Copywriting crap on menu can help justify a restaurant’s cut-throat prices, says Paulina Phuar

[Pixs of models for illustration only]

“I want to upgrade my restaurant to charge outrageous prices,” Candy Chu (pix above) says. “But I can’t afford posh furnishings." She waves a skillet in one hand and blows a puff of smoke from one side of her mouth. "So how can I improve public perception of my restaurant to razor my clients?”

Paulina Phuar (pix below), KL's top PR and management consultant, looks at Candy over the rim of her spectacles. “One simple way is to jazz up the descriptions of the food items on your menu. It's cost-effective and cost-efficient.”

“How do you mean?”

Paulina taps her computer keyboard with dazzling speed and clicks a mouse. “I’ll give you a few examples.” She takes the paper spat out by her printer and hands it to Candy. “Please read this.”

Candy squints to read what Paulina has typed.

ORIGINAL
Fresh orange juice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RM8

REVISED
Freshly-squeezed Vitamin C-packed . . . . . . . . . . . . RM25
juice from Homosassa oranges grown
in organic soils in Florida, USA


ORIGINAL
Wanton mee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RM6

REVISED
Hand-made egg noodles dressed in delectable sauce made from. . . . . . . . .RM35
secret recipe, and topped with dumplings bursting with minced
fresh prawns air-flown from Alaska; dew-covered, crunchy choy
sum imported from Shanghai; and BBQ pork that has been
roasted for 4 hours in a special wood-fired oven.


Candy smiles and shows a thumb-up. “That’s brilliant! I get the idea now! All I need to do is revamp my menu." She lifts her handbag from the floor and puts it on her lap. "So how much do I owe you for consultation?”

Paulina taps her keyboard again, prints out her invoice and passes it to Candy.

Holding the invoice in one hand, Candy zooms in on the amount and her jaw drops. “What! Five hundred for a five-minute consultation?”

Paulina leans back in her chair and steeples her hands. “Not exactly. Please read the details column.”

Candy’s eyes bulge as she reads the invoice.

Providing 300 seconds of high-level PR consultation to strategize a cost-. . . . . . RM500
effective income-booster for a restaurant and generating two prototypes
for viewing by client which will be incorporated into her new razor-sharp,
cut-throat menu that will double her profits.

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