I became the Foursquare Mayor of a restaurant in Atlanta called Noche. It’s a great Tapas restaurant in Vinings with great food, a huge drink selection, live music, WiFi, and sports. And all reasonably priced.
The mayor gets 15% off their meal. The problem is that it doesn’t happen automatically. You have to ask for it. I feel like such a loser…I eat dinner by myself and then I have to explain “Foursquare” to the server and ask for a discount on my meal because I’m the “Mayor.” It goes something like this:
First, I walk in.
Big fake smile. “Hi, how many?”
“Just one for dinner, please.”
“Oh! Oh, no problem. Would you like to sit at our bar?”
“No I’d rather get a table if you don’t mind.” I hate barstools for trying to type on a laptop, but I feel guilty taking up a two-top. I can’t win.
“Ok, right this way.”
Then I order my food (which is delicious), they check on me a few times, and I ask for the check.
“Excuse me, so I’m the Mayor on Foursquare? And that means I get 15% off my food?” I show the server my iPhone. She clearly has no idea what I’m talking about. It’s like that scene in the Sex and the City movie where Carrie needs to make a phone call and someone hands her an iPhone and she has no idea how to work it.
“You’re the Mayor of our restaurant?”
“Yes, I’m the Mayor of Noche. On Foursquare. It just means I checked in the most times in the last 60 days.”
“Huh. And what does that get you?”
You mean, besides the satisfaction of knowing that I’m an early adopting digital NINJA? “Uh, 15% off my meal. See it says it right here on my iPhone.”
“Ok? I’ll be right back.”
It’s so embarrassing. The server already thinks I’m a total loser for eating alone, despite flashing my wedding ring around to show that clearly I’m here in town on business and someone at home does love me. She probably thinks I’m divorced or something.
And Now I’m asking for a discount on my meal because I’m using some weird service. It doesn’t have to be this way. Foursquare is already linked to my Amex card; it could happen automatically. And it doesn’t even matter. I leave a whopping tip to show that it wasn’t about the money anyway, it’s about reaping the rewards of mayorhood! (I also leave a big tip so that they’ll like me)
Last night, I got the same server as the night before. “Didn’t I just have you in my section last night?” Big smile.
“Yes, I was here last night, too.”
At the end of the meal, I said “So, I’m still the mayor, can you apply that same discount?” I hold up my iPhone again.
“You get it 2 nights in a row?”
“I get it for as long as I’m Mayor, you know, until someone unseats me by checking in more times than me.”
“Oh. Ok.”
“I promise I’m not making this up, you should look it up!”
“I totally believe you, I just never heard of it before.”
Yeah, right.