Parc Cafe - a haven of food awesomeness AND great customer service!

You know already I am a huge advocate for a high standard of customer service. I am also Taurean which means I am all about food.  When the two come together in the most delicious way, my stars have truly aligned.

Yesterday I caught up with my dear friend Tina who suggested we meet at Parc Cafe.  It's on the corner of Clovelly Rd and Earl St at Randwick, not far from Centennial Park.

I cannot lie. I was starving by the time I arrived.  And stinging for a coffee.

With coffee ordered - and delivered by the time we did the usual and mandatory 10 minute (could have been 15 perhaps?) initial catch up assuring the waitress we only needed two more minutes, um, maybe another two please (we've all done it) - we decided to get serious and peruse the menu.  

Oh the menu!

E V E R Y THING on the menu looks enticing. I'm not just saying it.  Go there. You will see what I mean.

My eyes locked on the Poached Eggs, Quinoa Tabouli with Haloumi, Pistachio and Green Dressing.  I have to put it in bold.  It deserves it.  I did ponder for a moment the Smashed Avocado and Feta with Poached Eggs (I'm a sucker for avocado) but when I asked the waitress for her advice in my decision making, she told me the Haloumi was "pretty good".  With a smile and a nod.  

Her "pretty good" actually translates to a dish I could eat often. Every. Single. Day. Every day. It was without a doubt THAT good.  

The service at Parc Cafe is great.  I love a place that is equipped with enough staff to ensure the ordering and delivering of meals and drinks is not held up (well, except by patrons who keep asking for two more minutes!)  The staff are friendly and very helpful and always just over your shoulder should you need them.

I love a menu that is simple yet has such a diverse range of dishes on offer, not to mention freshly squeezed juices to boot.  All eat in or, wait for it....

I noticed a fridge that stocked pre-made take away dishes from the menu - from salads to soups to yoghurts to curries.  Coupled with the pricing which I thought was very reasonable, I thought the convenience of having those dishes (including the Quinoa Tabouli) there already done for you was hard to resist. 

That did it for me.

I am in complete love with Parc Cafe.

Would I go again?  Of course!  I need to make my way through that menu!

Would I recommend it?  Absolutely!  I am, right now!

The fridge-full-of-take-away-options is such a simple idea, but it extends the customer service of Parc Cafe beyond their venue.  When they can achieve extra sales by offering affordable convenience it is a win / win for both Parc Cafe and their customers.  

Parc Cafe have achieved a winning formula.  The location and atmosphere is awesome.  The food - well, if you don't know by now how I feel.... And the customer service is an all round great experience.  That you get to take home too!


Photo credits go to Parc Cafe Instagram and Facebook sites.

Customer Service Is a Win / Win Situation

For my entire working life, customer service has been at the core of my focus. It has been what has helped me increase business, smash budgets, build and manage teams, expand departments, earn promotions and succession plan.  It is easy and the domino effect within your business is profound.

What exactly is it about customer service that has enabled me to successfully do this?


First of all lets look at the definition.  
What is it I mean by customer service?  My interpretation is pretty close to the Wikipedia definition:-

"Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.  The perception of success of such interactions is dependent on employees who can adjust themselves to the personality of the guest."

For me, I put myself in the customers shoes.  I make my role about understanding the customer - what they want, why they want it, why it is important to them to achieve it.  And then I deliver.  Beyond their expectations. I anticipate what else they may want before they ask for it.  And I see everyone as the customer, even if indeed I am theirs.

Purely because of the results I achieve, it has been suggested to me time and time again over the years that I should think about doing sales.  My response is always the same:  I am not a sales person.  I do not see myself as a sales person.  What grows the business I work on is not my sales skills but my customer service skills.

Customer service is not hard.  Customer service is as easy as spending money. Yet it continually baffles me in this day and age why a good customer service experience seems so rare.  Mediocre is the current trend. To the point where when I receive good customer service, I have mixed emotions.  I am happy to have had the experience yet sad it was so noticeable.  Great customer service on the other hand just about blows my mind.  I am not hard to please.  I just believe that delivering customer service is not difficult.  And why, as a boss or business owner, would you not expect this from yourself or your staff when it means growth in your business and therefore your bottom line.

Customer service is a win / win situation.

I will be covering more on this in the coming weeks, providing examples and giving you ideas of how you can improve your level of customer service.  You will be amazed at the positive effect this has on your role and your business.

After all, as the image says, 'Nobody raves about average.'