“. . . it’s like pointing something out to a cat – the cat looks at your finger, not what you’re pointing at.”

Christopher Moore, from the novel Lamb*

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post entitled “Angelina’s – A Lesson In How Not To Build Good Customer Relations“.

Subsequently, “costalove”, a subscriber to my blog wrote the following comment to the post:

As part of Angelina’s Restaurant, I would like to say a few things in response to this post. First, I appreciate the time and effort put forth into reviewing our restaurant, but as you stated from the start, you were not there to witness any of this, and to write a quite lengthy review, which consist of nothing but hear say and bashing, is not only unprofessional but also just wrong. We are here to provide a good product to both locals and tourists, and we will continue to do so. Believe me, we are extremely appreciative of our local support, which is the exact reason why we offered three different promotions throughout the rainy season. Happy hour, two for one pizzas, and our $25 weekend special were all designed specifically to cater to the locals, as a way of THANKING them for their continuous patronage. Not only that but we made many sacrifices just so that we could stay open for the rainy seasons and give the locals another option this year. Happy hour ends at 7:00 every day. It doesn’t matter who you are, it ends at 7:00. I hope that you understand it’s a policy and nothing personal, therefor it should not have been taken so personally. Like you said, it’s not about money, it’s about the principle.

Reading this article, I stand by every decision that we make for this restaurant. There are plenty of locals who appreciate what we are doing, and help support us in return. You may want to read your article over again and decide who is actually acting out of line. We’ve lived here for years and we are locals just like you. To post a bunch of gossip and harsh words about Joe and this business shows the lack of respect you actually have for this community. It is your choice wether or not to return to our restaurant, but in the future you may want to spend your spare time doing something productive for this community instead of attacking the people in it.

First of all, I want to thank “costalove” for her comment . . . I encourage dialog with my readers.  If you find something I say to be inaccurate or offensive, I want to hear from you.  Likewise, if you support anything I say, I want to hear from you even more.

Secondly, I want to apologize to “costalove” or to anyone else who misunderstood the intent of my post.  I think you were looking at my finger, not what I was pointing at.

The post was not intended to be a review of Angelina’s restaurant.  If I were to write a review of Angelina’s, I would have to say that it is a wonderful restaurant.  The food is great and the service is terrific. I like Joe – he is a great chef – and the staff are friendly and courteous.

In retrospect, I wish that I had not mentioned “Angelina’s” – but merely referred to “a local restaurant” or “an anonymous restaurant” . . . because the point I was trying to make was general in nature, and not specific to Angelina’s.  It’s just that the described incident occurred at Angelina’s and, therefore, that was the setting for the point I was trying to make.

Here is the message that I was attempting to communicate – hopefully as friendly advice or constructive criticism:

When you operate an entertainment or hospitality business (such as a bar, restaurant, hotel, etc.), it is essential that your customers enjoy themselves and leave with a “warm fuzzy feeling”.  You want the customers to leave thinking to themselves (consciously or subconsciously), “That was fun, the food was good, everyone was friendly . . . I’ll be back soon and I’ll recommend this place to others.”

When you manage such an establishment, you are from time-to-time confronted with situations that you can use to your benefit to build customer relations . . . or you can handle the situation poorly and burn bridges with the customer.

On occasion, in a restaurant, you’ll get some jerk who claims his steak is over-cooked and wants to sent it back . . . even though you know that it is cooked to perfection, exactly as he ordered it, you might have to bite you tongue, smile, and bring the guy a new steak.

On another occasion, you might be confronted with a table full of a dozen local women, who are spending lots of money on drinks and food, and having a good time.  They might, in a jovial (not demanding or insulting way) ask that you give them one more cocktail at happy-hour prices.  You, as manager, know that this is a restaurant, not a military operation, and you have the ability to make this happen for these women.  What should you do?

1. Smile, say “You’re wish is my command”, let them have their one more discounted drink and keep them happy (and keep them in your restaurant longer).  You’d be assured that the women will leave, having enjoyed themselves, looking forward to returning.  Your only downside is that your profit margin on that one cocktail might be less than it would be if the women were charged full price.  The upside is you get happy customers who might stay for another hour or two, buying more cocktails, wine and food; return again and again; and refer others to your restaurant; or
2. Laugh derisively at the women and say, “Are you kidding me! No way! Happy hour is over.”  This results in instant “buzz-kill”.  The women pack up and leave without that “warm fuzzy feeling”, without spending more money that night, they tell everyone how rudely they were treated, and they vow not to return or to recommend the restaurant to their friends and family.

If it’s my restaurant, I choose option 1.  It’s a “no-brainer”, “win-win” solution.  I may make a few bucks less on the one extra happy-hour cocktail . . . but in the long-run, I’m way ahead.

Please believe me, “costalove”, my post was not intended to be any kind of personal attack . . . I really just wanted to offer some friendly advice.  It wouldn’t have mattered if it was Angelina’s or any other restaurant, bar, hotel, or other such business.

I have a business degree from a highly-regarded university, where my area of concentration was economics and finance.  However, the observations I have made, and advice I have given some business-owners, comes not from my education, but from common sense.

As another example, I have observed some local businesses (including a prominent private school) that say, “Our business has dropped off, therefore we need to increase our prices in order to make more money”.  You don’t have to study Econ 101 to know that this is not the right answer.  As price increases, demand drops off . . . so if you want to have less customers and make less money, raise your prices.

If you want more demand for your product, lower your prices.

As the graph to the left shows, there is a “sweet spot” where price and demand intersect . . . that’s what you should be aiming for.

When you have customers lining up at your door to buy your product and your supply runs out early every day . . . then you know it’s time to raise your prices.

If there is little demand for your product, raising the price is not going to help the situation . . . it will put you out of business.

I’ll end my business lecture there, for today.

Trust me, “costalove”, I only want the best for our community.  I was, indeed, trying to do something productive . . . I was certainly not intending to “attack” or “bash” anyone.  If I was misunderstood, I apologize.

From now on, if I feel the urge to offer business advice, I will not use real names as examples.

Finally, to my readers and subscribers:  Visit Angelina’s Restaurant.  They have terrific food and very friendly, attentive service.  I go there, often.  (If you see a 52-year-old women who looks somewhat like a red-eyed tree frog sitting up to the bar . . . that’s me).  Say “Hello” to Joe for me.  He really is a good guy.

Ethel

*P.S. – I highly recommend Lamb.

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• Old Favorite: Lamb (readmorebooks.wordpress.com)