Sunday, November 14, 2010

How To Lose A Customer For A Penny


I frequent small towns like Kuna and Marsing.  Recently I partook of breakfast at the Farmhouse, Kuna’s only real breakfast place.
The rather bland omelet I ordered came standard-fare with hash-browns and toast.  It wasn’t horrible (nor good) but here’s the thing – everywhere I go, I ask for a pancake substitute instead of toast. It's never a problem. In this economy you’d think the answer to almost any request would be a resounding “yes certainly we can substitute a pancake.”  My answer at the Farmhouse – a rude, “no, he won’t do that”.  The “he” is the waitress’ husband. I almost just got up and left. In retrospect I wish I had.
My dad while there recently came up one penny short at the register and asked if that was close enough. He’d left a tip at the table already.  The answer was another rude, “I have to pay my taxes too.” Can you believe it. My father had to break a dollar to give the guy a penny.
Not only did he lose us as customers, he’s certainly treating the (hopefully dwindling) remainder of his customer-base exactly the same.  In this econonmy?  To lose a customer for a penny? Really?
In contrast I found a delightful little restaurant today in of all places, Marsing. It’s called The Orchard House. It’s actually right on Highway 55 about 4 miles North of Marsing – a 12 minute drive from the Karcher exit off I-84.
If you drive through Marsing you'll find 80 year old dilapidated buildings and a quick look-see into their coffee shop might indicate that maybe rural folk accept something less than Starbucks ambiance.
The Orchard House is a delightful exception however. The ambiance here is warm and inviting.  There's rich pine paneling, a tin ceiling, lot's of little nick-nacks. It’s nearing Christmas and they’ve done it up right, inside and out and it looks like they sell some of their confections under glass in the lobby.
The few up-front parking spaces are reserved for seniors so you’ll want to park about 50 feet away and traverse a short trail to the door. Wait though until you see the way they’ve lit the pathway.  It looks like the mini-version of the Botanical Gardens Christmas show - splendid just like everything else at The Orchard House.
The breakfast menu is yummy with thick bacon strips, great omelets and wonderful pancakes.  The breakfast potatoes are superb. Breakfast prices are like weekend Sheri’s prices but the food is far  better. Espresso coffee too!
The dinner menu is more upscale with prime rib, various steaks, salmon, praws, halibut and chicken-fried steak. Menu items are $14-23 but you can do a split of their prime rib, add $5 and get all the sides for your spouse. That’s really cool.
Their weekend dinner menu adds some really nice menu enhancements. Same prices, more variety and more saucy items like Chicken Piccata, Flat-Iron Prawns and finger-steaks.
The Orchard House is a sole proprietorship and no doubt there are family members in attendance. Often the ma-and-pa places lose their vision along the way, burn out and don’t impliment systems and processes for long-term success. That doesn’t seem to be the case at The Orchard House however.  The service is great; the food is great; the atmosphere is great. Every "t" is crossed; every "i" is dotted.
It seems that Orchards are better than Farms (Orchard House vs Farmhouse) It’s worth the drive toward Marsing just to check it out. Come and enjoy a place that delivers delight – on purpose.

Oh by the way, my bill this morning for a wonderful breakfast was $10.02. As I was shuffling through my bills, the waitress saw I had a ten dollar bill and ironically she said, "Don't worry about the two cents."

1 comment:

  1. That's awesome. I was raised to believe that service is paramount and those who provide it show a great quality when they actually take care of the customer. More and more we are finding examples like the Farmhouse on the opposite side of real community. In places where Americana and genuineness should be preserved, we see a gross symptom of bad culture and bad economy. I firmly believe that we should be more outspoken about these matters especially in yoo and your father's experience.
    We should meet out at the Orchard House sometime and bring the wives. Blessings brother.

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