A New Restaurant

While visiting with family over the Christmas holiday, I got into a discussion with my sister in-law about an online purchase that was made.  The online ad stated that shipping would cost $29.95, but when she got her actual bill the shipping charge was $39.95.  She had contacted the company and they were arguing with her, stating that they did not offer shipping at the lower rate (even though she sent them a copy of their ad that listed the lower rate).

When she first started telling me about the site and the purchase she had made, I was interested in checking it out.  There were some things I was looking at buying, and I thought this might be a great place to start my search.  After hearing about the debate over shipping charges I’ve decided not to use this site.

What’s the lesson here?  By arguing with a customer over a charge that is a approximately 3% of the total order, this company has lost a potential $500 sale from a customer that heard about the incident.

This isn’t about standing up to a customer that has been a pain in the neck every time they walk into your restaurant.  This is about overcharging a customer, then refusing to correct the mistake.

If you decided to change your menu pricing, but you missed changing the price on your “Specials” sign, which price would you charge your customers?  Would you charge the higher menu price even though a lower price was clearly displayed elsewhere?  You cold do that, but how many customers would you be willing to lose in the process?