Excellent Customer Service & Great Food @PFChangs San Juan

November 29, 2011 by Raul Colon

Since 2005 when I visited my first PF Changs in Raleigh North Carolina I became enchanted with the place. Their food and drink menu made me a loyal customer. On that occasion I was working for KPMG and we where at a client when my good friends and ex-coworkers decided to check out PF Changs. I remember the Raleigh mall had two new restaurants I had never tried one was Cheesecake Factory and the other one was PF Changs.

For the complete week we ate on multiple occasions at PF Changs and from there on I would make it a habit to search for a PF Changs while I was living out of suitcase travelling the throughout the United States. Even my GPS was programmed to search for local PF Changs as soon as I visited a place.

Over the years I have visited many PF Changs (Austin, Fort Lauderdale, White Plains, Boston, Chattanooga, Raleigh, Tysons Corner, Washington, D.C., Stamford, Atlanta and a few more that I am probably missing) and wondered why we did not have one in Puerto Rico.

Why I love their Menu

PF Changs has an awesome menu at great prices it also allows you to customize their menu options so you can choose what you like the most. Before becoming vegetarian I use to love their chicken lettuce wraps after returning to PF Changs being vegetarian one of the most pleasant surprises was seeing their vegetarian lettuce wraps just added to the menu.

The Vegetarian lettuce wraps are one of my favorite appetizers. I am also a big fan of their multiple vegetarian options but I rather choose my favorite off the menu plate that is Kung Pao ToFu.

IMG_1529 Excellent Customer Service & Great Food @PFChangs San Juan — Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps PF Changs San Juan

My Biggest Concern Before visiting PF Changs San Juan

To be very honest my biggest concern with having a PF Changs was having it maintain its Franchise and Brand Integrity. For some reason brands and franchises come into Puerto Rico and they get altered like for example the Local Cold Stone Franchise is nothing like entering a Cold Stone in the U.S. I will leave the rest of my opinion for a future post.

My First Visit to PF Changs San Juan

I was at the Annual ISSA conference in San Juan and had the opportunity to spend time with my good friend Kelvin (@kelvinlomboy). We went to the mall and I decided to sign us up on the list that had a 2 ½ hour wait. We went around the mall shopping and Kelvin even got himself a haircut. We arrived at the approximate time and where informed that given how people where staying longer than expected it would be another hour. Given that I had waited so long we decided to stay in the bar area

Another Hour Wait at a Packed Bar

During our hour wait I had a bartender approach me and ask me if everything was ok. Even though the wait time was off something normal when a restaurant opens (especially on their first week) they still acknowledged we where their and try to make the situation as comfortable as possible.

Kelvin and I had a few drinks and I chatted with the folks next to me. Everyone appeared to be in good spirits. Once we where called to the table we had an awesome waiter (Alberto) who took care of us.

Replicating the PF Changs experience

Our waiter Alberto clearly replicated the PF Changs experience. I felt like if I was sitting at any other PF Changs in the world but with the difference that if I stepped outside I could get a cool Caribbean breeze to soothe the tropical temperature.

I ordered the usual, which I will include in my post More Vegetarian Option @PFChangs San Juan at @veglatino. The food was excellent and the staff was even better. The two waiters Alberto and another excellent waitress that assisted him had a lot of charisma and where full of ideas on how to make our dining experience even better.

After the meal I made sure I let the management know what an awesome job their staff had accomplished. That the food, great customer service and overall experience after we where sat at our table made up for the 3 ½ wait.

I would love to take the family to PF Changs again but with an 11-month daughter I guess I will wait till the crowds go down.

Overall if you are looking for a great dining experience in the San Juan Area feel free to visit PF Changs I highly recommend it.

If it is your first time their make sure you try the Sauce on everything even on your dessert.

Feel free to read my review on Veglatino on the same visit.

Does @DoralBank & Other Banks Care About Customer Service?

November 23, 2011 by Raul Colon

One of the industries that does not care much about their customers than other industries is the banking industry. Globally banks are there to find ways in which they can play with our money and eventually keep it.

I have been a customer of Doral Bank since I became an employee in 2006 (I left in 2007) when I returned from working in New York City. Doral pretty much obligates their employees to open up an account with them and receive their paycheck via Direct Deposit into their account.

While watching Kitchen Table Talks on the Pulse my friend @bobburg mentioned how any company accomplishes to get your money by buying a product or service. They main factor is that you exchange money in any transaction because you think that you are getting the same value or more for what you are exchanging.

What do we do when we feel there is less value?

Over the years I have seen how Doral’s customer service has deteriorated to a point where in many occasions I have felt they have taken my money and I ended receiving less value of what I have given to them.

For the past 5+ years I have done my banking with them which means I have been loyal, referred customers, and always looked at the positive aspect that banks like Banco Popular care even less about their customers than doral.

Finally I came to terms that Doral is probably not going to recover anytime soon from the addiction of treating their customers very badly. Yes I called it an addiction because I am sure top-level management knows the issue they have and they decide to ignore it. Given the fact that Doral is no longer an active customer of mine and my only relationship is as a customer which has complained previously about several issues I decided to take action expressing myself here on my blog.

The Experience That Triggered This Post

On veteran’s day I was happy to see that their branches where open and strangely I visited two branches in the same day since I had to deposit a check and was not sure if I would have time to get the other check from my client before the branches closed.

My first visit was to my favorite Doral Branch at carr. 14 where the staff is friendly and the branch manager always goes out of his way to make sure my banking needs are met. Armando would do way more to address my complaints but management really does not give him the power to correct many of the Issues and as any employee his has to follow the bank’s policies and procedures. My first visit to a branch was business as usual and I got in and out of the branch in minutes since it was pretty much empty.

My second visit was after meeting with a client that handed me a check and I was closer to the Doral Fagot Ave. branch where I have had many customer service issues in the past. The staff there is overworked, there are never enough tellers, and this branch does have a lot more foot traffic.

1st Issue

I went into the trapdoor at the entrance and got trapped. I spent a lot more time than I should have since the person that was suppose to be up front opening the door appeared to be talking with co-workers. When she finally realized that someone was in the trap door she walked over with no sense of urgency and opened the door without apologizing for the delay. In other words I should have been glad she finally opened the door instead of her feeling guilty for her lack of attention. The same person once she opened the door walked back instead of staying up front and continued her conversation with co-workers.

2nd Issue

The bank was fairly empty and I still had to wait for the teller to call me up to the podium. I see this all the time where the teller appears to be doing something else and does not even acknowledge you are there.

3rd Issue

Two more people tried to get into the bank and the delay of not opening the trap door when the person enters caused two people in a hurry to get stuck. When the same individual realized that two people where stuck instead of recognizing it was part her fault for not being up in the front opening the trap door she started screaming at the customers coming in that it should be one person at a time. I do understand the trap door has its rules posted but how can you enforce rules on customers when as a representative of the bank you are not following your own rules.

4th issue

I quickly asked the teller if that was how the staff at that branch treated their customers. Instead of apologizing for the behavior of his co-worker his reply was to point the finger at the person screaming at the customers and pretty much said that had nothing to do with him. The problem was that it had to do with him because they both represent Doral Bank.

Doral’s Other General Management Issues

I left the branch and instead of coming in an out it took me a lot longer than it should and made me leave with many questions as to why I continue banking with this organization. I also tweeted my discomfort with the bank.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/rj_c/status/135079906781573120″]

Doral does such a poor job listening to clients everywhere including online that it took them various tweets and a conversation with another follower and 22+ hours later they finally responded with a generic tweet asking me to email them.

[blackbirdpie url=”http://twitter.com/#!/doralbank/status/135396650993729539″]

Poor handling of communication

Individuals handling their online accounts requested me to email them with a generic response after responding in 22+ hours. I have sent my complaints into Doral previously and clearly it is a way for customers to vent without any further action taken. Once I told them I would complain publicly they also requested me to follow them on twitter. If I was clearly not happy with the brand why would I want to follow them on twitter.

I take a different approach when someone complains in social media. I quickly research the person and try to find a way to connect with the person. In my case I have a link directly to my blog that offers multiple ways for anyone to send me a private message one being my contact form. Instead of them making me feel that I they care they wanted me to do the legwork for them. If a customer is already unhappy with you why would you make him go through extra steps without putting the extra effort yourself.

Issues that need to be Fixed

If Doral wants me to stay along as a customer and get to the point to start referring them as I use to in the past they would need to do the following:

Cutting Down My Wait Time at Branches

There are many ways where the bank can enhance the banks offering of services where it can be convenient to visit a branch. For this to happen Doral would need to probably hire personnel like most of the individuals in my favorite branch at Ponce Carr. 14, which are service oriented. If they could clone Armando or find someone with his character I guarantee they would do a lot better at customer service.

Improve The Online Banking Offering

For over two years I paid for having access to online banking on my business account that I canceled recently out of frustration. The funny thing was that this online banking tool only allowed me to transfer into accounts of the same bank and did not do any of the basic online banking features other banks give out for free. This obligated me to visit the branch more than I would like. This also causes longer lines because individuals have no other way of creating transactions. I would recommend having a free online banking for their customers because charging for an inefficient one is being Penny Wise and Dollar Foolish.

If I hold up an employee or the manager for 30 minutes 4 times a month with things I could have done online I am more than sure that it costs the bank more than what they are currently charging for online banking software. Don’t penalize those that save the bank money by charging them more.

Take Action on Customer Complaints

I have submitted many complaints and I know of many others who have done the same. Sadly Doral really stays focused on their plans filtering any complaints and really not taking actions on complaints from normal customers like you and me that make the biggest part of their customer base. In my case I have my business and personal accounts with them and getting through to them is like talking to a wall many times.

Increase Presence or Remove ATM Fees

Doral has very little presence in the south part of the Island. So either they increase the presence or they replenish at least a few complimentary ATM Fees a month to make up for not being able to get your cash at an ATM Close by.

I want to see Doral fixing many of the issues they have had for years.

I also want Doral to understand that because I expected better from them is why I took the time to write this post. This might seem as an attack but it clearly is my last attempt for them to realize that they need to take another course if they want to keep me as a customer.

Not only have I been a customer but I also put my trust in them by recommending people to do banking with Doral, which are currently as unhappy as I am.

Let’s hope that this post serves not only Doral but other banks that they need wake up or if not I probably will be doing my banking elsewhere.

Luck defines your experience at Sheraton PR Casino @StarwoodBuzz

November 22, 2011 by Raul Colon

I love gambling although I don’t gamble as often as years ago given how little I can risk of my income now days. Years before I use to visit a Casino at least every two weeks now it is more like every 6 months and my budget is a significantly smaller.

A few days ago while I was at the ISSA Conference in San Juan which was held at the Sheraton San Juan. I have been to the Sheraton San Juan Multiple times because I really like its modern decoration. I also like a few of the slot machines they have in their casino and every opportunity I have I stop by and play a few dollars.

It had been maybe more than a year since my last visit to the Sheraton after becoming a new dad the previous December I stay closer to home and don’t visit San Juan as often.

I walked into the casino where in many occasions I have donated my money to their slot machines on lesser occasions I have left with more than what I walked in but it has been pure luck. I went to get my Player’s card and to use the cashier’s service to take some money out to play. My casino budget usually ranges in the $200 dollar range on slot machines that is the same amount I request every time I visit.

When I reached the cashier I requested taking money out and the person clearly said I had a 100-dollar limit. When I asked if this was a new rule she said it had always been that way and that it was a law.

The cashier’s response quickly annoyed me and I kept on asking her questions. She clearly told me that since I had no history playing in the Casino they could not disburse any more money. When I told the person that I had played on multiple occasions she pretty much looked at me like if I was lying and later proceeded to tell me that it was pretty much impossible because my players card reflected zero history.

On previous occasions I had always taken out more than $100 and yes it had been more than a year since my last visit to that Casino but this Casino employee was out of hand in her responses and her supervisor did not fall far behind in validating and encouraring.

I went back to the player’s table and they quickly apologized for the inconvenience called the cashier’s booth and told them that I had history playing in the Casino that she was looking at the points screen where the points expire every 6 months.

When I went back to the Cashier’s booth they where very annoyed at the fact that they had to disburse the money I requested. They did not apologize and the long faces where something that made me perceive how badly many employees in the tourism industry behave.

5 Things I would have done differently

Verifying for the Customer or Player

If I was the cashier or the supervisor given that the Casino was pretty much empty I would have called in and verified if there was a glitch in the system. However they decided to treat me like if I was lying to them and instead of helping put a few barriers up.

Being Helpful

Instead of taking the I don’t have time for you so I can continue chit chatting with my co-workers I would have tried to solve the problem without putting resistance.

Showing I Care

The person at the booth clearly did not give a crap if I got my money to play or if I did not.

Not wanting to be right but Making it right

The casino employees preferred to feel that they where right than making it right. Instead of looking for a solution she just stuck to her story not caring if she was impacting her image and that of the company she represents.

Made It Easier for the Casino To Make Income

The casino makes money when people risk their money either on slots or tables. If this person did not want to provide me money then the Casino had less probability of keeping my money and making a profit.

I left with a profit

Once I got the money I was going to play I hit my favorite slot machine and quickly (in less than 5 minutes) made a profit of $167. Normally I stay and continue playing but since I was so uncomfortable by how the Sheraton Staff treated me I decided to leave and play my money elsewhere.

Although I have always enjoyed visiting the Sheraton I might look for other options when it comes to playing my money at a Casino.

Customer service for me is critical and sadly our tourism industry locally (Puerto Rico) suffers from having to many individuals working for it which clearly have no passion or calling for service.

We need to make sure that even those that are not dressed as tourists are well served.

Having passionate human beings that have a higher standard is critical when recruiting for the tourism industry and pretty much any other industry.

In the meanwhile I will continue to express myself on how poorly my Island handles customer service (especially in the Tourism Industry) and calling out those places like the Caribe Hilton and the Sheraton, which are in great need of doing a better job at recruiting and training their personnel to create pleasant experiences.

Should we let Luck Decide the experiences of our customers?

Two ISPs (Sprint & Choice) that Don’t Make One

November 14, 2011 by Raul Colon

I have been having issues with my Internet Service Provider (Choice Cable) for quite some time. I have been under an enormous amount of pressure to get a lot of things out of the way and I have sadly ran into issues of not having internet and that slowing me down. Overall I have been waiting on them to fix an issue that apparently will be fixed soon enough.

I am currently debating if I should change to a very expensive provider to make sure I have at least two Internet connections since I need to be connected to take care of my clients.

At the moment I still have a Sprint Overdrive that at my house serves me the same as having a 56k modem. Not very fast and although it has 4G capability Sprint is not planning to have 4G on the Island for quite some time. Many of you know how I feel about Sprint and there lack of interest for customers who have stuck with them for many years like me. I really can’t wait till my contract ends with Sprint so I can get myself another way of having a backup connection to the Internet that is mobile. Not only is the connection extremely slow I am also limited on uploads and downloads which I find even more ridiculous. Why would you sell a device that can connect many but then limit the upload and download?

NO Internet Service

A few weeks ago I had no Internet for most of the day. I spent quite some time troubleshooting the router since the morons at my ISP decide to blame the router instead of their infrastructure. After talking to a few individuals I ran into a moron who decided to tell me that I must not be doing the troubleshooting steps since it was not working and I should have a connection after a heated 3 minute argument he went offline to later confirm they where having issues online. Not only was the guy a jerk he later did not have the courage to apologize for being a moron.

Having no Internet really got me in a bad spot especially after a week before I had been offline at a conference. Overall my biggest issue with moving over to the only other provider is that at one point they also made a few mistakes that cost me money about 18 months ago when they disconnected my service by accident.

So now I am stuck with my current ISP Choice who brags about having the fastest connection on this side of the Island but the service is never up. So I would rather have them brag about the most consistent connection so it would not interrupt my work. Sprint who overcharges me for a service that I am on contract with very bad signal and they have decided to do nothing about fixing the issue. My third but not least option the other service provider which is costly but also does not give me the peace of mind that I am in the right hands.

I wish I could find another option towards this issue to make sure I could have a good connection to Internet.

I will have to continue doing my research and working around my poor connection to make sure I don’t fall behind on work.

When I have No Internet

I use that time to take care of Offline tasks or sometimes I just remove myself from a computer and get even house tasks completed. Although it gets to a point where all offline tasks are completed and then I have to make sure I get hit the ground running when the Internet comes back up.

How do you manage those obstacles and issues you might run into that try to paralyze your business?

Closing Communications Will Make You Miss Out on Opportunities

November 10, 2011 by Raul Colon

I have a bad habit of walking into establishments like restaurants, ice cream parlors, comic book stores, or any type of establishments that you can imagine and find what I like about it but I immediately shift towards what it might be missing.

Identifying What I like about the Place

For me it might be the easiest task in the world to find what is missing and criticize it but I first try to find what I really like about the place. By identifying what I like about the place allows me to understand why I would come back in the future to that same location.

I look at the environment, the services, products, hospitality, customer service, and how I feel every time I visit. Once I have identified that establishment as a place that I would like to come back to visit it helps me identify what the place is missing.

What is it missing?

Identifying what is missing can be a fairly simple thing. For some reasons our brains seem to slide into identifying what is wrong or the looking at negative factors of something. On my side if I started to analyze what the place is missing it is because I want it to be better so I can have more reasons to return to the place.

Nobody likes Criticism

Let’s face nobody enjoys criticism directed at them. Deep down no matter how receptive you supposedly are if you have set something up and are missing a few things the worst thing that can happen is to have someone start pointing out the flaws. I have been on both sides and I have to say being on the side of pointing out the flaws is a lot easier than receiving the criticism.

Sharing Your Feedback is Not Always Welcomed

Since being criticized is not something people look forward too if you decide to point out flaws when it has not been requested I can assure you over time you will start gathering enemies. In my case trying to improve a product or service I have shared my criticism and have racked up many detractors who clearly did not understand my intentions of trying to help them and saw my suggestions as an attack. Sadly these individuals took the easy route also of putting up their defenses and in some occasions creating an offense towards my ideas just because I thought they could improve their services or products. At the end of the day if they don’t improve or enhance the customer experience they lose out.

Supporting Those Who At Least Listen

Complaining or sharing process and product improvement ideas with individuals who valued my feedback has help me create close relationships with some establishments and brands. Since I know most people will be bothered by any suggestions for the most part those that listen and appear to act upon it I end up trying to look for a way to support them by bringing them more business and spreading the word on how committed they are to improving.

Leaving Opportunities on The Table

Those who don’t listen leave many opportunities on the Table.

For example I use to work as a waiter for a restaurant in my Home Town in Ponce called El Rincon Argentino. I started going to el Rincon Argentino when it was a hole in a wall with only a few tables. The served great quality food and later on I ended up landing a job as a waiter. Although I got fired from the place in a very unfair way since I was part of the U.S. Army Reserve I continued to visit the restaurant and recommend it.

For years I supported the same person that had let me go in an unfair way because I really loved the food and the environment (I was able to let his strange ways of managing his staff behind me).

Before I became vegetarian I remember visiting the place on three occasions and the food was not as good, the service was terrible, overpriced food, overpriced drinks and the place was not the magical Argentinean restaurant at had worked and eaten at on many occasions.

Since I had always kept a good relationship with the owner of the place on one occasion when he asked me why I had not returned I explained to him how our food on multiple occasions was not cooked well. I also made it a point that before the quality was good and pricing was reasonable but now food and beverage options at the restaurant where expensive and not meeting my standards.

I could not finish the rest of the reasons why I was not visiting the restaurant (even though he asked for my feedback) the owner of the restaurant started attacking me as a person. The person was clearly disgusted with my recommendations and criticism. I never went back to the restaurant after seeing his bad intentions of creating an offensive against me just because I was giving him feedback on his restaurant I began to voice my opinion on the place so others would not waste their money.

I never returned to the restaurant and on every occasion someone asks me about el Rincon Argentino I recommend other options because I don’t want to tie my reputation to such a mediocre place. Months ago while doing research for one of my clients a restaurant in the area I bumped into the reviews of the Rincon Argentino on Tripadvisor. I found it interesting that many people where sharing the same experience I had with the owner of the place. Many of the negative experiences I had at the restaurant and with the owner of the place where being expressed on a review site. To anyone who knows the owner you can clearly see the owners arrogance projected through the complaints of many. (see a sample of a Review Below)

After many years of not supporting the place I have never returned. I drive by the place on many occasions. But I was amazed on how this restaurant owner was acting in such a way that was hurting his own business. In my case this is the first time I document my experience with the owner of this restaurant. But based on the experiences others have had recently I am able to gauge that things have not changed years later.

Closing the communications Channel

I have had similar experiences on how closing the communications channel with local businesses which really did not care or wanted to hear about my negative experience in their place of business. I will be sharing them with the purpose of creating awareness that any business that decides to close the communications channel can end up opening a Pandora’s box of complaints that people have held back for days, weeks, month’s or even years.

In my business I get complaints and suggestions and in some occasions I have to step back and see how I am going to improve upon what individuals have communicated.

It takes a lot of patience and practice but listening to feedback and responding to it is something that you improve over time.

If you take the Rincon Argentino’s approach or the local Car Dealerships like Triangle dealers and Garage Isla Verde approach of closing communications you will put yourself down the road for failure.

Why do you think it is critical to keep the communications channel with your community and clients?

If you need help on communicating with your community or keeping yours communications channels open feel free to contact me or my team at CIMA IT we might be able to help.