Whats For Lunch?
As an entrepreneur, I'm always intrigued by small businesses, home-based or not, that exceed the expectations of their customers in a big way.
Let me tell you about one of them.
Recently I spent some time with my daughter in her college town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. We were spending the day getting her apartment ready for her return to school in the fall. When it was time for lunch, she wanted to take me to a restaurant in the small town of Northport, just to the north of Tuscaloosa.
Northport is one of those typical southern small towns whose downtown area has been converted into a delightfully quaint shopping area. Central to it is a restaurant called City Cafe.
What an experience.
We arrived at the location at 11:30 a.m. Typically I like going to restaurants for lunch at that time so that one can "beat the rush." I commented on this to my daughter before we arrived; she just laughed.
When we walked in, I understood why. I faced a room with
Like visitors to Disney World, we automatically took our place at the end of the line. Then I began to look toward the front of the line and realized that it continued on into another room (which I couldn't see). So I asked my daughter, "where is the FRONT of this line?"
Her response - "you'll see."
Sheesh!
So I began to look around at the diners surrounding me. Their plates were piled high with what can only be described as "down home Southern cooking." And the diners themselves? A quick glance around the room told me that this establishment attracted customers from every walk of life. At this moment, however, they all had one thing in common - the serious business of eating.
Meanwhile, the aroma was making my mouth water. So I turned my attention back to the ultimate end of the line. When would I have my turn?
About 15 minutes later we made our way to the next room. It was there I discovered that the front of the line ended at the doorway between this room and yet ANOTHER room. Both of these rooms had two rows of booths on either side. I didn't count them, but my estimate is about six on each side of the room, making about 24 booths in total. They could sit as many as four to a booth.
I looked around for a hostess; there was none. Then I began to understand the system; you waited in line with your party, and when someone got up from one of these booths, you just went and sat down. Period.
The waitress appeared at our table almost instantaneously, cleared off the previous diners' plates, wiped the table, and took our drink orders. Actually, what she said was, "Tea?" And you're an idiot if you order anything else. It's important to note here that if you order tea anywhere in the Deep South, it is understood that it comes iced and sweetened. If you want it any other way, you'd better tell them that.
Time to check out the menu. It was at this time I realized that City Cafe operates five days a week only - Monday through Friday. The lunch menu consisted of your choice of entree and/or vegetables which you chose from the list for that particular day of the week. The price of the meal was determined by the number of vegetables and entrees you chose.
This was Tuesday; my choices included fried green tomatoes. Who was I to pass this up? Beef tips with rice and steamed squash rounded out my meal, but I could just as easily have chosen from a dozen other tempting selections. It was tough to pass up the fried okra and steamed cabbage (my daughter chose the cabbage along with chicken-fried steak), but I was pleased with my meal. Dinner rolls and cornbread were, of course, provided as well.
And the tea? Try drinking it to the bottom of the glass - won't happen at City Cafe. It's another person's job to make sure of that.
The price for both our meals? I spent $10.75 - but $3.00 of that was a tip. No kidding. She and I had dined at a well-known restaurant chain the night before and the tip for that meal was the same as the price of the City Cafe meal itself.
Guess which one I enjoyed the most?
About The Author
Cathy Bryant's newsletter, HomeBizJunction Herald, has just entered its fourth year of publication. Subscribe today by visiting her website, http://www.homebizjunction.com, and you will benefit from her practical, no-nonsense information on how YOU can achieve your dream of working from home!
Latest News
 International Business Times | Intec Appoints Andrew Meyler as VP Customer Services MarketWatch - The new Customer Services role at Intec will play a key part in delivering operational value, and help our customers respond to market challenges. ... Parature Releases Free White Paper on Cutting Costs and Improving ... |
Transite Technology Signs Deal with MCR Safety to Provide ... MarketWatch - Transite's products and managed services ensure the least-cost mode and carrier for every order while increasing management and customer service by ... |
Anything Brands Online Offers Its Commercial Clients Viable ... MarketWatch - ... tools and leading service partners, Freight Shares provides transportation capacity, shipment management and superior 24 hour customer service through a ... |
Rohm and Haas Uses Elemica's Terminal and Warehouse Solution to ... MarketWatch - Fewer errors, along with accurate data on inventory levels, results in less overtime and rush shipments to meet customer service expectations. ... |
City's budget wrangling continues San Diego Union Tribune, CA - Monday, the council voted 5-3 to restore six customer service centers, which offer residents a neighborhood stop to pay city bills or ask questions, ... |
E-Commerce Sites Are Focusing on Customer Service CIO Today, CA - By Patricia Resende In a rocky holiday season, e-commerce sites need to focus more on customer service. Good service helps a company, while bad service can ... |
Popeyes hopes to rebound with improved customer service QSR Web, KY - The major draw was the flavor of the chicken and red beans and rice, but the stores' customer service was lacking. Bachelder is heading a plan designed to ... |
 Reuters | Orleans County banking service center to stay open Buffalo News, United States - The former Washington Mutual customer service center in Albion will stay open with full staffing, guaranteeing jobs to more than 800 employees in Orleans ... WaMu didn't live up to 'friend of the family' WaMu losing 9200 jobs |
 International Business Times | M5 Announced Landmark 900th Customer Win with Addition of Airport ... PR Web (press release), WA - This real time tool allows CAS to manage and measure staff performance according to customer-defined service level agreements. CAS president Mike Duffy ... M5 Hits Milestone with Addition of its 900th Client, Airport Cargo ... |
Frost & Sullivan Recognizes Martek Biosciences for Unique and ... MarketWatch - This Award recognizes the company's successful sales entry, customer acquisition and service strategies, and the degree to which those strategies have met ... |
Resources
-
Discover how to get paid to shop and eat!
Earn $10 - $40 an hour helping businesses improve their Customer Service!
-
Start a Cleaning Business
You can learn how to start a cleaning Service business within two weeks. The Suze and Ev Method shows you how to start cleaning up immediately.