Good communication

We recently ate with friends in a nearby gastropub for the first time. On arriving, we were informed that there were some slight delays in the kitchen and therefore we wouldn’t be able to order food straight away.

After a short while our food orders were taken and arrived after a reasonable amount of time. For each course the staff kept us informed of what was happening and who was being served next. We were happy to take our time (I MEAN WE WERE ACTUALLY SITTING IN A RESTAURANT – I’D HAVE HAPPILY STAYED ALL WEEKEND IF NECESSARY) and were forced, er able, to order another bottle of wine while we waited.

At the end of the meal the manager thanked us for our patience. To be honest, it wasn’t even that late, but we told him his team had been lovely and kept us up to date throughout.

This sort of thing happens on occasions in restaurants. In my recollection, in the past we haven’t been kept informed and on rare occasions have had to complain about delays – this usually results in some sort of discount being offered in order to smooth things over.

So, there’s a simple equation: don’t keep the customer informed and lose the small profit you were going to make vs keep the customer informed and actually sell more product than you might have done originally.

You choose