There's a local steakhouse in town that my wife and I enjoy... marginally. We enjoy most of the environment - it's casual, relaxed. And we enjoy the most of the food, including the steaks - when they get it right. But that's the problem. They haven't gotten it right for us four out of the last five times we've dined there. Medium comes out rare. Medium rare comes out medium well. They usually make good on the free meal after three trips to the kitchen, but since we'd both like to eat our meals together in less than two hours, it's been a while since we've been there.
So, chalk it up to our bad luck, right? Maybe. Maybe we're just hitting the lousy chef every time he's working. Maybe of all the steaks in the restaurant, ours is the only one getting screwed up.
Doubt it.
Inevitably, we know that if the consistently poor service is happening for us, it's happening for others.
Case in point: this morning I was talking with my friend, Greg about favorite places to dine with our wives. Our experiences about this steakhouse were identical - inconsistently poor service, poor food prep.
Okay, that's only two couples. True. And the numbers multiply from there.
If the experience is consistent, it's happening consistently with lots of guests.
The same is true of your church. Just because you only hear concerns from two people doesn't mean everyone else is happy.
Correcting this kind of poor service delivery is about fixing entire systems of service delivery. New patterns must be established - over time. Trust in service must be re-established.
If we ever go back to the steakhouse, we'll risk it several times before we trust there's a new pattern. And that's a big risk.
