In this show, DSR Dave is riding with and talking to AFDR President Todd Hauser, a DSR at Martin Bros. Distributing, about the experience they previously had when they went into a new (tough) prospect to present some pricing Todd had put together on products the owner had given him on his last call.
Going back to that moment in time: They sat down to eat while waiting for the owner to come out and talk with them. When the waitress was taking their order, they asked her what items were the “most sold” and they ordered those. They did this to see and taste the items, plus check out the kind of quality the restaurant was using. Right after the owner sat down with them, their order, the “most sold” item, came out to their table and it looked HORRIBLE and tasted AWFUL! Todd and DSR Dave had hit the jackpot . . . a golden opportunity!
The owner made it pretty clear that she was very happy with the suppliers she was using, and she really didn’t need another supplier. Then, DSR Dave just about got smacked by Todd when he asked him point blank, “Todd, why should she buy from you; you all have the same products?” Listen in for Todd’s answer and more. They then offered a sample of Heinz 14 oz. clear plastic, upside down ketchup bottle, as a solution (it worked) to a problem they identified at the table.
Todd and Dave went back a few hours later and ordered the same thing just to see if it was a fluke that it was bad when they were there earlier, and OMG it was worse in a different way! So Todd went back to ask the owner if he could come in and work a shift or two to see if he might be able to come up with a different procedure in the kitchen for that “most sold” item that came out to them TWICE in bad shape, the owner said yes…
Oh, by the way, Todd got his first order a few weeks later and he’s in there every week to make sure the most sold item is prepared right!
