There is nothing more vexing than recommending a restaurant to some friends and being told a few days later that your suggestion was way off the mark.
But I was there two weeks ago and everything was perfect you tell them.
Maybe they say, but yesterday the food AND the service were terrible.
Crikey!
You usually go to a restaurant to savor some particular dishes, and you know exactly what to expect. But sometimes after a few bites, you realize that your favorite fare doesn’t taste the way it should.
Something happened in the kitchen. Somebody left and the new guy is not up to speed.
Blimey! (I watch too many British productions).
In small restaurants you seldom have a “chef” (a skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation).
They are too expensive or too ambitious.
You might have a “cook” (a person who prepares and cooks the food) but most of the time the kitchen is run by people who never went to a cooking school and don’t even know how a certain dish should taste.
They go strictly by what they have been told and never bother to taste their preparation.
If a new guy shows up, he is probably not familiar with the menu and preparations will suffer.
And that’s when you fail the “consistency” test (something that does not vary in quality over time).
A major sin.
To be successful in any field, you need to be consistent. You need to fulfill customers’ expectations.
Especially in the fickle food business where you don’t often get a second chance. If dissatisfied, a customer might not return for a long time, if ever.
Nobody can afford to be a flash in the pan, a one-time wonder.
You have to be able to repeat past successes again and again to be credible.
If you can’t, your glory days will be short-lived.
Alain