Restaurant Lessons Shine

Twice this week I’ve been out in Cape Town.  To Beuna Vista with my mate Brandon in Green Point, and Caveau next to Newlands rugby stadium with a crowd of us.  Beuna Vista has always been a favourite haunt of mine, and I meet Bran many Monday’s there when I’m in town.  The service is typically (whichever race is behind the bar, a thing which all Seffers lamentably have hang ups about) sensational.  Yet this week it was shocking.  It’s sometimes when things don’t happen you notice the difference.  There was:

• no chat about how the drinks were going
• no suggestions of trying different types and brands
• no prompting to look at the food menus
• no handing of plates personally when food arrives
• no proactive asking for next drinks (in fact the total opposite with long waits)
• no eye contact when being served

The two fellas were simply taking the piss.  I’d have been better served by a vending machine and my future custom is in jeopardy.

Then there was my visit to Caveau and more pleasing encounter with a black lad who’s name I didn’t catch, and a white lass called Cindy.  We selected a couple of certain reds, only to find that they’d no stock.  Immediately, alternatives were suggested.  Furthermore, Cindy went on to say that she thought they were such worthy replacements, that if we didn’t like it she’d give us one of the 65 glasses of wine options for free.  We were sold (& the wine was good too).  How often do you here from marketers that the total guarantee is a winner, yet in B2B it hardly gets used like Cindy did to great affect here.