When it comes to certain brands, I’m usually loyal to a fault. I’ve chewed Extra gum since I was a kid. While I might change flavors every now and then, it’s always Extra. My laundry detergent is Gain. I brush my teeth with Colgate. I’ve only ever owned a Toyota. I’ve used Lady Speedstick Shower Fresh deodorant since college when I got a free sample. I only buy Coke products for the house or on the road (but I’ll drink diet Pepsi at a restaurant that doesn’t serve my brand of choice). I could go on and on, but you probably get the point. Unfortunately, some businesses don’t get it, or maybe they just don’t care.
Customer loyalty goes a long way. Industry experts say increasing customer loyalty by 5% can increase profits by 25%. Another common statistic is that 80% of a business’ revenue comes from 20% of its repeat customers. How do you get customers to come on board with your brand and not jump ship when a competitor is in sight? It’s all about quality, service and consistency.
Since I moved to Wilmington almost six years ago, eating out hardly ever involves a chain restaurant. There are just too many fabulous local eateries, like Brasserie, Caprice, Yosake, Oceanic … There used to be one chain I could count on for good food and service. If I had a hankering for a good hamburger, I went here. Salad bar. They had the best. Ruby Tuesday was my go-to place.
We go way back. What’s now a restaurant with locations across the globe actually got its start in good ole Knoxville – just minutes from my hometown, Murville (that’s Maryville for people not from East Tennessee). In the third grade at Sam Houston Elementary School, we learned about proper manners at the dinner table. The weeklong lesson culminated in a field trip to a fancy restaurant (yes, Ruby Tuesday once was considered fancy in my neck of the woods). Mrs. Howe let us bring our lunch trays into the classroom to practice before the big day. Then on Friday, about 100 little girls and boys dressed in their Sunday school best piled into school buses. What I remember the most were the big stained-glass windows (the typical décor until they went all modern), and how they toasted the buns for the hamburgers.
Ten years later, Ruby Tuesday would move its headquarters to Murville. This laid the groundwork for downtown revitalization. It also was the catalyst for city residents to finally pass Liquor by the Drink (there’s still the TN No Beer on Sundays rule, but that’s another post for another day). It’s amazing what happened after that one little change. Murville started attracting a ton of good restaurants. There was a time when your choices to go out to eat were: China Town, Morrison’s Cafeteria, Kay’s or fast food.
When Grayson had his hernia surgery back in August, Steve and I went to Ruby Tuesday for a quick bite while my parents played watchdog at the hospital – I wanted something good, familiar and close. I ordered a pasta dish. For an almost-empty restaurant, our food took way too long to arrive. I can cut them slack on that, though, because I know I was anxious to get back to my little boy. But the food. No excuse. They tried to fancy it up on a long, rectangle plate. Presentation cannot mask bad taste. Steve wouldn’t even eat it (and that should tell you something!).
I credit Ruby Tuesday for many of the improvements in my hometown. But brand loyalty can only take a customer so far. I refuse to follow Ruby Tuesday off the cliff they recently jumped from into an abyss of terrible service, barely-edible food and tacky interior design. Why mess with a good thing? Look where it got them. According to recent reports, they closed 40 of their 712 U.S. locations last month, and plan to shutter another 30 in the coming years – in all a 10% reduction. Yes, the state of the economy can be partially blamed. But the other reasons are from the costs of (unnecessary) renovations and high levels of debt accrued over the last several years.
For more than a year, I gave my restaurant second chance after second chance. I can only be disappointed so many times. Ruby Tuesday lost a loyal customer. And loyal I would have been until one of us no longer existed. The Rolling Stones said it best: “Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday. Who could hang a name on you? When you change with every new day. Still I’m gonna miss you…”
By Sarah
