By Bert Zethof

When I drove to the beverage container recycling depot in my Victoria neighbourhood last week to return my empties, I found a long lineup so I went to a sister depot in another neighbourhood. An inconvenience but a trip I was willing to make under the circumstances. The company has four depots in the city.

When I arrived at the other depot, I assumed that the return process would be the same as at my usual depot. The first sign that things were different here was when an employee scolded me for placing cardbord flats in the wrong bin. Apparently this depot has different bins for different types of cardboard. I was put off by his rudeness.

Then, the employee at the cash register asked me how many plastic bottles I had in my cart (I had already sorted them as required). I told her I didn't count them as it is the practice at the other depot for the employees to count them as they transfer the empties from the customers' carts to the appropriate bins. She tried to explain to me that they do things differently here and that I am responsible for counting the empties. Like the other employee, she was somewhat rude. At that point, I was turned off and vowed never to use this depot again.

I tell this story to illustrate the dangers of inconsistent processes (and rude staff). Customer satisfaction depends to a large extent on their experience with your systems and procedures. Consistent processes produce consistent results in a manner that meets customer expectations. Inconsistent processes do the opposite. They can also frustrate employees.

One reason why franchises generally do well is that the customer knows what to expect. Tim Hortons and Subway are examples of franchise food outlets where the customer experience is the same regardless of location.

Head office of multi-branch operations must make consistency a priority or risk losing customers. Are your processes consistent? Is your customer's experience a positive or negative one?