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- Peter Drucker, (1909-2005) Writer, Management Consultant, University Professor

I recently had an experience with a local restaurant that demonstrates the power, or lack thereof, of good customer service.

My husband, Bill, and I enjoy going out for dinner on a regular basis. Since we live in a small town, the number of restaurant options is limited, unless we drive out of the area. On this particular evening, we decided to "shop local" and patronize a restaurant close to our home.

Having dined at this restaurant in the past, we knew that the chef tends to use unusual spices. I made my selection, but made sure to ask about any spices used that were not listed on the menu. The waitress checked with the chef and sure enough he added spices to the pork loin I selected that were not on the menu. I took what I thought was the safe route and ordered a plain old hamburger.

Bill ordered a pasta dish, assuming all of the ingredients were listed on the menu. This was a wrong assumption . . . When the pasta was served he discovered it had been made with unidentified spices that were offensive to him. After a few bites, he gave up and informed the waitress he could not eat the meal. She immediately asked what he wanted instead. This sounded like good customer service, and what we expected. Bill decided to play it safe and also ordered a plain old hamburger.

A few minutes later the waitress came back and asked us if the pasta dish was OK, in other words did he just not like it, or was it "bad". Bill replied that it didn't appear to be contaminated or spoiled -- he just didn't like the taste of the dish. The waitress then informed us that the chef would make Bill a hamburger, but he would also be charged for the pasta dish.

Needless to say, we were appalled. We informed the waitress that we would never patronize the restaurant again, and we would tell everyone we knew about their "customer service" policy. We then ate half of our plain old hamburger, which had also been cooked in some strange unidentified spices, paid our $50 bill, and left as quickly as possible -- never to return.

In the spirit of creating a customer focused, soul-based business this restaurant owner could have:

1. Shown his concern about his customers by talking to us personally to find out exactly what we did not like about the food.

2. Talked to us about what he could have done differently to avoid this situation in the future.

3. Expressed his point of view in a way that would not leave us wanting to tell the world about our bad experience at his establishment.

In spite of the irritation and frustration we felt, for our own peace of mind we needed to look at this situation from a different perspective -- a higher point of view. When you're living your life and building a business from a caring and soul-based perspective, as we strive to do, you step back and look at the situation exactly as it is -- from all points of view.

Here was a restaurant owner in a small town trying to make a living in a very seasonal environment. Then along comes a customer, like us, who doesn't care for the taste of the chef's creative cuisine. Add to that the difficulty in making a living and the long hours required to run a restaurant, and his unwillingness to give us a new meal for free becomes a little more understandable -- maybe not the wisest choice, but understandable.

I feel most successful, and at peace, when I treat my customers as I want to be treated. I also know that my reputation in the community can make or break my business, so I choose to operate my business from a soul-based perspective - from the values that are most important in my life.

When you begin operating your business based not only on what would appear to be best financially or on what society says you should do, but on what feels right in your soul, you will discover the secret to creating a soul-based business and providing customer service extraordinaire.