It was bucketing out of the heavens as we stared out the window of our hotel in Garda in Italy during our summer holidays. It hadn’t let up for over an hour and it showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.
We had planned a leisurely stroll into the lakeside town and a nice meal on the waterfront but that was impossible – the tummies were groaning at this stage and the hotel restaurant was shut.
The restaurant that was directly across from the hotel (we were about a mile away from the lakeside strip) didn’t have the views that were on the lake but it didn’t seem to stop the steady stream of locals using the place since we had arrived.
Day and night there was a constant stream of Italian cars in and out of the place – it must be good if the locals were going there we reckoned. I checked on Four Square (a phone APP where you can leave tips about places) on my phone and the restaurant had some quite good reviews left by previous diners.
We decided to make a dash for it and despite it being just across the street we did get fairly wet.
Hostoria La Cross gave us a warm greeting as we entered but after doing so the waitress left us standing there – two minutes later she came back to us with two glasses of prosecco .. “welcome!“.
Wow – we were given a gift on the house before we had sat down or ordered anything.
It put us in great form and we had a fabulous meal (despite every second dish being laced in truffle oil..can’t stand that smell!)
Of course we left a big tip after our special night but really appreciated the “tip” the restaurant gave us at the start of the meal.
The last few times I have taken taxis in Dublin and in Cork I have noticed that each time the driver has “rounded down” when it has comes to the fare “€10 is fine” when the fare clocked €10.70.
The simple gesture is a big change to how it used be and it shows the appreciation of the business and invariably you end up leaving a good tip.
Last night after our meal in Bacco in Ballincollig we were offered a Limoncello on the house as we were settling the bill. They showed their appreciation for the business …”Thank you, we’ll be back”
Giving the customer something they are not expecting is a clever way of saying thank you and building customer loyalty.
Are you tipping your customer?
Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion
Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm in Ireland with offices in Cork and Dublin
Tags: Bacco, Cork, Dublin, Fuzion PR, Garda, Greg Canty, Hostaria La Cross
Greg Canty Fuzion Blog 
September 30, 2013 at 7:05 pm |
The Italians do this kind of thing very well. For your next holiday consider Lake Orta.
September 30, 2013 at 10:03 pm |
I never heard of that place Fiona – must go there next time! Thank you
October 1, 2013 at 3:59 am |
I had a similar experience recently in Dublin when we went to an Indian restaurant called Diwali near George’s St. The waiter popped over with a chicken pakora on the house. Followed up by a free cocktail at the end. They’ll be sure to get a good review in Trip Advisor from me!
October 1, 2013 at 6:19 am |
Fergal – the clever one’s are working it …as they always do ! Thanks for sharing
October 1, 2013 at 6:47 am
I remember a few other posts you written in the past about good customer service and it’s all about making sure the customer knows that you want to do business with them. Companies that do it consistently really reap the rewards, particularly in sectors that lend themselves to customer being loyal.
May 17, 2014 at 9:13 am |
Well said
May 27, 2014 at 4:46 pm |
thanks Denis
June 11, 2014 at 4:31 pm |
How could you not like truffle oil Greg?!
June 11, 2014 at 5:08 pm |
Yeuch ….the smell alone trips me !