Different approaches in business

There is a story of an uneducated man who used to run a pretty famous restaurant. One day, his college-educated son returned home and joined the family business.

The moment he joined the restaurant, the son said: “Why are you spending so much on marketing your business? Don’t you know we have an economic crisis going on? Don’t waste money!”

Also, why are you spending so much training the waiters on etiquette and serving habits? Absolute waste of money!

Finally, stop putting in so many high-quality ingredients in the meals; they cost a lot and hurt our margins. Cut the size of the servings. It is imperative to squeeze out every last penny during this economic crisis. Lower the quality of ingredients to maximize our profit margin!”

So the man thought, his son was college-educated and he must be right. He stopped marketing his business, lowered the quality of ingredients, and canceled etiquette training for waiters.

Slowly, people became less and less aware of his restaurant. Those who used to love the food started disliking it because of its quality, and thought the waiters were not as well-mannered as before. Even the positive word of mouth disappeared. The man’s income dropped drastically. Then the old founder of the business looked at his son and said, “You are right, son! Thank you for opening my eyes to make me realize that indeed there is an economic crisis going on.” I am so glad I sent you to college. Thank you for all these suggestions, for if it were not for you, then I would have gone bankrupt a lot sooner!”

The economic crisis brought about by the pandemic is an external condition happening beyond our control. Cutting the size of the servings, substituting good ingredients with cheaper but inferior ones, and  skimping on training on personnel is an internally manufactured crisis.

While the old man is focused on delighting the customer, he has built a reputation and a brand that kept his customers coming back and giving him the business. The son, however, is focused on scrimping every cent he can get to increase profits. This does not mean that the son is an evil person; it merely means that college has not taught the son to think like the customer or maybe he was absent from class when it was being taught.

The economic crisis is a real thing, but your response to it should not be like that of the masses if you want to come out of it more robust. DO NOT stop marketing under any circumstances. Do not lower the quality of your product/service if you want to retain the positive word of mouth.

You may renegotiate rates or switch to more cost-effective channels. Still, you need to be on top of your customer’s mind so that you get a steady stream even during an economic downturn, and when the boom period comes, you are the name everyone knows! It has been said that “To give real service, you must add something that cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”

My son is in the food business. I gave him the first piece of advice some 11 years ago: “Always respect the customer. They are powerful, and they are intelligent. The moment you begin to grow the business, you need to fight the temptation and enticement to earn a lot more by sacrificing the quality of your servings.”

Today, the business is still running strong. I am glad he heeded my advice or, perhaps, he was present in class when the lesson was taught and he learned it well.

(Francis Kong’s podcast “Inspiring Excellence” is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or other podcast streaming platforms.)