I spent the morning driving around, dropping off award certificates. One of our clients is the review site CNYDining.com , and they asked us to create and deliver award certificates to the last several places to which they'd given 4 star or better reviews. So, loaded up with the freshly printed awards, I made my rounds of the city of Syracuse.
I realize that it's the Friday before the holiday that officially kicks off the summer season, but every place I stopped – except one – had the second string on today. My first stop was a donut shop that's only open early in the morning. A part-timer was on, and she thought the award was cool, and put it aside for the owner. Things went. . . well, not exactly down hill from there, but things started to get skewed. I visited a place that didn't open 'til noon, and scooted off again. The next guy just shrugged and smiled. The following restaurant was the one where the manager was still on duty. However, she looked like I was presenting her with a bill. I explained what it was, and she cheered right up.
Next, I visited another restaurant that wasn't open for lunch. The guy mopping the floor seemed to think I was there to shoot the place up, as he ducked and scuttled to the other side of the room. The hostess didn't quite know what to make of the certificate, but promised to pass it along to the owners, and backed away from me. I'm not the most handsome fellow, I know, but apparently they're used to hit men showing up in the middle of the day. Yeesh!
The next place had gotten a glowing review, so I decided to have lunch there as well. "What do you want me to do with this?" sniffed the hostess, holding the certificate like it was a dead rat. Wow – so much for "great hospitality." At least the lunch was decent.
I made it back around to the place that was closed before noon. The woman took the certificate, thanked me, and then shrugged. Talk about a let-down. I had originally planned to take my camera with me, and offer to get a pic at each place presenting the certificate. Great PR for each place getting an award, and great PR for my client and her review site. But I didn't take it, and now the restaurants – those that even know they got a certificate – will never know the difference anyway.
But don't let this sad, sad story put you off! You need to thank the people you do business with, and do it publicly. Help make them the hero of the story you write. They will appreciate it, and hopefully send more and better business your way!