l. While the food was good, the noise was deafening. Itwasn't from the kitchen, it wasn't the acoustics, it was Albertothe Mandolin player. Turns out the owner is a relative. He was astrolling and serenading Mandolin player. All conversationsceased when he was nearby. Since it was a small restaurant - hewas nearby a lot.Just before the server brought the check the owner came to ourtable and asked about our dinner. We said the dinner wasterrific but the music made it all but impossible to have aconversation. She told us that Alberto was a cousin and afixture at the restaurant on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. He may be a fixture - but we won't be going back. I wonder howmany other customers feel the same way. I also wonder if she hasever done the math on the lifetime value of a customer -probably not.The customer is king.Last week I was getting my haircut at a plac...

...e called YellowStrawberry. Desmond, who is the owner, cut my hair for thesecond time. He did a good job the first time so I went back. Healso has a delightful English accent. We traded restaurantstories and he told me this one . . .A friend in San Francisco went to dinner with a group thattotaled eight people. After they were seated, they waited morethan 20 minutes for anyone to come to their table. It was downhill from that point on. Service was slow - extremely slow.According to Desmond's friend half the meals had to be sent backto the kitchen for a variety of reasons.This is a long story made short. When the bill came Desmond'sfriend asked to speak to the owner. They reviewed everythingwith the owner and asked for a break on the bill consideringwhat they had been through. To make matters worse, because itwas a group of eight, the restaurant automatically added a 18%gratuity.The owner conceded there were some problems and yet wouldn't cutthem any slack on the tab. As the group was leaving, the ownergave Desmond's friend a $200 gift certificate for dinner at therestaurant. The group had no plans of ever going back. Desmond'sfriend, spotted a homeless person as they walked backed to theircars. He gave the person the certificate and suggested he takesome of his buddies out to eat at the restaurant around thecorner.The customer is king.One more dining experience and this was a good one. Three timesa year I meet with 8 of my speaking friends at the DoubleTreeHotel near Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Attached to the hotel isGibson's Restaurant - a fine place if ever I've been to one.We make it an evening and it's usually impossible for us toleave without spending $100 per person. Bill Lee, a member ofour group, was celebrating his birthday. We arranged for ourwaiter and other servers, to bring a small cake, and to singtheir version of Happy Birthday to Bill. Later, when the check came, it amounted to the usual $100 perperson. Our server looked at us and said, "I took care of theBirthday Cake for you." It was a small thing that had a bigimpact - it actually made me smile.The customer is King.A friend of mine is also a professional speaker. He sells lotsof books and CD's. About three weeks ago a sales rep ordered oneof his books. Two weeks later he called and said he neverreceived the book. My friend said he would take care of it. Hesent him another copy of the book plus an additional CD and gavehim a 100% credit for his inconvenience.He remembered the customer is King. He also remembered what thelifetime value of a good customer is. How are you at taking care of the "Little things" for yourcustomers?I guess it's all about the little things. Probably, it's alsothe reason why so many of you wanted to get your hands on my newCD, "75 Little Things You Can Do To Grow Your Business And BoostYour Income."http://www.meisenheimer.com/products/75thingscd.htm Let's go out and sell something . . .Jim Meisenheimer...