Being from Sydney I don't like to admit it, but . . .
By Director Wayne Hall

June 30, 2009

Gosh Melbourne has become a wonderful city! Gone are the days (twenty or so years ago) when it seemed to be wallowing in self pity . . . struggling with its
identity as the capital of a cash-strapped state . . . and with, seemingly, little direction or way out of the mire. As much as Melbourne people clung to their
one great passion - the “footy” - you got the feeling that deep down they were frustrated with their place in the world.

And boy, didn’t their beautiful big brother (Sydney) revel in reminding them of its superiority, with its healthy economy and incredible natural beauty . . .

Well, that’s all changed now. A visit to Melbourne serves up a fabulous sensory experience. The shops, cafes, restaurants and multitude of entertainment venues are
awash with people most nights of the week, and there’s a vibe to the place that is, well, pretty remarkable. It’s a truly cosmopolitan city and interstate visitors now
flock to the place. Even Sydney-siders . . .

If Melbourne were a café, venue or shop, it would be considered a resounding success.

So how has it achieved this transformation from Plain Jane to Miss Personality? Well, what stands out for me is that it has managed to build an intimacy with its customers - the people who use it everyday - through a combination of tangible and intangible factors.

Sure, it has its large department stores and hotels like all other cities, but it is the myriad of smaller businesses - the cafes, restaurants and shops dotted through its network of side-streets and alleyways - that make such a big impact. Places that in so many large cities are “no go” zones are, in Melbourne, places of discovery and curiosity . . .

“I had no idea this restaurant was here . . .”
“Would you like a coffee before you start . . . or perhaps a glass of wine . . .?”
“Oh look, they’ve an acoustic set playing in the alley . . .”
“Wow, look at the artwork in this shop . . .”

The city planners and licensing regulators are to be congratulated for constructing (and persevering with) physical and financial frameworks that cultivate clusters of successful small businesses. Hospitality businesses, in particular, are given the opportunity to fully utilise their “assets”. Cafes by day become café-bars by afternoon and evening (because liquor licenses are affordable), with owners and managers appreciative that they must deliver an experience that will attract and satisfy customers in a highly competitive market.

And the customers come, because they are presented with compelling reasons to do so - plenty of choice, quality “product” and high standards of service. And when they come and consume, they move on to the next experience (the shops, the theatre, a band, the footy), building a momentum that takes on a life of its own. I am continually amazed (as an “outsider”) at the degree to which Melbourne working people utilise cafés at both ends of their day, and you can see how over time “habit” has become a “culture”.

Enough small, intimate, environments delivering exceptional service will eventually set its own culture. And so it has - this “standard” of service pretty well pervades the city.

Nope, Melbourne’s not the most beautiful city in the world, but it’s got a mighty fine personality. It’s also been smart enough to make the most of what it’s got.

I suspect it could teach Sydney a thing or two . . .


PPCA update

We have had a great deal of feedback during the past month about this matter (see my June article). Turns out I was way off the mark when I suggested the increase in the annual license fees for cafes and restaurants would be as much as twenty-fold. The most common figure being quoted by a variety of concerned businesses is more like one hundred-fold - increases from $70 to $7000 a year for busy small establishments, to as high as a shift from a few hundred dollars to $40,000 and $50,000 for larger establishments . . . scary stuff. Our suggestion at this point is to enquire with your respective industry associations about what stance they are taking on the matter.

Some questions and points to come out of discussions with clients and prospect so far include:

- “How have PPCA arrived at their matrix of figures for calculating their fees?“
- “We do “top 10 surveys”. These surveys have never shown music to be a “top 10 reason” for patrons choosing to visit our restaurants” (from a large chain).
- If this regime were to come in, business would, in rough order of priority, (i) turn off music (ii) not pay the license and see what happens and (iii) pay, but look to cut costs, most likely through labour cut-backs.
- “They are joking, surely?”. Unfortunately, no, they are not.
- “We are a café/take-away shop. Most people, order, wait and go . . . how will we be assessed?”
- “If we turn the music off for certain times of the day - including during specific “servings”, will we get a discount?”
- “We looked at the letter they sent to the fitness centre near us a few years back . . . they’ve taken out the words fitness centre and replaced it with restaurant and café . . . we’re nothing like one another as businesses when it comes to using music. Plus, what’ll be next on the hit list, shops?”

All reasonable points, and ones no doubt that PPCA will look to answer over the coming months.

 

 

Wayne Hall
Director

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