Thursday, October 27, 2011

Imo's, Good Pizza and Good Business

About a month ago I complained about getting "Ripped Off by J.C. Penney" after an incident at a local Penney's store. Since then I've received several coupons in the mail --- one if I spend $10 they will take $10 off my bill. Although that $10 coupon was very tempting, I haven't budged. Instead I've been shopping at Kohl's.

Today I want to share a story of a situation where Imo's, a local chain restaurant, took an opposite approach when one of its employees made a mistake.

A couple weeks ago, after one of my granddaughter's soccer games, my family stopped to grab lunch at a local pizzeria. Imo's pizza is a local brand known for its thin crust as a "square beyond compare."  For lunch, the grandkiddos (and granddaughter's boyfriend) ordered pizzas, 20 hot wings, and sodas. I opted for pasta and salad.  The tab came to $44 plus change.

I put the order on my credit card and we all headed for a table. While I ate my salad, the cashier came out and told me he had charged me for 30 wings rather than 20 and asked me to sign a new credit slip, which came to about $38. As I signed the second charge slip, he insured me the first charge would be voided.

A couple days later when my husband was checking my credit card charges on line he noticed both charges appeared on my card. My pizza/chicken wing/pasta/salad lunch bill was now over $80. Yikes!

"Get me that receipt," he said, "and I'll take care of it."

After I dug the receipt out of my cavernous purse, hubby called the restaurant and explained the situation. The manager apologized and promised to take care of it right away.

Two days later hubby checked again and both charges were still there. He called the restaurant again. By that time it was too late for the restaurant to adjust the charge and he suggested hubby call the main office, which he did. Because it was too late for even the main office to remove the charge, the supervisor there gave the option of getting a credit at the restaurant that made the mistake or receiving a check for the $44 plus change. Hubby opted for the check.

A few days later a check arrived in the mail, along with a written apology and a gift card for $20.

So, while the Imo's restaurant made a mistake, they corrected it right away. They not only refunded our overcharge, but also sent a gift card and an apology.

Now, that's the way to do business and keep customers coming back--and their pizza really is a "square beyond compare."

15 comments:

  1. My husband says that everyone - stores, companies, etc. - makes mistakes but it's how those mistakes are handled/corrected that counts. :)

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  2. Hi Madeline,
    I agree with your husband.
    Donna

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  3. What Madeline said. ;-) Honestly, sometimes a sincere apology is all it takes to turn a "I'll never step foot in this store again" to an "That's okay, we all make mistakes."

    Glad you got an apology this time around!

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  4. Hey Cathy,
    Thanks, and you are right about feeling better after getting an apology.
    The gift card was a nice touch, too.
    Donna

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  5. What a fiasco, but they made good on their mistake and you will be back. I knew the original "IMO". When we were teens we used to buy pepperoni pizzas from his store front in South city when he was starting out.

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  6. Imo's sounds on top of how to make good customers great customers.

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  7. Was so glad to hear this. I've noticed a trend against apologizing lately. People seem to think it's a sign of weakness. We love Imo's pizza. Glad to hear they're honest, too.

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  8. Hi Linda,
    That's great, Linda. Now Imo's is a St. Louis favorite with restaurants all over the place.

    Hi Carol,
    You are so right.

    Hi Tammy,
    Thanks for dropping by. Good pizza and honest business practices. That's how it should be.

    Donna

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  9. I'm glad your Imo's experience was a better one than Penney's. I love Imo's. Never heard "Square beyond compare" love that.

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  10. Imo's also is community-minded. Mary Imo always serves as an event sponsor at Love a Golden's trivia night.

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  11. Hi Lynn,
    Thanks. I'm happy too.

    Hi Sioux,
    That is good to hear. It doesn't surprise me; the leader sets the tone for the organization, and apparantely Imo's is interested in community as well as business.

    Donna

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  12. Glad that your shopping and dining experiences had a bit of a silver lining. A silver thread is sometimes all we need.

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  13. Hi Clara,
    Thanks, and you are right about that silver thread being something we need.
    Donna

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  14. Amazing what an apology will mend. Good advice to keep on hand.

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