Undercover Diner Visits Charley's

Since moving to Lynchburg, Charley’s has become a routine business lunch spot for me, especially during my time with my previous employer. Charley’s, along with a few other restaurants, is also part of my spouse and my post-church lunch rotation. While we don’t consider Charley’s for special occasion dinners, I often wonder why not? We have always had a great lunch experience there, with consistently tasty food and excellent service.

Despite the extensive menu, we are creatures of habit and usually stick to the same few items. My spouse typically orders the Santa Fe Chicken Salad. The chicken in this dish is Cajun grilled, but my spouse requests it blackened. The salad includes red bell peppers, diced tomatoes, black bean and corn salsa, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, tortilla strips, and honey balsamic dressing.

One of my go-to items is the Harvest Chicken Salad, which features grilled chicken, mixed greens, apples, craisins, red bell peppers, bleu cheese crumbles, toasted almonds, parmesan, and honey balsamic dressing.

After many visits to Charley’s, I have come to appreciate the consistency of the food but even more the outstanding service. We typically visit once every couple of months, and I have rarely seen new employees there. It turns out, many of the staff have been with Charley’s for multiple decades, contributing to the restaurant's reliable service.

According to an excerpt from Fred Reichheld's national bestselling book, The Loyalty Effect, companies who do not have a strategy on loyalty will lose—and must replace—half their customers in five years and half of their employees in four. Granted, it is anecdotal, but we do not see this churn at Charley’s. The book goes on to describe how even slight improvements in customer and employee retention can significantly enhance profitability. Reichheld indicates that a loyal customer is significantly more valued than even a satisfied customer. From our perspective, this seems to be one of Charley’s non-food recipes.

Two stories come to mind that highlight their excellent customer service. One occurred a few years ago and the other just last month. During one lunch, my spouse decided to try the Harvest Chicken Salad but intended to substitute bleu cheese for feta. Unfortunately, she forgot to mention this to the waitress, and when the salad arrived, she could not eat it. Despite it being our oversight, Charley’s replaced the salad with one made with feta at no extra charge. This kind of gesture builds loyal customers, and when we visit Charley’s for lunch on Sunday, we see many familiar patrons.

A few weeks ago, after church, we arrived at Charley’s a bit before they opened. Due to recent travels visiting family, it had been three to four months since our last visit. We prefer sitting in the bar area, not for mimosas or Bloody Mary's, but because we can sit ourselves and like the ambiance. Shanna, one of the servers, recognized us at once and asked, “Two unsweet teas?” before we even reached our booth. After confirming, I mentioned we knew what we wanted, and she responded, “Santa Fe Chicken Salad blackened and a Harvest Chicken Salad?”

I often joke about not remembering what I had for lunch yesterday, which is more truth than joke. Despite not having been to Charley's in months and not always having Shanna as our server, she remembered our exact order. This level of personalized service is something we would love to see at other establishments.

Kudos to Charley’s for consistently providing tasty food and exceptional service. Who knows, they might even become part of our special occasion rotation—Father’s Day is soon upon us...