Last week I visited two places for the first time. One was an amazing experience, so I’m happy to reveal that it was a Rita’s here in Charlotte, NC. The second place was a locally owned “healthy hamburgers” joint. I won’t reveal the name. We’ll just call it “Healthy Burgers.”

At Rita’s, I walked up to the counter and the young lady smiled glowingly and said “Welcome to Rita’s,” and I could tell she was being genuine. I simply said, “Tell me about Rita’s. I’ve never been here.” She proceeded to tell me about their custards and frozen ices and coffee drinks, telling me why each was so incredibly good. She looked me in the eyes. She smiled while talking. She spoke confidently. I was blown away. She flat out oozed passion for Rita’s. I didn’t care what I got at that point, I was just enjoying listening to her evangelize her brand.

At Healthy Burgers, I walked in and got a contrived smile and a very tired “Welcome.” Again, I said, “Tell me about Healthy Burgers.” Her response – no kidding – was “Well, we have food. We have burgers. And sandwiches. There’s are menu.” It came out like a female Steven Wright. The only reason I stayed was because I was starving and wanted to try a “healthy burger,” whatever that meant (she of course didn’t bother to tell me).

I’ll return to Rita’s – a lot. I won’t return to the healthy burger place. And that decision has nothing to do with the quality of the product, and everything to do with the experience I had and my interaction with the people. One young lady made that Rita’s come alive and gave me a memorable experience. The custard was really good – the experience was fantastic. On the contrary, one young lady made Healthy Burgers seem tired, dull, and lifeless. The burger was actually pretty good – the experience was awful.

Do you and your employees ooze passion? I promise you your customers – or former customers – could answer that question.

Keepin’ It Passionate,

Wil