The Smart Approach to a Tough Situation

When your competitor the economy takes away 61% of your customers, you are in trouble. 61%. That's a lot. I heard this statistic on a newscast yesterday about dining out. The reporter stated that 61% of those who frequent restaurants are not dining out because of the economy. In other words, restaurants have lost 61% of their customers.

The story told how Sysco, a major restaurant supplier, is helping restaurants with suggestions of how to survive this situation. Three of Sysco's suggestions were cited. They included stretching the expense dollar for food by serving smaller portions, presenting menu items in a fashion that increases sales, and charging for items that were currently offered for free, such as bread and butter. I thought that these were all valid and excellent suggestions.

However, I was concerned about the implementation of the first and third suggestions, stretching the expense food dollar and charging for items that were offered for free. Realize that I am not disagreeing with the ideas. I am only concerned about their implementation. The Sysco guy who was presenting the ideas stated of the third one, "Each of these additional charges for bread and butter is two bucks. You get two bucks, two bucks, two bucks from each check."

Increasing each check is a smart way to grow your business. The way he presented the idea made me wonder at what point the customer had been notified of the charge for bread. If the customer was told upon ordering the bread or being encouraged to order the bread that there was now a charge for it, that is smart marketing. On the other hand, if the customer had been encouraged to order the bread and discovered that there now was a charge for the bread upon receipt of the bill, that is very unwise marketing.

His suggestion about the reducing the portion size took a similar turn. He mentioned serving a six-ounce steak instead of an eight-ounce steak as listed on the menu and having the vegetables on the plate make up the two ounce difference. That is deceitful. Deceit may work once with a customer, but deceit does not develop a customer. In fact, deceit may prompt a customer never to return.

When you have already lost 61% of your market, each customer becomes more precious than ever. You certainly do not want to deter a customer from returning to dine again. In fact, you want to do everything to encourage that customer to come back and do so soon.

What is the best way to handle this? Once the customer expresses an interest in ordering the bread, let the customer know that due to rising costs, there is now a small charge for the bread. At that point, if the customer wants to know the fee, he or she will ask it. If the customer doesn't care and wants the bread either way, he or she will not ask at all. Either way, you have been truthful with your customer and done so before the purchase. Will a few purchases be lost? Probably. However, those that are lost will only be for that "two bucks" of bread. You will not lose the customer. In fact, your upfront honesty will develop that customer further and prompt the customer's return.

When you are in a tough situation, the smart approach is to be as concerned about what the customer wants as about what you want. After all, giving customers what they want will ensure their return, which means revenue for your business.

Customers want the truth. Always tell it.