A smile and a gracious ‘Hello’

Published 11:08 am Thursday, June 2, 2011

TWIN LAKES — In speaking with Katie Brackey of Pub 69, you would think that she wrote the book on customer service and how to take care of people.

“You need to focus on being courteous first,” Brackey said. “A smile and a gracious hello is an easy way to get to know your customers.”

Katie Brackey

Brackey has managed Pub 69 for more than a year and said showing interest in people and their needs as a customer are first and foremost in how she likes to carry out her work day.

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Brackey answered a few key questions based on how she thinks customers should be treated.

Question: Why are good customer service skills so important?

Answer: Our business at Pub 69 is the customers, so our first thought is that we want you to come back time and time again. I hope that all businesses think like that. We work hard on doing things that will make them come and see us again.

Q: Why do customers love to come to Pub 69?

A: I think we have an amazingly friendly staff that is so fun. I think they like how clean our place is as well. We focus on cleanliness and trying to accommodate everyone’s wishes. I like going the extra mile for our customers, and it is fun planning parties with people who are having weddings, birthdays and local fundraisers.

Q: What has been your greatest accomplishment been at Pub 69?

A: Along with helping people, I think the best accomplishment is that our team has increased business at the pub quite a bit over the previous year. That makes me happy because that means people like what we are doing.

Q: What is one big mistake that you see when you go to other places that bugs you?

A: I think when someone has a bad attitude and it shows. Attitude is everything and if you do not have a good one, then maybe you should not be in the people business.

With those answers, you can see why Katie Brackey could easily write the book on taking care of customers.

In seeing how enthusiastic Katey was about her job, I thought I would end the interview by asking her if there was anything else she likes about Pub 69.

Katie said “a ton” and then listed how she likes that safety matters at the pub and said she really likes when people choose to drink responsibly.

“I like when people are smart and use designated drivers or cabs,” she said.

Katie said that the bar’s bean bag leagues and tournaments are starting this week and that on June 24, local favorite Ben Olson will be playing at Pub 69 again.

As we ended our talk with Katie she said, please let everyone know “just stop on down and we will take care of you.”

So with those final words, I think that Pub 69 cannot have anyone better in charge of the customers.