It's all about the rice

There’s a Mexican restaurant that locals talk about as having great food and service. There’s really nothing overly exceptional about this place - it’s painted in the usual tropics colors and the food really is very good, as is the service. But what stuck in my mind is the rice. 
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I love rice - it’s one of my favorite food groups. And there are a few times at Mexican restaurants where I’ve had what I consider to be great rice. But this is the first time I’ve had rice in the shape of Mayan pyramid.

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To accomplish this is probably not that difficult - you get a pyramid-shaped dish and press the rice into it and then put it on the plate that way. Nothing challenging. But when that plate arrives at your table it makes a huge impression because usually rice in Mexican restaurants is plopped on the plate like gruel at the homeless shelter. 

Splat - there’s your rice, amigo. 

And we’re all pretty much used to the splat of rice next to the lava flow of beans that accompany whatever main dish we’ve chosen. It’s customary and reasonable. 

The pyramid of rice; however, is something I hadn’t seen until I went to this place. And it made such an impression on me that I’ve since gone back for the food, which is good, and to see that pyramid of rice. 
It’s just a tiny little gesture but it takes something we’re used to and adds a little bit of flair such that it makes a big impression the first time you see it. Walt Disney used to suggest that his team “plus it” - take the idea and make it better. This is an example of this. 

Life is a series of opportunities and decisions and there are always ways we can polish up what we do just a little bit more. Sometimes what we do can be changed for the better at no cost, or at very little cost. Such as buying a pyramid-shaped dish to press the rice into. 

Or offering free classes on Yelp and Google to reinforce that you’re the go-to guy for digital marketing. Or offering a 12 year warranty instead of 10. There’s a place in Independence, Missouri that makes square pizzas. Again, a little different. 

​This week take the opportunity to make something you do stand out a little bit more. I bet your customers will notice. Now I’d like some rice, but only in a pyramid shape, please. 

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