ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - June 28, 2002

As I write this, I am in transit back to Seattle (via New York where I have a short client meeting) after 11 days on the road in North Carolina. Lovely country, lovely people, wonderful hospitality . . . and I am SO ready to stop traveling for a couple of weeks!

SOMETHING TO SHOOT FOR
Last night I had the pleasure of dining at the Angus Barn in Raleigh and got to see firsthand the results of a truly awesome training program. Every member of their staff -- and I mean everyone from the people answering the phone to the parking valet -- was obviously well-trained, very courteous and extremely competent. They all seemed genuinely glad to be there and made me feel the same way, too. I am talking about training that goes beyond mere job mechanics. This is training that gets everyone on the same page and performing to the same high level. It can be done, folks. All it takes is wanting it bad enough to create and maintain a culture where high level service is the norm. If you have a hard time grasping what I am pointing to, you owe it to yourself to make the trip. You will have a great meal . . . and come away humbled. My hat is off to Van Eure and her crew for setting such a high standard . . . and then exceeding it.

THE PERPETUAL PROBLEM
It occurs to me that the problem is seldom with good ideas. We all have a ton of good ideas. The problem is always with implementation and follow-up. We tell people something once and wonder why nothing changes. As it relates to staff training, that means that the problem lies in training and supervision. If you train something but do not have effective supervision, people will tend to slip back into old habits. I can cite the example of an owner who tells his crew to do something, but they know that if they don't do it, he will back down and nothing will change. By allowing this to happen, the owner is effectively letting his staff run the restaurant. Who is running your restaurant?

SOGGY CITY
Now that the warm weather is upon us, I am noticing the perpetual problem of heavy condensation on the outside of cold drink glasses. If the glass is set on a hard surface table without something to absorb the dripping water, the glass sits in a puddle, dripping into the food and onto the guest when they take a drink. Cocktail napkins are the minimum "fix" required here but they quickly turn to pulp. My personal preference is for a heavy fiberboard coaster. It holds up to the water and keeps the guest and the tabletop dry. It can also be imprinted with a merchandising message. I am thinking that a coaster might actually be better advertising than a table tent because people would look at it every time they pick up and put down their drink. I would certainly make the dining room look less cluttered.

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