Uncovering Culture as the Key Element to Great Customer Experiences
By David Angers | August 12, 2023
In the realm of corporate narratives, buzzwords like "strategy," "innovation," and "disruption" take center stage. Through the noise, it’s easy to overlook the unsung hero that is the true driver of success – a strong business culture. While strategies are important to plot the course for a small businesses, it’s the underlying culture that breathes life into these endeavors, giving them meaning, authenticity, and purpose.
Recently, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how a broken culture can lead to detrimental results. Little did I know that an ordinary brunch on a brisk afternoon would evolve into an example that highlighted not only the importance of a good culture but the blind spots that make it so difficult to spot in one’s own small organization.
A Chilly Lesson in Warmth and Culture
The experience started like any other culinary outing. However, what transpired over the next couple of hours transformed this experience into an inadvertent case study on the significance of a business's inner fabric – its culture.
My companion and I had arrived at a bustling local eatery with the purpose of having a nice, cozy brunch on their “heated” outdoor patio. We were greeted by an unprepared table with a single place setting despite being a party of two. No big deal, we thought, but things got worse from there.
We immediately noticed that our table wasn’t located adjacent to any of the working heaters. Our server, who arrived with ice cold water, was oblivious to the fact that my brunch mate’s posture was a clear attempt to conserve body heat. I asked him to turn on the closest heater. He turned the knob until it made a clicking noise and left. It was clear that the heater didn’t turn on and the server didn’t bother to check. It was obvious that providing a habitable environment to guests wasn’t part of his job description.
My brunch mate attempted to order a hot tea when the server came back around to which he answered that they were out of her fairly mainstream tea choices. Considering the shelf life of a tea bag is about a year, the restaurant clearly didn’t have a good grasp on their inventory controls. Instead of offering another suggestion for a warm drink, he stood there silently and awkwardly waiting for her to decide what to do next. I took the opportunity to inform the server that the first attempt to ignite the nearby heater didn’t work. He rolled another heater over, repeated the ignition steps, and walked away. Unfortunately, this second attempt was also a failure as this heater also didn’t work.
Frustrated, I asked the hostess to be seated inside since it was uncomfortable on the outdoor patio. Instead of showing a little empathy for our predicament, the hostess responded with an eye roll and a response that all the tables inside were reserved and that she would ask someone to move a heater closer. I asked to speak to the manager and was told he wasn't available.
Fortunately, I caught the eye of a busboy who I assisted with changing out a propane tank. Finally, some warmth, but thirty minutes into our ordeal and we still didn’t have our food or drinks. Throughout the process, my date and I both noticed the long faces and dull look in the eyes of the staff all moving at a frantic pace. We realized, it wasn’t the heaters that were broken, it was the culture.
Steering Culture in the Right Direction
What unfolded during our brunch wasn’t just a series of mishaps – it was a vivid illustration of a culture’s power. Functionally, the restaurant was sound. It had food, supplies, and employees moving about, but the absence of a common purpose with management leading the charge was obvious. Each of the staff had their own agendas and customers sitting at tables were nothing more than obstacles to dodge. The staff moved like individual actors on a stage, navigating around patrons rather than immersing themselves in the art of hospitality. They were there to simply complete tasks rather than create an experience for their customers.
While this example is specific to the food service industry, the lessons learned extend far beyond the realm of dining. An article titled “The Culture Factor” by the Harvard Business Review, provides additional clarity on the difference between culture and strategy. Too often, business leaders prefer to spend their time managing strategy. The challenge is that strategy is nothing more than the formal logic for accomplishing the company’s goals. Culture, on the other hand, is an expression of values and beliefs which guides how the company executes its strategy. Essentially, strategy sets the course while culture steers its execution. Culture often becomes an afterthought because it is more difficult to define and control since it's anchored in unspoken behaviors, mindsets, and social patterns.
The lesson is clear – a thriving small business culture is not an accessory but a cornerstone. It's the invisible thread that stitches diverse departments and tasks into a cohesive whole. It's the catalyst that transforms a mundane customer interaction into a memorable experience. The soul of a business should embody a commitment to guest satisfaction and employee engagement, recognizing that culture shapes actions just as much as strategies guide decisions.
A wholesome small business culture is one in which employees are wired to recognize and respond to it in spite of its subliminal nature, and without the need for constant policing by management. It is effective at orchestrating employee decisions and behaviors in a way that reliably serves the primary stakeholder; a guy and his date that want to go out for brunch. The inconvenient truth for business leaders is that, while poor culture can be difficult to spot from within the organization, consumers can spot it from the parking lot.
