To the Cafés of Indore

To the Cafés of Indore,

You beautifully done places, how have you been?
How has the footfall been recently? Is it good, like the time you opened up? Or the new café round the corner has stolen your thunder? Never mind! Another café will be taking it's place sooner.

I am sure you must be still shining with all those fancy lights in the evening. But you guys need to hide (read, remove) that dingy lil painting now. Your couches are wearing out too. Take care of yourselves, no?

How is Ms. Kitchen doing? Serving the same old items? Whatever happened to new introductions and "today's special" gestures?
And OMG! I totally forgot, whatever happened to taste? Stopped serving it all of a sudden, didn't we?

I come here for a freshly brewed machine coffee. Also, nicely done coffee. The one you proudly show in the amazing pictures in your ads. Get me? The one that has hearts and trees and butterflies and bees on them. Oh those pictures are from the internet? Oops, my bad.

Let's skip talking about the core authentic food already... but even the taste of your pizzas and pastas, burgers and noodles is also so Indian. I love my country and I'm proud of it's rich and varied heritage, much inspired are we?
And talk about the quantity of your food. It's not even stomach-filling yaa.. Nevertheless, you conveniently charge a bomb for it.

Have you ever thought of the music you play? The music has to be soft and melodious.. But you'd play Honey Singh or similar. Like seriously, who plays Dope-shope and Chittiyaan Kallaiyaan in a café?
Sab khairiyat toh hai na, bhai?

Oh and your people who get us the menu card and come to take the orders, have they been captured straight from the jail? No? I thought so because they can't even be nice.
Forget having knowledge about what they have on the menu!

Your sofas have sunken-ed in, the menu cards are in bits and the tables are not really clean. But who cares? Your guests are here for coffee.. Which is not made that well, but well, again, who cares?
The customers are used to it. Nobody complains. So it's okay, right?
Some of you do have a suggestion box / diary though. (Covered with dust, never paid attention to, etc.)

Dear Café Owners,
Have you ever visited your café through somebody else's eye?
I bet, anybody would tell you how much you NEED to train your staff.
I am sure you must have tasted stuff to keep a check but most of the times, I think you take your customers - people who give you business and also, keep you in business - way too lightly.
Café business is just not about coffee and food. People visit cafés for experiences.
Don't forget that if even a couple of bad experiences are able to voice out well, they can cost you a fall.

Value the visitors, make good coffee and food, serve them quality, play soft and beautiful music, and maybe keep a book or two for the solo visitors?
Make our experience worthwhile of the money we are ready to spend. And I don't know if I can stress this enough, but at least please train your staff to greet, be nice and most importantly, smile at the visitors?

In expectation of better things and times ahead,
Priyanka.