Last night I took my two children, aged 16 and 18, to Chili's restaurant.(I know what you're saying: Dad's a big spender. It was mydaughter's turned to pick and Chili's is one of her favorites.)

Upon entering the restaurant, we noticed a shiny black box oneach table–a cool new video menu from Ziosk.

Two servers approached our table. The “trainee” introducedhimself first, and then introduced his trainer. Both young menwere very well spoken and polite. The Ziosk was nevermentioned, but upon further inspection, it appeared we could notonly order from the box, but also pay for our meals using the box.My daughter commented that we are probably not too far awayfrom the elimination of the server position in many restaurants.

The servers took our orders and our meals were brought asordered. I'm not a big fan of Chili's food, but my ribs wereexcellent, as were my son's and daughter's meals. Multiple serversstopped at our table and asked if we needed anything. None ofthem mentioned the Ziosk machine, and I'm a little grateful.The good service that we experienced reminded me of days goneby, a time when people cared about customer service and teams werebuilt on one theme: service.

As we left, I asked for the manager and complimented her on heramazing team and her great work.

The Ziosk was not a favored option last night, but it might havebeen welcome at my lunch today. About once a week, I like to dinealone, catching up on trade sites, industry content, and review mytask list. I entered a restaurant and was promptly seated. My orderwas taken in about 15 minutes and my food arrived in another 15minutes. That's 30 minutes of wait time. All I ordered was soup andsalad, but at this restaurant, it seems to take forever. Duringthis dining experience, I would have favored the black box.

Dining experiences are intriguing because they are smallcase studies on customer service. There is a big spread betweenservice levels today–most are average, a few are terrible, and evenfewer provide a memorable experience.

What do you customers receive when they call your company? Whatdo you say when you answer the phone?

Customer service is an art that can be taught. None of us comeinto this world with amazing customer service skills. “Natureversus nurture” is not something we can relate to in this case.Most of us learn our service skills from our first few managers,then carry that level of service throughout our careers.

Think about the customer service training that you provide yourstaff. Is it ongoing or a flash in the pan?

At our company, we continually talk about customer service.During our meetings, we exchange positive and negative storiesabout what happened during the week regarding service.

One of our employees recently hung up on another agencyowner. He became frustrated with the owner's attitude andafter he called our client an “idiot,” my employee hadhad enough.

When I retuned to the office, the employee was upset. As wetalked though the situation, I reminded him that a person whois emotional is not in control. He agreed, called the agencyowner back, apologized, and was able to take care of the situation.It was a great learning experience for the young man and therest of our staff.

My challenge to you: Gauge your current level of customerservice and increase it by one. If you're a 10, take itto 11. If you're a 1, take it to 2. An incremental increase inthis one little area of your business can pay amazing benefits downthe road–and could keep you from being replaced by a black box.