Would You Travel to Istanbul for a Plate of Rice?

As someone who has been a regular guest of 7 Mehmet Restaurant for many years, I see this place as a school, almost an institute. From Mehmet himself to the service staff, from the bartender to the host at the door, there is a deep-rooted institutional culture behind the way everyone operates through what can best be described as “relationship management.” This is a quality most companies search for tirelessly. While preparing this book, I asked Mehmet to share a few stories that would help readers better understand this culture. Especially legendary are the “disciplinary lessons” given to employees — delivered without anger and without causing offence, yet unforgettable in their impact. This story is one of them. Mehmet tells it himself:

“My grandfather had a staff member named Ercan working with him. He was his driver, his aide, and his apprentice — think of him as his right-hand man. At the same time, my grandfather was training Ercan. One day, he sent him to the butcher to buy meat. Instead of kid goat meat, the butcher gave him pork. We assume it was either to cheat him or to play a joke on my grandfather — that was the tradesman culture of the time…
When Ercan returned to the restaurant with the meat, my grandfather recognised it immediately and, standing in the middle of the shop in all his authority, scolded him: ‘I sent you to buy kid goat meat — this is pork! I will neither eat this nor allow it into my restaurant!’ He was so angry with Ercan that, as always, a different and unexpected idea came to his mind to teach him a lesson. He immediately went to the bus terminal, bought Ercan a ticket to Istanbul, and sent him off to bring back chicken and rice from Konyalı Restaurant — a place he loved dearly. Ercan boarded the bus to Istanbul, went to Konyalı in Sirkeci, bought the chicken and rice, and then carried them back to Antalya on his lap, all the way, to deliver them to my grandfather.

Although this action may not seem directly connected to the incident itself, the simple logic behind my grandfather’s reactions in such situations was always the same: to teach people a lesson without hurting them, yet in a way that would leave a lasting mark and plant questions in their minds. ‘My grandfather had countless stories like this!’”