Being a regular
I have a good friend who always has a new story or new theory to share. By new, I mean new to me, a story I have never heard before. I have known Richard for almost 10 years now and his ability to tell a new tale never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes he shares pieces of his personal Seattle history, sometimes he tells me about different places in and around Seattle, or different local characters that he knows. He has lived here for all his life and his stories are always very personal and they make me feel as though I have been let in on some kind of intimate secret. The kind of tales good friends share because only a friend can be trusted to enjoy the hearing of the tale as much as I suspect Richard enjoys telling it.
Anyway this long preamble is because I had lunch with Richard last week and he shared with me another of his life lessons. This one he calls the secret of being a regular.
To be a regular in an establishment (restaurant, bar, coffee house, bus stop, whatever) you need to go in at the same time and do the same thing about 10 days in a row. For example, go to the same bar after work sit at the bar, drink 1 light beer, and leave. Do this for 2 weeks and you are a regular. You can now go in once a week and the people will remember you. You can even wait 6 months or a year, and when you next walk in, the bartender will have your drink poured before you sit down.
Now because Richard is so able to come up with stories, I don’t often believe everything he says without some proof. So I was compelled to do my own experiment.
I have been riding the bus to work on my new job. As such, every morning at about 6:15am, I stop at the same coffee stand and get the same beverage (tall decaf drip). I did this just about everyday for the 1st 2 weeks of March. Then I stopped. I started going to work different ways. I started catching the bus at different places, riding my motorcycle, and on occasion driving to the office. Just yesterday I stopped at the old coffee stand on my way to the bus, and the lady behind that counter had my drink ready before I stepped up to the counter. I am a regular!
Thanks to my friend Steve, I know that a positive experience is not proof. I need a negative example. There is a coffee shop in the basement of the building I work in. I get always buy at least one cup of coffee from the folks downstairs every day. However, I am inconsistent in my habit. Sometimes I buy my coffee before going up to my office. Sometimes I wait until after I get settled in the morning or after the morning status meeting. Sometimes I get a cup around 2pm. The other inconsistent thing I have done is that I do not order the same beverage every time. Sometimes I get a latte. Sometimes I get a grande drip. Sometimes I order a tall decaf. When I walk up to the counter I get a friendly hello, but the people behind the counter don’t know what I want, and if I skip a day, they don’t even seem to recognize me.
I’m certain there is a lesson in human psychology somewhere in this silly tale, but Richard didn't share that.
Anyway this long preamble is because I had lunch with Richard last week and he shared with me another of his life lessons. This one he calls the secret of being a regular.
To be a regular in an establishment (restaurant, bar, coffee house, bus stop, whatever) you need to go in at the same time and do the same thing about 10 days in a row. For example, go to the same bar after work sit at the bar, drink 1 light beer, and leave. Do this for 2 weeks and you are a regular. You can now go in once a week and the people will remember you. You can even wait 6 months or a year, and when you next walk in, the bartender will have your drink poured before you sit down.
Now because Richard is so able to come up with stories, I don’t often believe everything he says without some proof. So I was compelled to do my own experiment.
I have been riding the bus to work on my new job. As such, every morning at about 6:15am, I stop at the same coffee stand and get the same beverage (tall decaf drip). I did this just about everyday for the 1st 2 weeks of March. Then I stopped. I started going to work different ways. I started catching the bus at different places, riding my motorcycle, and on occasion driving to the office. Just yesterday I stopped at the old coffee stand on my way to the bus, and the lady behind that counter had my drink ready before I stepped up to the counter. I am a regular!
Thanks to my friend Steve, I know that a positive experience is not proof. I need a negative example. There is a coffee shop in the basement of the building I work in. I get always buy at least one cup of coffee from the folks downstairs every day. However, I am inconsistent in my habit. Sometimes I buy my coffee before going up to my office. Sometimes I wait until after I get settled in the morning or after the morning status meeting. Sometimes I get a cup around 2pm. The other inconsistent thing I have done is that I do not order the same beverage every time. Sometimes I get a latte. Sometimes I get a grande drip. Sometimes I order a tall decaf. When I walk up to the counter I get a friendly hello, but the people behind the counter don’t know what I want, and if I skip a day, they don’t even seem to recognize me.
I’m certain there is a lesson in human psychology somewhere in this silly tale, but Richard didn't share that.
1 Comments:
In NYC there was a time when the real coffer dispensing pros on every corner could see a regular customer a block away and have it ready. It was all business and you never changed or varied your order...If you changed you were met with certain indignation as if you had insulted the chef. Real coffee drinkers then had it only one of three ways....Sugar or no sugar, cream or no cream. My favorite was called a 'regular' which meant cream and one scoop of sugar. I hear that a 'regular' in NYC is still a 'regular'...
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