ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 16, 2007

Well, next week is Pizza Week -- the annual Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. This is the equivalent of the NRA Show for pizza people and it is always a good time. My colleague Big Dave Ostrander and I have created a version of my Best Free Offer Ever tailored specifically to the needs of pizzeria operators and I am excited to be officially unveiling it at the show.

Spring has started to stick its head out of the frozen tundra now and then. It was almost 80 degrees in Indianapolis on Tuesday and Wednesday, surely a sign that they are only a 2-foot snowfall away from the start of warmer weather!

AGENTS AND GATEKEEPERS
Last week I shared Danny Meyer's thought that in the service business people are either agents or gatekeepers. An agent makes things happen FOR others. A gatekeeper sets up barriers to keep people out.

This week in Milwaukee I had the sincere displeasure to run into one of the latter. Perhaps the tale will give you something you can work with.

The downtown hotel I was staying at is connected to the Convention Center by a long elevated walkway. Very warm, dry and convenient. At the point where the skywalk enters the center is stationed a hotel employee whose apparent function is make sure that anyone who enters the Convention Center is supposed to be there.

(The fact that anyone can freely walk into the same building via the street entrances without any scrutiny at all makes the reason for this "guard" a bit suspect ... but I will let that go for the moment.)

The first day I spoke, I walked across with no problem. I had not yet picked up my name badge for the trade show but the "guard" was pleasant and smiling. We exchanged some small talk, I walked into the building and gave my seminar. Life was good.

By the time I realized that I had left my name badge in the meeting room after my program, the room had long been locked up. I didn't think it would be an issue since I didn't have to go on the show floor to do my seminar the second day and I could always have another badge made if necessary.

I was running a bit late when I hit the bridge on Tuesday but my seminar room was close to where the skyway came in, so no problem ... that is, until I met Denise.

Denise was not smiling. Denise was not pleasantly welcoming us as did her counterpart the day before. Instead she stepped in front of me, blocking my way and demanded to see my name badge. I explained that I left it in the meeting room after my seminar the day before and that I had another program to deliver in just a few minutes. "You can't go in," she said.

I pulled out a copy of my speaking contract to show her that I was, in fact, part of the show and supposed to be there. She didn't want to hear any of it and brusquely informed me that I had to go back across the bridge, through the hotel, down the elevator to the ground floor, cross a heavily trafficked street, walk around the entire building and enter through the front doors (and you already know that nobody was checking for name badges at any other entrance to the building!)

To My Point:
If Denise was told that her job was to deny admission to people who weren't supposed to be in this public building, shame on her for copping an attitude, getting on a power trip and deciding that a name badge was the only acceptable form of authorization. What if you were a hotel guest going over to register for your convention?

On the other hand, if management told her not to let anyone in without a name badge, shame on them for also thinking like gatekeepers. Double shame for allowing someone who was obviously not service-oriented to be in a guest contact position ... and triple shame for not training her how to properly deal with the inevitable hassles and ill will their rigid policy was sure to create.

I have already let the incident go, but my memory of staying at this property ... and of attending a convention at the otherwise delightful Milwaukee Convention Center ... will forever be the unpleasant encounter with Denise.

Because of that memory, given the option, I would not stay at this hotel again. There are other hotels connected to the Convention Center ... also with skywalks but strangely without "guards." It makes you wonder.

In my experience, most management policies are just ways to tell guests that they can't do something they want to do. Make as few policies as humanly possible ... and enforce them at your peril.

THE FILM FESTIVAL
Monty Python Handles a Complaint

I have a couple of excellent books to recommend ... but let's take a break from building your library for a bit of restaurant-related silliness. I'm not sure if you can use this clip for anything other than comic relief ... but we all need to laugh more than we do. It keeps you healthy! Just click on the link above to see how the Monty Python crew handles a diner's complaint!

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. This month we look at the likely impact of a major increase in the minimum wage and how operators are going to deal with it.

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 it's not always about money with my staff. -- Mark Keilholz, Skyline Chili, Centerville, OH

Because managers spend too much time worrying about money, they tend to think that everyone else does, too. When I had my restaurants back in another life, it took me a long time to realize that I was more reluctant to raise prices than my market was to accept reasonable price increases.

Likewise, because we tend to think about money all the time, we tend to think that money is all our staff thinks about as well. Sorry, folks. Your view of the world is not the way the world IS ... it is just the way the world looks to YOU. Assuming that everyone -- or anyone -- sees things just as you do is naive at best, arrogant at worst and always very dangerous!

The truth is that you never really know another person, even the ones you spend your life with. You may know how they acted in the past but that is no guarantee of similar behavior today ... and you never really knew what they were thinking. You just made up a story that fit the circumstances and then believed it!

Assume nothing. Show up clueless and ask good questions to try to understand how the other person sees things at the moment. Peter Falk's marvelous character, Columbo, the rumpled detective who was perpetually puzzled and continually asking questions, makes a good model for enlightened management.

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