It’s our last weekend in Greece.

We went to one of our go-to restaurants from the last 10+ years.

“Can I get another half kilo of the rosé? And maybe some watermelon for the kids?”

The waiter replied, curtly:

No, we don’t do that anymore. I’ll bring the dessert menu.”

Translation:

“We used to treat you like a guest. Now you’re just a transaction.”

We paid the bill and walked next door to get dessert.

Now why am I telling you this?

Because Greece — for all its quirks — was famous for its hospitality.

It used to be that with every meal, you got a big, free plate of fresh fruit.

Watermelon, grapes, maybe some melon or an ice cream.

These are not high-ticket items.

We’re talking €5 for a 3kg bag of oranges that you can pick up on the street here.

But this year?

It’s like every restaurant read the same soulless playbook.

Probably written by some McKinsey intern with a spreadsheet fetish.

“Cut the fruit. Cut the gesture. Cut the cost.”

Save 0.005% on margins — (oh and lose 50% of your customers.)

Because here’s the thing they forgot:

Customers don’t remember the math.

They remember the feeling.

And the restaurants who gave less?

Got less.

Fewer full tables.

Fewer return customers.

Less loyalty.

Less love.

Less business.

They turned themselves into a commodity.

And when that happens, price is all you’ve got left — and there’s always someone cheaper.

Moral of the story?

Don’t cut the watermelon.

Don’t cheapen the experience.

Don’t be a dumbass with your margins.

Because no one ever built a sellable, scalable business by shaving pennies off the parts that matter most.

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P.S. I’m not the “systems guy,” “process guy,” or “finance guy.”
I’m the
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