A few weeks ago, my family and I drove over 6,000 miles across the United States. We traveled from town to town and city to city, struck by the beauty that surrounded us. We charged through brilliant lightning storms and raucous thunder. We dodged animals on the highway and tried not to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Buckets of water fell from the sky as we drove through ominous storm fronts. But one of the most important decisions we had to make over the course of our 6,000 mile journey was… of course which restaurants we would stop to eat at.
When you’re on the road, you generally have no idea where to eat. You feel out of place and maybe even a little anxious about the food options you have to choose from. So we’ll never forget the experience we had as we pulled into the city of Mentor Ohio. Hungry, tired, and looking for food, we noticed a Chipotle and figured it was familiar to us. So we parked and started to walk inside. But just next door, we noticed a BBQ restaurant with a name we didn’t recognize. The smell of classic BBQ was enough to get us to stop and consider trying something new. So we redirected and moved toward Mission BBQ, a place we would later learn was popular in the midwest region of the country.
When we walked to the door, we passed by a parking spot that was the very closest to the door. It said “Reserved Veteran Parking.”
In a world where veterans give much and get little, it sets the tone for what they’re all about before you even get inside. When the front door opens, you’ll notice almost every square inch of wall space covered in memorabilia. Every branch of the military is represented. Fallen soldiers, patriots, servicemen and servicewomen… the place surrounds you with heros. There is wisdom on the walls every way you turn. If you’re there at noon, everyone in the restaurant will stop what they’re doing, stand, and sing the national anthem.
It’s one thing to have a mission and create a journey around the things you care about as a company, but it’s another thing to back it up with unreasonable hospitality. As we stepped to the counter to order our food, it wasn’t a painful process as it so often is at these types of places. Normally, you place your order from a disinterested, almost catatonic human, devoid of a smile, or any other emotion at all for that matter. Then they turn the credit card machine around and stare at you with callous judgement in their eyes as the screen gives you 3 options: 20%, 25%, or 30%. (It used to be 10%, 15% or 20%) You sheepishly pick the one in the middle in shame as the fear of someone spitting in your food convinces you to press the button and forget about it. But this didn’t happen when we ordered our BBQ this time. As I waited for the “awkward tipping scenario” to play out, to my surprise, the cashier smiled, gave me my drink cups, a receipt, and a smile. That was it.
When we sat down, we looked around at all the meaningful memorabilia and before we knew it, our food was ready. It wasn’t long before the woman who took our order was out walking around the dining floor so we decided to ask her a few questions about the place. With excitement in her voice, she exclaimed, “Is this your first time visiting us?” We replied with the same enthusiasm that yes indeed it was our first time there. Almost instantaneously she began to tell us about the history and mission of the place, and then with a smile, she said she’d be right back. A couple minutes later she’s walking through the dining room holding a tray with 4 delicious chocolate chip cookies and four gift certificates for a free sandwich the next time we came in or visited any of their other locations. I could tell that this was the way these people were trained. To give. To serve. To not nickel and dime. To look for opportunities to do small things. To surprise and delight.
As we finished our food and gobbled up our complimentary cookies, the woman returned with one of her coworkers who had just started working there a few months prior to our visit.
As we began talking, it was evident how much both of them enjoyed working there. We told these two women how grateful we were for their kindness to us. We told them that eating there was one of the highlights of our trip and that their goodness and willingness to go above and beyond inspired us to be better.
Maddie, the woman on the right began to cry, and through her tears, she said: “This just made my whole week. Being able to feel appreciated and knowing that the work we did here matters.”
If you read this… it mattered to us, Maddie.
The woman on the left, Amber, who initially served us said, “I’ve only been here for about a year, but I feel like I’ve grown here more than anywhere else.” How many companies actually have their people say that about their organization without pressure or coercion and totally unprompted?
What we experienced at Mission BBQ was unique. It was a journey and an experience that we would never forget. It became part of my family’s adventure across the United States. A byproduct of a defined mission, vision, and core values and it was evident that this organization was having a positive impact on its people and on the community.
Was it a fluke? Was it a one off experience with this brand? Did we just catch a couple of employees on a good day? We wanted to find out. And we also wanted to eat there again! So we asked Amber and Maddie if there were any other locations that might be close to where we were going.
Our next stop was in Illinois, and we were happy to go out of our way to head into Peoria to visit that Mission BBQ location. And wouldn’t you know, we had the exact same experience. This time, we interacted with the store manager. Upon finding out that we were traveling through and that it was our first time at his store, he surprised us with some banana cream pie and some more gift certificates.
“If you’re heading up north, take these certificates with you and visit the Davenport Iowa location! Tell them I said hello!” We never made it to Davenport, but I’m almost certain that we would have had the same experience.
I can’t comprehend how it is that so many companies fail to understand how important it is to create these types of experiences. There is power in moments. We became loyal to this brand after just one visit. And word of mouth will follow.
