--- title: Don’t Be Tempted To Trade Customer Satisfaction description: Monday night I had the privilege of meeting with a terrific restaurateur named Tony who really understands what growth and being remarkable is all about. --- ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner ![Award Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%203.png) Award Winning, Amazon #1 Bestseller: The Revenue Acceleration Framework ![Lift Logo](https://www.liftenablement.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/Lift-Theme-Dev/images/LiftEnablement%20-%20Logo%20-%20Reverse%20(2).png) HubSpot's Most Trusted Partner for Complex Implementations ![HubSpot Certified Badge](https://49161231.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/49161231/image%204%20(2).png) HubSpot Certified App Partner # Don’t Be Tempted To Trade Customer Satisfaction [ Doug Davidoff ](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/author/doug-davidoff) Dec 7, 2005 9:45:09 AM I just got back from a business trip in Toronto. Monday night I had the privilege of meeting with a terrific restaurateur named Tony who really understands what growth and being remarkable is all about. Tony’s restaurant is an upper mid-scale Italian restaurant – but it’s more than that. It’s a ‘place.’ It’s a place where families go to celebrate. It’s a place where couples go to talk about important decisions. But most of all, it’s a place that just makes you feel at home When I asked Tony how he characterizes his restaurant, he said he calls it a “neighborhood restaurant.” Tony knows who his customers are. Tony knows why he is successful. Two weeks ago a food critic from one of Toronto’s major newspapers was eating at Tony’s with his family. Tony knew who he was, and Tony knew that he wasn’t from the neighborhood. He asked if he was there for business or pleasure. The writer admitted he was there for business and was going to write an article about the place. Tony asked the writer not to. When the writer asked why, here is the answer he got: *If you write an article about my place, at best it will interest people from outside the neighborhood to come in. They’ll come, but they won’t stay because they are not from the neighborhood. The problem is they’ll take the seats that my regular customers use, and my customers won’t be able to come in and eat when they want to.* When I heard the story, the only thing I could think of was, ‘Wow.’ Most people would kill to get the coverage Tony was about to get, but Tony knew the success would be fleeting and his restaurant would no longer be remarkable – it wouldn’t be the neighborhood’s place. One more thing, Tony’s restaurant was packed on Monday night – a night when many restaurants don’t even open because so few people go. Wow. Until next time, Doug [B2B Sales Strategy](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/topic/b2b-sales-strategy) ## Read On [![](https://www.liftenablement.com/hs-fs/file-361924002-png/blog-files/washington-capitals-playoff-tickets.png?width=352&name=washington-capitals-playoff-tickets.png) ](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/do-you-have-the-guts-to-be-great) ### [Do You Have The Guts to be Great?](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/do-you-have-the-guts-to-be-great) Today, the Washington Capitals fired their coach, Bruce Boudreau. The fastest coach to win 200... [![](https://www.liftenablement.com/hs-fs/file-359959528-jpg/blog-files/slide1-300x225.jpg?width=352&name=slide1-300x225.jpg) ](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/we-all-need-a-coach) ### [We All Need A Coach](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/we-all-need-a-coach) I’ve always been fascinated by a key paradox of performance. That is that top performers are always... ### [Rules to Live By](https://www.liftenablement.com/blog/rules-to-live-by) I was cleaning my office this past weekend and came across these rules. I felt they were worth...