Delivering on a Promise

One of Bangalore’s iconic coffee shops shows how consistently delivering what you promised will keep any business thriving successfully, even after a 100 years. 

Keep a promise and you create curiosity. Deliver consistently, and you will have created a customer for life. This is true not just for cafes but any kind of business.

When MTR started way back in 1924, they served only coffee and idly. During World War II when rice became scarce MTR experimented with his idly and came up with a semolina version that became what is popularly known as the Rava idly.

No surprises

More than a 100 years later, MTR is known to its patrons for its simple décor and straight-up, no-nonsense quality fare. Its coffees, idlis and Chandrahara (a sweet that was introduced in the 1950s) are as timeworn as its old silver and sepia photos. Customers flock to this eatery for the same reason.

It is easy to reel in customers with clever slogans and unbeatable discounts. It can be successful too, in the short term. But if you want your customers to keep coming back long after the offers have expired, you need to deliver on the promises you started with.  

Regulars know what to expect at MTR. Dosas are always served with a side of ghee. “Specials” are assigned specific days of the week. Coffee is served in silver tumblers. And waiting is a given, especially on Sundays and during evening tiffin times.

People come for the consistent quality associated with MTR. Many tiffin houses have come and gone since 1924. But take any patron at MTR and they will tell you why they don’t mind queuing up for 2 hours for a plate of simple idly.  

Innovate

Just as MTR did with its Rava idlys, innovate when required. In the end the intention should be to create lasting values for your customer. Observing other successful businesses can give you ideas that can be simulated for your businesses. Some may work, others may not.

Yagnanarayana, one of the MTR brothers ventured abroad in 1951 to observe how restaurants were run in Europe. Impressed by the hygiene, he returned and implemented stringent protocols for his kitchen. He also introduced a kind of French pastry called ‘French Sweet’ from his travels in Europe. But seeing that it did not impress his clientele, renamed it as “Chandrahara” which eventually became an iconic sweet at MTR.

In the 1970’s during the Emergency when prices had to be slashed, MTR was forced to roll down its shutters. Rather than let go of its laborer’s, they came up with an innovative idea to sell packaged food, starting the MTR line of masalas. Keeping quality, tradition and consistency in the forefront, they managed to expand and extend, exporting to Europe and beyond.

Improvise

Consistency does not mean there is no room for improvisation. Sometimes change goes well, sometimes it doesn’t. To replace the old ceramic plates, melamine serving plates were brought in. But seeing customers unhappy, they went back to ceramics.

Having the smartness to identify when new ideas are not working and correcting course is also necessary. For more than a century, at this old tiffin house the walls were still bare, and the chairs plastic. But the coffee was still served in silver like it was when it first began a century ago.  

Some time in 2013, MTR opened its first outlet outside India – in Singapore. Its first, in 90 years. Lot of things have changed since and now there 8 branches in Bangalore alone. But the legacy of MTR is a model that all businesses can take a page out of. ~ Anjana Das