Electronic House Call - November 15, 2002

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - November 15, 2002

It has been a long week in the Southwest. Consulting projects are always more time-intensive than speaking, meaning little free time this week ... hence the delay in posting this landmark issue of EHC. I don't know why numbers that end in "0" seem more significant, but this is EHC issue #250 and I am rather stunned by that. Hard to think that for nearly five years I have managed to find something (reasonably) enlightening to pass along every week. Let's hope I don't blow it now!

FRIENDLY GREETINGS? NOT!
If you receive an E-Card with the subject line "(your name) you have an E-Card from (someone you know)", you might be getting more than just a friendly greeting. Some versions of this message contain a link to a page on the http://www.friendgreetings.com which downloads an ActiveX control to your system. This, in turn, launches a setup program where you must accept the installation and agree to the EULA (End User Licensing Agreement).

If you don't routinely read EULAs before agreeing to the terms (and who does?) you will be in for a nasty surprise. The "card" you are downloading is actually a mass-mailer, which will in turn email itself to all the contacts in your address book. Ironically, after this routine has been completed, it appears that you don't even receive the alleged card!

It gets worse. Click here for the whole story.

BEFORE THE BASICS
Many restaurants provide the very first job for many people. While we generally do a decent job of teaching them the basics of their positions in the restaurant, don't forget that there are certain skills, habits and thought patterns that actually precede these skills and may, in the long run, be more important to their future success. I bring it up here because we often take these understandings for granted ... to our detriment ... and because we do, we often fail to teach them along with the job mechanics.

New workers have to learn that, perhaps for the first time in their lives, other people are counting on them to perform ... and that when they are not there, things will not run as well. They need to learn the importance of reporting to work on time. It sounds simple, but look at how loose many young people are with their time commitments. They need to learn that the way they look matters. They need to learn to do the things they say they will do ... which means that WE have to do the things that WE say we will do. They need to learn that there are consequences of their actions ... that rules are rules and standards are standards. (Having said that, I advise having few rules and very clear standards. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, if you have standards but occasionally tolerate shortcuts, you do not have standards.)

Above all, they have to learn that they are intelligent and capable, with a lot to offer ... and a lot to learn. Give them the wins. Coach like crazy. Listen to their ideas and adapt them as you can. Be rigorous in your I have heard that a third of the working adults in the country had a job in the hospitality business at one time in their lives. What sort of people are we sending out into the workforce? It might be time to take another look at your training program to be sure that these pre-basics are being explained ... and ingrained.

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