Chinese Pizza

Ever wonder why they have pizza at the Chinese Buffet?

That’s easy, to get more people to come and eat there…

I don’t know about your kids, but you set Moo Shu Pork in front to your average five year old and they will turn their nose up like it was lima beans, on the other hand you set pizza in front of them and they will scarf it down like it was going to be a while before they get their next meal. Chinese restaurants know this, and that’s why you’ll always see Pizza on the buffet table.

Mom and Dad may want Chinese food, but since the kiddies won’t eat that, the Chinese folk bring stuff into their restaurant that really doesn’t belong. Pizza for those of you who don’t know is not Chinese, but lots of people like it.

Good strategy right?

I mean it’s not like Pizza is wrong or anything, its just food. It’s not Anti-Chinese, it’s just Not-Chinese. It may confuse people when they are reaching for their Fried Won Tons to see a Pizza sitting next to the Egg Rolls, but they get over it pretty soon. I mean they don’t have to eat it; they can eat their Sesame Chicken and allow the less discerning palettes eat the Pizza, all are happy.

Sounds like a good strategy to me…

Let’s say though that this Chinese restaurant is really starting to generate business. Lots of Moms and Dads bringing their families so that they can eat Kung Pow Chicken and the kiddies can fill up on Pizza, and every once in a while Dad grabs a slice too.

That works right?

Now Mom wants some Chinese, but Dad’s in the mood for some Pizza, where can they all go to get what they want? You got it, the Chinese Buffet! Now the Chinese Restaurant is selling so much Pizza that they need to get rid of some of the Chinese Food to make room for all the different Pizzas that they are selling. Everyone’s happy now!

The Chinese Restaurant is always busy and more and more people are coming to try the Peaking Duck, but hey, if they don’t like it, no problem, they just grab a slice of Pizza and all is well. New Pizzas are being introduced to the Buffet, and more Chinese Menu items are being removed to make way for the different Pizza types. Now it’s not just the kids eating the pizza, Moms and Dads are eating it too. (With their Chinese food of course)

Now what would you think about this strategy if over time more and more people started coming to the Chinese Buffet for Pizza, and less and less were coming for the Chinese Food, I mean people are still coming right?

Still more and different Pizzas are added, and more Chinese items are removed, but the people keep coming, the problem is they aren’t coming to the Chinese restaurant for Chinese Food anymore; they are coming for something that really didn’t belong there in the first place. They want Pizza!

Is that really a good strategy? Perhaps, I mean lots of people are coming, but lets not fool ourselves, at that point it’s not a Chinese Buffet that serves a little Pizza…It’s a Pizza Buffet that serves a little Chinese, which is fine…

Unless you really want some good authentic Chinese food!