Seeing customers returning from the unseen

The gnocchi with cheese sauce didn’t appear to be on the menu at Cafe Terroni, a restaurant I’ve frequented in Melbourne for eight years, so I asked for the item closest to what I usually have with the addition of crispy prosciutto.

The waitress, Kirstin, checked with the kitchen and returned. “The chef said you always have the gorgonzola cheese sauce.” (That blew me away, given I only go a few times a year now when I travel). She remembered, in times past, running to the shop to buy the specific cheese for my order—as it was custom-made—and that tonight, she would pop to the store for the prosciutto. While I insisted she didn’t have to, she insisted she did, and I lost that fight. It was delicious, as always.

Upon paying the bill, I gave a tip: Kirstin insisting it was too large, me insisting it wasn’t, and I won that fight.

Delighting the customer.

While the food and service at Terroni have always been exceptional, I never knew the lengths Joe, the owner, and the staff went to make my experience memorable.

Customers appreciate when businesses make their lives easier, their experience richer. And it’s often these unseen actions that cause the customer to be seen more often.

Ray