ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - February 28, 2003

We are running around England all this week. Too short a visit to even begin to scratch the surface, of course, but we are being hosted by some wonderful people and that in itself makes the trip worthwhile. As is my habit, I am collecting photos and impressions of the state of foodservice in the UK and will post all that on the website eventually. For this week, however, I am laying low and trying to take my own advice about having a life!

I am back in the US on Monday and head home via Little Rock where I will be speaking at a distributor food show on Tuesday and Wednesday.

THE PERPETUAL QUESTION
Last week I asked how you would answer to my Perpetual Question of "What did you learn from your staff today?" My thanks to all those who send along their observations. They will receive a thank you gift.

What did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?

... FROM ROGER BREWIN
I listened carefully to a waiter who had several suggestions for improving some of the day to day small roadblocks. These were not necessarily mission critical stuff, but they get in the way, irritate the wait staff and make their jobs harder.

The bigger story is when this same waiter, now that he felt he was being heard, said "You know, the host staff does not care about the guest. They have no vested interest in making sure that guests are responded to promptly and sat expeditiously because they make the same wage whether they seat 100 guests or 50. This job is my career and this is how I feed my children. For the host staff, this is a transitory job. They will move on eventually to do something related to their college degrees."

As much as I tend to discredit blanket indictments, I kept this thought in the back of my mind. The very next day, at 3:55, two of my "best" hosts were sitting in the lobby waiting to start their shifts at 4 PM. The day host had left the front desk to seat a customer and in the few minutes that she was gone, eight more customers walked in. They were all standing at the front desk, waiting to be acknowledged. There sat my two "best" hosts, five feet away, chatting on the couch in the lobby, seemingly unaware that guests were waiting, unattended. Did the guests become important at the stroke of 4 PM? Were they somehow not important at 3:55 PM and what, as managers, had we been communicating (or not communicating) to the host staff that would allow such a mindset to develop.

Of course, the hostesses had a litany of reasons when confronted about this, and as hard as it was, I listened to those excuses. ( I wasn't on the clock yet, the last manager used to get mad at us if we clocked in early, etc.) Between the lines there were clues to where we had gone wrong and what was lacking. Needless to say, as managers we spent a fair amount of time discussing this at our meetings and with the crew in general. I must say that this whole episode has led to me asking that question each day. The answers are out there -- we just need to ask ... and listen.

... FROM JOY NICHOL
I see this question every week and always ponder, but never respond. So tonight, as we open our first 5-star service lounge in the wake of the worst snowstorm the East Coast has ever seen, I am reminded of something I "learned" long ago. All the training in the world means NOTHING -- truly NOTHING.

I hired correctly -- the right people for the right jobs with an obsessive service orientation -- and they took care of the rest. I was down to 2 nights training before Grand Opening because our city was in a state of emergency for almost a week. And these guys were MAGNIFICENT tonight! Imagine how good they will be when I train them.

... FROM PAT EVANS
We talk hospitality, but we follow up on food and labor cost. We need to constantly cast the leadership shadow we'd like to see reflected by our teams' behaviors. Ken Blanchard was right ... the follow-up does take 10 times more effort than the initial rollout.

Everyone appreciates an honest compliment. And when you put it in writing (even just a simple note), they save it.

Take time to share the "Why" along with the "What" and the "How." It takes more time, but the team appreciates the time you spend sharing the bigger picture, and I believe remember it ... provided you model it (ala the shadow effect above.)

A NOTE FROM THE DOC
At a conference last week, I heard something that really underscores Pat's observation. Nido Quebein, Chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company, said that "Education is what is left after all the training has been forgotten." We have to train, of course, but if we want to be sure the crew can carry on at a higher level on their own, we must be sure they not only understand the "What" and the "How" and the "When," but also the "Why."

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