Most restaurants struggle to train staff to upsell without being pushy. They tiptoe around the offer, hoping the guest will magically order more. Meanwhile, a lady at a local market is running a daily masterclass in upselling and she’s doing it with potatoes.
The market
A small, beautiful market, with seasonal vegetables all year round, locals walking, chatting. At the second to last stall in the market, every week, the same friendly lady greets you at her stand with a warm smile. You pick your vegetables, a bit of this, a bit of that and she calculates you the total of: 8.30€. No flinch, she smiles again, calm and kind says:
For €10, I’ll add some spring onions from my garden, freshly picked this morning and a couple of sweet potatos that’ll enrich your sunday lunch, you will love them.
You pay without thinking twice.
So What’s the Lesson?
This woman has mastered something most restaurants spend hundreds on training programs to achieve. Without a script, system or a manager breathing down her neck about upsell targets and with the understanding that every cent matters, both for her livelihood and her customers, she has something far more valuable: empathy and perfect timing. When you’re standing there with €8.30 worth of vegetables, she sees an opportunity to enhance your meal. Those spring onions aren’t just an add-on; they’re “from my garden, freshly picked this morning.” Those sweet potatoes aren’t inventory to move; they’re going to “enrich your sunday lunch.”
In restaurants, we often train staff to suggest appetizers or desserts as if they’re checking boxes, but this lady shows us that successful upselling isn’t about adding items but about adding value to someone’s experience. She’s not asking “Would you like anything else?” She’s saying “Let me make your meal even better.”
What Can We Learn?
Most of the time, upselling feels pushy and might even fail to reach revenue targets but when you focus everything around the guest experience, you don’t just hit your targets but go much beyond them. Find a moment to check in, smile and suggest something that fits:
- A glass of Barbera would go perfect with this pasta.
- If you’re sharing, this dessert is perfect for two and a small Diplomatico would accompany it nicely.
- The chef just made fresh duck pâté, would you like to start with it?
When guests feel you’re thinking about their experience and not your revenue they will trust your suggestions and order more. Every interaction is a chance to connect and improve experience.
The market lady doesn’t need to hit targets. She offers her spring onions and sweet potatoes because she knows they’ll make your sunday lunch better. And that authenticity? That’s what turns a €1.70 upsell into a loyal customer who comes back every week.
Every restaurant has its own “market lady” moments waiting to be discovered. The key is training your team to see them. If you want to explore what authentic upselling could look like in your restaurant, let’s talk.