"The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit. " Milton Friedman, American Author, Economist, and Nobel Laureate.
It happened. I didn’t think it could, but someone outsold the salesman. I know the tricks, and I still got beat at my own game. I don’t know how many times I have sat in front of a salesperson and saw their next move, understood where they were heading and beat them to their spot and foiled their attempt to get me to buy more than I wanted. But I just got beat. And I mean beat bad. This salesperson was way ahead of me. I didn’t stand a chance. I never saw it coming. She hit me with an advanced move and I was powerless against it. She understood me, the customer, what makes me tick, how I think, and what my hot buttons are. I GOT SOLD.
Maybe a few of you are wondering what it was that I bought. How I got played. Maybe some of you aren’t really all that interested. You should be though. I bought dessert. I rarely ever do, but she nailed me, and I didn’t stand a chance. Here I am, an “industry insider,” I know her tricks. I was in my comfort zone ready for all her attempts to build my check average. I thought I was way ahead of her, but I didn’t stand a chance. She was one smooth operator that built her check average and nailed a bigger tip because of it. She understood me, the consumer. She knew how to whet my appetite and make me defenseless. I wasn’t ready for her moves because so few waiters ever try this one. I can’t understand why they don’t because it is an almost guaranteed close.
How did she get me to buy the taboo dessert? I mean I am frugal and am conscious about spending $20 extra bucks for something that I really don’t need - in this economy especially. That is 5 gallons of gas, it could go toward my heating bill (winter IS just around the corner), there are a million things that those $20 could have gone towards other than dessert, and yet, there I was powerless against her suggestion. How did she do it? She knew how I, and other consumers, buy. It starts with our eyes, moves to our nose and then hits our taste buds, and she smoothly moved through all three.
Dutch Apple Pie A La Mode.
As she was ushering us to our seats, she slyly mentioned how good the dessert looked at the table next to us. I couldn’t help but notice. My mouth watered just a bit. Then I took a deep breath and smelled the cinnamon and the apples melting together. I was lost already. (Think my brain stands a chance against my belly? That is one heck of a David v Goliath cage match if I have ever seen one) She must have seen my wife and I eyeballing the dessert at the next table because the next thing I knew, she was standing in front of us with 2 taster spoons full of that warm, gooey goodness. At that point I knew I was buying dessert, and I ordered accordingly. I had to leave room for dessert. It was as simple as that. It was a foregone conclusion that I was buying 2 slices of hot apple pie (with ice cream) and 2 flavored coffee desserts. $20 extra bucks on my ticket. Minimum $3 extra bucks on her tip. At the risk of using an already tired cliché, it was a win, win, win. I won – I got a great dessert, she won – she got a larger tip, and the restaurant won because I spent $20 more than I was planning on spending - 20 very profitable dollars for you, the restaurant owner/operator.
Training your waitstaff how to effectively grow their check averages is imperative in this economy. Customer counts are down everywhere and we need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way by growing check averages. Training your servers how to get your customers to buy more helps offset the impact of having less customers come through the front door. Selling desserts, flavored coffees, appetizers and drinks are all ways to help boost the check average. Not only do they boost your check size, but they significantly impact your bottom line profits because, as we all know, these are profit centers for you. These are the areas with smaller food costs and larger profits, and who doesn’t like that?
The best way to train your waitstaff is by dollarizing the impact of adding these menu options to the check on their tips. After all, compensation drives behavior for everyone. If they can clearly measure the benefit of adding 2 flavored coffees on their tips, then you will quickly gain converts. It only takes a few minutes to show them all how they will boost their pay. Now that you have made believers out of your staff, it is important to show them all HOW to sell these items. Teach them to paint a picture and cast a vision for their patrons. Plant the seed early in the meal – as they are ordering suggest that they leave room for dessert – our taste buds have some sort of mystical power over us, and you need to help them develop strategies for finding how to tap on that power. Sometimes offering a free taste nails it, sometimes it is just wheeling out a dessert cart, other times it is just having something that smells good on the burner throughout the meal that works. Find the right measures and implement them. It works! You can turn the biggest dessert naysayer into a satisfied customer in no time.
