"Broccoli sir?" by Richard Handscombe

I just read an article about a Sydney restaurateur, who is so sensitive about his food being left unfinished on diners’ plates, that he’s started to penalise anyone who fails to eat up. He charges them an extra 30%, and asks them not to come back.

That’s quite an entertaining piece to read, and I know they say that any publicity is good publicity, but I’m not convinced about the effects of such a PR piece. I’d be terrified to eat there myself; what if he served me broccoli? I’d definitely have my bill increased. And if the devil’s vegetable was accompanied by anything smoked, I might as well just go into the restaurant, hand over my wad of cash and get out quick!

It reminds me of a story my mild-mannered doctor once told me about visiting a restaurant in Barnsley, about 20 years ago. When asked if everything was OK, he said it was lovely, but that the steak was a bit tough. Shortly afterwards, the owner of the restaurant - a very large and imposing character - came out of the kitchen with a side of beef over his shoulder. “Can you see anything wrong with this?” he asked my quiet and polite doctor. “Er, well, no”, the doctor replied. “Right”, bellowed the restaurant owner, “leave the rest of your dessert, and get out. You’re banned!”

One would hope that the world had changed a lot in the intervening years. Most areas of the world are in recession, or just recovering, and in such circumstances, service is one of the obvious areas on which to concentrate. At the University of Leeds, we focus on service delivery and are constantly trying to delight our customers to ensure that they come back again and again, and in that we are being very successful. 

I may never visit Sydney, but if ever I do, I'll definitely be checking the menus for broccoli before I enter!