God-Given Business Genius - Chapter 179

What did I just hear?

I felt like all my common sense was crumbling. So, he thinks he would have made much more profit if he had sold the menu item at 16,000 won instead of 8,900 won?

Seriously?

I was at a loss for words, not knowing where to begin explaining. Should I ask if he learned about supply and demand graphs in middle school?

'He really thinks however he wants.'

In fact, with a little thought, one could predict that raising prices would reduce customers due to price resistance.

But Park Man-su doesn't want to think that way. It's not that he can't; he's choosing not to.

"......"

Suppressing a sigh that was about to burst out, I slowly opened my mouth.

"Owner. Is the problem with this store that 'there are no customers'? Or that 'it's not making money'?"

"Both. Because there are no customers, it's not making money."

"No. There are cases where you don't make money even with many customers. In this case, it's when the cost ratio is set too high, leaving little margin. Then, even if you sell 100 dishes a day, you're left with little money."

"Ah..."

"But how about your store? If you sell 100 dishes a day, you'd make a lot, right?"

"If only I could sell that much, I'd have no complaints."

"Then what's the problem with this store? Between 'no customers' and 'not making money', which is it?"

As I explained step by step as if to an elementary school student, Park Man-su seemed to realize something.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"It's because... there are no customers."

"Then what methods are there to attract customers?"

"...Improve the taste of the food, or lower the prices."

"Correct."

It's fortunate that he's not someone completely impossible to reason with. That's what I was thinking when:

"Then should I add more ingredients? I've actually been thinking about using a different cut of meat instead of bulgogi. If I put it on top like a steak, it would look better visually."

"......"

"But I was worried the price would go up too much. Would that be better?"

Back to square one.

It seemed he couldn't understand no matter how kindly I explained. If so, there was only one option left.

"Owner."

I opened my mouth in a tone quite different from before.

"Why are you refusing to lower the prices?"

Sensing my stern demeanor, I could see Park Man-su watching my reaction. He didn't seem to listen when I spoke gently.

Indeed, some people only pay attention when you take a strong approach.

"Well..."

Park Man-su rolled his eyes as if trying to add some excuse. Before hearing any meaningless nonsense, I went on the offensive.

"I don't understand why you want to sell pasta at 16,000 won even while increasing the cost. You know that 10,000 won is more accessible than 16,000 won if the cost ratio and margin are the same, don't you?"

"Yes, yes. That's right."

"Be honest. It's just because of how it feels, right?"

"......"

Park Man-su pressed his lips together.

He must know intellectually. Whether you sell food at any price, if the margin is the same, the money left in your pocket is the same.

But it just doesn't feel right.

Selling cheap food hurts his pride. There's probably some calculation like, 'How much can I make selling 10,000 won dishes?'

In other words, even if he sells 100 dishes, it's just because it 'feels better' to sell 16,000 won pasta than 10,000 won pasta.

Sensing my cold gaze, Park Man-su added as if making an excuse.

"It's not because of how it feels."

"Then what?"

"It's not that... I thought it would be better to make it a bit more upscale and sell less, rather than selling a lot at 10,000 won."

Ah. So that's it.

"After running a business for a long time, my body aches. I closed my previous store because of an injury. Who doesn't know that higher prices mean fewer customers? But even if I sell a lot, it all goes to medical bills... That's why."

He wanted to make money easily?

Because the profit margin on 16,000 won pasta is better, he wants to replace selling 100 dishes of 10,000 won pasta with 50 dishes of 16,000 won pasta.

Of course, 50 dishes require less effort than 100 dishes.

"Owner. That's greed."

I could see it. That thin desire to draw in more money with as little effort as possible.

Not realizing that this greed is the very trap.

An easier way, a faster way. Of course, there is. But in the long run, it can never turn out well.

Even if there are consumers who will buy 50 dishes of 16,000 won pasta right after the broadcast airs, there's no guarantee that will continue for years.

"Okay. Let's say you made enough profit selling at 16,000 won to make a living. It might even be better than selling at 10,000 won. At first."

"......"

"Then what about after that? Owner, won't you get greedy? Wouldn't you think, 'What if I sell this at 18,000 won, at 20,000 won?'"

"...I would."

"If people keep coming even after raising the price, that's fine. Who would say anything? But that's not the case, and that's the problem."

I pointed at the empty tables as I spoke.

"If you do business with that mindset, Owner, your business can never succeed. How can business go well when you want to work more comfortably, more easily? It's obvious you'll raise prices even more when you get some breathing room, right?"

I'm not saying this because I'm old-fashioned.

I'm certainly not saying that only taking the difficult and hard path is the answer. But it's certain that the more effort you put in, the higher customer satisfaction becomes.

That's why the right balance is important.

A sustainable level of effort. That's exactly how much effort is needed for the store to run well and for customers to leave satisfied.

"With that attitude, when you get busy with many customers, you won't be able to maintain this quality. You'll want to do things more easily and quickly. Then who would seek out food that's both expensive and not tasty?"

"......"

"Customers who leave like that never come back. Once you fail, that's the end."

"......"

"I'm telling you this because you seem to be thinking too lightly about it. According to your logic, you should be making much more money selling at 16,000 won now, but that's not the case, is it?"

"Yes."

"Then it's obvious you should lower the price, but you're hesitating because you don't want to work harder, right?"

At this rate, even if I suggested a new recipe as a solution, he would surely change it to suit himself later.

Park Man-su hesitated for a moment at my sharp question.

"Well, um, yes. That's right..."

As he seemed to be fumbling for an excuse, I stared at him more intensely. Then he obediently admitted that I was right.

"That's what you need to fix first."

I nagged out of frustration. I'm not sure if Park Man-su understood.

His gloomy face and nodding suggested that he was at least listening to what I was saying.

I let out a deep sigh, then pressed my brow as I spoke.

"Owner. Let me tell you again. In this market area, you can't go over 10,000 won."

"......"

"It's not because your skills or the taste of the pasta are lacking. That's just the characteristic of this market area."

It's a market where you need to create regular neighborhood customers and sell 100 dishes to one person.

If it were Gangnam, it wouldn't matter if you sold one dish each to 100 people.

But this place isn't like that.

"This is all the solution I can offer you. Whether to accept it or not is for you to carefully consider and decide."

I stood up.

There was no time to argue further here.

"Think about it and let me know when I come to meet you next time."

"...I understand."

Park Man-su nodded weakly.

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Gulp, gulp.

Only after drinking cool water did I feel a bit better. Phew. As I wiped the moisture from my mouth with my sleeve, I sensed someone behind me.

Turning around, I saw it was Do-kyung.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just felt frustrated, that's all."

"It looked that way."

Do-kyung shook his head.

"Filming a broadcast isn't easy, is it? There are so many strange people."

"I think that's why the response will be good when it airs. I'd be the same."

As I muttered softly, Do-kyung let out a small laugh.

"Still, it seems like that pasta shop owner changed his thinking a lot after hearing you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I overheard him talking to the PD earlier, saying he'd recalculate the cost ratio and adjust the prices himself."

"That's somewhat of a relief."

I'm a bit worried about what he might do if he calculates that cost ratio and sets the prices as he pleases again. But it seems he did learn something.

"Haa. Was it very obvious that I was angry?"

"A little? But the PD liked it. Said it would be a highlight of the show."

"That's good then."

I was worried I might have been too serious. But it seems it came across well for broadcast purposes.

"The other stores were pretty straightforward, right? It looks like they're planning to focus the editing on that pasta shop this time."

Even I think that's the most provocative part.

Buzz-.

Just then, my phone vibrated.

"Excuse me for a moment."

"Sure. Take your time."

After excusing myself to Do-kyung, I took out my phone.

'What's this?'

Turning on the screen, I saw a message from Choi Yeo-hae, CEO.

[CEO Choi Yeo-hae: (Photo)]

I couldn't see it properly in the preview. When I tapped to open it...

I saw a photo of an empty commercial building. With a huge escalator right next to it.

Buzz-.

While I was looking at the photo, my phone vibrated again.

This time, I could see the content in the preview.

[CEO Choi Yeo-hae: The place for your churros store]

[CEO Choi Yeo-hae: Good location, right?]

The corners of my mouth turned up involuntarily. That's right, CEO.

'The location is really good.'