NOVEL NEXT 79
“A trap?”
Jo I-ruk echoed, as if asking what I meant. It seems they can’t see it.
Yet it’s so clear to me.
Ignoring their puzzled looks, I pulled the blueberry bingsu towards me.
“Let’s taste it first. Flavor is the most important thing, after all.”
At my words, everyone reluctantly nodded. I drizzled condensed milk around the bingsu and scooped up a generous spoonful.
The visible ice particles of the Snow Flower Bingsu were fine and delicate.
‘I wonder if they bought machines from Boss Moon Yu-han?’
Well, Moon Yu-han holds the patent, so it’s his choice who he sells the machines to and how.
Even if it’s not Moon Yu-han’s machine, there might be other ways to make shaved ice machines.
As I put it in my mouth, the melting texture is quite similar to the original Snow Flower Bingsu.
‘They must have done a lot of research.’
The thought crossed my mind unbidden.
Next, I examined the cross-section. I split it in half with my spoon and parted the shaved ice to see what was inside.
“Huh?”
Jo I-ruk, who was watching alongside me, also expressed his surprise.
“This is…”
As we split the bingsu in half, ingredients buried between the ice layers were revealed.
A sticky red liquid clung thickly to the spoon.
Smack.
Tasting it, there was a strong sweet flavor.
“Ah, it’s strawberry syrup.”
“This wasn’t in our bingsu composition, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
While unfamiliar compared to the original, the flavor combination wasn’t particularly bad. Blueberry and strawberry syrup aren’t such an unusual pairing, after all.
“It seems the owner here has done a lot of research. They’ve taken our Bingwa bingsu and developed it a step further.”
“I suppose they needed some distinguishing features, as being completely identical wouldn’t work.”
Jo I-ruk continued with a serious face, addressing Roh Se-hee and Park Sang-won.
“How’s the injeolmi bingsu?”
“We split it in half too, and found chocolate syrup mixed inside.”
“And the taste?”
“It’s delicious. Sweet and pleasant. Of course, the distinctive nutty flavor of injeolmi bingsu is somewhat diminished, but you can always eat the parts without syrup for that.”
Being able to enjoy two flavors in one bingsu is certainly a significant merit.
Roh Se-hee and Park Sang-won were staring at the injeolmi bingsu as if trying to bore holes in it. They seemed to be scrutinizing it for any other differences.
“Given that they’re offering tteokbokki and have their own unique features, the situation seems even worse for us.”
Jo I-ruk wore a rather serious expression. Our Team Leader Jo has always been a deep thinker.
One of his bad habits in times of crisis is letting his imagination run wild and envisioning worst-case scenarios.
By now, he’s probably running simulations in his head of Bingwa losing all its customers and being left high and dry.
“Bingwa only provides condensed milk, but if we start offering various flavored syrups too…”
“Come on, Team Leader Jo. Why so pessimistic? If we falter, what then? That’s how Bingwa would really fail.”
I smiled brightly at Jo I-ruk.
“In my view, this isn’t an opportunity, an upgrade, or a unique feature.”
His face showed confusion, wondering what else it could be called. I tapped the bingsu bowl and stated clearly:
“They’ve fallen into a trap.”
“…Again with the trap talk. I really don’t understand what you mean.”
“Listen carefully.”
At my words, everyone perked up their ears and started listening intently. Roh Se-hee even picked up a pen and notebook.
It’s not that remarkable of a story. Pushing aside my embarrassment, I continued:
“Let’s say there’s an original, hugely popular restaurant. Although we shouldn’t, imagine that somehow I’ve set up a copycat business right next to this restaurant.”
“Hmm…”
“In this situation, what would be the way to steal all the original restaurant’s customers?”
At my question, everyone started pondering with serious expressions. Soon, Park Sang-won raised his hand first.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Well! Since it’s a copycat business with the same menu, wouldn’t offering more service be the way to go? Like how they’re giving tteokbokki here!”
It’s easy to think that way.
“If it were a home-style restaurant, they might offer an extra side dish, or if it were a barbecue place, they might serve complimentary pajeon. Wouldn’t that attract more customers?”
“That’s the first trap.”
“Pardon?”
Park Sang-won looked bewildered.
“Let’s think from a customer’s perspective. The original popular restaurant has too long a line and is too crowded, so you go to the similar restaurant right next door. And wow, the menu composition is almost the same. But… this place offers complimentary pajeon that the original doesn’t.”
Nod, nod. Everyone was so engrossed they were bobbing their heads vigorously.
“If you were the customer then, what would you think?”
“…That it looks delicious?”
“Haha. Sure, some customers might think that. But usually, thoughts would flow like this.”
I lowered my voice to a whisper.
“‘Seeing how they’re offering this service, this place must be lacking compared to the original’… that’s what they’d think.”
“Huh? Would they really?”
“Yes. Many people do.”
People are more sensitive to these things than you might expect.
“When prices are lowered or extra services are offered, people tend to view it with suspicion, thinking ‘there must be something lacking for them to do this’, rather than seeing it as a benefit. Especially since it’s a copycat business.”
Being compared to the original is an unavoidable fate.
“Human nature is like that, you know. If it’s cheap, people think ‘there must be a reason it’s cheap’, and if it’s expensive, ‘there must be a reason it’s expensive’. Even with the same product, if the prices are too different, don’t you start doubting the quality of the cheaper one?”
“Ah, I have had thoughts like that before.”
Park Sang-won nodded in agreement.
“Similarly, if one place offers more or charges less for the same menu, consumers become suspicious. They wonder, ‘Is this place lacking somewhere to compensate?'”
“That’s complicated~ To think that being generous isn’t always good.”
Park Sang-won groaned in pain, clutching his head. A consumer’s mind is inherently difficult to predict. Good intentions don’t always lead to good results.
As Park Sang-won failed miserably, this time Roh Se-hee cautiously raised her hand.
“Then how about providing tastier menu items?”
Oho. An interesting opinion.
“You know how sometimes when we go to famous restaurants, we’re disappointed because the taste isn’t as amazing as expected? If we could sell tastier menu items next to such a place, couldn’t we steal those customers?”
At those words, Park Sang-won, who had been knocked down, perked up again.
“Oh. That’s right! Of course, if you have that level of skill, it would be best to open your own restaurant rather than a copycat business.”
You’re quite good at subtly throwing shade.
Anyway. I shook my head at Roh Se-hee’s opinion too.
“That’s wrong too.”
“…Why?”
“While taste is subjective, even if the copycat objectively produces better flavors than the original popular restaurant, it would still be hard to attract the original’s customers.”
Everyone looked confused at my words. I can understand why.
After all, restaurants are places people go to eat, so how could a competitor not win if their food tastes better? It seems absurd.
Sadly, that’s the truth.
“Because those customers came expecting the taste of the ‘original popular restaurant’.”
That’s the trap.
“Do you understand? The key is that these are customers looking for ‘the original restaurant’s food’, not ‘tastier food’.”
“Ah…!”
“To create a superior taste, the recipe for the core menu items would probably change, right? That might result in a better-tasting restaurant with a balanced flavor profile. But it naturally diverges from the original’s path.”
When that happens, customers who came for the original restaurant will say, “Eh, the taste is different,” and stop coming.
The result might have been different if it wasn’t a copycat business.
“Ugh. To think this is wrong too.”
Park Sang-won made a dejected face. Jo I-ruk, who had been quietly observing, chimed in:
“Then what should we do? How can we steal customers from the original popular restaurant?”
“It’s simple.”
It’s very simple, but also a method that surprisingly many places fail to follow.
“Just do exactly the same thing.”
“…Exactly the same?”
“Yes. Don’t lower or raise prices. Don’t offer extra services or change the menu composition. Just copy it exactly like a carbon copy.”
That’s the most effective method. At least in my experience.
“Huh. That’s unexpected.”
Roh Se-hee, who had unconsciously leaned forward, leaned back against her chair and said:
“To think that just doing the same thing is the answer… The more you try to do better, the more it backfires.”
“If the goal is to ‘steal customers from the original popular restaurant’, that is.”
If that’s not the case, and you want to create a street full of similar menus like a tteokbokki alley or jokbal alley, that’s a different story.
Then you can build your own customer base. In such cases, only the menu items would be the same, while the taste, composition, and prices would vary widely.
“In that sense, this store has fallen into both traps.”
“Gasp. You’re right.”
“That’s why I said there’s no need to worry. Customers who like this taste might prefer this place, but if that’s not the case…”
Just then, we overheard voices from the table behind us. The familiar voices seemed to be from the very people who had passed by us earlier.
“Ah, the syrup here is a bit cloying.”
“Yeah. Bingwa had a more subtle flavor.”
“It’s a bit too much, isn’t it?”
“Next time, let’s just go to Bingwa even if it’s crowded.”
“Yeah. We should.”
As I watched the people stand up, dragging their chairs, I shrugged.
“…It’ll turn out like this, you see?”
The timing was impeccable. Everyone stared at me with their mouths agape.
‘Jo I-ruk-ssi. You’re about to drool.’
Even if I said those people were part-timers I hired, they look ready to believe it, asking “Really?”
I cleared my throat, and everyone finally seemed to come to their senses, closing their mouths with a start.
“S-so, should we just watch without taking any action?”
“Ah, we can’t exactly sit back and do nothing.”
Indeed. Being that complacent might actually result in losing all our customers. The original needs to make efforts to stay ahead of the copycat.
“I have a good idea.”