Black Bear Diner is one of my favorite breakfast places. I had a morning meal there, last Friday, with Jodi Harris (The CEO of Fun, Sight’n'Sound Events). It’s a relatively small chain of restaurants (38 locations) that feels like a local establishment.

Everyone is courteous. They recognized you when you arrive. The waitresses know your ‘usual,’ and refill your coffee cup with need to be asked. The portions are generous and the prices are moderate. What’s not to like?

Now, as the headline says, “What’s wrong with this picture?.” Look closely. It’s the wimpy, wilted lettuce, underneath the orange slice. Friday, I ordered multi-grain pancakes with strawberries and sugar-free syrup (it’s a diabetic thing). The garnish is a fresh orange slice on a wimpy, slice of wilted lettuce.

I understand a leaf of lettuce with a burger and fries. What is leaf of lettuce doing on the underside of an orange slice, with pancakes? I mean really. It’s incongruous, it’s bizarre. It’s contrary.

And it’s not even a fresh, crisp lettuce leaf. It’s wimpy and wilted. I have now taken to asking the waitress-of-the-day (Friday it was Deane) to banish such wimpy, wilted lettuce from my plate.

The truly humorous thing is that when asked, “So tell me, what’s the history of putting a wimpy, wilted leaf of lettuce under every garnish?” the answer is something akin to “I don’t really know. We’ve always done it this way.”

In this case, the wimpy, wilted lettuce is not going to stop me from patronizing the Black Bear Diner, but it raised a bigger question.

What does the “wimpy-wilted-lettuce factor” have to do with Wedding Marketing in your business and mine?

What little thing are we doing that is annoying our customers and could be changed, simply, without a cost factor or any great effort? What are your doing ‘because you’ve always done it that way.’

It’s no secret that there are some challenging times ahead. Distinguish yourself by doing little things well.

What’s your wimpy-wilted-lettuce factor? Identify and fix it. No fanfare.

And another thing… I never mix my soul food with caviar pie!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Blog

PS: If you live in the Western United States, go visit a Black Bear Diner near you. And if you see wimpy, wilted lettuce, point it out. And tell them, Andy from Las Vegas said, “Take it off my plate!”

written by Andy Ebon \\ tags: Andy Ebon, annoyances, Black Bear Diner, CEO of Fun, identity, image, Intangibles, Jodi Harris, wedding marketing, wedding marketing blog, wimpy wilted lettuce