A Mexican restaurant in my neighborhood, called Mi Amigo’s is a master at giving special treatment to customers who really count. The management realizes that children often have a strong influence on where the family is going to dine-especially during the week. The management also realizes that what really influences the children’s decision is not so much the food, although the food has to be acceptable to them, but any special treatment that is directed specifically at them. Thus, when the meal is ended, the management takes some extra steps to make sure that the children remember their dining experience at Mi Amigo’s in a very positive way. First, when the waitress brings the check, she also brings a delicious chocolate mint candy for everyone at the table. This is the highlight of the children’s evening and they are all smiles. But there’s more to come. On the way out, the hostess is holding a large basket filled with lollipops and each child is allowed to reach in and choose the lollipop he or she wants.
As inexpensive and mundane as these little gestures may seem to you, they are incredibly effective. Whenever Mom and Dad are too tired to cook dinner and the decision is made to eat out, the first thing out of the children’s mouths is, “Let’s go to Mi Amigo’s!” I can assure you that these management gestures work on other families besides ours. Whenever you arrive at Mi Amigo’s after 6:00 p.m., you can bet there will be a line, but it’s a line most kids don’t mind waiting in.
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