i see where your coming from @OSV but your just playing devils advocate with that story.
Who- me?
http://carvinbbs.com/images/smiles/stirthepot.gif
I have people come in to my place every day and ask me whats fast or whats ready to go…and I work with them. (edit: OSV: emphasis added)
This seems to be a common theme and an opportunity for growth. In many (if not most) locations, a good part of the lunch business is putting a premium on speed of service. If people are asking for ready-to-go foods on a daily basis, that’s an indicator of where your menu could be adjusted. Keep in mind that for every one customer asking what’s ready to go, there are many more who aren’t asking, because they already know the answer and went to a drive-thru instead.
Rather than “work with them”, why not accommodate them? If you have customers coming in every day asking what’s ready to go, I would suggest jotting down a list of three categories that could be ready to go- from there, come up with a few offerings for each heading- less than five choices for each. Ready to go items should be simple and self-explanatory. The customer should be able to glance at the menu and say “I want that”. No Insalata di finocchi e ravanelli con Parmigiano. The customer is in a hurry. Keep it clean and simple.
From there, you could either have a section boxed off and highlighted on your menu, or even better, print off a separate A5 “ready to go” menu. If you have an outdoor menu display, you could consider printing a large version to go in the display.
example:
READY TO GO
SOUP…BOWL…CUP
● Minestrone
● Soup of the day
SALAD…FULL…SIDE
● Antipasto
● Caesar
● Garden
SANDWICHES…FULL…HALF
● Italian
● Turkey
● Vegetarian
Keep in mind that the more choices they have, the longer it will take for them to make up their mind, and the slower the service to everybody. Don’t offer a choice of 14 different wing sauces. Offer two.
This will make things much easier and much faster for the person placing the order, the person taking the order, and the person making the order.
It’s important that the items on the “quick” menu be self- explanatory. If someone has to ask what’s on an item, it slows down their order and the orders of the people in line behind them. Everyone knows what comes on an Italian sub.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have house specialties or unique items, just that they should be on the regular menu, not the “ready to go” menu. If someone wants to order from the regular menu, by all means accommodate them.
On pricing: The common wisdom on menu pricing is to use round numbers. For example,
GARDEN SALAD…9
is preferable to
GARDEN SALAD…$8.99
It’s a good pricing strategy for a dinner menu. However, for a fast lunch menu, I like to price things so that the total with tax comes to a round number.
For example, assuming a 6% sales tax:
GARDEN SALAD…8.49
That way, when the item is rung up, it comes to an even $9. It seems like it’s contrary to the conventional wisdom, but it cuts out the "oh- wait- let me see if I have the change- maybe my other pocket- I know I have it here somewhere- let’s see- 37… 38… 39… "- it also saves the cashier from having to count back change, open rolls of coin, and so on. On an individual basis, it might not seem like much, but if there’s a line, all these little details add up to two things: ease of experience and speed of service. Believe me, your customers will notice.
…he became a crazy person when he walked up to 2 perfect strangers and asked to buy a slice of their pizza…that’s just strange to me…
I’m with you there- definitely seems strange to me, too- and yet, within three replies to the OP, another operator is saying that he had the exact same experience. I’ve actually seen it happen myself (and thought it was strange).
When it comes down to it, many of my best customers are a bit strange. In fact, I have a few employees that are a little odd. There are even those who have accused me of being a bit “different”- imagine that.
Strange or not strange, their money still spends the same. If I only accommodated people who were not strange, I wouldn’t have many customers.
(Also worth noting: The strange behavior never would’ve taken place had the customer’s needs been met to begin with.
http://carvinbbs.com/images/smiles/stirthepot.gif )
in this day and age someone who has the means to walk into a restaurant and afford what he wants to order is not going to die from missing a meal. this was not a life or death situation and if it was im sure @Freddy_Krugerrand would have handled it differently.
Basing customer service on whether or not a customer will die if they’re not taken care of is setting the bar a bit low, don’t you think?!
http://carvinbbs.com/images/smiles/stirthepot.gif
Also, Freddy is from Fort Collins that’s not a small city…and I’m sure he isn’t the only restaurant in Fort Collins. If this guy had half a brain and was so desperate he couldn’t wait 8 minutes for a fresh pizza he should have been looking for a drive thru for a fast meal. (edit: OSV: corrected mis-key )
This is exactly my point. If we don’t meet the needs of our customers, there are plenty of others who will.
When you suggest that the customer should just go to a drive-thru, I’m reminded of the old adage: be careful what you wish for, you might just get it…
The question is this: did you go into business to make money for yourself, or did you go into business to make money for the drive-thru down the road?
If you didn’t go into business to make that drive-thru money, stop sending them your customers!
here is another great story about a restaurant that refuses to make to-go orders…do i think its silly to not make to-go orders…YES, but their reasoning behind it is perfectly acceptable.
http://www.eater.com/2014/10/6/6925273/restaurateur-pens-epic-takedown-of-entitled-yelper
By presenting my post in the form of a fictitious on-line post, I was attempting to make a subtle point. Your link makes that point in real terms.
Back in 1981, TARP did a study that still gets quoted today. Their findings were that a satisfied customer will tell 2-3 people about his experience. A dissatisfied consumer will share their experience with 8-10 people, and some will push that number to twenty.
As much as that study was a wake-up call when it came out, the numbers are hopelessly obsolete. With modern communication, you can add several zeros on to each of those statistics. Take a look at that link and notice how many times it has been viewed and shared. The original was posted a little over a month ago.
Drilling down a bit further, even though the post was presented as an “epic take-down of an entitled Yelper”, the 49 comments paint a different picture. Many felt that the complaining party behaved badly, but many also felt the restaurant behaved badly:
Customer behaved badly: 30.61% (15)
Restaurant behaved badly: 26.53% (13)
Both behaved badly: 40.81% (20)
It was Obama’s fault: 2.04% (1)
When the “both” responses are tabulated with each respective column, 71.43% had an unfavorable opinion of the customer, and 67.34% had an unfavorable opinion of the restaurant.
Listen: in the big picture, it really doesn’t matter what people think of the Yelper. It does matter what people think of the restaurant.
Much is made these days about text/SMS/online marketing being the wave of the future. As with any other form of advertising, the most effective is not the stuff you pay for, it’s what comes from your customers. It’s an extension of “word of mouth” advertising. That advertising can be positive or it can be negative. The only control you have over that message is in how you treat your customers.
