My girls have one kind of odd restaurant habit. They tend to freak out when the server doesn’t understand that they want exactly what they’ve ordered. If there’s a “Cheeseburger Deluxe” on the menu, one daughter will insist on ordering the Cheeseburger Deluxe, except no onions, no cheese, no lettuce, no tomato, no ketchup, no mayonnaise, no mustard, and no sesame seeds on the bun. “So, … you want a plain hamburger?” The poor unsuspecting waitress will ask.
That’s all it takes,
“No! No! No!” She’ll scream, “I want the Cheeseburger Deluxe! With NOTHING ON IT!!”
Or, when asked what she would like for a beverage, one of them will say, “You know Root Beer Floats? Well, that’s what I want, except I don’t want ice cream in it.”
“So, you just want a glass of Root Beer?”
“No! No! No! I want a Root Beer Float! Except NO ICE CREAM!!”
They both do it, and I guess it’s probably my fault, (like everything else.) For example, last summer we were checking out the department store sale ads in the newspaper. I saw a cute Calvin Klein bathing suit in an ad, and soon we were all at the mall, picking out suits.
We found a few nice suits, but not the Calvin Klein number from the ad. We set up base camp in a fitting room and I started trying on suits.
“How are we doing?” I heard the approach of a saleswoman.
“To your positions girls!” I shouted.
I have my girls trained to take their positions at fitting room doors, like armed guards, whenever we hear a saleswoman coming near. It never fails that a saleswoman will try to poke her head in the door just as I’m squeezing a pale, cellulite thigh into a too tight suit.
They successfully blocked her entry.
“I’d like to try on the Calvin Klein Bikini please. The one that’s in the newspaper ad.” I shout through the door, “Except I’d like it in black, with a control panel on the tummy, extra support under-wire cups, and a skirt to cover my thighs.”
“So, you want the Big Mama Minimizer Suit?”
“No! No! No! I want the Calvin Klein Bikini!” I shouted. “Hello? What does it take to get service around here?”
You see, it’s all in the packaging. Who would want a plain hamburger, when you could have the cheeseburger deluxe?
My kids won’t eat scrambled eggs, but add a little green food coloring and they devour “green eggs and ham.” They won’t eat oatmeal, but add a little honey and we’re eating porridge, just like the three bears.
Everyone is like this I think. We all want to feel special.
Are you taking advantage of this in your business? Are you making each customer feel special? Are you giving them plain burgers or the Deluxe package?
You might have the best product on the market, but if you sell it with a plain wrapper, you won’t be reaching your full potential.
I was thinking about this the other night when we were out for family pizza night. My daughter ordered the Pepperoni Pizzazz Pizza, except no pepperoni.
“Oh, no,” I held my breath … “Don’t say it.” I thought.
“So, you want a Plain Cheese Pizza then?”
Here we go again …
Cheryl Demas creates a weekly cartoon/column for Work At Home Moms. She also publishes WAHM.com – The Online Magazine for Work At Home Moms. Contact Cheryl through her web site, or email: [email protected]
