Seumas Tan Nyap Tek*,Advocate & Solicitor
This is an extension from my earlier article called “SOME TIPS ON MAKING A CUSTOMER FEEL COMFORTABLE”. If you recall, in the earlier article we talked amongst others, about being prompt and not keeping the customer waiting. If you need to keep the customer waiting then you should inform the customer and give an estimated time when you will be able to deliver the order, etc. In today’s article, we will talk about attentiveness and how being attentive to your customer’s needs goes a long way to ensuring repeat business.
I will be sharing with you 3 stories where 2 of them deal with food eateries while the other was an incident that took place at a board meeting.
Story: The tissue and the plate This story was told to me by a friend. Recently, this friend of mine went to a popular restaurant that serves good Indian cuisine somewhere along Jalan Gasing. Those people who are familiar with this restaurant will know that this restaurant is often packed but it has a “moving crowd”. In other words, the customers will have their food and then leave which makes the turnaround really fast. This is possible because of the efficiency of the staff in serving the food and seeing that the customers are satisfied so that they leave the place happily. My friend has a habit (a good one I must add) of carrying tissue paper with him whenever he goes to a restaurant. He will almost immediately take the tissue paper out and start wiping the utensils and the empty plate in front of him. On that particular occasion, the restaurant was packed as usual. He found a table and ordered his food. Not long after he ordered, the waiter brought the utensils and an empty plate. My friend immediately took out a tissue paper and started to wipe the plate and the utensils. While he was wiping the plate, he noticed that the “captain” or the head waiter was looking at him. When he was done wiping, he placed the used tissue paper on the table. Immediately the head waiter asked one of the waiters to remove the tissue. My friend thought to himself that this must be super efficient service. However, what surprised him was that the used tissue paper was not thrown away but was brought to the head waiter for “inspection”. The head waiter unfolded the tissue paper and examined it closely before it was handed to the waiter with instructions to dispose it. Out of curiosity, my friend asked the head waiter why he examined the used tissue? The head waiter replied that he was checking for stains. He said that if the tissue should reveal that there was stain on it, he would not hesitate to remove the staff responsible for cleaning the plates and utensils. The head waiter went on to say that even though they are not a fine dining restaurant, they take pride in the restaurant’s cleanliness and hygiene. My friend was truly impressed with the head waiter and the restaurant. It wasn’t just “lip service” but the head waiter actually “walked the talk”. There were 2 things that impressed my friend. One, the cleanliness of the restaurant and two, the head waiter’s attentiveness. In other words, paying attention to what was going on in the restaurant and making sure that things are moving on well. It was because of these 2 reasons, my friend continued to visit this restaurant every week. Even though the food prices are relatively higher when compared with other similar restaurants, but my friend felt that he could sit down and enjoy his meal with comfort and that to him, was an important factor. Another experience which I wish to share is a personal experience that took place a couple of days ago. Coincidentally, it was in one of the hawker stalls in the Royal Selangor Club that serves good Indian food, especially the “banana-leaf” rice set with curry. Story: The “banana leaf rice” stall It was during lunch time, I was starving and craving for some nice hot curry lunch. Since I was near the Royal Selangor Club, I decide to pop in and have my lunch there. The place was already filled with customers/members. The waiters were running everywhere – serving food, taking orders, clearing the tables, etc. A waiter spotted me and quickly took my order. The food came rather quickly. For those who are familiar with “banana leaf rice” set will know that it comes with rice served on a banana leaf and you will have 3 or 4 types of vegetables, 3 different types of curry to choose from (usually chicken, fish or dhall) and “papadam” (a type of crackers). I ordered some “resam” (a type of soup which is a bit spicy and sour but according to many people, the soup is good for digestion) and some “chicken varuval” (dry chicken curry). All the food came except for the “resam”. I was half way through my food when I looked up trying to get hold of someone’s attention when the waiter who took my order spotted me. As soon as he saw me lifting my head and before I could even signal for someone to help me, the waiter immediately got one of his colleagues to bring me the “resam”. What makes the service impressive was that the place was crowded and yet the waiter who took my order and incidentally was dishing out some food had this attentiveness in him to make sure that things were running smoothly. Some people may consider this as just a small deed but it certainly left a lasting impression on me. The final story I am going to share with you was related to me by my father. He was so impressed with this well known public figure that my father always reminds me to be observant and humble like this person. There must be something which this person did that earned my father’s admiration. Here is the story. Story: The incident in the Board Room My father was a director in a major public listed company. Amongst the directors were well know public figures. My father was the only person without a title to his name. As a matter a fact, to put it simply, you can say that he represented the normal “Joes in the street” in the Board. At that time, my father was a smoker. At his first Board Meeting, he was going to light up a cigarette when one of the titled well known public figure directors went to look for an ash tray and walked from the end of the room to where my father was sitting and gently placed the ashtray in front of my father. Initially, my father thought it was one of the office staff that got him the ashtray and thanked the person. When my father turned around, he noticed that it was actually the public figure director. My father was surprised and quickly stood up. The person gestured my father to sit down and offered his hand when he introduced himself. He introduced himself only by his first name without title, etc. However, my father already knew who he was and addressed him as such. It may only be a small gesture by the public figure director but the lasting impression he left on my father was a lasting one.
Until today, my father still talks about that incident. My father said now he understands how this person could reach to the highest pinnacle of his career in the Government. This person knows how to humble himself and shows humility. These traits certainly did not go unnoticed. Therefore, it definitely pays to be attentive.
*Seumas Tan practices in the area of Employment Law covering issues dealing with human resource matters. He practices under the name and style of Messrs S. Tan & Co. and may be contacted at Seumas@STanLawyers.com.my.
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