Word of mouth

Today, I witnessed first hand how the power of word-of-mouth has currently made Chatime, a Taiwanese-origin tea chain one of the hottest names in the Malaysian F&B industry. As I stood in the queue (at the Gardens branch) awaiting my turn to place my order, I watched as the number of people queuing increased in a matter of minutes. It didn't help that I was making 12 orders, which somewhat held up the line. As I waited for my order while it was being prepared, a small crowd gathered, at least 15-20 people, all waiting for their respective orders. I looked around and saw some saunter into queue while others hurried to get a few spots ahead, almost afraid that the tea will run out. For those waiting, some waited while chatting with a friend or two. A few seemed anxious - waiting impatiently to get their hands what their hearts desire. People, mostly adults, had the gleam in their eyes, like a child waiting excitedly for the new toy daddy is about to hand him.10 minutes later, as I collected my order, the waiting crowd had grown larger and the queue longer. It reminds me of the time when Big Apple Donuts came to town. Queues were lined zig-zag and it took 30 minutes to place an order. Nowadays, the queues aren't as long. Hence, I think this is just a phase and in no time people will realise that although Chatime is good, it is not great. Perhaps I'm just not buying the hype, or it has been hyped up excessively that I expected an out of this world experience, only to be disappointed. But hey, the constant mentioning of Chatime by my colleagues eventually compelled me to try it, so recommendations/ testimonials/ word-of-mouth are arguably some of the best means of marketing.