Never under estimate anybody is a common proverb. This proverb has been wonderfully exploited by a small restaurant in Bangalore located in the heart of the city at Brigade Road.
I work in Museum Road at Bangalore which is in the heart of the city. There are so many restaurants which offer better facilities, more spacious better ambiance and better quality of food but still I tend to eat at this restaurant named Sangam. There are restaurants which offer items at a lower price than this restaurant. The food is not served in the greatest of vessels nor or the bearers known for their extreme hospitality. The tables and desks look very ordinary which makes this restaurants one of the lost options for me but at the end of the day I have visited this restaurant more often than any other restaurant and yet the hotel management can count one me as one of my regular customers. A few reasons why I visit this restaurant inspite of some ot its drawbacks are given below:-
1. The restaurant is the second nearest from office:- Very close to our office is a canteen run by post office and while they serve good food the problem is the queue which is too huge. The huge queue at the canteen by default makes this restaurant by name Sangam the nearest to me. A walk in afternoon is least preferred by many and I am no exception and here the restauranthas a natural advantage atleast in my case.
2. Bearers come immediately:- The moment you sit on a chair a bearer comes to you and asks for the item to be served. In case you are not sure what to order he will reel out the names of items readily available at the restaurant. Once you make up your mind and order the item, you find the item within a flash on your table. If you are very tired and very hungry you cannot ask for more.
3. Bill comes immediately: Once you have finished of with your lunch the bearer immediately makes an appearance asking if you want anything more and if you say say the next items comes in a flash and if you say no then the bill will be delivered in a flash.
4. Refund too comes immediately:-- Once you have kept the money on top of the table the amount is refunded in a flash. If you have to rush back to your office can you ask anything more.
The restaurant though being small the management have got the basic things right. As the hotel is located in a commercial area the management knows very well that employees working in offices have a lunch time which is not more than half an hour. By ensuring quick service they ensure hat their hotel becomes the first choice hotel for employees who cannot exceed the time limit given by their companies. Secondly it is a budget hotel as the average cost of food is in the region of 25 to 35 rupees and while it looks low to the customer that actually is not low because the quantity served is too low compared to other restaurants but then the customers do not have a option because that is probably the only restaurant is that area where you get immediate service.
While I prefer atleast half a dozen hotels above the hotel Sangam, I must compliment the management of the hotel for their intelligence in making customers come to them against their wishes. These days managements of most companies engage their employees in frequent training sessions at their workplace so as to ensure better output form them in the interest of the organization but then they seem to have forgotten on a very important aspect in the training and that is the value of time. The manager of this hotel, Sangam has hit on one simple formula and that is appreciating the value of time of a average person and that has worked wonders for him and his customers and in short a win win situation for both.