In Fat Donglai, there are many such performative actions. For example, when you go to Fat East to buy watermelon in summer, some people buy a whole watermelon, and some people buy cut watermelon pieces. Fat Donglai has a slitting table to cut watermelons on the spot. Cutting watermelon is actually very simple, and various fruit stores sell this kind of cut fruit. But Fat Donglai cutting watermelon is different, and there are rumors in the rivers and lakes that Fat Donglai cutting watermelon is called "Dubai Knife Method". The so-called Dubai is the Dubai of the Middle East. What does that mean? It's just that all the bad ones are removed, leaving only the sweetest and most core part in the middle. Anyone who has seen the waiter of Fat Donglai cut watermelon, whether you buy it or not, you will feel that this merchant is too generous, and what he sells to customers is the best.
Many of us have been to Haidilao for dinner, and Haidilao is most famous for its service. But if you are asked what kind of service Haidilao has, you may not be able to remember it for a while. If you insist on special service, many people will think that the master of Haidilao ramen can dance.
The waiters of other hot pot restaurants will also ramen, but most of them are casually pulled twice and then put into the pot, Haidilao is different, Haidilao ramen's service is very performative, and it is difficult for people who have seen it to forget.
When it comes to service, the first thing that comes to many people's minds is that the waiter welcomes and sends them away, and is polite to customers. Many companies promote smile service, requiring each salesperson to bite chopsticks in their mouths and show eight teeth when practicing smiling. Of course, it's right to smile at a customer, but times are evolving, and to today's consumer, this eight-toothed smile seems false – what customers need more is a service that can be perceived.
What is a perceptible service? Like the waiter of Haidilao ramen just mentioned, do you perceive it? In fact, he can completely pull up the noodles and send them up to help you get into the pot, which will save you more time, but why does he perform in front of you? Because he wants to make you feel this service and be impressed.
On this point, let me give you an example of Fat Donglai. In the first lesson before, I told the story of one time when I went to Fat Donglai to buy shrimp, and the waiter helped me pour out the water in the plastic bag and put it on the scale. Later, I went to another supermarket in Xuchang to buy live shrimp, and I found that they would do the same, I don't know if it was to imitate Fat Donglai - but they were only half right.
Why? Let me make a comparison.
How did Fat Donglai pour this water? They lifted the plastic bag of shrimp so I could see it, and then they took a pair of clean blue scissors, cut a corner under the bag, and tilted the bag to let the water out. He showed me the whole process, but what did the other supermarket do? When I went to weigh, there was a sealing machine on the table, and everyone knew that when they went to the supermarket to buy vegetables, after weighing the vegetables, an iron ring would come out of the sealing machine, seal the bag, and then make a price tag. The waiter scratched the bag with a raised piece of iron on the sealer, then lifted it up and shook it - in fact, the water could come out with such a shake.
But if it weren't for the observation like I did, the average person wouldn't have noticed this detail at all. For me, the sealer was not clean, there was rust on it, and when they scratched it, it made me feel very unhygienic. I didn't thank him for helping me get rid of the water, but I thought they were rough.
You see, the same is to pour out the excess water, Fat Donglai turned this action into a performance, which is very ornamental, everyone can see and feel it, and what about another supermarket? It's just a process, as a customer, it doesn't matter if you see it or not, whether you feel it or not.
In Fat Donglai, there are many such performative actions. For example, when you go to Fat East to buy watermelon in summer, some people buy a whole watermelon, and some people buy cut watermelon pieces. Fat Donglai has a slitting table to cut watermelons on the spot. Cutting watermelon is actually very simple, and various fruit stores sell this kind of cut fruit. But Fat Donglai cutting watermelon is different, and there are rumors in the rivers and lakes that Fat Donglai cutting watermelon is called "Dubai Knife Method". The so-called Dubai is the Dubai of the Middle East. What does that mean? It's just that all the bad ones are removed, leaving only the sweetest and most core part in the middle. Anyone who has seen the waiter of Fat Donglai cut watermelon, whether you buy it or not, you will feel that this merchant is too generous, and what he sells to customers is the best.
Actually, if you think about it, the business area is so large, does it have to have a platform for cutting watermelons? Can't you cut it in the back or in the storage area? Wouldn't this table increase its operating income if it was put on the market?
If you're the boss, please don't settle accounts like this. Removing this fruit-cutting table may increase the business area by one or two square meters, but I tell you, your service users are out of sight again, and this is one less opportunity to impress customers.
Why cut it now? Because it's fresh. Take out the watermelon and cut it for you to see, cut it and sell it now, and you can see what is going on at a glance. Why use the Dubai Knife Method? Because you have to taste the sweetest part in the first bite, so that you will have a good impression of the product.
For another example, the cooked food processing area of Fat Donglai is basically open, if it is selling roast duck, it is really only separated by a layer of glass, and you can see the process of slicing roast duck; If you sell dumplings, it is also through the glass, and the package will be shown to you on the spot. You can see the slaughter of live fish, the cutting of meat, the deboning of all of them. Fat Donglai will show you all the links that can be shown to you.
We ordinary people often say a sentence called "seeing is believing", and I only believe it when I see it. If you see a supermarket so clean, so standardized, and so serious, how do you feel? Is it that invisibly you will have a good impression of this supermarket and will trust it more?
Finally, one more detail, we went to Fat East to shop, and when the cashier finally arrived, the waiter would definitely hold the receipt and check each item next to each other. In fact, the accounting entries can also be checked by the cashier's computer, why do you have to hold the receipt and check it item by item? It's also for customers to see. Every one of your consumptions, Fat Donglai takes it very seriously and will not make any mistakes. You can also think of this as a service that can be demonstrated.