ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 30, 2007

When most people talk of March Madness, they are referring to the NCAA basketball playoffs. When I think of it, the context is my travel schedule this month! I just got back from five days in Las Vegas at Pizza Expo and leave in the morning for Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania Restaurant Show) and Baltimore (distributor food show).

When those are behind me, I can look forward to ten days at home ... and I DO look forward to it! My business is a lot like yours in that there are times that demand an unusually high number of hours. Just make sure that when the peak period has passed, that you back off for a bit to regain your balance. I surely plan to.

Regarding my rant about an unpleasant experience with an overly officious gatekeeper in Milwaukee last week, I got a call from the GM of the hotel in question. Apparently this individual was not an employee of his as I first thought, so my apologies for that error.

However, it does add an additional lesson: if something unpleasant happens to a guest when they patronize your establishment, you are going to take the rap for it whether it was your fault or not, so you might as well take the responsibility to make it right. It will be cheaper than losing a guest.

AGENTS AND GATEKEEPERS REVISITED
Two weeks ago 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.

Last week I shared my experience of encountering a gatekeeper in Milwaukee. That prompted this exchange with long-time subscriber Mike Kelly of Nags Head, NC. He wrote:

I fully understand your frustration. As managers, supervisors, and owners we have to constantly guard against this thought process both within ourselves and our staff. However, to decide not to return to the hotel because of one instance is a bit harsh. Also to announce it in a nationally distributed hospitality e-mail almost makes you a gatekeeper as opposed to an agent.

I appreciate the point you make and the mentality (attitude) that often pervades the public. I think you can make the point about how some customers would react and the constant vigilance for customer service and awareness, but then let everyone know that you are returning to the hotel and not letting one hospitality faux pas turn you off forever.

Then you can advise us about your stay (and hopefully more positive experience) on your next visit.

Point taken, Mike, and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. It always helps the introspection process. Your note caused me to revisit the event again from a different angle.

I see that I broke my usual rule of only naming specific operations when they do something exceptional, not when they screw up. Had I just talked about the incident without mentioning the name of the hotel, perhaps that would have been more responsible considering my "national distribution"

... but then, your dissatisfied customers certainly use your name in conversation with their friends and colleagues and there is nothing to stop disgruntled guests from spreading their story -- true or false -- all over the Internet. I will watch that in the future but since the cat is out of the bag on this one already, let's charge bravely ahead and get back to what we can learn from this particular event.

In looking deeper, I realize that its not that I would never stay at the hotel again, just that I would opt for a different hotel if I had the choice. Why? Because, except for this incident, they didn't give me any compelling reason to think of them differently. A hotel is a hotel is a hotel unless it can differentiate itself ... and that differentiation has to happen on a personal level -- something that has meaning to me as an individual -- not through some clever corporate marketing initiative. (This particular area will probably become a rant in the future so I won't take the time to go into it now.)

The willingness of patrons to change loyalties over small events is the big danger you face when you allow your product to be regarded as a commodity. In this case, if I was returning to Milwaukee to speak at the Convention Center and the choice of hotel was left to me, I would probably choose the Hyatt Regency. The Hyatt's biggest attraction for me right now is that they haven't screwed anything up for me yet!

This is not to say that they get a free pass. If I gave them a try and they also treated me rudely or failed to WOW me, the first hotel might be back in play again ... unless there was a third hotel attached to the convention center, at which point THEY would have their shot at earning my business. And so I would go, around and around the circle unless and until someone gave me a reason to stay loyal rather than giving me a reason to move on.

But just the fact that you don't suck as badly as the competition is hardly a promising marketing approach! Had the hotel offered me something unique that I truly appreciated and couldn't easily find elsewhere, had they created a personal connection with me, had they made an effort to find out what sort of experience I had so they could fix it (or at least make amends) ... that would probably have been enough to get me over this particular speed bump and keep me as a returning, if slightly more critical, customer. But if they are not interested in making the extra effort that it takes to keep me, I am not going to be interested in making the extra effort to stay.

To my way of thinking, when you can't -- or won't -- personalize your product and make it remarkable ... to truly deliver the gift of hospitality ... you are just taking your chances with the law of averages and that is no way to become competition-proof. It is particularly true of restaurants. There are thousands of them and I can find adequate food and decent service almost anywhere.

So what is it that will cause your place to be my favorite? What have you done to connect with me so completely that I will give you the benefit of a doubt if something doesn't go right? It won't happen by accident. It takes a conscious, concerted effort to create that condition with your guests ... even the ones that only visit on vacation. It is the difference between acceptable and memorable, between adequate and remarkable, between ordinary and extraordinary. Do the work!

There are only about 30 restaurants in my immediate area but I am always a bit shocked to realize that I only patronize a few of them. I have no real desire to go to the others. In fact, I hardly think of them at all. I tried every place in town when we arrived. Most didn't show me anything special and I have never returned. I have also visited all the new ones when they opened and in most cases, once was enough.

Lest I sound heartless, I have decided to give a few of these places a second chance, asking myself, "How bad could it be?" I found out, was again unimpressed and they totally fell off my mental radar. I am not particularly proud of that attitude, I am just noticing that it is the way my mind works ... and I am someone who should certainly know better or make an effort to push past it. But I don't. It could only be worse with the unwashed masses.

So what are the lessons after all these mental gymnastics? Some old, some new:
* You are only as good as your last experience
* "Good enough" never is
* Accepting the law of averages (98% of the time they like us) will not make you remarkable
* You ultimately pay the price for the actions of your staff and the results of your policies
* You can win over patrons who were dissatisfied elsewhere, but you only get one chance to do it
* It is better to be their favorite restaurant than (necessarily) the place with the best food or service
* Ordinary happens all by itself, extraordinary requires conscious effort
* Giving a little bit of authority to angry people who have been powerless most of their lives can easily lead to abuse.

Thanks for your note. I don't know that I would have stopped long enough to realize all this without your nudge.

CREDIT CARD CLONING
In Europe it has been common practice for years to process credit cards at the table in full view of the guest using a small wireless terminal. This certainly speeds transactions, but it also puts the guest at ease that their card information is not being snagged by dishonest servers. Several US chains are now adopting the idea for that reason. But this piece of video shows how easy it is to clone a credit card in full view of the diners. Watch it and learn.

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 people respond better if you ask instead of tell. I had a waiter call me out when I said "Go clean off that table before dinner service". Apparently he had never heard me TELL someone to do something. Now I am very consciences when speaking to employees no matter what I'm talking about. -- Candice Murszewski, Austin, TX

In communication, the message is always in the FEELING behind your tone of voice, much more than in the words you use. You will find that certain phrases (like "Go clean off that table") are virtually impossible to say without a hard edge in the tone.

Staff members will pick up on even the slightest hint of disrespect in your voice, so choose your words carefully and engage your brain before operating your mouth.

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!)


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