Creating Loyal Customers

My wife, daughter, and I stopped by a friend’s restaurant for dinner at the end of February 2026 (and I later returned on my own to pick up a to-go oder at the end of March 2026). Our friend, Sechin Oh, and his wife, Jisun, opened their Korean fusion restaurant (called “Bop Joa”) back in 2014 and I am so proud of him. It’s not easy running a small business and managing the daily operations and the anticipated as well as the unexpected disruptions that come with it. Bop Joa is the first Korean restaurant in Sachse, Texas! 

While we were there, I noticed that he seemed to know so many of his customers. In addition to him taking their food orders and serving their food and drinks (his waitress had recently quit, leaving him short-handed), he spent time talking with them, catching up on their lives and playing with their toddler. It felt as if he were welcoming them into his own home for dinner — warm, inviting, and laid-back!

After they left, he came over to our table and we were able to spend a bit of time catching up. He mentioned that his restaurant has very loyal customers who have been repeat customers for years. He shared that, in the group of people at the large table that had just finished eating and left, he had known two of them since before their baby was born, before they got married, and while they were still dating!

Just think about that for a second.

Imagine building a business where customers are so loyal they keep coming back!

In the foreword to the book, “Raving Fans” by Blanchard & Bowles (1993), Harvey Mackay (Founder, Mackay Envelop Corporation) wrote this:

“Successful organizations have one common central focus: customers. It doesn't matter if it's a business, a professional practice, a hospital, or a government agency, success comes to those, and only those, who are obsessed with looking after customers.”

“This wisdom isn't a secret. Mission statements, annual reports, posters on the wall, seminars, and even television programs all proclaim the supremacy of customers. But in the words of Shakespeare, this wisdom is "more honoured in the breach than the observance." In fact, generally speaking, customer service, in a word, stinks.” 

Blanchard and Bowles share 3 Secrets to Creating Raving Fans:

1. Decide What You Want (Create a Vision): Before serving customers, you must define what "perfect" service looks like. This vision must be specific and centered on the customer, not just on profits.

2. Discover What the Customers Want: Customers are often silent about their dissatisfaction, so you must actively discover their true desires, which may differ from what they initially say. Merge their needs with your vision.

3. Deliver the Vision, Plus 1%: Consistency is key. Implement the vision, and then improve by just 1% continuously to stay ahead of evolving expectations without becoming overwhelmed.

• The "Plus One Percent" Rule: This means continuously improving service in small, manageable increments rather than trying to overhaul everything at once.

• Flexibility within Systems: While systems are necessary for consistent service, they must be flexible enough to allow employees to respond to individual customer needs.

The key is establishing trust/credibility with consistency. 

“Consistency is critical. Consistency creates credibility. . . . Consistency will overcome resistance, but in the meantime they’re watching like a hawk for you to mess up.” -Raving Fans

“Regardless of what you promise . . . it’s consistency that’s important. Customers allow themselves to be seduced into becoming Raving Fans only when they know they can count on you time and time again.” -Raving Fans

“The worst thing you can do is meet expectations one time, fail short another, and exceed every now and then. I guarantee you’ll drive your customers nuts and into the hands of the competition first chance they get.” -Raving Fans

Sometimes, poor customer service will be delivered to you in the form of a customer complaint. Sometimes, they’re polite about it and sometimes they’re quite upset. But what about all those other times? It’s these other instances when customers don’t say anything at all (whether it’s verbally by phone or face-to-face or electronically via email or text messages) that business owners should be concerned about. Why? Because those “silent” customers have defected and most likely have spread word about their bad customer service experience with you to their family, friends, and coworkers!

So, how did my friend (Sechin) and his wife (Jisun) create Raving Fans? They did it by knowing what their restaurant customers want [i.e., delicious foods; reasonable prices; and great customer service] and (1) delivering that all the time (without exception) and (2) seeking to over-deliver and continually improving by 1%.

One diner left a glowing online review stating they had never experienced "such a high level of passion, great food, and a pretty personal experience from the chef (and owner) at this price point."

“You can make big changes in almost anything or achieve great things in your life by improving or changing one percent. Things can’t help but improve if you keep at it one percent at a time.” -Raving Fans

“One percent has a second big advantage. Ongoing one-percent improvement will take you a long way from where you started, but it also means you don’t blindly set a course and then follow it. One percent allows you to add the magic ingredient that guarantees improvement rather than just change.” -Raving Fans

On our drive home, my wife and I talked about other businesses (both small and large) we know that really struggle with retaining loyal customers because they do not provide great customer service. From our perspectives as customers, these businesses just don’t seem to know or understand what their customers want and, just as importantly, they (for whatever reason) just cannot seem to deliver on what their customers want. It seems commonsensical to us as customers, but it appears to escape these business owners’ grasps. 

“A Raving Fan relationship goes far beyond your company’s product. If you don’t listen to your customer’s thoughts to learn his needs and desires, you fail to give him what he needs as a product because you simply don’t know what that need really is. Further, you reject him as a person. By not listening to him, you’re saying his thoughts have no value.” -Raving Fans

“Look what happens when you turn it around. First, you can serve your customers’ needs because now you know what they really are. Second, you’ve asked, listened to, and respected their opinions. You’re treating them like intelligent human beings. That’s powerful.” -Raving Fans

“Listening to customers is powerful…Responding to what customers say is dynamite.” -Raving Fans

Want more proof about my friend and his restaurant, Bop Joa? When I stopped by to pick up a to-go oder at the end of March 2026, a customer [who shares the same birthday as my friend] and his wife [they've only known Sechin for a little over a year!] stopped by just to bring my friend a birthday present! They didn't order anything. They just came to say Happy Birthday and to bring Sechin a birthday gift! How many restaurant patrons do you know that goes out, buys and then brings a birthday present for the restaurant owner on his birthday?!

“. . . just having satisfied customers isn’t good enough anymore. You don’t own those customers. They’re just parked on your doorstep and will be glad to move along when they find something better.” -Raving Fans

“The point is that customer service is as much a part of your product as any screw or bolt.” -Raving Fans

Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.

Organizational & Leadership Development Leader

Reference

Blanchard, K., & Bowles, S. (1993). Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach to Customer Service. William Morrow and Company.