Outlets & Eye-Fi's?

Take Out
I had to eat dinner alone tonight. My wife was out at a professional meeting. I was really hungry but didn't feel like cooking. So I called one of my favorite restaurants (The Palm) and placed an order for pick up. I ordered prime rib (blacked, medium rare), a baked potato with extra sour cream and bacon, and a Caesar salad. They told me it would be ready for me in fifteen minutes. I arrived on time and left my motorcycle idling right outside by the valet who was happy to watch it for me. When I went inside they acted like they were delighted to see me. Of course, my order was ready. They handed it to me in a huge bag. The bill was forty two dollars and change. I've eaten there many times before so I really shouldn't have been surprised by the check but for some reason I was. For a moment I thought: what am I doing getting forty two dollars worth of take out food only to eat it alone at home watching a Law and Order rerun? With the tip it was almost fifty bucks. (The service was so good it seemed only right to tip for take-out.)

I took my prize home. What I discovered amazed and delighted me. The prime rib was hot. It was over two inches thick and cooked exactly right. There was plenty of delicious juice. The piece of meat was so big that they had to cut the bone side off and give me two separate containers to hold it all. I easily have two more meals left over after eating all I wanted. The baked potato was also hot and big and actually baked, not steamed. They had given me six full ounces of high-quality sour cream. There was another six ounces of real crumbled bacon obviously freshly made. There were three different kinds of bread; easily enough for three people. They gave me a large serving of real butter wrapped in plastic wrap instead of that nasty industrial spread in the little plastic tubs that many restaurants serve you. The Caesar salad was huge. Their Caesar salad is the best I've ever had anywhere. I'm stuffed and I still have two meals worth of food left.

Is forty two dollars plus tip a lot to pay for a take-out meal to be eaten in front of the TV alone in one's underwear? Is forty two dollars plus tip a lot to pay for the highest quality meal accompanied by the best side items, made of the best ingredients, prepared exactly right, presented with prompt impeccable service, and delivered in such quantity that one has two more meals to be enjoyed from the leftovers?

I haven't even finished all of this meal and I can't wait to go back. On just seeing the meal I promised myself to take my wife to this wonderful restaurant soon as possible. Already they had made the next sale before I had consumed this one. In quantity, quality, and service this restaurant had greatly exceeded my expectations. Price as an issue is irrelevant.

Give your customer much more and much better than they thought they'd get and you can charge as much as you like. Chances are they keep buying from you and even recommend you to their friends.

Mark Fitzgerald, Sales Training Institute, Inc., Tampa, Florida provides this column weekly. Mr. Fitzgerald provides both group and customized sales training for professionals and companies. For more information, please contact him by telephone at 813-831-5555 via email at mark@saleskills.com or visit www.saleskills.com. © Copyright Mark Fitzgerald, 2009, All Rights Reserved.