Saturday, October 22  

My Restaurant Rules

My Restaurant Rules

Mel and the children were at a school concert yesterday that I couldn't attend. After I finished up here at work I went out to dinner.

The restaurant I chose was an upmarket one (not too flash) with a nice feel about it. It had subdued lighting, good food and a guy playing guitar and singing quietly in the corner.

What The Girls Did All Night

I sat down next to a table of 8. 4 guys, 4 girls. They were about 20 years of age.

The girls spent the entire time either texting from their mobile phones or calling someone. They hardly spoke with the guys all night. They were annoying me, so I can only imagine how the guys felt.

Things Change

I'm an old man of 38 and I think going out to dinner with someone and then texting or calling others on your phone is just plain rude. If I was out on a date and my partner did that I'd happily walk off and leave them to it.

But it's becoming the norm.

And as a marketing guy I have to be aware of the changes in society behaviour to keep up with the current trends. Although I might think the girls were being rude I have no doubt that they would be amazed that anyone saw anything 'rude' about what they were doing.

I might think that the guys keeping their caps on during the meal was bad manners. But the response to that might be "Get a life old man."

Respond To Trends

It's critical in business to be aware of trends and fashions. Who's hot, who's not. That sort of thing. Because then you can respond effectively for your market.

So my restaurant rules might not be to toss out people using their mobile phones. I might set up a wireless restaurant and you can even bring your laptops in too!

Cheers

Brendon