According to guest surveys, the Feel-Good Restaurant chain’s top two performing restaurants couldn’t have been more different. While almost all of the 80 restaurants scored pretty average on everything across the board, the locations in Southgate and Northcrest received wildly different scores.
Southgate scored high as the friendliest restaurant, but was not known for making the dining experience spectacular. The food came out slowly, with varied quality and lacked detail.
Northcrest was all about efficiency—the food was excellent every time, precisely the same way, exceeding expectations. This efficiency has led to low scores on survey questions about the friendliness of the restaurant, with patrons feeling no connection to the staff.
Sideways Marketing was hired and sent their man on the street, Riddles, to scope out the two restaurants. He returned a little shaken up after having to hitchhike from one location to another and then a third time back to the corporate headquarters of the Feel-Good Restaurant chain. Riddles completed the bonus challenge his boss, Louis Sideways, had set to complete the mission without his phone.
Still in good spirits, Riddles returned to the headquarters to make his report.
“Southgate’s store is like going to a place where everyone knows your name. In fact, the staff knows almost everyone’s name. It’s where families go to dinner. It’s where community meetings happen. It’s where soccer team parties take place. The Southgate store is a staple of the community.”
Riddles paused for effect and drank an entire glass of water while the board waited.
“The Northcrest store is precise and efficient. People go on their way to the big concert downtown or before a sporting event. It’s the first stop on the way to other plans. They go because the food is great, and they can quickly move on with their day.”
“Well, which one did you like better?” the head of the board asked.
“Southgate wanted to know why I was acting like a spy and Northcrest tried to kick me out after 15 minutes. I didn’t like either.”