I just have to pass this one on to you! An eatery in the quiet little Washington state town of Poulsbo is offering a “Well Behaved Kids” discount to family dining groups. Now, that’s just about the most creative restaurant marketing innovation I’ve heard of in years!
In her blog, diner Laura King relates details of her recent experience at Sogno di Vino:
Near the end of our meal, our server visits our table to tell us how impressed the staff was with our kids’ behavior and that many of them didn’t even realize we had little ones eating with us. She then brought us a bowl of ice cream to share. When we received our tab, it had a discount listed for “Well Behaved Kids”. A pleasant surprise after a lovely meal.
In addition, she offers her own tips on preparing your kids for dinner out:
My suggestions to other parents:
• Take your kids out to eat at least a couple times a month.
• Give your kids a snack before you head out.
• Be sure they’re rested and healthy.
• Be ready to engage with your kids.
• Notice the people, art, music, food in the room and talk about it.
• Encourage your kids to talk with you just like you would talk with another adult.
• Enjoy the time you’ve carved out to be with them.
Comments on her blog post ranged from, “…I applaud you,” to “Just be grateful you don’t have any children with ADHD…” to “Actively teaching kids manners seems to be a lost art,” to “What they really need is a surcharge for families with noisy kids…”
The “Well Behaved Kids” discount is a very low-key, unadvertised perk, but all it takes is one grateful customer blogging about it to generate a lot of chatter on the Internet! And that’s free publicity – publicity, in fact, that Sogno di Vino couldn’t buy for any amount of money!
Bravo Sogno di Vino!
~ Maggie J.