ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 9, 2007

What a week! My annual return to New York is becoming more and more like a homecoming. It can still be an intimidating city for the uninitiated but I am getting more comfortable with it and can actually find my way around quite easily. However, my tolerance for the city -- any city -- is still about three days!

Tomorrow I head to Milwaukee to speak at their annual Restaurant Expo on Monday and Tuesday, then to Indianapolis for their Hoosier Hospitality Conference on Wednesday. I'll be back in the office on Thursday. Yes, the travel can get wearing at times ... but frequent flyer miles are a good thing!

PLAYING FAVORITES
There is more to success than just great food and service!

On the New York trip I was fortunate enough not only to meet Danny Meyer, CEO of the Union Square Hospitality Group, but to eat in two of his restaurants and to sit in on his presentation at the NY Restaurant Show.

There are 18,000 restaurants in New York City ... 22,000 if you count pizzerias! Amidst all that competition, Danny's five fine dining restaurants have all been awarded three stars from the New York Times (their highest rating), all are consistently in the top ten list ... and two of them -- Union Square Cafe and Gramercy Tavern -- have been rated #1 and #2 by the Zagat survey for years.

That is an almost unimaginable success story. But Danny point out that neither is rated tops for food and neither restaurant tops the list for best service. Where they trump all others is when people are asked to name their favorite restaurants.

When someone says that this restaurant is their FAVORITE place, it means that they feel the restaurant has done something FOR them, that the experience is about how the place makes them FEEL. And, as Danny so accurately points out, when people say that your restaurant does something FOR them, hospitality is present.

Performance (good food and service) is no longer a differentiating factor -- it is really just the price of admission. There are lots of places where someone can get good food and service ... and probably for less money than you charge. So Danny's "secret" is his over-riding passion (and uncanny ability) to deliver the gift of HOSPITALITY -- to make his guests feel that everyone in his organization is on their side.

As soon as Danny and I can coordinate our schedules, Gold Group subscribers will be able to listen in on our discussion of what he does and how he does it. I predict it will be equivalent to a graduate program in hospitality.

If you are not already a Gold Group subscriber, take me up on my Best Free Offer Ever (www.BestFreeOfferEver.com) and get a taste of it for free. It would be worth it just to be on the list for Danny's CD.

THE DOC’S BOOKSHELF
Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business

Right now there are a number of excellent business books on the market applying important lessons from the hospitality industry to the needs of business in general. Last week I mentioned Alex Brennan-Martin's book The Simple Truth.

This week it seems timely to recommend Danny Meyer's excellent examination of hospitality and how to achieve it. This is another must-read addition to the professional library of any serious restaurateur ... and it will make the upcoming MIS interview with Danny all the more meaningful. The link above will take you to Amazon.com and information on the book.

AGENTS AND GATEKEEPERS
Here is a small taste of the Danny Meyer philosophy of hospitality:

In every business, there are employees who are the first point of contact with the customers (attendants at airport gates, receptionists at doctors' offices, bank tellers, executive assistants). Those people can come across either as agents of as gatekeepers.

An agent makes things happen FOR others. A gatekeeper sets up barriers to keep people out. We're looking for agents, and our staff members are responsible for monitoring their own performance: In that transaction, did I present myself as an agent or a gatekeeper?

In the world of hospitality, there's rarely anything in between.

THE MARCH SURVEY
We will soon have legislation in the US that raises the minimum wage significantly. The exact amount is not yet known, but will likely be at least $2 per hour higher than the current rate within the next few years. Since the hospitality industry is typically a point of first entry into the workforce, it has more minimum wage workers than most.

As usual I will send a compilation of the responses to all who participate. I look forward to your comments and ideas. As usual I will send a compilation of the responses to all who participate. In the meantime, you can download copies of all past EHC surveys -- including the massive WOW Ideas collection.

Add your thoughts to the monthly survey.

THE PERPETUAL QUESTION
"What did you learn from your staff today?"

I learned that what I picture in my mind as to what the end product should be ... is a different picture than what my staff is thinking. Since we are coming from two different cultures, I sometimes I have to look for pictures or images for the staff. -- Betsy, ACSA, New Delhi, India

Did you ever notice that you never seem to realize you have a communication problem ... until it becomes apparent that you have failed to communicate? It always comes as a surprise.

Without the willingness to open your mind and listen, the tendency is to assume that because you know what you want, so does everyone else. It is a dangerous assumption ... and hardly ever correct!

This is not to suggest that you shouldn't tell people what you want, but then you need to stop and ask them what they heard you say. Listen for what they MEAN, not what they tell you, and continue to ask questions until everyone is clearly on the same page.

The process becomes easier when you are clear on the results you are trying to achieve but not attached to exactly how those results must be achieved. When you focus on results rather than activities, you leave people free to interpret the job in a way that works for them – a sure way to improve productivity and increase buy-in.

Never doubt that the most critical -- and perhaps profitable -- management skill you can develop is your ability to truly listen.

So what did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?

I will continue to collect your answers to this important question ... and you can add comments as often as you want. Just click on the link above and contribute your insights for the common good (and your own as well!)

© 2007 Restaurant Doctor