All too often (especially in retail) managers look at short term figures at the expense of the long term. This is often due to the culture of driving sales and comparing weekly figures.
I went for a meal at Cragrats Brasserie recently. The food is great, as is the service. The surroundings are also pleasant. When it was time to pay the bill, my friend wanted to use a £30 gift voucher that he'd received as a birthday present. We asked to use it and the waitress took it to be processed at the till.
Five minutes later the (very apologetic) assistant manager came to explain that, because the brasserie had recently gone in to administration and set up under new management, the new owner (Jonathan) said he couldn't accept the voucher. However, Jonathan said he would honour 50% of the voucher as a goodwill gesture. My friend asked to speak to Jonathan. Jonathan wasn't at the restaurant, he was somewhere else but was available on the phone.
My friend spoke to Jonathan. Jonathan started explaining how he could claim the other 50% of the voucher from the administrators etc etc.
In the end, we paid and got £15 off a £100 meal.
The moral of the story is this. Jonathan valued us at £15 - he wasn't willing to pay any more to keep us happy. There were four people in the party, so he valued each of us at £3.75 despite the fact that the average amount we spend when we go there is £30 each. We would also have continued to spend that amount and spread the good word to our friends. Now I am spreading the bad word and will never go again. But Jonathan didn't see that far ahead.
