A couple of weeks ago I drove by a national drive-thru hamburger restaurant and considered pulling in for one of their tasty burgers. I wouldn’t say I was among their best customers, but I did indulge occasionally in a small cheeseburger. I considered stopping and decided on a healthier option for lunch and noted there were a few people in line at the window despite the hot summer day.

Imagine my surprise when I drove by the burger place again the next evening in route to another destination only to be nearly stopped in my tracks–the burger stand was closed. Not just closed, but completely shuttered. All signage removed. Outdoor seating gone. Walk-up windows boarded up. Not a trace of branding left! No explanation of what happened.

The news reporter in the community asked via email the next day if anyone had any idea what happened to this eatery. It left us all hanging. No doubt, it was another victim of the downturn in the economy. As it is probably a franchise, the franchise owner may have failed to pay the parent company or land rent may have escalated beyond a reasonable amount. I may never learn any details.

It left me wondering if any of you have ever eliminated a program or service, closed it down, simply shuttered it with no warning or explanation to your members and customers. Certainly, there are many times a business closing is the prudent action or the cessation of a program or service is necessary. In fact, many associations wait too long to take such action.

The take away for me from the hamburger stand experience: our customers would appreciate being valued enough to have advance notice and/or a post humus explanation.  Our members and customers care. Confidential details are not needed,  just some acknowledgement of us.

For instance, the business that shuttered overnight could just as easily have posted a sign, “XYZ Burger Place appreciates your business. Circumstances beyond our control required us to close this location. You can find another XYZ Burger Place at 1000 North Hamburger Lane, Cheese City, SW or visit us at www.xyzburgerplace.com for a location near you.” The second sentence may or may not be applicable for you when you eliminate a program or service. However, since XYZ Burger Place is a national chain, it would have been helpful. I have found myself checking on other locations I knew existed to see if the national chain folded. I was pleased to see that others are still operating.

The next time you need to make a change, take time to think about your stakeholders. Who needs to know what, by when and in what manner. It really does make a difference to your members and customers even if they weren’t regular buyers of that specific product. Don’t become a disappearing act. It’s not magic to honor the “need to know” of your members and customers.