Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 79
Chapter Title: The Trap
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"A trap?"
Jo Yi-ruk asked as if he had no idea what I meant. It must not be visible to them.
But it was crystal clear to me.
Leaving the puzzled group behind, I pulled the blueberry shaved ice in front of me right over.
"Let's check the taste first. That's the most important thing, after all."
At my words, they all nodded reluctantly. I swirled the condensed milk around once and scooped up a big spoonful.
The particles of the snowflake shaved ice looked fine and uniform to the eye.
'Did Owner Mun Yoo-han sell them his machine?'
Well, the patent belongs to Mun Yoo-han. It's his call who he sells it to and how.
Even if it wasn't his machine, there could be other ways to make an ice shaver like that.
It melted smoothly in my mouth with a texture remarkably similar to the original snowflake shaved ice.
'They must have put a lot of research into this.'
The thought crossed my mind naturally.
Next, I checked the cross-section inside. I split it in half with the spoon and parted the snowflake ice to see what was underneath.
"Huh?"
Jo Yi-ruk, who had been peering over from the side, spotted it too and let out a short exclamation.
"This is..."
When I split the shaved ice in half, the ingredients buried between the ice chunks came into view.
A sticky red liquid clung thickly to the spoon.
Slurp. One bite, and a strong sweet flavor hit me.
"Oh, strawberry syrup."
"That's not in our shaved ice."
"Right."
Compared to the original, it felt novel, but the flavor pairing wasn't bad at all. Blueberries and strawberry syrup weren't a strange combo.
"I could tell the owner here put a ton of research into it. It feels like they've taken Bingwa's shaved ice and evolved it one step further."
"If it was exactly the same, it wouldn't have any unique flair."
Jo Yi-ruk continued gravely to No Se-hee and Park Sang-won.
"How about the roasted rice cake shaved ice?"
"We split ours in half too, and there's chocolate syrup mixed in the middle here."
"How's the taste?"
"Delicious. Sweet and rich. Of course, it loses a bit of that signature nutty roasted rice cake flavor, but you can just eat the side without syrup."
Being able to enjoy one shaved ice in two different flavors was definitely a major selling point. No Se-hee and Park Sang-won were glaring at the roasted rice cake shaved ice like they wanted to drill holes in it, scrutinizing it for any other differences.
"They're even giving out tteokbokki, and they've got their own twists too. This puts us in an even worse spot."
Jo Yi-ruk's face turned deadly serious. Our Team Leader Jo had always been a deep thinker. When a crisis like this hit, one of his bad habits was letting his imagination run wild and preemptively simulating the worst-case scenario. By now, his head was probably running a sim where Bingwa lost all its customers and was left twiddling its thumbs.
"Bingwa only offers condensed milk, but if we started providing syrups in various flavors right now..."
"Oh, come on, Team Leader Jo. What if we start wobbling? Bingwa really would go under then."
I smiled brightly at Jo Yi-ruk.
"In my view, this isn't an opportunity, an upgrade, or a unique feature."
They looked puzzled, wondering what else to call it then. I tapped the shaved ice bowl and stated it clearly.
"It's falling right into a trap."
"...You're on about traps again? I really have no clue what you mean."
"Listen up."
At my words, everyone perked up their ears and started listening intently. No Se-hee even grabbed a pen and notebook. It wasn't that groundbreaking, but pushing past the awkwardness, I continued.
"Let's say there's this mega-hit original restaurant. Not that it should happen, but imagine my place ends up right next to it as a copycat joint."
"Um..."
"At a time like that, what's the way to steal all the original's customers~?"
At my question, they all started pondering with serious faces. Soon, Park Sang-won was the first to shoot his hand up.
"Yes, go ahead."
"Yessir! Since it's a copycat, the menu's the same, so they'd amp up the service, right? Like giving tteokbokki here!"
That's the easy assumption.
"If it was a rice house, they'd throw in an extra side dish. A grill joint might toss in some pancakes for free. That'd draw the crowds, wouldn't it?"
"That's the first trap."
"Yes?"
Park Sang-won looked baffled.
"Put yourself in the customer's shoes. The original has a crazy long line and too many people, so you go to the similar place right next door. Wow, the menu's almost identical. But... this one gives free pancakes that the original doesn't."
Nods all around. They were hooked, nodding vigorously.
"If you were the customer then, what would you think?"
"...Tastes good?"
"Haha. Sure, some customers might think that. But usually, it'd go like this."
I lowered my voice to a whisper.
"'They're giving this much service, so this place must be inferior to the original somehow...'" "Whaaat? Really?"
"Yeah. People do that a lot."
People are more sensitive to stuff like this than you'd think.
"Whether they drop prices or add service, folks don't see it as a perk. They get suspicious, like 'They must be doing this because something's lacking.' Especially since it's a copycat."
Being compared to the original is an unavoidable fate.
"That's just how people are. Cheap, and they think 'There's a reason it's cheap.' Expensive, and 'There's a reason it's pricey.' Even with the same product, if the price is too off, you doubt the cheaper one's quality, right?"
"Yeah, I've thought that before."
Park Sang-won nodded in agreement.
"Same logic applies. Same menu, but one side adds extras or charges less, and consumers get suspicious. 'This place must be lacking somewhere.'" "It's tricky~. Doing more doesn't always mean better."
Park Sang-won clutched his head and groaned in agony. Consumer psychology is inherently unpredictable. Good intentions don't always yield good results. After Park Sang-won's dismal failure, No Se-hee cautiously raised her hand.
"Then how about serving the menu even tastier?" Hoo. Interesting take.
"You go to these famous spots, and sometimes the food isn't that great—you're disappointed. If a place next to that sells the same menu even better, couldn't they snag those customers?"
Hearing that, Park Sang-won—who'd been slumped—snapped his head up.
"Ooh, yeah! Of course, if they have the skills to back it up, it's not just copying; it's making it their own place. That'd be ideal."
She sure knew how to land a pointed jab. Anyway. I shook my head at No Se-hee's idea too.
"That's wrong too."
"...Why?"
"Taste is subjective, sure. But even if the copycat objectively outdoes the original in flavor, it'd still be hard to pull in the original's customers."
Everyone looked at me like it made no sense. Of course they would. Food joints are for eating, right? Even if your food is tastier, beating the competition? Sounds impossible. Sadly, that's the truth.
"Because those customers are there for the 'original hit spot's' taste."
That's the trap.
"Get it? They're not after 'tastier food'—they want the 'original hit spot's food.' That's the key."
"Ah...!"
"To make it even better, you'd probably tweak the core recipe. That could balance the flavors and make it delicious. But it'd naturally diverge from the original."
Then, customers seeking the original would go, "Eh, the taste is different," and stop coming. If it wasn't a copycat, the outcome might've been different.
"Ugh. Wrong again."
Park Sang-won made a miserable face. Jo Yi-ruk, who'd been watching quietly, chimed in.
"Then what should they do? To steal the original hit spot's customers."
"Simple."
Very simple, but surprisingly, many places fail to stick to it.
"Just do exactly the same."
"...Exactly the same?"
"Yeah. Don't drop or raise prices. Don't add service or change the menu. Make it an exact replica."
That's the most effective way. At least from my experience. "Huh. Unexpected."
No Se-hee, who'd unconsciously leaned forward, leaned back against her chair and said it.
"Doing exactly the same is the answer? ...Trying harder actually backfires."
"If the goal is stealing the 'original hit spot's customers,' yeah."
If it's not about that—like creating a street full of similar spots, tteokbokki alley or pig's feet alley style—then it's different. You just build your own customer base. In those cases, menus match, but tastes, setups, and prices vary wildly.
"In that sense, this place fell into both traps."
"Gasp. You're right."
"That's why I said no need to worry. Customers who like this taste might prefer it here, but otherwise..."
Right on cue, voices murmured from the table behind us. Familiar ones—the same people who'd passed us earlier.
"Ah, the syrup here gets kinda cloying."
"Right? Bingwa had a cleaner, lighter feel."
"A bit over the top?"
"Next time, even if it's crowded, let's just go to Bingwa."
"Yeah. Good call." Scraaape. As they pushed back their chairs and stood, I shrugged.
"...See?"
Perfect timing. They all gawked at me, mouths agape. 'Jo Yi-ruk, you're about to drool.' I could tell them those folks were hired part-timers, and they'd probably go, "For real?" and buy it. I cleared my throat with a loud ahem, and they finally snapped out of it, slamming their mouths shut in surprise.
"S-so, we just watch and do nothing?"
"Oh, we can't just sit idle completely."
Of course not. Get too complacent, and real customers might actually get snatched. The original has to put in effort to keep copycats at bay too.
"I've got a good idea."