The More Expensive Recommendation

Another solution steer from the world of retail.

Over the course of a fortnight, ordering in restaurants, cafés and bars, I narrowed my choice down to two.

Each time, I asked the server which I ought go for.

Every time, they responded with what was the dearest of the two selections.

This grated intensely.

Was it an upsell instruction from management? Was it their way of trying to eek out a larger tip when totted up later? Was it a view made on the prejudice of my dress and accent?

One waitron even had the gall to dismiss both my ideas and point straight to the daily special. Double the price of either of my initial two calls.

As Ian Fleming noted framing his ‘Goldfinger’, this could not be pure fluke; for once is Happenstance, twice Coincidence, but three times is Enemy Action.

Around the same time, I happened across a dailymail summary of this quora discussion on restaurant ‘dirty tricks‘. Which included this morsel:

I then got on my soap box.

What should they all have done instead?

A question waitrons the world over must deal with regularly.

I thought about when I’d experienced excellence in the face of it. Even recently, a young lady took a smiling sharp intake of breath, and began, ‘well, that’s a toughie, they both good….’ Before going on to frame her suggestions in light of what you may be preferring.

Textures. A good word to remember in such situations. If you’re fancying something more delicate, chunky, crispy, smooth, fragrant, rich, unusual, classic, chef’s-personal-favourite. And so on.

The same often follows on a pitch.

Option A or B?

A question solution sellers the world over must deal with regularly.

It’s about what’s best for your eventual client. Not your commission statement.

Try and provide your advice based around qualification criteria that leads to longtime custom.

For instance, go for ‘A’ if you wish to start off small and build over time, or ‘B’ if the project needs a big launch and gain wins quick. That kind of thing.

For some reason springing into my mind as I blog are the travails of a quota-busting friend who once couldn’t decide between banana yellow or racing red for the colour of his sporty new company car. So paralysed by the choice, the car salesman involved failed to land any order at all.

I can imagine some sales yoda somewhere claiming you can rather answer ‘A and B!’ Which (infrequently) may have a place, yes. But in the substantial bulk of cases, be ready with your deeper either/or explanations homing in on the buyer emotion required.