September 23, 2025 • 12 mins
What happens when a loyal, almost-daily customer walks away from their favorite spot for good? In this episode of Holly's Highlights podcast, we dive into a real-life story of how one soda shop lost a guest in just 10 days - and the powerful business lessons you can learn from their mistakes.
Discover the hidden costs of poor customer service, the data behind why guest experience matters, and the simple yet overlooked strategies that can turn casual buyers into loyal fans. From staff training to guest hospitality, honoring promotions, and empowering employees—you’ll hear practical steps that can transform your business culture and customer retention rates.
You’ll also hear wisdom from leaders like Jeff Bezos, Maya Angelou, and Harvard Business Review, plus actionable insights you can apply today to keep customers coming back and raving about your business.
Whether you’re a business owner, team leader, or simply passionate about customer experience, this episode will inspire you to serve with excellence, create unforgettable guest journeys, and avoid the costly pitfalls that push customers away.
Listen in and learn how to:
- Improve customer retention with simple strategies
- Train and empower employees to solve problems fast
- Deliver consistent, memorable guest experiences
- Turn negative interactions into opportunities for loyalty
- Build a reputation that grows your business organically
Because in today’s competitive world, every interaction counts—and the way you treat people becomes your legacy.
Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hi, friend, welcome to Holly's Highlights, a podcast
designed to encourage, inspireand equip you to intentionally
live your life full of purpose.
I'm your host, holly Kirby,motivational speaker, leadership
cultivator, marketingstrategist and personal
cheerleader.
Let's check out today'shighlights.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Do you want an afternoon out with some
self-care and some exciting swagbags?
Well, my name's Camille Bauerand I own Spavia Sandy Day Spa
and I would love to invite youto our open house Saturday,
september 27th, from 10 am to 2pm.
Grab a girlfriend, come on downand check out our complimentary
(00:43):
chair massages, mini facialsand our swag bags for the first
50 guests.
We can't wait to see you andgive you an open house of our
amazing day spa.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Hello, my friends.
So today's episode is based ona very real story that turned me
from a loyal, almost dailycustomer, I'm almost ashamed to
say into someone who doesn'teven glance at that shop anymore
.
See, I used to have a favoritesoda shop.
As one who has never drank,I've shared about the soda shop
often on my social media, asI've often been given a hard
(01:19):
time in fun, of course, fromfriends and family and
co-workers that if I need astiff drink they notify me here
getting my favorite sodaconcoction.
I know I'm really living lifeon the edge.
Well, for whatever reason, Ididn't really ever branch out
and even try other soda shops.
This one place was just mygo-to spot from the get-go, the
(01:40):
place where I pulled up, andthey not only knew my name but
they even knew my order.
This place felt like a littletreat for me, a simple
indulgence and often my vice tojust power through.
But then things changed.
Let's call it day one.
Through three, I noticed aturnover in staff and suddenly
(02:01):
the drinks were well, they werejust bad, not just off, but
truly undrinkable.
Training clearly wasn'thappening.
Now I'm both a loyal person andone who extends grace quickly,
so I went back for day four andday five, and that's when I
noticed the vibe had shifted.
A guy outside taking someorders looked annoyed just to
see me.
(02:21):
No smile, no welcome.
Just what do you want?
That's a pretty quick way tomake a guest feel like a burden,
not a valued customer.
Day six they announced a specialpromotion day, so me and my
kids showed up, but the cityshut down the event because of
poor planning.
The company promised a freedrink coupon via text, so I did
(02:43):
get that text, but it didn'thave a code with it.
Well, I went to the soda shopand when I asked about it, the
employee shrugged and just saidyeah, corporate does that all
the time.
Where they do a promotion, theydon't let us know about it, or
the code doesn't work, or theydon't send a code.
That was it.
There was no solution.
Now I was longing for things toresume to normal.
So day seven through nine, yeah, I went back.
(03:06):
Another promotion, this timefrom a ball game.
It was promoted to visit thesoda shop with a certain code
for a free drink, and I tried italong with ordering other
drinks, so just getting the onefor free.
It didn't work.
Again, the shop refused tohonor it.
At this point, I felt I wasbeing treated almost as if I was
a bad guy or even a con artist.
(03:27):
So day 10, that was it.
I was done.
After all those frustrations, Iwent from loyal regular to
completely gone.
They even sent me differentsurveys via text.
When I would respond back.
They would just respond back oh, I'm so glad to hear of your
experience.
Wait, what You're glad to hear.
I had a horrible time andyou're not even going to do
(03:47):
anything about it.
Here's the kicker, though.
When my son asked me yesterdayso how many times have you been
there this week, mom?
I was actually, for the firsttime in a very long time, able
to respond with a big fat zero.
Now let's talk about why I'meven sharing this.
Well, experiences like this arebusiness killers.
(04:09):
According to pwccom, 32% ofcustomers will stop doing
business with a brand that theylove after just one bad
experience.
A study by Zendesk found that50% of customers will switch to
a competitor after multiple badexperiences.
And then, of course, harvardBusiness Review reports that
increasing customer retentionrates by just 5% can actually
(04:33):
increase profits by 25 to 95%.
That's huge.
That means every littleinteraction matters, especially
in industries with lots ofcompetition, people can and will
take their business elsewhere.
I've always tried to teach myteams that the guest you're
helping is why you even have apaycheck.
(04:54):
That's a gift, so treat them assuch.
Founder of Amazon, jeff Bezos.
He once said we see ourcustomers as invited guests to a
party and we're the hosts.
It's our job every day to makeevery important aspect of the
customer experience a little bitbetter, and you've heard me
share time and time againsomething Maya Angelou reminds
(05:16):
us of, and that is people willforget what you said, people
will forget what you did, peoplewill forget what you did, but
people will never forget how youmade them feel.
Now, this soda shop didn't loseme because of one mistake.
They lost me because theyconsistently failed at the
fundamentals, which are making agood product, treating guests
(05:38):
with respect, honoring promisesand solving problems.
So what can businesses do toavoid this?
What can you do, whether youown a business, whether you're a
part of a business, what can wetangibly do to avoid this?
Well, here's a few quicktakeaways.
Let's look at five of themactually.
(05:58):
First one invest in training.
Staff turnover is inevitable.
I get it.
I'm a part of our recruitingand training and onboarding
process, but training ensuresconsistency.
A well-trained employee canmake or break that guest
experience.
Isn't that worth investing in?
(06:18):
Number two hire for hospitality,not just task skills.
A smile, eye contact, genuinecare those matter just as much
as how fast someone can take anorder.
Don't underestimate those softskills.
Sometimes businesses can focustoo much on compensating for
operational excellence and notenough for those unteachable
(06:42):
personal attributes that cantruly win over a guest, not to
mention retain them and evenattract new ones.
So hire and compensateaccordingly for those
hospitality skills.
Number three communicate withyour team.
If you're offering a specialpromotion, test the system
(07:06):
before launching it.
That makes sense, but forPete's sake, communicate it to
your team.
Don't leave staff and customersconfused.
Educating your team of what isgoing on is just one way to set
them up for success in theirroles.
So communicate with your team.
Communicate with your team.
Number four empower employees tosolve problems.
Now a simple I'm so sorry, letme make this right for you goes
(07:27):
such a long way.
If frontline staff feelspowerless, the customer feels
abandoned, and this can put theteam member in an awkward spot
too, where they feel embarrassedor defensive or even unvalued
as they're put in the crosshairs, so to speak, but not in a
position to actually dosomething about the dilemma.
The unintended consequences ofnot empowering your team leaves
(07:49):
them to be problem identifiersbut not problem solvers, which
is what we want, as well, asthey get dependent on your
managers, which doesn't make fora unified team, nor allow your
managers to actually lead.
So empower your team.
And then, number five, walk theguest journey.
When was the last time that youapproached your business like a
(08:12):
customer?
Where are the friction points?
Fix them before they becomereasons to leave.
Look at your exterior.
Is it clean, inviting goodsignage?
Have you visited your websiteto see if your hours and
location are easy to find?
Or even made sure, if a guestneeds to contact your leadership
, that it's not a frustratingexperience, that they're able to
(08:33):
do so?
Have you walked through andmaking sure that your team is
welcoming and approachable andknowledgeable?
Was the process of making apurchase or booking a service
clear and have a smooth flow toit that is consistent each time
they visit?
How about the time?
Any bottlenecks anywhere orthings that could just go
(08:53):
without?
That are kind of time killers.
Now, I could go on, butessentially, walk that journey
of a guest.
Now, when you get these right,you not only keep guests, but
you turn them into raving fanswho bring friends, who share on
social media, and they keepcoming back.
(09:13):
So here's the big takeaway fromtoday's episode Every
interaction is shaping someone'sexperience, whether you realize
it or not.
You're either building trust oryou're breaking it, whether
you're in leadership, on thefront lines or even just a loyal
customer, like I was.
The way we treat people matters.
Ask yourself what's one thingthat I can do this week to make
(09:38):
my guests feel more valued.
You've heard me say it before,but it's worth repeating.
You don't just sell a product,you create an experience, and
that experience becomes yourreputation.
It becomes your impact.
So, as we go into this week,let's be the kind of people and
lead the kind of teams thatdon't just serve well when
(10:01):
things are easy, but serveexcellently even when no one's
watching, even when it's hard.
And if you need a little heartcheck or encouragement, I leave
you with this from Colossians3.23.
Whatever you do, work at itwith all your heart as working
for the Lord, not for humanmasters, because ultimately,
(10:23):
it's not just about getting thetask done.
It's about doing it withpurpose, with integrity and with
care for the people on theother side of that transaction.
Now, if you'd like to go deeperon today's highlight, I highly
suggest the book Lessons Learnedfrom a Mouse by Dennis Snow.
It's a great book and I'd loveto hear from you as you
hopefully gather by now throughour years together here on
(10:44):
Holly's Highlights, I'm apositive person.
I really like to look at thegood side of things.
So do you have a company thatyou frequent often, that you
just love?
Well, I'd enjoy hearing why Isit their customer service or
their product?
And then let's give them ashout out to and build up those
who are doing it right.
They need to be seen andrecognized and even shared.
(11:05):
So I'd welcome you to shareyour story with me at Holly
Kirby on Instagram or Holly'shighlights on Facebook.
Maybe I'll even feature yourexperience in a future episode.
Who knows?
Thanks for listening, myfriends.
As for my former beloved sodashop, I choose to look at it
that I'll save money and timeand even calories.
Let's go out and be the reasonsomeone feels seen, valued and
(11:28):
welcomed.
This week and until next time,keep shining, keep showing up
and keep creating experiencesworth coming back for.
Thank you for joining me onthis journey of life.
I hope that today's highlighthas been encouraging, inspiring
and equipping so you can go outand live your life full of
purpose.
(11:48):
I'd be honored if you'd take amoment to leave a review or,
better yet, subscribe.
We can also stay in touch byjoining my email list at
hollykirbycom.
That's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Y dotcom.
Until next time, make it agreat day for a great day.
Hi, friend, welcome to Holly's Highlights, a podcast
designed to encourage, inspireand equip you to intentionally
live your life full of purpose.
I'm your host, holly Kirby,motivational speaker, leadership
cultivator, marketingstrategist and personal
cheerleader.
Let's check out today'shighlights.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Do you want an afternoon out with some
self-care and some exciting swagbags?
Well, my name's Camille Bauerand I own Spavia Sandy Day Spa
and I would love to invite youto our open house Saturday,
september 27th, from 10 am to 2pm.
Grab a girlfriend, come on downand check out our complimentary
(00:43):
chair massages, mini facialsand our swag bags for the first
50 guests.
We can't wait to see you andgive you an open house of our
amazing day spa.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Hello, my friends.
So today's episode is based ona very real story that turned me
from a loyal, almost dailycustomer, I'm almost ashamed to
say into someone who doesn'teven glance at that shop anymore
.
See, I used to have a favoritesoda shop.
As one who has never drank,I've shared about the soda shop
often on my social media, asI've often been given a hard
(01:19):
time in fun, of course, fromfriends and family and
co-workers that if I need astiff drink they notify me here
getting my favorite sodaconcoction.
I know I'm really living lifeon the edge.
Well, for whatever reason, Ididn't really ever branch out
and even try other soda shops.
This one place was just mygo-to spot from the get-go, the
(01:40):
place where I pulled up, andthey not only knew my name but
they even knew my order.
This place felt like a littletreat for me, a simple
indulgence and often my vice tojust power through.
But then things changed.
Let's call it day one.
Through three, I noticed aturnover in staff and suddenly
(02:01):
the drinks were well, they werejust bad, not just off, but
truly undrinkable.
Training clearly wasn'thappening.
Now I'm both a loyal person andone who extends grace quickly,
so I went back for day four andday five, and that's when I
noticed the vibe had shifted.
A guy outside taking someorders looked annoyed just to
see me.
(02:21):
No smile, no welcome.
Just what do you want?
That's a pretty quick way tomake a guest feel like a burden,
not a valued customer.
Day six they announced a specialpromotion day, so me and my
kids showed up, but the cityshut down the event because of
poor planning.
The company promised a freedrink coupon via text, so I did
(02:43):
get that text, but it didn'thave a code with it.
Well, I went to the soda shopand when I asked about it, the
employee shrugged and just saidyeah, corporate does that all
the time.
Where they do a promotion, theydon't let us know about it, or
the code doesn't work, or theydon't send a code.
That was it.
There was no solution.
Now I was longing for things toresume to normal.
So day seven through nine, yeah, I went back.
(03:06):
Another promotion, this timefrom a ball game.
It was promoted to visit thesoda shop with a certain code
for a free drink, and I tried italong with ordering other
drinks, so just getting the onefor free.
It didn't work.
Again, the shop refused tohonor it.
At this point, I felt I wasbeing treated almost as if I was
a bad guy or even a con artist.
(03:27):
So day 10, that was it.
I was done.
After all those frustrations, Iwent from loyal regular to
completely gone.
They even sent me differentsurveys via text.
When I would respond back.
They would just respond back oh, I'm so glad to hear of your
experience.
Wait, what You're glad to hear.
I had a horrible time andyou're not even going to do
(03:47):
anything about it.
Here's the kicker, though.
When my son asked me yesterdayso how many times have you been
there this week, mom?
I was actually, for the firsttime in a very long time, able
to respond with a big fat zero.
Now let's talk about why I'meven sharing this.
Well, experiences like this arebusiness killers.
(04:09):
According to pwccom, 32% ofcustomers will stop doing
business with a brand that theylove after just one bad
experience.
A study by Zendesk found that50% of customers will switch to
a competitor after multiple badexperiences.
And then, of course, harvardBusiness Review reports that
increasing customer retentionrates by just 5% can actually
(04:33):
increase profits by 25 to 95%.
That's huge.
That means every littleinteraction matters, especially
in industries with lots ofcompetition, people can and will
take their business elsewhere.
I've always tried to teach myteams that the guest you're
helping is why you even have apaycheck.
(04:54):
That's a gift, so treat them assuch.
Founder of Amazon, jeff Bezos.
He once said we see ourcustomers as invited guests to a
party and we're the hosts.
It's our job every day to makeevery important aspect of the
customer experience a little bitbetter, and you've heard me
share time and time againsomething Maya Angelou reminds
(05:16):
us of, and that is people willforget what you said, people
will forget what you did, peoplewill forget what you did, but
people will never forget how youmade them feel.
Now, this soda shop didn't loseme because of one mistake.
They lost me because theyconsistently failed at the
fundamentals, which are making agood product, treating guests
(05:38):
with respect, honoring promisesand solving problems.
So what can businesses do toavoid this?
What can you do, whether youown a business, whether you're a
part of a business, what can wetangibly do to avoid this?
Well, here's a few quicktakeaways.
Let's look at five of themactually.
(05:58):
First one invest in training.
Staff turnover is inevitable.
I get it.
I'm a part of our recruitingand training and onboarding
process, but training ensuresconsistency.
A well-trained employee canmake or break that guest
experience.
Isn't that worth investing in?
(06:18):
Number two hire for hospitality,not just task skills.
A smile, eye contact, genuinecare those matter just as much
as how fast someone can take anorder.
Don't underestimate those softskills.
Sometimes businesses can focustoo much on compensating for
operational excellence and notenough for those unteachable
(06:42):
personal attributes that cantruly win over a guest, not to
mention retain them and evenattract new ones.
So hire and compensateaccordingly for those
hospitality skills.
Number three communicate withyour team.
If you're offering a specialpromotion, test the system
(07:06):
before launching it.
That makes sense, but forPete's sake, communicate it to
your team.
Don't leave staff and customersconfused.
Educating your team of what isgoing on is just one way to set
them up for success in theirroles.
So communicate with your team.
Communicate with your team.
Number four empower employees tosolve problems.
Now a simple I'm so sorry, letme make this right for you goes
(07:27):
such a long way.
If frontline staff feelspowerless, the customer feels
abandoned, and this can put theteam member in an awkward spot
too, where they feel embarrassedor defensive or even unvalued
as they're put in the crosshairs, so to speak, but not in a
position to actually dosomething about the dilemma.
The unintended consequences ofnot empowering your team leaves
(07:49):
them to be problem identifiersbut not problem solvers, which
is what we want, as well, asthey get dependent on your
managers, which doesn't make fora unified team, nor allow your
managers to actually lead.
So empower your team.
And then, number five, walk theguest journey.
When was the last time that youapproached your business like a
(08:12):
customer?
Where are the friction points?
Fix them before they becomereasons to leave.
Look at your exterior.
Is it clean, inviting goodsignage?
Have you visited your websiteto see if your hours and
location are easy to find?
Or even made sure, if a guestneeds to contact your leadership
, that it's not a frustratingexperience, that they're able to
(08:33):
do so?
Have you walked through andmaking sure that your team is
welcoming and approachable andknowledgeable?
Was the process of making apurchase or booking a service
clear and have a smooth flow toit that is consistent each time
they visit?
How about the time?
Any bottlenecks anywhere orthings that could just go
(08:53):
without?
That are kind of time killers.
Now, I could go on, butessentially, walk that journey
of a guest.
Now, when you get these right,you not only keep guests, but
you turn them into raving fanswho bring friends, who share on
social media, and they keepcoming back.
(09:13):
So here's the big takeaway fromtoday's episode Every
interaction is shaping someone'sexperience, whether you realize
it or not.
You're either building trust oryou're breaking it, whether
you're in leadership, on thefront lines or even just a loyal
customer, like I was.
The way we treat people matters.
Ask yourself what's one thingthat I can do this week to make
(09:38):
my guests feel more valued.
You've heard me say it before,but it's worth repeating.
You don't just sell a product,you create an experience, and
that experience becomes yourreputation.
It becomes your impact.
So, as we go into this week,let's be the kind of people and
lead the kind of teams thatdon't just serve well when
(10:01):
things are easy, but serveexcellently even when no one's
watching, even when it's hard.
And if you need a little heartcheck or encouragement, I leave
you with this from Colossians3.23.
Whatever you do, work at itwith all your heart as working
for the Lord, not for humanmasters, because ultimately,
(10:23):
it's not just about getting thetask done.
It's about doing it withpurpose, with integrity and with
care for the people on theother side of that transaction.
Now, if you'd like to go deeperon today's highlight, I highly
suggest the book Lessons Learnedfrom a Mouse by Dennis Snow.
It's a great book and I'd loveto hear from you as you
hopefully gather by now throughour years together here on
(10:44):
Holly's Highlights, I'm apositive person.
I really like to look at thegood side of things.
So do you have a company thatyou frequent often, that you
just love?
Well, I'd enjoy hearing why Isit their customer service or
their product?
And then let's give them ashout out to and build up those
who are doing it right.
They need to be seen andrecognized and even shared.
(11:05):
So I'd welcome you to shareyour story with me at Holly
Kirby on Instagram or Holly'shighlights on Facebook.
Maybe I'll even feature yourexperience in a future episode.
Who knows?
Thanks for listening, myfriends.
As for my former beloved sodashop, I choose to look at it
that I'll save money and timeand even calories.
Let's go out and be the reasonsomeone feels seen, valued and
(11:28):
welcomed.
This week and until next time,keep shining, keep showing up
and keep creating experiencesworth coming back for.
Thank you for joining me onthis journey of life.
I hope that today's highlighthas been encouraging, inspiring
and equipping so you can go outand live your life full of
purpose.
(11:48):
I'd be honored if you'd take amoment to leave a review or,
better yet, subscribe.
We can also stay in touch byjoining my email list at
hollykirbycom.
That's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Y dotcom.
Until next time, make it agreat day for a great day.
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