Customers and orders
Up to 4 customers wait at the stall at once. Each says an amount in naira, which you turn into skewers, and wants their pepper and toppings just so.
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Who are the suya game customers?
Nine kinds of customer, each with their own places, budget and temper. Patience is in real seconds before the place or your seating changes it; a tip is a share of what they paid.
| Customer | Where | Budget | Likes | Patience | Tip | Haggles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night-shift danfo driver | Agege and Ikeja | ₦500–₦2,000 | beef | 55 s | 8% | No |
| Danfo conductor | Agege and Surulere | ₦500–₦1,000 | chicken | 33 s | 5% | Yes |
| Okada rider | Agege, Surulere, Ikeja and Lekki | ₦500–₦1,000 | chicken | 50 s | 5% | Yes |
| Just out of the bar | Agege, Surulere, Lekki and Victoria Island; Ikeja too, on NEPA power cut nights | ₦1,000–₦3,000 | beef and ram | 33 s | 15% | No |
| Night-shift security | Ikeja | ₦1,000–₦2,000 | liver | 77 s | 6% | No |
| Student | Agege and Surulere | ₦500 | chicken and gizzard | 50 s | 3% | Yes |
| Aunty with the kids | Ikeja, Lekki and Victoria Island | ₦1,000–₦2,500 | beef and chicken | 72 s | 8% | No |
| Football fan | Surulere, on football nights | ₦2,000–₦5,000 | beef and ram | 44 s | 10% | No |
| Visitor | Lekki and Victoria Island; now and then anywhere | ₦1,500–₦4,000 | fish, shrimp and beef | 33 s | 18% | No |
What does each customer ask for?
| Customer | Pepper | Wrap | Wants a drink | Orders again |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Night-shift danfo driver | extra pepper or regular | Newspaper | 30% | 20% |
| Danfo conductor | regular or extra pepper | Newspaper | 20% | 10% |
| Okada rider | regular | Newspaper | 30% | 10% |
| Just out of the bar | extra pepper | Newspaper | 80% | 40% |
| Night-shift security | regular | Newspaper | 20% | 20% |
| Student | regular or extra pepper | Newspaper | 40% | 10% |
| Aunty with the kids | no pepper | Box | 50% | 30% |
| Football fan | extra pepper or regular | Newspaper | 70% | 50% |
| Visitor | no pepper or regular | Box | 80% | 30% |
A visitor turns up now and then outside Lekki and Victoria Island too (about 2% of arrivals there).
Drinks are only asked for once you have a cooler.
How does an order in naira become skewers?
A customer has a budget in steps of ₦500. The place and your stall’s name grow it, and it buys whole skewers at the local price. The amount they say is exactly what those skewers cost there.
In Agege a ₦500 budget of beef becomes “₦600 of beef”: 2 skewers. In Surulere a ₦1,000 budget of beef becomes “₦960 of beef”: 3 skewers at ₦320. Every skewer over two gives the customer 3 more seconds of patience.
What goes in the wrap?
The pictures in a customer’s bubble show what they want. Press the same buttons under the tray, then tap the customer:
- Pepper: no pepper, pepper and extra pepper.
- Onion & tomato (they go together).
- Cabbage.
- Extra yaji (two portions of yaji instead of one).
- The wrap: newspaper or a box.
- With a cooler, a cold drink (from day 2).
How many stars does a serve earn?
| What happened | Stars |
|---|---|
| Every customer starts at | 4 stars |
| A neat flip on every skewer | +0.5 stars |
| Everything in the wrap right | +0.5 stars |
| Each wrong topping or drink | −1 star |
| The wrong wrap | −1 star (−2 stars where boxes are the rule) |
| An overdone skewer in the order | −1 star |
| Waited longer than 60% of their patience | −0.5 stars |
| Fewer skewers than ordered | −2 stars |
A customer who leaves 4.5 stars or more tips. If the stall has run out of a side, its button is greyed out, and a customer who wanted it counts it as one wrong topping.
Newspaper or box?
Most customers take their suya in newspaper. Aunties with the kids and visitors want a box anywhere, and in Lekki and Victoria Island every order goes in a box.
How does haggling in Mai Suya work?
Danfo conductors, okada riders and students sometimes ask for a discount (30% of their orders). Tap “Accept” and they pay 20% less, but their tip is ×2 and they become a regular. Tap “No” and they may walk off, or stay and pay the full price.
What is an add-on order?
After their first order some customers say “add one more”: a second, smaller order of the same meat (a ₦500 budget at the local price), and their patience ring refills by half. The last column of the table above shows how often each one asks; tables and chairs make it more likely.
What are regulars?
A customer whose haggle you accepted, and then served, becomes a regular. Each regular has a 25% chance of coming back on any night, wears a “Regular” tag on their card and is more patient than other customers. The stall remembers up to 12 of them.
Do orders grow as the stall grows?
Yes. As your stall’s name grows, every customer’s budget grows with it, so orders get bigger.
| Your stall’s title | How you earn it | Order size |
|---|---|---|
| Roadside Starter | Where every stall starts | ×1 |
| Mai Suya | Finish night 3 | ×1.15 |
| Oga Suya | Open Ikeja | ×1.3 |
| Suya Don | Open Victoria Island and take any upgrade to its top level | ×1.5 |