As some of you know I like to patronize several restaurants in my area. One is Miso-Ya, a Japanese place that serves breaded cutlets, and the other, called (I forget right now!) that serves Mon-du and bibimbap. For the most part, they know I am a teacher and that I live or work near their restaurants. They do know my eating habits, however!
The other day I ate dinner with Bernard, a fellow teacher, at the Mon-du place in the Gok. The waitress commented to Bernard, in Korean, that I didn't finish my rice and it would be more cost effective if I ordered something else in which I can finish. Then on Saturday, after my kindergarten six year olds, I went to the Mon-du place again and ordered bibimbap. This time the waitress told me, in Korean, that I don't eat much rice so she would give me extra vegetables! I thanked her. Is this cutting costs or good customer service?
On Wednesday of this week, I ate at the Japanese restaurant and ordered my favorite dish, number 28. It is cooked rice with lots of vegetables and fresh, chopped sashimi. I think it's tuna. Not sure. I put some red paste over it for some spice and chow down, "chop chop" Korean style. Ooo! The cooks know I am not big on eating a lot of rice. Rice likes to settle in my gut region messing up my sexy abs. On Wednesday, she gave me a ton of extra lettuce. But today's number 28 had a 50 percent reduction in the rice! Is this cutting costs or good customer service?
I think it's cutting costs. Korean owners are very price consciousness and who isn't? I hear from all people that Korea has employment problems. How this translates to being price conscious is a big step! I imagine they cut costs whenever they can and since I am one of the few white westerner men who visit, they definitely notice my eating habits and style! Do they do this with other frequent customers? I dunno.
Korean department stores, restaurants and other service industries are customer-driven experiences. It is really quite good. They are helpful. If they can't help you, they find someone who can.
For example, when I bought my cheap-ass basketball at Home Plus, the representative took a new air pump from the shelf, opened it up and pumped air into the basketball. It was a warm day and he broke a sweat.
Another time I was shopping for Yanne in the cosmetic aisle at E-Mart. I spoke to a nice lady who took me around the whole store telling me about lip products in English. She helped give me choices in selecting something nice for Yanne. In the former and latter experiences, it is good customer service.
I am trying to think of the last time I walked into a Los Angeles restaurant and the waiter or waitress was nice, made eye contact, showed some genuine care or pride and provided great service? Hmm.
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2 comments:
Interesting post on Korean customer service. The one question that I have is about the rice. Isn't rice really inexpensive? I hope that they were giving u less rice out of customer service. Otherwise, that is really being cheap! I also liked that the waitress gave you more vegetables. That was very thoughtful!
Thanks for your comment Kelly. Rice is kinda expensive here. Most people buy a huge 20kilo bag of it but the price of kim bap (California Roll) went up like .50 cents. Maybe this is also due to the price of gas which is at 2,000Won per liter or about $6.50 per gallon. Yikes!
The people at the mondu place are super nice and appreciate my business. They smile and are very helpful unlike a lot of restaurants back home.
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