Top Restaurant examples from the amazon Best Seller "Purple Goldfish" including examples from AJ Bombers, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Capital Grille, Maggiano's and the Rainforest Cafe.
2. THE GOLFISH RULE -
ADDED VALUE
DIFFERENTIATE THROUGH
12 Ways to Win Customers
& Influence Word of Mouth
1. Throw-ins
2. In the Bag / Out of the Box
3. Sampling
4. First / Last Impressions
5. Guarantees
6. Pay it Forward
1. Follow-ups
2. Added Service
3. Waiting
4. Convenience
5. Special Needs
6. Handling Mistakes
Value Maintenance
3. “
We figure our best salesman is our customer. Treat that
person right, he’ll walk out the door and sell for you. From
the beginning, I wanted people to know that we put all our
money into the food.
BONUS FRIES, FREE PEANUTS
AND UNLIMITED TOPPINGS
That’s why the décor is so simple — red
and white tiles. We don’t spend our money
on décor. Or on guys in chicken suits. But
we’ll go overboard on food.”
Jerry Murrell
FOUNDER, FIVE GUYS
4. CATEGORY 1 - Throw In’s
According to the NY Times:
“The best dessert was the churros
given gratis to every table. The
warm, long spirals of fried dough
rolled in cinnamon sugar were
delivered in a white paper bag.
Along with them we were given tiny
Mexican “worry dolls” to be put
under our pillows to take away
worries. My only worry was the
amount of delicious food I’d just
eaten.”
5. Beating Bobby Flay
“Mike Maroni beat Bobby Flay in a
t h r o w d o w n ! T h e m e a l s a r e
exclusively customized tasting
menus, prix fixe, with all the wine
you can drink included. At the end of
the meal, hours later, guests are
generally presented with jars of
Maroni Pasta sauce as a Thank You.
Once you have used it, you want to go
back for more (both the meal and the
sauce!).” - Clark Johnson
CATEGORY 2 -IntheBag/OutoftheBox
6. CATEGORY 3 - Sampling
BOGO
A t M a g g i a n o ’ s
restaurant, if you
order a classic pasta
you get to pick one to
take home. They
bring it with the
check
7. Sweet Bookends
“Lolita, a hot new Mexican
restaurant and tequila bar on
Dartmouth and Boylston, gives
free cotton candy with your bill
at the end of the meal. They
also give you a complimentary
grapefruit- and tequila-
flavored shaved ice palette
cleanser when you first arrive
at your table.”
- Matt Sheehan
CATEGORY 4 -First / Last Impressions
8. Giving back is on the menu
“Chinese with spice and heart” best
describes the “classic dishes taken to a
new level” that are “hurried” out by a
“funky and fun” staff. Though the decor
consists of “typical” “plastic covered
tables”, it’s “cheap enough” to eventually
try “the entire Sichuan peppercorn–laden
menu”, plus 75 cents per entree is donated
to the SF (and NYC) Food Banks.”
- Zagat
PS - Free beer while you wait to be seated.
CATEGORY 6 -Pay it Forward
9. Capital Grille Follows Up
“When the hostess asked which one of
us was Roy, and wished him a Happy
Birthday! I had mentioned in the
reservation on Open Table, and they
not only noticed, but it seemed
everyone there knew it was Roy’s
Birthday and made sure to give him
their well wishes! Nice!
We were then escorted to our table, and
on the crisp white tablecloth, there was
shiny Birthday confetti and a Birthday
card from The Capital Grille! Wow!
- Roy and Ren
CATEGORY 7 - Follow Up / Thank You’s
10. A Fresh Idea from Boston
“Taranta uses squid ink to
place QR codes on plates
using fresh locally sourced
seafood. Diners can scan the
code to visit ‘Trace and Trust’.
It allows you to track where,
by whom and when the fish
was caught.”
CATEGORY 8 -Added Service
11. No need to go to the bar
Joe (Sorge) and his team at
AJ Bombers consistently
p r o v i d e t h e
Purple Goldfish by offering
free peanuts… shot at you in
metal WWII bombers.
- Phil Gerbyshak
CATEGORY 9 -Convenience
12. Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay
“The french fries were a lagniappe,
served shortly after we ordered
our wine. Fried in duck fat, they
had an extreme crispness that
sharpened the contrast to their
fluffy interiors. They were served
as a trio (a favorite Mina conceit)
with one portion dusted with
smoked paprika and served with
barbecue sauce, one served with
aioli, the other with homemade
ketchup.”
- Las Vegas Review Journal
CATEGORY 10 - Waiting
13. Enjoying the House
Pacific Café, a seafood restaurant
in San Francisco, offers free
glasses of wine while you wait for
a table. They don’t accept
reservations and it’s a popular
spot, so the beverage is a nice
gesture to extend to patrons as
they wait to be seated.
CATEGORY 10 - Waiting
14. CATEGORY 11 - Special Needs
Catering to those with allergies
“At The Rainforest Cafe Faye did not have to
volunteer her allergies to the server because the
server started off with a great question: ”does
anybody have any food allergies we should know
about?” She did this with a smile and genuine
concern for her guests. Typically, Faye has to
initiate an awkward and sometimes
uncomfortable conversation about her allergies
but not at The Rainforest Cafe.
At The Rainforest Cafe the server brought out a
separate menu that covered many of the allergy
concerns that many of their guests have. This was
great and made Faye feel pretty special.”
-Hank Davis
15. ARE YOU STANDING OUT
IN A SEA OF SAMENESS?
-Tony Hsieh
The New York Times
bestselling
author of Delivering Happiness
and CEO of Zappos.com
"In business you do must do
something that's above and beyond
what's expected. Phelps shows the
ingredients behind signature extras
that are unconventional and
innovative. Every business should
be asking themselves,
"What's our Purple Goldfish?"
phone: +1.919.360.4702e-mail: stan@purplegoldfish.com