Monday, August 10, 2009
Friendly Falafel
For lunch today, I popped into Maoz Vegetarian restaurant for falafel. It’s really good. (Seth Godin raves about the place – calls it the best falafel in the world!)
They serve fresh hot falafel, on warm pita bread, with delicious hummus, and let you slather on your own toppings. Always delicious.
An aside…
In Europe everyone takes cash, fewer vendors take check cards (or the ‘PIN card’ as they call it in Amsterdam), and even fewer take credit cards.
…back to the story.
When I ordered, I asked the guy at Maoz if they take the PIN card. I thought they did, but didn’t see the card reader. He said, “No, cash only.”
“Whoops!” I said, “I’ll be right back I need to get cash.” There is an ATM around the corner.
“No, no… don’t worry.” He said, like a caring mom… “Why don’t you eat first?” He didn’t want my hot falafel to get cold.
To me this was remarkable.
- (A)He trusted me. He treated me like a person, not like a random customer or potential thief. He didn’t hold my food hostage until I paid him.
- (B)He wanted me to have a great, hot lunch. Though I would only have taken two minutes to get the cash, he wanted me to eat it while it was hot.
So I ate, left, and haven’t gone back to pay!!!
Kidding.
As usual it was delicious. However, three additional things happened with this visit.
- Lunch was tastier served by a “friend.” I felt welcome.
- I’ll visit Maoz more than I otherwise would have.
- And I’m telling you about it! Spreading the good word.
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6 reactions
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(1)Aaron Wakling • Monday, August 10 2009 at 7:15 pm
Hi there,
I looked over your blog and it looks really good. Do you ever do link exchanges on your blog roll? If you do, I’d like to exchange links with you.
Let me know if you’re interested.
Thanks..
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(2)Sara • Monday, August 10 2009 at 9:32 pm
Just tweeted about this. Was excited to check out this new find and then realized that I’ve already been there, and yes, the food is as good as you and Seth say it is. Nice to know that the service is just as fabulous.
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(3)Twitted by saraschneider • Monday, August 10 2009 at 9:33 pm
[...] This post was Twitted by saraschneider [...]
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(4)Jay Heyman • Wednesday, August 12 2009 at 5:00 pm
Hate to disagree with you—and Seth!–but the best falafel in the world is in Paris, L’as du Falafel. (I know it sounds elitist, but it is true.)
However, Maoz is opening in my neighborhood (7th avenue and 40th) soon, so I will eagerly compare the taste with the memory.
Jay
Jay Heyman´s last blog ..So an elephant walks through a flowerbed…
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(5)Paul • Wednesday, August 12 2009 at 5:36 pm
Jay… Not elitist at all.
I’m going to have to check out a do a taste test with L’as du Falafel next time I’m in Paris. I will follow up and let you know!
Thank you for the comment!
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(6)MCE Round Table: From Haute to Hot to… Hammy? | Maximum Customer Experience Blog • Saturday, August 22 2009 at 11:12 am
[...] Williams’ Friendly Falafel is hot story of a simple delight—and it really does show what kind of loyalty a thoughtful [...]
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