This post is about why the queue at Benne isn’t a bug, it's a feature.
Benne is now my favourite Mumbai restaurant. It is in Bandra and is about six-months old. It specializes in Heritage Bangalore dosas, which are crisp on the outside and soft inside, because they are cooked in white unsalted butter on a very hot surface (btw benne is the Kannada word for butter). This is much better than the mediocre dosas Mumbaikars are used to at Shiv Sagar, Kailash Parbat etc. Prices are reasonable, a masala dosa costs Rs 180. Deservedly, the restaurant is doing roaring business.
The fact that Benne is doing roaring business is evident in the long queues of well-dressed people waiting patiently outside the tiny restaurant. These queues can be seen at any time, from 7:30 am to 10:30 pm. Wait times can be as long as forty-five minutes.
Benne staffers make sure the queue is orderly. They offer water to the people queueing up. In the summer, they even set up an air-cooler for the queuers. Despite this, I’ve had friends say no to Benne because “I refuse to stand in line for a dosa”.
Is Benne managing this properly? Should they tweak things to eliminate the queue?
The queue shows that demand exceeds supply. Benne could expand capacity to meet demand, or match demand and supply by raising prices. Or try a version of Uber’s surge pricing. Should they?
My view is that the queue should stay. It serves a useful purpose.
The first purpose is signalling. Consider people who don’t know if Benne is good or bad. The fact that hundreds of people are willing to stand in line for a dosa is a strong signal that their dosas are great. A costly signal, like standing in line, is more credible than a cheap signal, like giving a thumbs up on social media.
The second purpose is social. We’re hard-wired to enjoy food more in social contexts. Benne however, is a standing room only restaurant, with a limited menu, quick turnaround times, and high capacity utilization, like the Bangalore establishments it is modelled on. This service model means Benne isn’t naturally a social space. If you’re at Benne with friends, you’re not going to have time to chat and catch up.
The queue solves this problem, it is the social part of the Benne experience. It is a space where you can catch up with friends, or chit chat with fellow dosa-buffs you haven’t met before. This adds a layer of social value to the product without disrupting the operational format.
So, my free and unsolicited advice to Benne is: keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll keep coming back.
Readers of this post inspired to visit Benne might find me in the queue. I’d be happy to chat, to exchange notes on the relative merits of thatte idli and ghee podi idli, or mysore pak and badam halwa. And if our tastes coincide, I’m happy to buy you filter coffee (which is 1/5th the cost of a Starbucks latte).
#dosa, #restaurants, #behaviouraleconomics, #Bandra, #pricing, #marketing
