The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - April 16, 1999

I DON'T KNOW REVISITED
I received several interesting comments on my suggestion that there is power and purpose in taking a stance of "I don't know" when presented with a problem. To expand on this notion a bit, your goal is actually to get comfortable with not knowing. In fact, you actually try to "not know" very much. The less you "know," the quieter your mind becomes. The more quiet your mind, the greater possibilities you will see. The more comfortable you become with the idea that you really don't know everything (and feel terrific that you don't), the more you will live in this quiet, insightful state.

Everything you "know" is all old stuff -- it has already happened. Now, past experience may be incredibly valuable, but not in every circumstance. The only real way to know when past experience may be relevent to a current situation is to keep your mind quiet and wait for an insight. That brings us back to "I don't know" and that quiet mind again! You see how easily it works?

SINGAPORE HOSPITALITY?
I received this from Kenn Gray, a pilot for Northwest Airlines. I thought you would find it an enlightening essay on service

Travel in foreign lands is oftentimes entertaining. This evening I left my hotel room in Singapore to find something to eat. While wandering around the main floor, I met one of the other pilots I'm working with who was also looking for something to eat. The cafe was full of screaming 7 year-old kids, each trying to make more noise than the next, so we decided to eat at the bar.

We asked if we could get food and the waitress handed us a menu. We looked it over and ordered something. We were told, "sorry," and then were told that the waitress "didn't think those items were available until 6 PM." (It was 555 PM when we ordered the items!) Flexibility being a short supply commodity here, we had to wait. (Never mind the menu said in large letters"Served from 11 AM to 11 PM".)

The five minutes passed, and now she would take the order. My friend ordered spring rolls and I ordered a chicken pot pie. His order was okay, but it was pointed out to me that I couldn't have the chicken pot pie. It was listed on the menu right next to the spring rolls, but I was told they could only serve finger food at the bar and I couldn't eat the pot pie with my fingers. I pointed out that it was on the menu, and a spoon would solve the problem. To make a long story short and following some additional discussion, I ordered the fish fingers -- they could be eaten with the fingers.

The fish fingers came with something a lot like potato salad. When I asked for a spoon or fork with which to eat the potato salad, I had it explained to me that the potato chips (stale and soggy, by the way) would serve for that purpose; only finger food was served at the bar, therefore no silverware was available.

I managed to eat the finger food snacks and even finished the potato salad using potato chips for silverware with relatively little problem. Then my friend decided maybe he would like some dessert. He thought ice cream would be nice. I warned him that he would have to eat it with his fingers -- if he could get it at all! Ice cream must be an exception; no one could be expected to eat ice cream wth one's fingers. A spoon was magically produced.

I, too, thought some dessert would be nice, but I didn't want ice cream and a couple other items were unappetizing, too. The last item, however, intrigued meTorlunas and snow fungus! Now surely this was an item which had merely suffered in the translation. When I asked what torlunas and snow fungus was, I was met by a blank stare that never did resolve itself. I must epitomize ignorance not to know what torlunas and snow fungus is. So, I opted for no dessert. Quite a meal. Next time I'll eat elsewhere else -- like at home two days from now!

PS You're a professional expert. What are torlunas and snow fungus?

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