Listen To Your People

Your extreme, most whiny, customers may be your best friends. I speaking metaphorically, but the literal may be true as well. In extremes you will find valuable information. It’s like when someone explained the bizarre fashions, that you see on the runway, to me. I would always think “Who would ever wear that? How do you even pay for the show?” That was when someone explained to me it was bits and pieces, fabrics, collars, cuts, that were sold. Not that I understand the fashion industry other than that they are very good at recycling, but I do now at least understand that extreme edge of fashion, since my fashionista interpreter showed be a picture of a runway dress and then a picture of it’s carnation as a department store dress.

It’s sort of that way with extreme customers. They may sound like trouble makers and rabble rousers that you can’t take seriously, because they are acting absurdly, but there can be a truth buried under that Tourette’s syndrome. We opened on less than a shoe string and served our food in to-go boxes as we had planned on doing only to-go in the beginning, but quickly realized that wasn’t going to cut it, if we wanted any business. We got waitresses before plates and had a customer come in and order a salad then loudly proclaim to the dining room, if it came on Styrofoam he wasn’t going to pay for it, knowing full well that we didn’t have plates. Well I was tempted to send the salad in one of our stainless steel,16 quart, mixing bowls, they’re bigger than the bowls Jethro used for cereal on the Beverly Hillbillies, but opted for the bowls we had bought to heat things in. We were happy if we got a table when we opened, so I wasn’t risk their having a sense of humor about themselves, I find few customers do. What this told me was that we had to squeeze some more blood out of our stones and buy some plates. If he was willing to be that rude about it then other people were thinking it and not saying anything. Some things aren’t going to be pertinent such as, the red beans are hot. Of course they are! Red beans are a Cajun dish served with Andouille sausage. They’re spicy.

I learned you can’t force people who were raised on country music to listen to hard core jazz. You may like the music you’re playing, but you’re not buying the food you’re selling it. I would have people who were jazz aficionados come over and talk to me about jazz when we first opened. They were amazed at my collection and that I was playing it in the dining room. The other 98% of the people hated it, even my own wait staff. Out with the Fusion and in with the greatest hits collections, middle of the road pop, bluegrass, and country. At least I didn’t start with my vast Latino collection, though I do throw one in every once it a while. I considerate Latino music some of the happiest music on the planet and I don’t understand why everybody doesn’t love it, but apparently there are some that don’t. Go figure.

I won’t pulverize you with examples, but you get the idea, if someone says something, even in a boorish manner, don’t let your ego, or your musical tastes, get in the way of learning something that might save your restaurant.