Points
of Profit NewsÓ
Points of Profit News-the
newsletter that promotes service excellence, leadership building and enhanced
profits in the restaurant and hospitality industry. This monthly resource
provides quick tips, tools and solutions you can use right away to instill a
passion for service in your business, build real and lasting profits and help
develop your managers into leaders.
September
5, 2001
Issue 17
Ron Yudd,
Editor, www.ronyudd.com
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Welcome
back to Points of Profit News. We hope you enjoyed the summer and were able to
enjoy at least some of the Labor Day holiday. We also hope that you had a moment
to reflect on a couple of the points we made in our last issue.
Leadership thought for this month. I was
channel clicking recently and saw part of a show on immigrants coming to New
York City. One man was trying to bring his family over to join him. He said
that he faced many difficulties as he worked as a cab driver trying to save a
little money. In broken English he said that even though times were difficult
for him he had to work hard to “keep his dream awake”. Just as he was “keeping
his dream awake” for his family, leaders need to work to keep the dream awake
for their employees.
For
those of you that are just joining us-previous issues of the Points of Profit
NewsÓ can be
found on our website on the resources page at www.ronyudd.com.
New Tool Is Now Available! We have
released our newest audio tool-“50 Points of Profit” –The Fifty Steps to
Build Lasting Profitability in Your Business. This audio series explores 25
Points of Profit in the Back of the House and 25 Points of Profit in the Front
of the House. Keep in mind that the sales from all our audio tools go to
support our Leadership Cares Foundation’s Thanksgiving Basket Program and other
initiatives. Go to www.leadershipcares.org
and see what we are working on. This year we will be feeding 128 families for
Thanksgiving. This represents over 500 people that will be served by the
Foundation this holiday season.
To hear a six-minute sample of our
best selling Leadership Legacy audiotape visit our web site www.ronyudd.com and click on audio/video. Order
through the website or call us now at 301-540-5791 to order any of our audio
tools!
On the Front Lines of Service
Last issue we explored how to construct and implement a
service standard. We talked about the five steps to take to ensure they became
part of the daily routine.
Step 1-Demonstrate the standard and explain it in detail to
the staff.
Step 2-Have your staff practice the fundamentals of the
particular standard. Coach them through the process.
Step 3-Ensure that the standard can be met during the prime
time of service.
Step 4-Check up during the regular service period to see if
it is being met.
Step 5-If it is being met make sure you reward your staff
for achieving and maintaining the service standard.
There are several ways to keep the service standards alive
once they have been established. Three ideas to consider:
- Create
a competition between staff members on the various service skills.
- Make
the standards a major part of your orientation so all new employees are
immersed from the very beginning.
- Have
employees help to construct the service standards they will perform. “Buy
In” is everything in service!
Building Leadership Skills
Last issue we talked about Courage as an important
ingredient in our recipe for the successful leader. Courage was about having the guts to make a decision and not
being afraid of the consequences of that decision. This issue let’s explore the
concept of Selflessness and see how it relates to leading others.
Selflessness is when you don’t worry about who gets the credit. You are so
focused on the success of your business and the success of those that work for
you that you don’t have time to worry about whom is getting the credit. This is
a leadership ingredient that is important in the development of your young
managers. Take time this next month to work with them using the elements listed
below as teaching points.
Selflessness involves:
-Present yourself with quiet self-confidence - Let others
talk about your accomplishments.
-Deflect praise away from yourself and make sure it is
heaped upon your associates.
-Work from a position of humility. Your actions become your
reputation.
Profitability Plus
Last issue we explored the very exciting area of proper
storage—yeah right! We reviewed the importance of FIFO, a master key system
and where and how to store large items. Thank you for all your comments on
finding a gym bag that would hold a 100lb. bag of Uncle Ben’s rice.
This month check out how you are issuing products in
your operation. Things to keep in mind about issuing include:
-Issue as close to production time as possible
-Issue only enough products for that production or meal
period
-Issue to a person-not a department-Hold someone accountable
for issued products
-Issue products along with information on the expected
yield-Relate it back to accountability
-Issue only to secured space- (locked reach-in) Stainless
steel tables in the middle of the kitchen are not secured spaces
We’ll spend time on each one of these points in our next
issue.
Coach-Do You Have One? Check out our website www.ronyudd.com to explore our
coaching service. We have three levels
of personal coaching services available. Give us a call about information that
can help you go to the next level in your career or improve your effectiveness
in your business-301-540-5791.
Take Home Idea of the Month
Continuing on last issue’s discussion about giving service
staff a history lesson about your operation, we received a lot of ideas on how
to make this effective. See if the
following would be work for you:
-Include your philosophy as it relates to food and service.
Make your mission statement your marketing vehicle for staff.
-Let guests know how you started out-People love to hear
personal success stories-include yours in the history lesson for staff.
-Your orientation process should also inform servers about
the local area and your operation’s history in it.
-Make sure servers always ask guests if it is their first
visit-If it is then the mini-history lesson kicks in.
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Web Site of the Month----- This month we have two web
sites for you to explore. The first is www.foodservice.com
Plenty of valuable information on this one-check out employment postings and
the news and editorial section. The second is www.thriveonline.com a fun and
interactive site related to taking care of your health through exercise and
smart eating. Check out their calorie counter. Enjoy!
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Points
of Profit Leadership Inc. helps companies develop their managers into leaders. We are a “one stop
shop” for resources and tools for enhancing customer service levels, increasing
profitability and developing leadership within your operation.
Points of Profit News is an online means of sharing
information of interest to the restaurant and hospitality community. You are
encouraged to send questions, make observations and share items of interest.
E-mail your ideas, thoughts and contributions along with your name, address and
phone number to: ron@ronyudd.com
Ron Yudd is a recognized expert on
developing profit strategies and customer service solutions. Ron provides his
clients with the tools for their success. He accomplishes this through
keynotes, seminars, workshops, facilitation, consulting and personal coaching.
His keynotes and seminars- Leadership Legacy, Leadership for the Bottom Line,
No One Escapes Customer Service and Mentoring Today for Leaders Tomorrow have
helped business operators focus in on building leadership skills, improve
customer service and enhance the profitability of their operations. He combines
a motivating style with practical “take home” ideas. You can reach him at www.ronyudd.com or email him at ron@ronyudd.com. His office number is
301-540-5791. Copyright 2001 by Ron Yudd.