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My wife and I went out to eat last night. Her sister who lives out of town is in New Jersey for a few days on business, and we wanted to meet up. She didn’t have much time, and she’s over an hour away from where we live, so we decided to meet halfway and have dinner together. We decided on a restaurant in Highland Park, a Chinese place called Mei Garden.
My wife called up to see what time they closed. There was some miscommunication, and we thought we were told the last seating was at 9 pm, when really they closed at 9 pm. We got to the restaurant at about 8:45 or so, and asked for a table. The man there explained to us that we could get take-out, but they would be closing shortly, and we didn’t really have time to sit down. My wife explained that we had driven a while to get there, and her sister was driving a while as well (she hadn’t arrived yet). At that point, the owner walked out of the kitchen, and asked what was going on. He immediately told us to take a seat, and said he would stay late in the store so that we could sit down and enjoy our meal. He only asked that we order quickly so the kitchen staff didn’t have to stay late – he didn’t want to impose on them.
The food was great, and we didn’t feel rushed at all (although we didn’t shlep, because we didn’t want to make him wait any longer!)
Out of hakaras hatov to the owner, I am writing this story. This man sets an example of how a Jew should conduct himself – thinking of others, and willing to go out of his way to help someone out.
Thank you!
Beautiful story. Thank you for posting it.
I really hope that places like that do well!
Wow! Thats a tzadik !! Good people do good deeds!
Wow that’s amazing!
Beautiful story. Thank you for sharing it.
Nice. I dont want to knock what he did, but if I would be the boss I would probably do the same. He wants to make money. I know many bosses that stay over time if they have a chance to make a deal. It would be amazing if it came from a worker, cuz he gets the same sallary either way.
Phyliss, I understand what you are saying about a boss, but I’ve been to places and the owners are not always nice and attending to their customers.
mybat, there are some basic business gestures that any smart boss should know. you’ll always have some that are foolish enough to be rude. Watch this. Take this boss of this restaurant, he got the customer so impressed that she is sharing the story. All the above comments reflect pple that are equally impressed. If even one person shops there cuz of this experience being publicised then he has accomplished his goal.
Nevertheless, I am assuming that this owner did this because he is a mentch, and not for mercenary reasons. If I were that owner, I could see myself doing the same out of caring for their efforts, and I would think the owner did that for the reason noted.
Bemused, imagine how good he acts, he even gets you to think his business tactics are out of mentchlechkeit!! He would be foolish if he sent you away, he would lose a customer!!!
What does he lose by letting you sit in his store while you eat or if a boss keeps the shop open a little longer so that you can browse maybe you’ll buy something…WHen i was engaged I went to a robe store just in time for closing. I started gathering a few things, the boss went outside, paid her taxi that came to pick her up to take her home and sent him away. I didnt think she was doing this to be kind, i understood that she saw a sale and she wasnt going to let it pass. Smart.
Phyllis: I can’t even count the times I’ve gone to stores and been told, “I’m sorry, we’re closing.” And I’m not talking about Erev Shabbos, when it’s understandable they would want to close on time.
I think the owner of this restaurant did it because he is a mentsch.
I’m a little leery of responding, because so far two threads in which I posted today were closed. So I’ll tread gingerly! 🙂
Perhaps I tend to see the goodness in people, but despite the mercenary considerations, and despite your very well stated logic, I still think it is likely the owner let them stay out of kindness, especially since they explained their predicament.
You do make sense, you really do. I just see people differently, and if evidence (I don’t mean courtroom admissible) justifies it, I usually attribute kind actions to good motives.
Your story reminded me of the time we made Sheva Brachos for my niece at Cho-Sen Islands in the Five Towns, and because several key members of the chosson’s family were delayed on the road, we started dinner much later than the expected time. Consequently, we finished eating much later than anticipated, as well,way past the restaurant’s closing time. The owner could not have been more gracious and professional, and he was not getting paid extra for the overtime. His waiting staff continued to serve us past their expected work time, with a smile. Whatever they might have thought or felt privately, in no way did they make us feel rushed. We, too, did not deliberately linger, but neither were we able to speed through dinner, either. And I mention their name, because the owner treated us like royalty, though I am sure he and his staff were very tired from a long day.
oomis1105, ok that boss is a mentch….however, dont forget that stores have good names to keep up, if they are rude pple will not give them favorable ratings…
Not sure how oomis’s experience is different from the OP; seems exactly the same, but at least one place gets points from you! 🙂
Bemused, the diff is that over there the boss wasnt gaining a thing by staying late, he simply allowed them to continue the sheva bachos at their own pace, they wernt paying him overtime. In this restaurant, clearly, if he would’ve sent them away he wouldve lost their business.
I work on Motzei shabbos and way after hours to get orders out to pple ASAP, am I being nice, a mentch? No, I am looking to have satisfied customers and hope they will come back after being happy with the service.
I think this is very clear to anyone in the business world.
I too work in a business environment, and interface with many in the business world. B”H, I am zoche to have met many people who are true mentchen and exhibit true kindness, separate and apart from their thoughts about how to make another dollar.
It’s OK if we disagree; I accept that you see mercenary intentions, and I’m sure you accept that I see kindness intentions. No one would like a world of clones- it’s ok to be different! 🙂
Yes, the boss stayed late and got business from these people. And although they ordered immediately, the kitchen help still had to work a little later than intended. They probably did not do that for free. Would one party pay for the overtime for the kitchen help, not to mention the extra time the electricity was one, etc.? How much money did the owner of the restaurant really make?
Do you really think he did it for the money?
Bemused, I am sure this guy happens to be a mentch, like many other pple however, I was only pointing out that sometimes in business you need to go that extra mile, whether you are kind or not.
haifagirl, did you ever hear th expression – “The same service you give for selling a refrigerator you need to give when selling a microwave”. Meaning when you are in business, wheather its a large or small profit, if you are out to keep customer happy and you want them to come back – like this one surely is – you need to go the extra mile. Maybe this time they only came with 4 ppl. But if they were so happy maybe next time they will make their chanukah party here etc.
I am not pointing at this restaurant owner obviously, I am talking about the topic in general.
The guy really sounds like a nice person, even if he was looking to make an extra buck – hey who isnt ;-)?? Though I think what Phyllis is saying makes a lot of sense. Disputing it is being naive.
Am I the only who has been told, “Sorry, we’re about to close,” or “Sorry, we’re closing you’ll have to go”?
There are plenty of business owners (and many of them are quite successful) who will not give the service these two restaurants did. Whatever their motive was, they were both mentchen.
“hey who isnt ;-)?? Though I think what Phyllis is saying makes a lot of sense. Disputing it is being naive.”
Uh, I sometimes do things for chessed. Even in my business. With no thought to “make a buck”, or somehow benefit business-wise. Thankfully, I know others who do the same. And, uh, I don’t think I’m naive. I do try to be nice, though. I know that I can practice chessed through my work in the same way I can practice it at home.
Name-calling is certainly not within the parameters of chessed, though :). Instead of calling someone with whom you disagree “naive”, why not recognize that different folks think about things in different ways?
Bemused, you sound like a nice person, kudos to you, I am sure your business associates appreciate your kindness. It is possible that this guy happnes to be the nicest guy in the world, but as an owner, to ask customers to leave bec u want to close is not a smart business venture. The dispute is not if this particular restaurant owner is really nice or if he isnt.
Bemused, please dont take it personally, I apologize if I came out sounding harsh. I am very involved in the business world. I try to be kind to my workmates, co workers and customers. I do notice that with gentle words and kindness you get very far in business. Some customers will especially ask to deal with me and that encourages me to be even more accomodating. Not to say that pple are kind to get far in business, but its a good idea if you want to be successful to be pleasant and mentchlach. And some times its not easy to tell what pples motives really are. In the case of this restaurant, it is possible that he is a real mentch, but it is also possible that his actions were as such out of customer satisfaction.
“Just to note, we did tell the guy that we weren’t from around there, and had driven quite a bit to get to his restaurant. It was pretty obvious he won’t get much business from us in the future. “
All the more to the guy’s credit. I have been turned away by restaurants that were closing (extremely EARLY, BTW) at 8 PM. or had a private party booked that was renting the entire restaurant. Whatever the reason for someone going that extra mile, if it is done with a smile when they might not feel like smiling, then I will continue to give them my business, or at the very least, recommend them to others who WILL hire them.
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