Who doesn’t like the occasional Cheeky Nando’s once in a while?
The office team collectively decided that we would treat ourselves to Nando’s takeaway service for lunch, after a particularly busy week at work. A tad more expensive than the usual grabs at Sainsbury’s on a Friday but what the heck! It was something different and we thought that we deserved some employee happiness.
We all put cash into the kitty and off I went with a colleague to pick up our grub
The restaurant was very popular on this Friday afternoon. Employees were busily pacing back and forth; queues meandered around counters, and many a marinated chicken meal was served. Understandably we waited for service as it was very busy. After 20 minutes, we were served and told to take a seat, as our food would be brought over to us.
We were given our bags and informed ‘Not to worry as everything was in there’… so we didn’t check inside at this point but took the staff member’s word for it and headed back to the office to appease our hunger pangs.
Plates, sauces & cutlery were sorted out back at the office; the food smelt divine.
However, it appeared that they hadn’t included most of my meal. I had paid the sum of £10 for chips and some garlic bread, which was on the stale side…Thank heavens for my colleague Caroline, who gave me a couple of chicken wings to curb my stomach growling.
Contacting Nando’s
I contacted Nando’s (soon afterward eating my lunch) both on their Twitter feed and Contact Us form, not really expecting a reply.
Fast forward a few days later and a voice-mail appeared on my phone from Jane who was eager to speak to me about my complaint and how she could remedy it. At this point, I had actually forgotten about it and to be honest, wasn’t bothered about taking any further action.
The customer service wouldn’t have put me off Nando’s in the future. As far as I was concerned, I was still a customer – they’d made an effort to contact me and I was happy with that.
A Customer Service Letter from Nando’s
After a few weeks, as I got home and grabbed the post, I saw a letter from Nando’s and half expected it to be a standard complaint ‘closed’ letter.
I was surprised to read something else…
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for taking the time to get in contact. I shared your feedback with the Area Managing Director and the Management team at the Redditch restaurant.
Our Manager Jane has been eager to get in contact to personally apologise for the service that you received when you visited them but she has been unsuccessful.
Jane and the team send their heartfelt apologies and assure you that they have put steps in place to make sure that what happened to you does not happen again in the future.
As a gesture of goodwill they would like to invite you back to the restaurant for a complimentary meal using the chicken cheque voucher that I have attached to the letter ( it is valid for six months and can be redeemed at any of our Nando’s restaurants)
We hope that this is PERifect news for you and that we shall see you join us again soon.
Yours Sincerely,
Mayamiko Mamba
Customer experience
Instead, I received an apology letter and a ‘Chicken Cheque’ for me to redeem within six months. This amounted to more than I had ordered in the first place!
‘Going the extra mile’
What impressed me the most was that Nando’s had not only taken the time to try and contact me in the first instance, but when I hadn’t returned their calls – they persevered and went the extra mile.
They’d written to my home address, acknowledged the problem, empathised and resolved the issue – all whilst thanking me and inviting me back as a customer.
This is a nice example of memorable customer service and has been my personal tiger bread customer service moment! I’m really looking forward to cashing in my ‘Chicken Cheque’.
By the way, on the website they have a comprehensive frequently asked questions section. Here’s just one of the questions – I Got Back Home And I’m Not Happy With My Order/I’m Missing Items, What Shall I Do?