams.
She, instead, recognized the type of experience I demanded—a fast, accurate, fair, pleasing and hassle-free one—and went the extra mile to assure her organization delivers as well as it possibly could.
The Meaning of Customer Centricity
The opening line of this piece notes that the “Zappos experience” is not appropriate for many customer interactions. While that statement is accurate, it can be subject to inaccurate interpretation.
That a fast food customer is not looking to be “wowed” by the level of creativity or intimacy of his experience does not mean he desires an inferior experience. It does not mean he will tolerate an apathetic, inadequate, insincere breed of service.
It simply means that the experience elements he values when in line for a quick sandwich differ from those he values when attempting to return an online purchase, planning a trip to an amusement park or booking a fancy hotel room. A customer-centric organization does everything in its power to deliver the elements that customer values.
In the case of my local Subway, the organization’s apathy is preventing it from delivering the transactional experience demanded by most customers.
By maintaining complete awareness of its customers’ needs and sentiments, Chipotle assures it is optimizing its admittedly rote ordering process. That is customer-centricity.
