The Thai that binds
Every Thursday, Jonathan orders takeout from Thai Pad (the Food Truck on Allen Street) and then he and Eleanor pick it up on their way home from daycare.
Whenever possible, they bike there, and it’s a whole adorable weekly activity they do together.
They’ve been doing this since Eleanor was a wee bébé (baby sounds better when you pronounce it like Moira Rose. RIP Catherine O’Hara).
At this point, it’s basically a non-negotiable. You could say it’s become a Thai’d and true tradition 😉.
Every time they go, without fail, Eleanor takes a big bite out of a spring roll and puts it back in the bag. Then, when they get home, she proudly digs out that exact spring roll and hands it to me, declaring, “I tested it for you, Mum Mum!”
She talks about Pad Thai SO much that all of her teachers have either gone to try the food truck themselves or tell us they’re planning to.
And then there’s Sue.
When Jonathan calls to order, it’s always: “Hey Jon! You want the regular?”
She’s been watching Eleanor grow up at that food truck and always makes sure to make a fuss over her when they arrive.
They missed some Thursdays this summer because… life. And a couple of times they went, Sue wasn’t working.
Last Thursday when I got home for supper, Jonathan passed me the dish of Pad Thai and said…
“So, looks like we lost our Regular status! I had to actually tell them our order today!”
We actually felt bad about it because it was kinda like we let Sue down.
There are at least two pretty big business lessons hiding in this story.
First:
I couldn’t tell you what the Thai Pad logo looks like. I don’t know what their brand colours or fonts are. I couldn’t draw their logo if I Thai’d.
BUT, I do know exactly what their brand feels like.
It feels like…
Not having to think about what to make for supper on Thursdays.
Not even having to think about what to order because Sue already knows.
And one spring roll with a bite missing 💞.
A great brand starts with a consistently great product and a stellar customer experience to design around.
The logo and colours do nothing more than help us pick you out in a crowd and signal that you care enough to get dressed… basically. Which is obviously preferable when serving the public.
The experience is what makes it part of our lives.
And second:
Make sure everyone on your team understands the relationship-building that’s happening behind the scenes.
Sue probably never sat down and said, “Today I am going to increase overall customer lifetime value.”
Nah. She just did what comes naturally!
She remembered a regular’s order. Went outside to say hello to his little girl. And made us feel like family.
Tiny interactions, repeated consistently, become relationships. Relationships can turn into rituals. And rituals are REALLY friggin hard for a competitor to steal.
You can design a new logo. You can put more money into ads. You can even make a bussin (like the kids say… or used to say??) Pad Thai.
But good luck convincing Eleanor and Jono to go elsewhere for takeout on Thursdays!
They’ve formed a Thai that binds.
