The Goofy Zealot: “Buddy” Bargains

“Stay right there. Do not move.”

At this point, I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen next, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be something that will have a significant impact on my night.

The general manager (GM) of the restaurant goes back behind the kitchen doors.

I look around and strike a conversation with a waitress as I await the GM’s return…

I tell her that she has a pleasant face (yes, her entire face) and ask her what she thinks of mine.

Before I’m able to get too goofy, the manager comes back with a sheet of paper.

It says, “employee pricing” and lists a few menu items with clearly discounted prices.

I thank him emphatically and proceed with my night.

I randomly run into a co-worker at the office (mind, this was at 8:00 pm, and therefore quite the surprise) and told him the good news.

“We just got employee pricing from the restaurant downstairs!”

He didn’t really seem to care that much, but I was still happy because I knew I had the next entry for my blog.

When I walked into the restaurant, I noticed a man that I had seen before, so I went up to him, said hello, and asked him how he was doing.

When he responded and asked me how I was, I responded with my usual, “INCREDIBLE” and he continued to ask me about how I liked the restaurant.

At first, I didn’t understand why he was asking me, but as mentioned in the beginning, I later realized that this wasn’t a customer hanging out at the bar.

Earning privileged access to the employee menu at a restaurant is not my grandest achievement in life, but in regards to my mission of writing the Goofy Zealot, I can say that it felt like quite the feat.

For today’s entry, I found a couple of interesting statistics from an article on profit margins in the restaurant business.

Restaurants that sell pasta tend to have higher profit margins because the markup on pasta is so high.

When I went back to look at the employee menu I realized that no pasta dishes were included.

The idea was definitely for me to try more items on the menu, so I thought to do some research on discounts/giveaways.

I found an article that cites that giveaways can lead to a 25–30% conversion rate on purchases and also increases customer satisfaction, increasing the likelihood of repeat sales.

While the GM of the restaurant gets to look like the cool guy giving out discounts, this actually makes for an incredible business strategy to retain customers and increase loyalty.

So, the next time you get a discount on something, don’t take too much pride, there’s likely a profit-motivated incentive for the friendly move.

Happy Hump Day! — The Goofy Zealot

Originally posted on Medium.