by Nnadozie Egeonu

To them, it is bring our food hot and we will pay anything. She is attracting more customers, creating emotions among them and making more CASH.

I hate the fact that I don’t cook. But at least I can cook noodles better than the beautiful mum in the Indomie Advert. Even to cook the Indomie is such a drag; well I have to present my stomach to all these Lagos restauranteurs who can confirm that I spend all my earnings on stomach pills. Regardless, I have come to understand the dynamics of the restaurant business.

I hate it when I am hungry,then I enter a restaurant, order food, then what I am presented with is worse that what I cook at home, nothing but rubbish. It pains me most to find a delicious food presented to me right form the freezer. I mean a COLD DISH. I wouldn’t go back to that restaurant, and it has lost me, and made my blacklist.

A lot of the restaurants around here serve cold dishes to customers without thinking of the effect it may have on their trade. Hardly will you get a hot meal around here between 10am – 12noon and 3.30pm – 5.30pm. I confronted an attendant at a popular restaurant around Festac Town to know why I can’t have at least a warm meal there. She told me that if they keep warming the foods with their kerosene stove the soup will dry up fast and will become salty. While we were in conversation, her boss came in to know what was wrong, I made my complaints, and she gave me the same stupid excuse. I asked her why not get a MICROWAVE. “It is expensive,” she uttered. I asked her, “How much would you pay to get more customers?” She kept mute. I paid for my untouched food, and told her, “If  I open a restaurant close to yours with a microwave to warm customers food I will abruptly garner all your loyal customers who I guess still eat here because there is no better alternative. With a microwave your food will still retain its quality. With it you steam one food at a time instead of the whole pot of food like the stove, and it saves time. Most importantly, the customer will be satisfied.”

Just last weekend (after 3 months) I was back  there with a friend who loves eating there. I noticed that the restaurant owner was sweating it out, she had a full house. I also noticed that she had two microwave ovens, and I also noticed that she had added N100 to her charge. I noticed that the customers didn’t mind! Hot food sells!

Think and act differently. See your restaurant business as a serious contender that can attract all the Starbucks’, McDonald’s, MamaCass’, Mr Biggs’ loyal customers. You can start by having a microwave.

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Nnadozie Egeonu is a brand analyst, who helps small and medium scale entrepreneurs and start-up businesses develop competitive brands, create alluring corporate images, and effectively project their products to their target markets. He blogs about branding at Brand iGest.

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.