PHOTO CREDIT: Hans Isaacson on Unsplash+
A simple latte, a missed opportunity, and what it reveals about how small businesses lose client loyalty
Last Sunday, I ordered two iced almond milk lattes at a busy coffee shop in Grand Central Station in New York City. My daughter and I were heading back to Rhode Island after seeing a Broadway show, and we were craving that comforting, familiar warmth in a cup.
I watched as the barista poured regular milk.
At first, I wasn’t sure those drinks were for us. So I waited.
But then he brought them over and handed them to us. I gently said, “Sorry, we ordered almond milk.”
And instead of a simple, “Oh, my apologies,” he shot back:
“You need to tell us that next time.”
My response? Calmly: “I did.”
And that was it. No resolution. No grace. Just snark and blame.
It Was Never About the Milk
Walking away, I wasn’t just carrying a remade coffee—I was carrying the weight of that moment.
And I realized something that applies to every business, especially yours:
It’s never about the mistake. It’s always about how we make people feel in the moment.
That barista probably had a rough morning. Maybe he didn’t mean anything by it. But I’ll always remember how dismissed I felt. How my daughter and I were just another order, another disruption in a long line of caffeine-seeking customers.
And in that moment—I became that customer. The one who silently decides, “I won’t come back here.”
The Small Business Parallel: Are You Listening?
If you’re the owner of a small business like so many of my amazing clients—you’ve got similar moments happening in your business every day.
You’ve built a strong skill-based or technical team. You’ve invested in the best software solutions to run your business. You probably even have established goals and a thorough client Service Level Agreement.
But what you might not have is a consistent client experience.
Because just like me at that coffee shop…
Your clients are watching how they’re treated.
They’re feeling the energy in your team’s tone.
They’re noticing if your engineers sound rushed, annoyed, or uninterested.
And when those moments pile up? Even the best resolution time won’t stop them from leaving.
Here’s What I Know from Experience
I’m not speaking as just a coach or consultant—I’m an IT business owner too.
My own company went through years of stagnation. Our tech was solid. Our clients liked us… until they didn’t. Why? Because we neglected the soft stuff—the brand image, the tone, the feeling we left behind after every interaction.
It wasn’t until we rebuilt our brand, refined our communication, and trained our team to become brand ambassadors that our business turned around.
In two years:
- Our monthly recurring revenue jumped over 46%
- Our top 10 client accounts grew by over 18%
- And we gained over 20 new client testimonials filled with words like “trusted,” “professional,” and “caring”
What This Means for Your Business
Here’s what I want you to take away from that latte moment:
The client experience is your brand.
It doesn’t live in your proposal, your firewall stack, or your ticketing system. It lives in how people feel when they interact with your team.
Your team is your voice.
From the tech on the phone to the person responding to email—they all reflect your values. Are they trained to lead with empathy? With professionalism? With warmth?
You can’t “tech or skill” your way out of a bad experience.
No matter how great your solutions are, if your communication style falls flat, you will lose to competitors who simply connect better.
What You Can Do Today
The good news? You can change this.
Start by listening to your calls—what does your team really sound like?
Invest in soft skills training—your team members don’t need to be salespeople, but they do need to build trust.
Consider working with a coach (hi, it’s me!) to help you rebuild the foundation of your brand from the inside out.
Because the real danger in that latte moment wasn’t the mistake—it was that no one owned it, and no one cared enough to make it right.
And that is what sticks.
Final Sip
You’re not losing clients because you’re bad at your skill.
You’re losing clients because of how they feel after they work with your team.
So, I’ll ask you:
What’s the “milk moment” in your business?
Where are you unintentionally leaving clients with a sour taste?
Let’s change that—together.
It’s time to build a brand experience that earns loyalty, not just contracts.
Ready to become unforgettable for all the right reasons?
Let’s talk about how coaching can help your MSP shine from the inside out.
Let’s Make Sure Your Clients Never Walk Away Feeling Dismissed Again
You’ve built something powerful—but even the best tech can’t fix a broken brand experience.
Ready to train your team to become confident, connected, and unforgettable?
Let’s talk about how we can bring The B.R.A.N.D. Method into your business and turn every moment—big or small—into a loyalty-building opportunity.
Book a Free Discovery Call
No hard sell. Just a thoughtful conversation about making your brand experience as strong as the work you deliver.
