Got toothpick?

I don’t know about you, but I love homemade beef burgers. I’d drive miles and miles to have one or two. The other day, I took my little son – Ali – to a local burger joint that has a reputation for its tasty burgers. The plan was simple – feed him & put him to bed!

I greeted the gentlemen behind the counter and made my order:

Two beef burgers. Make them well done. No Mayonnaise. No pickles. And please cut the bun in half.

Then, I asked the gentleman: Where can we wash our hands? He answered: “Sorry, Sir, we don’t have that here.” I was surprised. I told him: Can we use the washbasin behind the counter? He replied: “Sorry, Sir, it’s not allowed, Sir.” I retorted: Do you have wet wipes? And as you might have guessed it, “We don’t have that either Sir.” I asked: What can we do now? We want to wash our hands before we eat. He commented: “I really don’t know what to say, Sir.” 

The man behind the counter was not resourceful at all. I told him: Do you see that big Pepsi paper cup over there, fill it up with water and hand it to me. I went outside the restaurant. We washed our hands in a little garden outside the building. It felt like we were on a camping picnic!

We got inside and waited for our order. As we waited, the Air Conditioner dripped water on my left shoulder. I moved to the right to avoid it. 

We waited and waited. I thought this shouldn’t take so long. We were the only two customers in the restaurant. I thought that’s ok, and maybe there is an overload in the kitchen because of the other orders made online. I was cool about that because I was tickling & high-fiving my son. We were having fun. 

After around 20 minutes of waiting, a waiter approached us: “Excuse me, Sir, did you order burgers To-Go?” I replied: No. We will dine in. We ordered two burgers. He said: “I will check on your order.” He came: “Here’s your order, Sir. By mistake, it was logged as To-Go.” I did not comment. I just grabbed the tray. I was hungry.

I unwrapped the sandwich for my son Ali. The bun was cold. And it wasn’t cut in half. Now, he will mess up his clothes & the place. I thought: Well, it began as a below-average experience & it shall remain that way. I was wrong. As the experience continued, it deteriorated. 

As I took the first bite, my taste buds became unhappy. There were pickles in my bun. I don’t like them. I removed them using my index finger. Remember, there is no place to wash our hands! Do you know what the problem with pickles is? Their taste is so sticky. You feel it even after you remove them. 

I went to the restaurant to indulge my senses. I wanted to touch the hot bun. I wanted to see the melting cheese. I wanted to taste the freshly grilled meat. I got none of that. 

It became a mechanical exercise: Bite. Chew. Swallow. 

I could have insisted on replacing our sandwiches, but it was too late. It was prayer time & I didn’t want to stay any longer in the restaurant. All I was thinking at that time: This is an excellent material for an article!

When we finished our burgers, I went back to the counter and asked: Got toothpick? And the answer was: No. To me, this was the last straw. If you go back & read the article from the beginning, you will uncover several mistakes or shortcomings in my dining experience. But to me, not having toothpicks is a great sin for a restaurant. 

If you’re a restaurant selling beef & chicken burgers, you should expect that your customers will need this. You should have it. You have no excuse. I know toothpicks don’t cost a fortune. I went to Carrefour to confirm my assumption. Three packs of German-made toothpicks will cost around $1.25. And the pack has 150 toothpicks! So, if the owner buys six-packs for $2.50, he could place one over each of the six tables he has. It’s no brainer. Get the toothpicks. They will last forever!

In any business, there is a typical Customer Experience Journey. Think long & hard about it. Invite your team to discuss it & map it. You should strive to delight your customers across this journey from start to finish. And when you do so, your customers will give you repeat business & referrals. And if not, they would go on to tell their family & friend that you didn’t have toothpicks!

Let’s use toothpicks as an analogy. In your line of business, what could be the equivalent of toothpicks in your business? 

Get it. Do it. Your customers expect it.

Mohamed Isa is a Business Advisor, an Award-Winning Speaker & 4-Time Amazon Bestselling Author.