Rosemary and whine…

When I had the restaurants, I knew at least by sight, most of the customers who frequented them. Even these days, 18 months into my retirement from catering, when I meet someone who waves or smiles at me, I assume that they must certainly have dined in our restaurants at least once. 

Speaking of customers who dined with us, there were a lot of people who dined regularly either for lunch, dinner or both, sometimes once a month, but two couples dined with us every fortnight, yes that’s right every two weeks, for most of the time Krimo’s was open, from 1985 until it closed in 2014. If there were instances that they went AWOL, I knew that they were either on their holidays or unwell.
I was very flattered by the unwavering support but also delighted that they acted as our barometer. I really valued their opinions and always asked for them when I experimented with new dishes. They didn’t hold their punches if they weren’t too fussed with the new additions to the menu. I called it constructive criticism.

I often thought that I would shoot myself if I became as predictable, but then, for years, I went to the same Indian restaurant in Church Street every Friday or Saturday night after work. The barman poured my drink before I even ordered it and the waiter simply asked: “Same as usual?” Yes, please! Chicken tikka korai, every week. 

The answer which, a famous 1980s chef, Nico Ladenis, gave a journalist when asked what was his favourite restaurant. “A place where the waiter recognises me as I walk in, calls me by my name and where the chef knows exactly how I like my meat cooked.”

There are also those customers who came to celebrate their anniversary and insisted on the same three-course meal every year. “I stick to what I know!”
What happened to the sense of adventure? But then, if they were content with their choice and paid for it, who was I to argue with it.

One has to keep an open mind when running a restaurant. After all, if you really dissect the whole concept, it is like inviting strangers into your dining room, day in day out.
The only difference is that they are paying customers who can afford to be critical if your food or service are not up to scratch. On the other hand, if they are complimentary, you’ve done your job and may have acquired some regulars.

My motto was always:
“The customer is always right…until he’s left!”

Within the confines of the restaurant, this has to be the only rule. The worst thing one can do is to antagonise a customer. If, for instance, a customer grumbles about a beef fillet being tough, something that is virtually impossible, then the fillet is tough and I am complaining to my butchers in the morning!All that unhappy customers really crave for is to be proved right in front of their partners or guests. And all you need to do is agree with them this once and you’ve won them for life.
On the whole, during my restaurant years I met some great people, from all walks of life, all corners of the Globe. I believe that if you remember to put yourself in the customer’s shoes, you are half way there.