Now we were hooked. Our last night in town, we walked over to the restaurant and asked for Omar. We were disappointed to hear that there was a 60 minute wait to get into Omar’s section but if we would sit elsewhere it would only take 30 minutes.

It had been a long day so we decided to forgo Omar’s section and went to the bar to drown our sorrows in a cold beer. We asked the bartender for a food menu and ordered our drinks. I was paying for the first round, as I usually do when I am with Greg, so I asked the bartender for the bill.

“Your bill has been taken care of”, the bartender told me and pointed to a young man, carrying a tray of food, heading towards a table at the back of the restaurant. Greg and I stared at each other in disbelief and immediately went back to the headwaiter and demanded to be seated in Omar’s section.

It gets better. Our table was ready but my partner was finishing off a beer so I walked over alone to secure our booth. Before I had time to sit down, Omar arrived with a beverage in hand. “Diet coke, Mr. Byers” Omar knowingly stated. I was floored but the best was still to come.

Omar took our dinner order in his customary respectful fashion. He returned with our meals and placed a glass of red wine in front of me. “I thought you might enjoy a glass of Pinot Noir with your steak, Mr. Byers”, Omar stated matter of factly.

OK, all of the business marketing services offered by Omar can be explained:

- The memory thing; a learned technique.

- Remembering the diet coke, well, I had a diet coke all 3 nights.

- Addressing me by name, I paid with my credit card, as I usually do when I am with Greg.

- The Pinot Noir, I had a glass of Pinot Noir on the very first visit to the restaurant two days earlier.

- Buying a round for the boys; priceless!

5 Small Business Marketing Tips We Can Learn from Omar

1. Differentiate Yourself – We’ve all seen waiters take orders by memory but how many engage the table a challenge?