09:29
Faizan
Many years ago, I went with a friend to one of my favorite restaurants and discovered that there were two new owners. This popular restaurant had been in business for more than twenty years and I had been bringing people to it for more than ten years. I never had to worry about the quality of the food; it was always excellent. During all those years, it was a favorite of local people as well as tourists who had heard of it and wanted to try it.
When we came in, we were seated immediately and the new owner came over and introduced himself. Then he sat down next to me and proceeded to tell me that he and his partner were both chefs. They had invested their life savings and they were going to do things differently than the previous owners. Not a good sign. The other owners were first-rate; they had elevated their food and their customer service to an art-form.
The first thing that this chef-cum-owner said was going to change was that they were not going to be serving the same large portions as the previous owners. They didn't want people taking home doggy bags; they wanted them to finish the food on their plates with nothing left over. Considering the prices, I thought the new owners were making an egregious mistake.
Customers had always looked forward to having some of their delicious dinner for the next day's lunch and maybe that's why they didn't mind paying those high prices. I noticed that the prices on the menu didn't change under the new ownership, just the size of the portions got a lot smaller.
I ordered a salad and swordfish and told the owner that I didn't care if the swordfish was small as long as it was thick. That didn't happen. The portion was small and thin and no thicker than 1/4" if even that much. The salad consisted of a few wilted leaves of lettuce that didn't look appetizing. And to add insult to injury, the fish was not fresh.
When the owner came over to ask us how we were enjoying our meal, I showed him the wilted leaves; he didn't offer to give me another salad. I told him the fish wasn't fresh and they brought me another piece of stale fish that wasn't edible. They didn't have to worry about people taking home doggy bags. I wouldn't have taken home a doggy bag from that meal even if it had been offered.
When we came in, we were seated immediately and the new owner came over and introduced himself. Then he sat down next to me and proceeded to tell me that he and his partner were both chefs. They had invested their life savings and they were going to do things differently than the previous owners. Not a good sign. The other owners were first-rate; they had elevated their food and their customer service to an art-form.
The first thing that this chef-cum-owner said was going to change was that they were not going to be serving the same large portions as the previous owners. They didn't want people taking home doggy bags; they wanted them to finish the food on their plates with nothing left over. Considering the prices, I thought the new owners were making an egregious mistake.
Customers had always looked forward to having some of their delicious dinner for the next day's lunch and maybe that's why they didn't mind paying those high prices. I noticed that the prices on the menu didn't change under the new ownership, just the size of the portions got a lot smaller.
I ordered a salad and swordfish and told the owner that I didn't care if the swordfish was small as long as it was thick. That didn't happen. The portion was small and thin and no thicker than 1/4" if even that much. The salad consisted of a few wilted leaves of lettuce that didn't look appetizing. And to add insult to injury, the fish was not fresh.
When the owner came over to ask us how we were enjoying our meal, I showed him the wilted leaves; he didn't offer to give me another salad. I told him the fish wasn't fresh and they brought me another piece of stale fish that wasn't edible. They didn't have to worry about people taking home doggy bags. I wouldn't have taken home a doggy bag from that meal even if it had been offered.
Posted in: business
