Probably Brilliant

I wrote this back in August to the manager of the local BD’s Mongolian:

I just wanted to pass you a note about a great experience we had at your restaurant tonight. Not that we’ve ever had a bad night; the servers are always helpful, the grillers are always spot on, and the ingredients are always top quality. But I did want to give special commendation to the clown that was in the house tonight. He was out on the floor when we first got there, but after we had gotten our bowls, we couldn’t find him. Turns out he was already done for the night. My 7-year-old asked the waitress if he was still around, and she said she would check. Sure enough, even though he was off duty and out of costume, he came by to make my girl a balloon animal and give her some stickers. She was overjoyed.

I know he’s not technically your employee, but he really went that extra step to bring a little extra sparkle to my daughter’s night.

I never got an e-mail back, I just assumed that the account never gets checked or anything.

Last night, we were there, and the clown was there again, making the rounds. He stopped when he saw my daughter, and asked if he knew her. We mentioned that he came out to make her a balloon animal after he was finished with his shift. He lit up: “YOU WROTE THE LETTER! They had that hanging up in the back for months!”

He then mentioned that he was initially signed on to work there for three weeks, but the letter was a big part in keeping him around much, much longer.

Don’t just reach out when you get shitty service. Reach out when you get good service.