Brief Business Case Study: Pei Wei

In the last month, I've been to Pei Wei twice, with one mediocre and one bad experience. However, both times I left pleasantly surprised and ready to return. In thinking about these two nights, I realized that it's a perfect portrait of how business should be conducted, even if I remain skeptical that these outcomes would repeat given the same set of circumstances.

Exhibit A: Takeout x2
Both nights, I called ahead for takeout. The first night, I arrived and paid, and then proceeded to wait for about 20 minutes for my food. I noticed a few completed meals come out of the kitchen and sit on the prep table, waiting for their customers, but I thought little of it. That is until one of the employees asked my name again, and then very slowly retrieved the first bag that came out of the kitchen, almost 20 minutes ago! But without hesitation, she asked me to wait and promptly cancelled the debit transaction, giving me a free meal. This is not above and beyond what I would expect for recourse, but still I've had a lot of "Oh sorry, too bad for you"s in my life, and this was well handled and salvaged my business. The second night (these were non-consecutive nights, by the way) I arrived and paid, and noticed my bill was unusually low. "Did you get the two drinks?" I asked as she was swiping my card. She laughed and said no, and then handed me two cups for free, without missing a beat.

Fiscal Analysis:
Overall for these visits, I would guess Pei Wei broke even on my business, but the key fact is that I'm still planning on returning. In both cases the place was packed and the cashiers were very busy, but instead of looking for the extra few dollars on the very low raw cost sodas, the employee elected to send me on my way, thus helping another customer, likely earning more money on their sale in the same amount of time.

Experiential Analysis:
I want tangible, and I want it now. I don't like a gift card as much as a gift for holidays, and I don't want your "next meal is on us" coupon. I want something extra RIGHT NOW, or I want my legal tender back in my outstretched hand, thank you very much. In each instance, this is what I got, and it made the experience both times.

In all, I'm on the fence about Asian cuisine, but Pei Wei has made a loyal customer out of me. Whether or not it was by design, or just the work of some empowered and empathetic employees, I hope to someday find out.