“You mean… it’s just the meat. This dish only comes with the meat?”
“When I said I didn’t want beef – it implied only wanted seafood.”
My wife and I went out to an extremely nice dinner over the weekend to celebrate our anniversary. It was a great time.
The food was good, the conversation was good, we were immensely happy all around.
Humorously, the people watching was good too.
The above two quotes were from diners nearby us. They’re officially inside-jokes my wife and I will enjoy for a long time.
But I loved them – not just because the diners were ridiculous – but because of the super crazy clear business lesson they provided.
Quality Clients
Our meal was the tale of two types of clients. Problem clients, versus non-problem clients.
My wife and I showed up knowing it was going to be an expensive meal (we planned for in advance). It’s the kind of place with an incredible view, swanky atmosphere (I dressed up), and where you don’t know half of what the food is that you’re actually ordering.
I probably knew less than half, to be honest. I saw “eggs”, “pork”, and “beef” – I like those things, so I ordered them, and hoped for the best.
In our estimation, the “hoping for the best” is part of the fun. We knew no matter what that whatever we were ordering should taste great. It did, too!
Our entire night was filled with intrigue about exactly what we would be getting next –
“So we’re getting a pork dish with ice cream and blueberries… how is THAT going to work?! This is going to be crazy!”
That happened over 3 separate courses – and we trusted that we would be pleasantly surprised during each course.
We were!
From our perspective, the cost of the meal was worth every penny. My wife and I have a fantastic memory we’re going to share for a very long time.
From the restaurant’s perspective, we were easy money. We didn’t have a complaint all night, didn’t ask for anything special, and I even tried to find our wait staff to thank them at the end of the night for being so great.
Bad Clients
Back to those quotes above.
The first one was a lady confused by the menu. Done as intended, you were supposed to pick 3 courses, and have a full 3 course meal. Obviously, some people only wanted an entree, so they allowed a la carte as well.
But the lady was mind blown that an entree didn’t come with a side salad, or something.
I don’t mean a little confusion either – I mean “this is how restaurants work, I’m supposed to get a side salad! You don’t understand!” levels of shocked. It was as if she didn’t belong
(She didn’t)
The second quote was from a man who sat on the other side of us. He and his wife ordered a “5 Course Meal” – meaning you pay for 5 dishes of the chef’s choosing. Obviously, the chef takes into account any desires or dietary restrictions as well.
This is meant to be a fun experience – you’re surprised, you trust the chef’s ability, and you get to experience an array of what the chef has to offer.
So what he said was “I don’t want any beef”
(Say that in your snootiest voice possible too – and you’ll be on the money)
What he meant was “I only want seafood”
Except, that’s not what he said, and he expected the wait staff to just… read his freaking mind, I guess.
Your Lessons
This continued, all night, over various things. The original lady was shocked she couldn’t get balsamic vinaigrette for her bread, for example.
In both cases, nothing the wait staff could do was good enough.
Sound a bit familiar?
Somebody offers to pay you, you do the best work you can, there are relentless minor complaints on delivery?
They never go away either, right?
Here’s the thing. The restaurant and the hotel attached to it are intentionally attracting a certain segment of people.
(When we showed up, no less than 6 Porche’s were in the driveway with men/women all checking in, dressed nicely, and speaking Italian – in Oregon)
The restaurant offers only 9 dishes total – 3 options per course. Or you tell the chef to give you 5 unique dishes.
While alone – none of those courses are crazy expensive – when you order 3+ then you’re in for an expensive night.
Essentially, they’re intentionally not trying to cater to everyone.
Their prime clientele? The Porche club.
While I’m sure they didn’t mind the money from the complainers – those people aren’t going to go home and rave about their dinner to friends, right?
They’re not going to write a blog or an email saying they had a really good time either.
All around, it’s a waste of time for everyone eventually.
The lessons for you?
- Do you want to be a specialty business? Or a “you’ll always get a side salad because that’s how restaurants are supposed to work” business?
- Have you decided who your clients are? This is definitely your choice, 99% of you will choose “whoever will pay me”
- How long are you sticking with your bad clients, and what changes do you need to make to quit attracting them?
I can assure you – it’s not entirely the complainer’s faults that they picked the wrong restaurant for them.
(It was the wrong restaurant – nobody was happy)
Think these things through.
If you have any questions, reply (if you’re reading this over email), or email me@adamtcroft.com
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