Happy Employees = Happy Customers
Most of you know I’ve had a strange journey, dishwasher to line cook to executive chef, jeep salesman to software & franchisor entrepreneur, dishwasher to dishwasher again (parenting, anyone?). I’ve lived a lot of lives, but two jobs shaped me more than any degree or title ever could:
1. Working in a kitchen (front AND back of house)
2. Working in sales
If you’ve done either, you get it. If you’ve done both, you really get it.
You learn what pressure feels like. What it means to serve someone who doesn’t care how tired you are. What it takes to get something right, fast, with a smile, even when the world behind you is on fire.
Which brings me to this morning’s rant, wrapped in gratitude:
I’m a daily Dunkin’ customer now.
Didn’t used to be. But I figured out one of the easiest ways to say “I love you” to my wife every day is showing up with her coffee before she wakes up. Not a ring. Not a poem. Just a large hot with cream, extra love, bedside delivery.
The Dunkin’ app makes that stupid simple. Two taps and I’m out the door. It’s tech doing what tech should, removing friction.
But here’s where the magic breaks:
There’s no way to tip.
Not when I use the app. Not for the crew who shows up at 4:30am so people like me can walk in at 6:45 and feel like heroes showing my wife how much I love her.
And it kills me.
Because I’ve been those employees.
Because I see those employees.
And because I know tips matter.
It’s something we built into our Tech solutions at MaidPro to fully promote a “Tipping Culture” to make sure the front line Pros, the ones actually cleaning the toilets, got as much in their pockets to feed their families.
The product team clearly did their job well, for me. But they forgot to design for the other half of the experience. The ones who keep it human. The ones who make it feel good.
I don’t want to just be a faster customer. I want to be a grateful one. Let me throw a buck on there every morning. Let me say thank you in a way that counts.
If you know me, you know this stuff matters to me.
Product ownership. Customer experience. Business strategy. Human design.
And if you’ve got an idea you’ve been sitting on, for a company that’s struggling to get this kind of thing right, I’m always game to jam and brain-storm. It’s one of my passions, what I love. It’s what I live for.
If we haven’t talked in a while and you think we should, send me a message. If you’re building something and you want to build it right, let’s talk.
You don’t need a million-dollar idea.
You just need to give a damn about the people on both sides of the counter.
I have always said “Happy Employees + Happy Customers = Business is easy!” That’s where the best companies start.
And to my network, especially those who’ve been part of the Dunkin’ Brands universe:
Somerset Buchanan, Tom Manchester, Rick Hart, and anyone else I’m forgetting who might be seven degrees of Kevin Bacon from me with Dunkin corporate connections, let’s get this in front of the Dunkin product team and help them become a better tech + human company.
Just a little gift from a loyal customer to a company I want to be better. Help me help the people who make my wife feel the love daily get rewarded for it!
