Yesterday I grabbed a 99-cent chicken sandwich at Hardee's. The service at this particular Hardee's isn't the fastest in the world, but it's conveniently located next to my favorite pawn shop. (Bargain hunting can be hard work at times, so it's much better done with some nourishment on board.)
Well, I think what happened was that my order got skipped over by mistake. I didn't think I was looking particularly impatient, and I didn't say anything, but the cashier gave me fries and a drink with my sandwich! This food would have cost about $4.
I was very pleased with this, especially because I wasn't expecting it. Throwing in a few extra things is good customer care (sacrificing a little now to encourage the customer to come back). What made this particular exchange smart customer care was that it didn't cost the restaurant that much to do that for me. The chicken sandwich was the lowest-markup item of the three. Fries are just potatoes so they're marked up quite a bit more. Drinks are insanely marked up; I'd be hard-pressed to drink 30 cents' worth of soda but they would have charged me $1.49.
A friend of mine has another friend who owns a pizza shop. He told me that a pizza costs about $1 to make from start to finish. Little Caesar's around here sells their ready-to-go pizzas for $5, but other places sell theirs for $12 or more. That's a huge markup. So if something's wrong with a customer's pizza, it's a no-brainer to just give them another one! “Here, have two!” Duh. Or just give one to another customer. This happened to another friend of mine. He ordered a pizza at Pizza Hut, and asked, jokingly, if there were any they had lying around that he could get for free. He goes to pick up his order, and the guy behind the counter says, “You're in luck,” and hands him another pizza. Someone had ordered a pizza but hadn't shown up to get it.
Sometimes customer care doesn't have to break the bottom line. For the majority of customers it doesn't take much to delight them. It doesn't make sense when some businesses won't bother.
Two good points here:
1) It doesn't hurt to ask for something, whether it be a discount, something for free, etc. I've been in the same boat myself, and got a free pizza at a place around closing just by casually asking what they do with the leftover pizza.
2) If you get something by mistake, something minor from a restaurant, enjoy it. It's all balanced. Think of all of the times you've been screwed. That said, I wouldn't take that argument beyond food and beverage.
Ask and you shall receive. When I go to Subway, I check out their cookie trays. I ask if I can have one of their cookies if it is broken. They're always happy to oblige.