Sonic and the Car Hop Flop

On the way home from Austin on Saturday, we were hungry after a fun-filled day, taking in the first college football game of the year. With much anticipation of a delicious hamburger, we stopped in at a Sonic restaurant on our drive home. As we all selected our order, a car hop stopped at our open window to say, "Sorry our intercom system is down. We can't take your order." Rather than taking our order manually, we were turned away from the restaurant. We were all perplexed and wondered why this Sonic was open. They could have saved a great deal of money and confusion on the customer's part, by turning off the lights and sending the employees home. What a waste.

Who is running your ship and how will they handle minor bumps in the road? What is your customer's perception of how the situation is handled? In the end, it is your customer's perception of the experience that really matters.