The following story is a great example of a business adding value to their service.
Jane rang an Italian restaurant to book a table for lunch on Sunday.
“Would you like us to put some antipasta and mineral water on the table so your guests have something to nibble while they wait for their main course?” the restaurant asked. Jane said she would have the mineral water.
Before the customers even arrived, the restaurant had made a sale!
While Jane’s guests were deciding what they would like to eat, they were, of course, offered drinks and most of them bought some coffee.
When they had finished their main course, the waiter returned with the menus and put a copy in front of each person and disappeared. He didn’t ask if they would like to see the menu as this might invite a “no” answer. When he came back, to the table he was ready to take orders for a dessert.
There were no sales but one of the guests suggested the waiter would return and offer more coffee.
The guest was close – the waiter offered more mineral water!
This restaurant also offers Italian food to take away and, as you might guess, several of the guests did not leave empty-handed.
It would be interesting to know the average sale for this business!
Up-sell whenever you can and make sure all your staff do the same. Remember what they say at McDonald's: “Would you like fries with that?”