From the first time I stepped foot in this nostalgic eatery, I had such an incredible experience that I return often. Each time I have out-of-town guests, I make sure to take them to the Sunrise Café for an experience they are sure to remember for years to come.

What makes the Sunrise Café so special? The food is better than mom’s home cooking; full of great taste, very filling and served up hot. The décor is funky and entertaining. Everyone who works at the Sunrise is genuinely happy when people stop in.

My first time at the Sunrise was when we were house hunting in the area. We stopped in with our realtor and were immediately welcomed by Marianne. Because she knows her customers, she knew this was our first visit and inquired about what brought us to the area. After sharing our house hunting stories, she wished us well, said she hoped we would find the perfect home and invited us back again.

Well over a month passed before we got settled in and decided to return to the Sunrise for a hearty Sunday breakfast. Marianne immediately recognized us as the house hunters, gave us a huge welcome and a hug when we told her we were the newest residents of the area.

Like most people, I enjoy feeling welcome where I do business. Each and every time we bring guests to enjoy our favorite spot, Marianne greets us as if we are the most important people in the place, welcomes our guests and makes their experience one to be remembered. Every patron gets as warm a welcome. Our guests always comment what an incredible experience they had and what a delight Marianne is.

The Sunrise clientele is such that if there is a crowd, patrons will share their tables with each other, get up to help serve coffee and pitch in to do whatever needs to be done. The entire staff is genuinely happy everyone is there. No wonder locals return often. They like being there.

On the flip side is my experience at a place in Dexter, Oregon. There is a Mexican restaurant in that area with a huge sign that reads, “Best Mexican Food in Oregon!” As one who enjoys Mexican food, I thought it would be worth trying.

Unlike the Sunrise Café, at the Mexican restaurant it took a few minutes before we were rushed to our table without as much as a “Welcome.” After being seated we were made to wait several more minutes before getting a menu.

Finally, a rather large man (who turns out to be the owner) shows up. He appeared to be very frazzled and in a hurry. Without a welcome, he quickly takes the order, grabs the menu, and moves on to the next table to repeat the process. When the food arrives it is cool rather than hot, the plate is hastily placed in front of us and the owner rushes to the next table with their food.

Near the end of our meal a party of six shows up. Without missing a beat, the owner says, “Table one is done. We can seat the people there.”

We were table one. I was shocked. After having one of the most unpleasant experiences up to this point, now I was made to feel extremely rushed. What I found interesting is the party of six didn’t even stay. With this restaurant my first experience was definitely my last.

Regardless of your industry, do you know if your customers first experience is their last or the beginning of something great? By the way, when in Pleasant Hill stop in and say hello to Marianne and the rest of the gang at the Sunrise Café! You’ll be glad you did.

Kathleen Gage is a bestselling author, keynote speaker and corporate trainer who works with organizations who want to increase their market position, sales and level of achievement. Visit www.kathleengage.com to sign up for her free monthly newsletter filled with sales and marketing strategies.

We stopped to grab a bite of lunch before long flights. The waitress excitedly nodded when we ordered the cashew chicken sandwich. “It’s our new menu. We just got it yesterday. That’s a great choice!” She grinned and gave us a two-thumbs up signal. I don’t know about you, but I rarely get service help excited by a menu. It was as if SHE personally made the sandwich.

Fascinating. Sincere. And standing on your feet all day—difficult.

At an adjacent Frontier airlines gate, I asked where was my plane and how come no rep was at the gate. “Listen,” she laughed, “it’s also my gate. I can do amazing things. Watch how quick I get this plane loaded. I’ll do the same for yours. You’ll see.”

I did. It’s almost 6pm on a Sunday night and folks are cranky and tired. Not my gate attendant. True to her word, she efficiently started the process AND took time to actually read every boarding pass and call the passenger my name. She patted my arm when I went through. “See, Eileen. Told you I could do this.”

Fascinating. Sincere. And the job of a gate agent is difficult—very difficult.

My seatmate was a young man, a rotating guidance counselor for grades 6-12 in the Costa Mesa,CA school district. “There aren’t many men in my line of work—and particularly men of color,” he remarked offhandedly. “DO you like what you do?” I asked. His eyes opened wide and he offered a wide smile. “I love it. I really feel like I am making a difference. So many of these kids have no one to talk to-- no one to model the right behavior.” He proceeded to tell me a series of stories that would break your heart. “It’s when they come back after they leave school that is most rewarding. You just never know if what you say today will suddenly click in years later.”

Fascinating. Sincere. And difficult—very VERY difficult.

In each instance, the joy came from how each connected with another human being. It was the CONNECTION that made the most. Not the money. Not the title. The eyes staring at each other. The hands reaching out to help. Fascinating. Sincere. And maybe—with deliberate intent we could try it. Might NOT be all that difficult.

Eileen McDargh is a powerful keynote speaker, recognized work/life leadership expert, and award winning author. Discover your organizational and personal resiliency factor with this free online survey www.eileenmcdargh.com/res_free_surveys.htmlCall toll free 877-477-4718

We walked in the restaurant with a gigantic cake weighing the equivalent of a small child. When we were called for our table, the greeter took the cake and said they would take care of it.

The unique selling position of this restaurant was a term coined by them: 'Eatertainment'. The eatertainment featured a private chef for each table that not only prepared the food in front of the guests, but also did tricks with the food while preparing it.

Our private chef did a wonderful job in creating a memorable experience for us. But then something happened that made our wonderful experience unforgettable...

Our waitress brought my niece's cake to us, and other members of the staff came with the waitress to celebrate with us.

They didn't just sing to my niece and congratulate her, they also gave her a huge candle to blow out and had her do a happy dance. When she cut the cake, they took a picture of her and put the picture in a memory frame for her.

When the greeter said they would take care of the cake, we simply expected them to bring us plates for the cake. This restaurant totally exceeded our expectations, and created a memorable experience for us that had us 'wowing' for days.

Besides sharing one of the best days of my life with you, I also want to share some tips that will help you create a memorable experience for your clients.

1. ALWAYS GO THE EXTRA MILE:

Don't just stop at providing the service that your clients expect from you. Wow them by giving them more than they expected.

Complete the project ahead of schedule, thank them for their business with a handwritten card, thank them with an unexpected bonus such as a special report.

Take care of your clients every step of the way while they are doing business with you. This alone will create extra value for your clients and make them go WOW.

2. BECOME A PART OF THEIR EXPERIENCE:

Remember that it is all about them, and that they are only focused on their needs.

Show your clients that you are committed to not only solving their problems, but also to their success.

Find out more about their business goals, and be sincere about helping them accomplish those goals. When you ask them about their business goals, listen carefully and you may find out that they are in need of other services from you.

Wow them by offering a special offer for another service they need. Upon completion of the current project, include the special offer for a future project in your thank you card.

3. CREATE A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE:

In order to make it memorable, it needs to be unique. What is unique about your business? What can you do to make your clients aware of your uniqueness?

The experience for your clients starts as soon as they walk through your doors. It doesn't matter if those doors are your website, brochure, sales letter, email response, or a telephone call.

How will you create a memorable first impression?

Focus on creating a memorable experience for your clients, and growing your business will be a piece of cake.

It may sound like an unusual bit of advice, fire a client, but let's take a look at what a very difficult client does to our business.

I know you are saying, but I make a lot of money from that guy - hang on there is an alternative.

Yesterday I was working with a guy who was working on a project for a client. During the time I was there he received at least four calls with the client asking him to change this and tweak that. Each time he got off of the phone, he let fly with a tirade of reasons why this client was a pain in the neck.

So I asked him. "Well, why not fire that client?" He looked at me as if I were crazy. He began to say that he had been with this guy for three years and blah, blah, blah. So I told him the following:

Look, you said that each project you work on with this client is a three hour project that turns into a three day project because of changes and follow up and approvals and the like. In three days I am guessing that you could complete nine projects of the same size and value. Not only that, each time that phone rings, your stress level goes through the roof, so you have to re-adjust after each call before you can even make the changes.

To which he replied:

Well, I know that this guy is a sure thing and will give me business every month. There have been times when that business was there when I did not have any other stuff going on.

So I said:

OK then, if you do not want to fire the client, it is time to change the terms of the working relationship. You could instead write or re-write a contract that states that after a specified amount of change that each additional change will incur an additional charge. At least then you would be compensated for the extra stress to a degree.

He agreed that he might need to do that. He said however, to present this client with a contract after three years would not be acceptable. They had worked all of this time without one.

So my final answer was this:

You are faced with a decision of three items.

Item One: Fire the Client or continue to go through the stress that it brings to continue to work with him.

Item Two: Re-define the relationship through contractual agreement that at least compensates you for the extra time and grief

or

Item Three: Adjust your attitude to accept this client for the evil person that he is. Realize that no matter how stressed you get, he will not change. Feel pity for him and each time the phone rings with yet another change, say to yourself " I am smart, I am good-looking, and people like me for who I am."

So I ask you, informed reader, which of those options would you choose?

In our world today, opportunity is everywhere. It is true that there will always be difficult clients, the question remains - if they become too difficult is it cost effective to keep working with them? I suggest that you look at your client list and ask youself is there someone on it whose time has come? If the answer to those questions is yes, then do the right thing and let them go.

I guarantee that your competitor is out there waiting to call on them and do some work for them, and while they are dealing with all of the stress and issues, you have an opportunity to pitch the clients that they no longer are able to serve while they deal with their new client from hell.