On the Front Lines of Service

Last month we discovered that the very best marketing in our industry occurs tableside, along the cafeteria line and at the front desk! Part of the mission at the unit level has to be to teach our front line service providers (and managers) the difference between selling and marketing. Selling is about increasing the check average---important yes---but  marketing is about creating guests for life. Here's two more things to add to the  list that we started last month to help you create guests for life:

• Walking Through the Menu-Successful servers help their guests walk through the menu and see the complete package or the complete experience. Guests--no matter how sophisticated they think they are want help in making decisions. Teaching our servers how to create the entire meal experience from appetizer through dessert will not only build the all important check average but it will create a relationship with that guest/party that will last a long time. Note--the truly gifted service providers help  create the memorable meal experience by making the guest feel that they did it all on their own. More on this next month!

• Likes and Dislikes-Great restaurant and hotel operations make a genuine effort to identify the likes and dislikes of their guests. The Ritz Carlton is famous for knowing more about their guests than the guests know about themselves. Here's the critical difference---the Ritz Carlton uses this information to enhance the guest's experience not sell them more stuff. They don't bother the guest--they use the information to build long term (marketing) relationships not increase short term sales.

Managers as Teachers and Coaches. Unit level managers that expect to advance and move up the ladder should always be working on developing those behind them. Companies and their training operations should build the need for succession planning into the expectations for a manager's advancement. Ask yourself are we creating programs that develop good teachers and coaches? See how you stack up against the list below.

Effective managers use every opportunity to teach:

• They Focus on Teaching Rather Than Telling.
• They Delegate for Learning Not For Passing Things Off 
• They Build Confidence in Others By Displaying Confidence in Themselves
• They Remind Others That the Path to Success is Through Mastering Specific Skills
• They Are Concerned About What They Leave Behind in the Store They Manage  

Click www.ronyudd.com/popn040106htm to read about the 50 Free Speeches on Mentoring offer I am willing to deliver at any conference, to any audience or to any company that is serious about implementing a real life mentoring program. 

This month profitability plus is entitled Paying More for Less. Sounds a little weird, especially when we're talking about profitability---but here's what we mean. Take a good hard look at the biggest expense on your P+ L. It's the labor and all the related costs that make up this expense. Consider as part of your review having less employees on the payroll but paying more for a longer list of skills. In other words---have fewer employees but pay them more per hour if they can perform more duties. If you really think this through and develop a good cross training plan it can be a win-win for everyone. Employees make more money per hour, the are motivated to master more skills and they become more secure in their jobs because of what they can do for the house. As an operator you win because you have less number of employees to pay, less benefit packages to support and the opportunity to run a more efficient kitchen and dining room.

We will be holding our Mentor Cares Workshops over the next few months and our Mentor Cares College and Career Day will be held this Spring in the Washington D.C. area. Drop us an email at: ron@leadershipcares.org  to let us know if you would like to become involved.

We are looking for partners to expand our Leadership Cares programs into major cities across the U.S. We feel strongly that this workforce development program is a major solution to the attraction and retention dilemma we face in a variety of industries. Email us at leaders@leadershipcares.org  to explore how we can partner on this vision. 

Developing your personal brand is directly linked to your personal and professional success. As promised we're going to use this space each month for a mini-coaching session on developing your personal brand. Personal brand is about you and how you are perceived by those you serve and interact with each and every day. Your personal brand helps you stand out from others. It's what separates you from the pack. The first step in developing a personal brand is to identify your brand attributes and traits. Ask yourself:

• What do I have to give to others?--What do I bring to the table---in my business and my profession?
• What am I most passionate about? Where do I think I can make a difference? 
• Where and how have I really contributed in the last year? 
• What do I have that no one else has--What am I genuinely the very best at?

Next month--How do I communicate my unique brand to others?