14 Jun 2015

The world’s smallest Hummus!

HummusWhat would a serving of Hummus say to the world? Never mind that but let’s pause to see what has become of the healthiest food dip or spread popularly known as the Hummus’.
A newly inaugurated outlet with floodlights narrowing down to the restaurant’s entrance only but gave a welcoming warm; enticed by the red look the Broasted Store had put up, I walked in expecting a treat reminiscent of the invite. Sure enough, I was greeted warmly by a personnel with just about the broadest smile one can expect and a willing to take order nodded between the large sized olive oil containers that once again prompted in me a treat. Piqued by my own curiosity and with all the confidence, I asked if the Broasted Chicken was being readied in the virgin medium comprising of the olive oil that I saw showcased in plenty.   Again, the broad smile emerged only to correct me that I am being too ambitious and the olive oil is meant for the Hummus decoration. Sounding just as good, I sensed the Hummus that for some reason I try out at every outlet I visit (as I feel that the Lebanese, Turkish, Egyptian etc, cuisine are all home to Hummus) would heavily be sprayed with the purest of the purest zero-caloried medium cold pressed to be virgin enough, I could live with that.
After having transacted business confidently with the satisfaction that I could guarantee due to my personal interaction & with the booty in hand, I treaded hurriedly without a second thought at the first visit of the eatery with an aim to bank on my newfound treat in line with the weekend mood. For the kind of world we live in and the marketing that prevails therein – let alone the region I live & work, I was, however, less sure of the treat that was being formed in my mental construct and more sure of being taken for a ride. Sure enough, the show began with disappointment; the olive oil was clear & present but the Hummus was minuscule that I could believe not. I was shattered given my Hummus love and so was the petite Hummus himself, I am thinking, which would then say to the world “why don’t you put me in a sachet”.
Contrary to the rules of service marketing, my service provider just made sure that I, as a customer, would never visit again. Cannot beat that! He did have a perceptive to customer service but absolutely lacked the perspectives of his customers. From his broad smile, I could perceive a systematic link to the perspective of provider drawn from my own epistemological awareness. The link ends, however, at the receipt of the Riyal, vis-à-vis: smirk for salary. The concept for a systemic relationship with customers was simply out of question. My convictions for not being able to convince to my marketing students the concept of ‘money back guarantee’ will stay put. For as long as the traditional and non-systemic view of “we make and sell & people who buy it are customers” will prevail, and indeed does so in most parts of the world, marketing theories will remain a confusing duty.
There would, however, be flavors of it and not to mention the regional & ethnic trends. The smallest Hummus will remain smaller no matter what owing largely to the provider’s background linked to his smile, which is still in my memory clear as a bell. And, so will the consumers, with all due respect and exclusive of stereotyping, remain clinging to their own cultural traits. That said and on the same, when I drove past the same store, I noticed that the same provider has an improved product line, the sign now said in big ‘Broasted Chicken & Pizza’ – a rare yet possible combination that got me thinking ‘what will the cheese say to the world?’