I was in South Bombay, and was having lunch at a small
restaurant Smoking Lee when I noticed this sign on the door.
On enquiring I was told, they were servicing a combo offer
of a noodle/ rice dish and a side dish at a very competitive rate of Rs. 150 .
It was so popular that on weekends, the store would be so packed with people,
that customers who wanted to order a la
carte from the menu had some times no place to sit while it was occupied by the
Combo customers ! A la carte menu is single dish, priced separately and hence
much more profitable than combo offers.
Guess what the store did ! They put up a sign, that the
combo offer is not longer available for in house dining and they can only do
door delivery orders.
Now, at this restaurant on a working day, I was the only
guest and one more guest , who was a regular came to ask for the combo offer, (he
did not even look at the menu) . He was then told, that they
have stopped offering the combo offer and it was only available on a door
delivery!
Reluctantly, the customer ordered the combo offer and asked
to be delivered at his home a few buildings away !
Surely, with a little
more thought, the “ combo offer” can be made available on all days, except perhaps
week ends . The restaurant is otherwise empty most of the days and yet this
simple thing does not seem to have occurred.
When I enquired, I was told only about the rush on week ends
and no answer as to why this needs to be applied on working days as well !
Learnings :-
While we all have our challenges in operating a retail
store, before new “rules” are applied, some thought should also be given to how
the rule should be applied .Like I said in the past, the owners no longer sit
in the business these days, especially in chain stores and once a rule is
applied, it will take a applied in full and it will take a long time and
customer understanding or complaints to change it again !
Have you come across any such customer un friendly rule in a
retail environment . Do share . The best such example will get a prize !
Share it with us at :-
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