Economical Stinginess - [5th Blog in term 2]

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Bahasa of the Day

Cendekia - [adj] - Sharp, Intellectual, Sharpwitted

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To gain revenue from one's business is, obviously, the main goal in most profitable companies. These companies have their own way to establish their companies' efficiency and efficacy of their offered goods/services upon their customers. Yet, only some that make the right economical choice which can penetrate through customers' heart and get their attention to buy their products; leading them to fame and glory. As the demand for those companies increases (more famous), their owners should be happy because they can easily increase the price of their product and people will still buy it. Nevertheless, they should jump from their chair if their companies are rated by the society as the number one choice, where they will buy the products even in any price: total richness indeed.

When a company is utterly demanded by the majority for their astonishing quality, obviously the company would try its best to maintain this quality or even to improve it. This maintenance would eventually take this company to a whole new level of business where the company's name is printed all over the billboards of the world, along with franchises that yields more revenue. However, in this yin-yang universe, there is always a stain which infuriates someone. In this imperfect world, there is just a company that is doltish enough to scathe its customer right when fortune is bestowed upon it. A company that is widely recognized by Lippo Karawaci's denizens as "Dragone."

Briefly, Dragone is a Japanese restaurant with assortment of superb cuisines that can be purchased in moderate price. This has become the economical and main reason why it becomes a lovable restaurant in the eyes of most people. Another reason that contributes to their lasting prominence is because they provide Japanese foods - a type of food that is adored by most people in present generation, especially by citizens in metropolitan cities such as Jakarta.

I personally love Dragone for the reasons listed above. In fact, it is the most visited restaurant by me: since two years ago, I always go there with my friends every Friday. We even know the workers there very well and sometimes we joke around together. We all put our heart upon this restaurant, until that exasperating day...

Just one year ago, this restaurant make a choice that it should have been regretted by them. It was minimizing their foods' portion, and this is obviously detected by ANY customers who often eat here. For example: their Tori Karage and Calamari portion which is very delicious and fulfilling becomes countable and doesn't make your hunger better. This diminishing strategy continues as they slowly make avaricious and unsatisfactory changes to their spices and sauces: they remove the wasabis that are used to be on each tables. This is still acceptable to one's logical reasoning, but they also remove the white sauce that comes with Tori Karage or Calamari; the sauce that is always finished by customers every time it is served to them. How come they remove something that pleases the customer?

My friends and I are okay with this condition and still eat at Dragone often, since we can just ask for the sauce whenever they didn't serve it along with Tori Karage or Calamari (cuisines that we seldom ordered now). Yet, the most irritating choice that makes all the anger in my life focused on this restaurant is their stingy services that becomes stingier over time. This is clearly observed, especially when we ordered "All you can eat" menu.

Their stingy service strategy is like this: whenever we ordered "All you can eat," they (the workers) will serve our orders after we have waited for so long. When we are not having "All you can eat" they usually serve these orders only 5 minutes after we have ordered! They also make the foods that we ordered very slow, where in the beginning sushis are served within quite a long time gap. Imagine that we have to wait for about half an hour just to have our Ramens and Udons. The workers are sometimes acting as if they are forgetful by asking us: "what cuisines that haven't come out?"

I am very positive that their strategy is to make the customers full by giving periods where they need to wait for the food - this way the customers stomach will become full quicker than usual. Furthermore, during "all you can eat" the portion of the main courses are diminished by almost half: Ramen and Udons that are usually filled almost the whole bowl is now served where we can see a tall white space between the top of the bowl to the surface of the soup. Meats such as teriyaki also minimized until they are just as long as my pencil. As for the boiling point, sometimes after we have waited for SO LONG (1 hour or so)for just one meal, one of the worker will say: "sorry, we are out of stock." Are they acting stupid or what? They should have told the customers several minutes after they have ordered!

These behaviors are classified as a misuse of demand. Since Dragone have attracted a lot of people and make them eat there most of the time, it tries to gain more revenue but using less supply. It is a very selfish choice since these choices are intended to benefit only the producer while it decreases the consumers satisfaction. Yet, we cannot blame the restaurant for these reasons since it is business and the reality where money is the goal of everybody.

I personally think that if this "trickery" continues, there will be a time where the economics of Dragone will tremble and plummeting. Maybe it won't go bankrupt, but the demand for it will so low that the income made are very less due to conversion from famous into a notorious restaurant.