I wrote a couple times this week about the need for differentiation in business. As I was writing I was reminded of a restaurant I had read about on the West Coast that had a unique type of differentiation:
It gave bad service.
I read about it in an article and was shocked to learn that this popular restaurant specialized in surly wait staff who would happily insult you while you ordered.
How can a business hope to differentiate itself by giving bad service?
The article suggested that the restaurant was busy, but my thinking is that the concept is new and that’s enough to get people to show up…once.
Will they go back? I doubt it.
We may go to “the bad service restaurant” one time for laughs and the novelty of it. But after you pay the bill and walk out, you realize that you just paid a premium for someone to ridicule and give you bad service. In my thinking, you can get that anywhere else for half the price!
Ridicule as a novelty could work, but as a general gimmick to get customers in the door? Forget it.
