The Pirate’s House is a restaurant in the edge of Savannah, GA that started as a tavern in 1753. In fact, the building housing the restaurant is the oldest standing building in Georgia. Locals will tell you that Captain Flint…you remember him in Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Treasure Island…died in the bedroom upstairs and his ghost still haunts the restaurant at night. The site was once the hangout for pirates, thus the name, and seafaring folks since the port is nearby.
We took our granddaughter and daughter-in-law to dinner there when they were in Savannah for our granddaughter’s soccer tournament. At ten, she is a sponge for folklore and tall tales. Her favorite was the one about the tunnel that ran from the rum cellar in the basement to River Street. Pirates would get locals drunk until they passed out. Then they would carry the unlucky person through the tunnel to the nearby ship. By the time the person woke up, the ship would be at sea and they’d be forced to work. A local butcher took four years to finally get back home after being hauled away from the tavern!
Storying is all about having or crafting a compelling theme…an alluring narrative. The main story or theme is what you see—a fantasy land commanded by a mouse (Disney theme parks), a trip to Treasure Island (Treasure Island Hotel in Vegas), or a stroll through the streets of Paris (Paris Hotel), Venice (The Venetian), or New York (New York New York Hotel). It lends charm to your organization, adventure to your frontline, and a special memory for your customers.
How do you begin using storying as a part of your service experience? Organizations that have mastered storying as their way to decorate their customers’ service experiences use three main components:
- Find or develop a strong front theme. Most organizations have a proud history or founding vision. Is there a compelling person, event, or vision in your history? There’s the start of your story. No relevant story or theme in your organization’s legacy? Create one from another source.
- Dress your “set” in sync with your story. The set should reflect and reinforce who you are. A fast food restaurant on the shoreline of a popular vacation lake that is dressed with antique fishing gear, fun-in-the-sun sepia-tone photos, and posted info on current fishing conditions is clearly taking clever advantage of the enchantment of the locality.
- Dress employees to fit the story. Dressing employees to fit the front story is an obvious ploy in a theme park or entertainment venue. Yet, even in professional settings there are customs that dictate dress––doctors in white coats, nurses in scrubs. Are there natural costuming options for your “cast”?
Customers today live in a highly stimulating world. Consequently, they can become bored with a ho-hum, nothing special experience. Using the methods borrowed from the world of entertainment might be competitive differentiator that enhances growth and profits. Service is fundamentally a performance. Make it a five-star one and watch your customers flock to your organization as a happening destination.