On Sunday we walked into a favourite café down the road.
The place is humming, almost every table is full and I could see from the notebook by the door they had a waitlist earlier on…
I scanned the room to see if the owner was in, who I’ve gotten to know in the last few months.
He’s either not around, or it’s so busy that he’s hustling with the rest of the team.
But right before we turn to grab one of the last tables, I see him – way down the back of the kitchen, working. He notices me, pauses what he’s doing to give me a big wave and a smile from down the back.
I throw a big arm-wave back to him and smile, acknowledging that the place is going off and the energy is great in here.
I’m the last person that matters to him right here.
He’s at capacity, people are waiting for meals, he’s overseeing a new staff member and more orders are coming in. The foot is to the floor.
Yet, he makes the effort.
To see someone, is marketing. It’s brand. It’s sales, and it is retention.
To go this way, is a choice. Nobody would have blamed him for ignoring me, and I would have kept coming back.
But when we zoom out and recognise that in fact he acknowledges all of his customers, we can start to understand why there aren’t any free tables.
