Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 128 Transformation Plan

Mona Lisa Restaurant.

The corner by the window on the first floor of the restaurant was Shen Yanan's favorite spot. When she had nothing to do, she liked to sit there and daydream, watching the pedestrians coming and going on the street.

Although she was still sitting in the same spot, she no longer had the leisurely mood. She was looking down, frowning, and writing and drawing in the ledger.

After a while, she finally looked up, her brows furrowing even more, and muttered under her breath, "250... I lost another 250 yesterday! If I keep losing like this, I really can't take it anymore!"

These days, in order for the restaurant to make a profit—or more precisely, to avoid losing money—she has thought of many ways and asked many people. For example, finding Li Zhe as a vegetable supplier was an idea suggested by a friend.

With the fresh vegetables supplied by Li Zhe, her business did improve considerably, but this also attracted more friends who came to dine there after hearing about it. Ultimately, she was still losing money.

Actually, making the restaurant profitable is easy; just don't let your friends owe you money. She knows this, but she's already made that boast, and now she can't bring herself to ask her friends for money.

"Welcome!" a waiter's voice called from the doorway. Shen Yanan looked up and saw a familiar figure. She stood up and said with a smile, "Brother Li is here!"

Li Zhe walked over carrying a briefcase and sat down opposite Shen Yanan. "Second sister, what are you busy with? Did I disturb your work?"

"No, I just calculated yesterday's revenue." Shen Yanan called over a waiter and ordered a coffee for Li Zhe.

Li Zhe asked, "Did you make a loss or a profit?"

Shen Yanan chuckled: "Not much, I lost almost 200."

Li Zhe thought to himself, "That's the confidence they have. If I were losing more than 200 yuan a day, I'd be worried to death."

"Second Sister, you asked me last time to come up with some ideas to improve the restaurant's business. I wrote a plan, and I've brought it over to discuss it with you today." Li Zhe opened his briefcase, took out a stack of documents, and handed the first one to his second sister.

Shen Yanan took it and looked at it: "Membership system?" She looked down carefully: Silver card offers 8% off, gold card offers 7% off, and black card offers 6% off.

After reading it, the second sister quickly understood what Li Zhe meant: "You mean, you want me to stop charging on my bills and instead send discount cards to my friends?"

“That’s right.” This was Li Zhe’s first suggestion for improvement to the restaurant. If Shen Yanan disagreed, the subsequent improvement plans would be of little use.

Seeing Shen Yanan lower her head and remain silent, seemingly hesitant, Li Zhe asked, "Is there a problem?"

“This membership system is great, but you still have to have your friends pay part of the cost…” Shen Yanan didn’t finish her sentence, but Li Zhe knew she was concerned about saving face and roughly understood what she meant, so he continued:
"Actually, there are many kinds of friends. Some friends are worth having, while others are just there to fill the numbers. If you treat everyone to a free meal, it's unfair to your true friends and might even exclude them from the restaurant."

"How do you say this?"

Just then, a waiter came over and handed Li Zhe a cup of coffee.

Li Zhe took a sip of coffee and continued, "Let me give you two simple examples. You have a very close friend, someone you grew up with, someone you share money with and someone you get into trouble with. If she comes and you don't want any money, that's only right."

"We haven't known each other for very long, but you treat me like a friend, and you even put my bill on your tab when I come. If your childhood friend knew about this, wouldn't she feel a little jealous?"

Shen Yanan thought for a moment, realizing that her group of four girlfriends could be divided into six circles, and it was indeed possible: "Go on."

"There's another type of friend who doesn't like taking advantage of others. If it's just the two of you eating here and you give her the meal for free, she might be quite happy. But if she wants to bring friends here to eat, and you don't know those friends, and you still give them the meal for free, then she might feel bad about it, and might even simply stop coming to your restaurant."

Li Zhe pointed to the business plan on the table: "The reason I launched this membership system is not to say that you can't give your friends free meals. If a group of your friends come here to eat, and you know all of them, then giving them free meals is perfectly normal. But if a friend brings her friends, and you don't know any of them, then a discount is fine. Your friends get a good deal and save face, and even if you don't make any money, you can break even and not lose money."

Shen Yanan thought for a moment, then gave a thumbs up and exclaimed, "This membership system is brilliant! But... could the discount be lowered a bit? For example, could the black card be reduced to 5% off?"

Li Zhe was somewhat amused and exasperated. This was the first time he'd ever seen someone do business like this; everyone else was desperately trying to make money, while he was worried about making too much. "Second Sister, don't worry. I have another 'prepaid recharge discount' coming up. With that, theoretically, it can reach a 5% discount." Well, another new term! Shen Yanan became interested. "What's a prepaid recharge discount?"

"Simply put, it's about giving customers a card. If a customer tops up 500, the restaurant gives them 80, and the total credit on the card is 580."

"If a customer tops up 1000, the restaurant will give them 200, bringing the total credit limit on the card to 1200."

"If a customer tops up 2000, the restaurant will give them 500, bringing the total credit limit on the card to 2500."

My second sister said instinctively, "Is this kind of promotional activity meant to increase repeat customers?"

Li Zhe replied, "There are many benefits to this kind of prepaid recharge promotion. Increasing repeat customers is just one of them. The most direct benefits are quick cash flow, cultivating long-term customers, and stimulating customer spending."

Li Zhe took out a pen he always carried and wrote in his notebook: "The black membership card can offer a discount of up to 6%. If your friend pre-charges another 2000 yuan, she can get a 2500 yuan credit limit, which is equivalent to an additional 6% off on top of the 8% discount, bringing the total discount to less than 50%. If the restaurant's gross profit is 5%, that's exactly your break-even price. Your friend gets both face and a good deal. I personally think this method is more suitable than a uniform chargeback."

The second sister pinched her round face with her right hand and said thoughtfully, "Little brother, your idea is indeed quite good. But I have a few very close friends. I'm going to tell them that I won't charge them on my bill anymore, but instead give them membership cards with discounts. They should be able to accept that, but they'll definitely tease me a bit."

Li Zhe said, "Actually, it's simple. You can put three to five hundred yuan on the cards of a few close friends and let them use the cards directly. At first, it's the same as a prepaid account. Once the three to five hundred yuan on the card is used up, they will need to put the money on themselves. This also indirectly cultivates their habit of using the cards."

While this will result in some financial losses, it's better than endlessly adding items to your accounts. That's a bottomless pit; even if you can manage to survive in the long run, the restaurant staff will lose morale.

Shen Yanan nodded: "Brother Li, your idea is good, I will seriously consider it. Are there any other plans?"

"Second Sister, there are still plans to follow. But I think you should finalize the membership system first. Otherwise, no matter how good the follow-up plans are, we'll just be wasting our time." Li Zhe's follow-up plans mainly focus on promotion, but this kind of promotion will not only attract customers but also Shen Yanan's friends. Wouldn't this back-and-forth result in nothing?

Shen Yanan gritted her teeth and said resolutely, "Fine! We'll do it your way." Losing over 200 yuan a day adds up to seven or eight thousand a month. Although her family has some savings, they can't afford to spend like this!
"Brother Li, what are your plans next?"

Li Zhe glanced around the restaurant and looked at his watch: "Today is December 22nd, Christmas is just around the corner. This is a Western restaurant catering to foreigners, why is there no sign of any activity?"

"Hey, of course I know it's Christmas! Isn't it the 25th? There are still three days left. I've already told someone to buy a Christmas tree, and we'll put it up on the morning of the 24th. I've already chosen the spot." Shen Yanan pointed to the spot by the door, "We'll put it there! We'll also add some fairy lights later, it'll be so pretty!"

"Christmas is indeed on the 25th, but as far as I know, Westerners start preparing for Christmas about ten days in advance. That's when the atmosphere is actually more festive. The atmosphere reaches its peak on the 24th and 25th, and after the 25th, Christmas is pretty much over."

Shen Yanan was somewhat surprised: "How come you know more about foreign Christmases than I do?" She immediately regretted her words, realizing they sounded a bit condescending. But she had indeed inquired about Li Zhe; he was just a farmer from Daying Village in Langfang City, and shouldn't theoretically know so much about foreign holidays.

There's all sorts of messy information online these days, and Li Zhe couldn't remember where he learned it from. He made up an excuse and said, "That day you told me that the restaurant business wasn't good and asked me to help you think of a solution. I thought that since your restaurant is a Western restaurant and you mainly serve foreigners and overseas Chinese, I made a point of finding out some information."

Upon hearing this, the second sister felt even more ashamed, and her goodwill towards Li Zhe increased even more: This younger brother is an honest person, worth befriending!
“Brother, I’ll listen to you. I’ll have someone put up a Christmas tree in a bit. I’ll not only put one in the restaurant, but also two at the entrance! Every foreigner who passes by has to take a look!” He then asked, “Brother Li, do you have any other ideas?”

"Second sister, I suggest you distribute flyers in places with a lot of foreigners and organize a promotional campaign around Christmas."

For example, around Christmas, customers who spend a certain amount can enter a prize draw. You could prepare small Christmas gifts and prizes, and have employees dress up as Santa Claus to hand out the prizes to the winners.

Shen Yanan took out her notebook and wrote it down: "Anything else?"

"The restaurant's atmosphere is crucial. Decorate with plenty of Christmas elements, like red tablecloths, candles, bells, reindeer, and sleighs. If we do a good job with this promotion, word-of-mouth will spread. Then, we can run another promotional event every holiday season, and your customers will definitely increase, and business will get better and better," Li Zhe concluded.
"I'm just an amateur, these are all just my wild guesses. Use them if you think they're useful. If they're not suitable, just think of it as a friend bragging."

"You've really bragged! I'm happy to hear it..." Li Zhe's plan was like a revelation to Shen Yanan. The restaurant's loss-making business had been troubling her for so long, and she finally saw a glimmer of hope. "Brother Li, you've really helped your second sister a lot today! Once my restaurant stops losing money, I'll definitely give you a big gift!"

Li Zhe waved his hand: He knew about and had witnessed cases where great kindness was treated as great enmity. "I'm just giving you a suggestion; whether you listen or not is up to you. If you improve it, that's your ability; if you don't, don't blame me."

Shen Yanan closed her notebook and said seriously, "No way! Whether it's good or bad, I'll still appreciate your kindness. Putting everything else aside, once I've finished making the membership cards, black card number 001 will definitely be yours!"

(End of this chapter)