What do restaurants really sell?

I went to a restaurant-that-shall-remain-unnamed for Mid-Autumn Festival dinner with my grandma and some other relatives tonight. Obviously the Chinese “holiday” made for a very busy crew, and although we were regular customers at the restaurant, we inevitably experienced long waits for our courses and flurried customer service.

After the “appetizer” platter was served, we waited almost 15 minutes for the next course (N.B.: there are eight “dishes” at a dinner like this because eight is a lucky number in the Chinese culture, and two “default” dishes of rice and noodles as well). When we inquired on the progress of the next dish, the manager said to us with a grin “When the duck is ready we’ll bring it out, or when the soup is ready we’ll bring it out, or even when the lobster is ready we’ll bring it out. But none of those dishes are ready yet, so just be patient”. In my head, I thought “That wasn’t funny at all”, while my grandma and her sisters laughed along feebly.

When the soup finally arrived, it was hurriedly served, and after 5 minutes, another manager came back and asked countless times “There’s some more soup, who’d like more soup?” and repeatedly tried to grab my great aunt’s bowl to refill it while she declared “No, I’ve had enough” just as many times. I became increasingly irritated for the duration of the dinner, and realized that a restaurant is not just providing a meal to its customers. They are also obligated to ensure quality customer experiences to maximize the pleasure of dining out.

TBC…

Mmmm... so much better than shark fin!