Worldwide Success

A small restaurant owner received a reservation for dinner from a very important client who was going to bring a large party to dine at the restaurant.  The only special request from the client was that he would like to have fresh fruit served for desert.

The restaurant owner had several employees that shared the many duties of running a restaurant business.  One of these employees was called John.  John had been going through some financial difficulties lately and wanted to meet with his boss to ask for a raise.  John approached the restaurant owner and asked if he had a few minutes because he wanted to talk to him.

The restaurant owner responded:

“Sure John.  But before we do that, I have a very important assignment for you.  I am going to receive a very important client tonight who is bringing a large party to dine at the restaurant and he would like to have fresh fruit served for desert.  I am thinking of serving pineapple so I need you to go to the market right away and find out if they have pineapples.”

John did exactly as his boss instructed.  He came back from the market and reported the good new to his boss:

John: “I went to the market as you requested and confirmed that they do have pineapples.”

Boss: “Great!  How many do they have?

John paused for a minute and responded: “I did not ask that”.

Boss: “Ok, how much are they asking for the pineapples?”

John: “Sorry, I did not ask that either.”

Boss: “Did they have anything other than pineapples, in case they don’t have enough?”

John: “Sorry, I did not ask about that either.”

The boss then told John to sit down and wait.  He immediately called another employee called Peter to come to the room where they were, explained the situation, and asked Peter to go to the market to check if they had pineapples.  Peter went to the market as requested by his boss and came back to report his findings:

Peter: “I went to the market as you requested and confirmed that they have pineapples.  The have exactly 15 pineapples which should be plenty even for a large party.  But if you prefer to have other fruit as well, they also have mangoes, oranges and strawberries.  The pineapples are going for $1.50 each, the mangoes $1.70 each, the oranges $1.20 per pound and the strawberries $3.50 per pound.  Since you indicated that you were thinking of serving pineapples I took the liberty of reserving all 15 of them, and since you would be buying a large quantity of pineapples I negotiated a better price of $1.30 each.  If you would like to place the order I will be glad to go back to the market and pick them up.”

To which the boss responded:  “Excellent job Peter.  Yes, I would like to confirm the order.”

John was still in the room and quietly observed this entire conversation.  As Peter left to go pick up the pineapples, the restaurant owner turned to John and said:  “John, was there something you wanted to discuss with me?” To which John responded: “No sir, it was really nothing”.

Many people are like John.  They do only the minimum required to complete the job.  They don’t use their creativity or try to predict what else might be required to meet the needs of the boss or client.  So when it comes time to ask for a raise, or a price increase, they really don’t have a case.  Don’t let yourself fall into John’s predicament.  When someone gives you an opportunity to provide a service, go above and beyond what was asked.  Try to think of what else you can do to exceed the expectations of your boss or client.

If you consistently exceed expectations, you will be a big success.

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