Pak Jimat - Warung RM Padang

Has Jakarta already returned to normal for the owner of a Nasi Padang Warung in the centre of the city?

Hello Pak Jimat, how is the impact of the pandemic for RM Cinto Minang?

Wow, it's bad, really bad. The problem is that this location is behind the offices, so as soon as the office workers are told to WFH, all of our customers are gone. Until now we’re only on 25% turnover.

But now people have started to WFO again, right?

Some are, yes, some are not, but the difference is really big. Take a look at this now, for lunch. Before the pandemic, we were really busy here, the front queue could be dozens of people, now it's very quiet.

Why do you think it’s still like that?

People say that only some of the employees have returned to the office, y’know, but many OBs have gone home to their villages because they were laid off. In the past, there were many who delivered wrapped meals from here to the offices, and one person could order 10 or 20 packs of rice. It doesn't exist anymore.

So how do you survive this situation?

Well, we have joined Gofood, we started serving online orders, but unfortunately, people are ordering less. Rarely does anyone order drinks, for example, so we feel that impact, too. We’ve opened personal orders via WhatsApp, and that works better for us.

How does that differ, Pak?

Especially for people who live back here, so they can order anything, we'll bring it straight to their room on foot.

Wow, that's a good service, Pak.

Yes, it's better than Gojek, right? If you directly order via WA, people can adjust for their preferences. Take a look at this one - “Grilled chicken breast (right, not left), half a portion of rice but a lot of sauce, please separate it.” It's very specific, which wouldn’t be possible via Gofood, right?

Very true Pak. Hopefully it will work.

Amen, thank you.