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Restaurant Case Study with Agnes- Business Killer 4: Non-traditional Competitors Cont’d –
Posted by Ryan Volberg at December 10, 2007 2:45 PM
How to Implement Change in your Restaurant
Getting Employee Buy-in
As Agnes started to outline the new service standards, she could almost feel the tension in the room rise.
"You're asking us to be robots," expressed one server loudly.
"I'm not introducing myself to customers that way...It's so tacky," said another.
"Listen, I put up with you changing your menu and playing big-shot restaurant owner, but if you're going to make these changes to the way we treat customers, I'll quit." That comment stung badly since it was delivered from a veteran employee.
It was clear that Agnes had missed the mark with some of her ideas. What could she say or do to save this rapidly deteriorating situation?
“Well, I hope you're being dramatic when you say that, but before anyone does anything rash, let me explain why we're making these changes,” stated Agnes.
“For the last year, we've been losing ground on sales and that makes me concerned. You see, I grew up watching my father run his own business and when things got lean, he didn't take a paycheck. He worked harder than anyone in his business for nearly half a year and didn't take a single penny out in salary. Fortunately he had savings to live on, but it made me really consider the purpose of business. And I came to this rather obvious conclusion; the purpose of business is to make a profit,” continues Agnes.
“Now, we're a long away from not being profitable, but I want to make one thing very clear. Being a profitable restaurant is not an option. We're either profitable, or we close the doors,” Agnes declares.
“The changes we've made have been hard on me too. I've had to swallow some pride with the menu changes. And now I'm concerned that our service isn't where it needs to be. I include myself in that last statement. We're in this together. We all rely on this business to pay our bills, put food in our mouth, and pay our tuition or rent or whatever. And I want it to continue that way.”
“So, if you're willing, we can infuse a little life and probably some fun into our service and we'll all probably make some more money. Otherwise, you can make another choice and we'll simply part ways. It's up to you.”
She let the last statement hang in the air before she continued.
“Is there anyone here who doesn't want to make this a better restaurant?”
Slowly, nods began to come. Even from the most vocal of the group.
"All right," continued Agnes, "let's get to work."
"Who has had a fantastic dining experience lately? I want you to describe it in detail, from the time you made the decision to go to the restaurant,” Agnes inquires.
While her employees began to describe their experiences, Agnes prodded with some questions. "How did you feel when you knew you were going to go there? Do you have a favorite dish? Did you have any cravings when you thought of the restaurant? If you think about it now, can you imagine how the restaurant smells?"
The conversation became more animated and Agnes made notes of what they were saying. Many of the ideas were similar to her original thoughts, but there were some great new ones as well.
When they were through, together they had agreed on fifteen key service points to improve their service.
"Now, I know it's tempting to try and put these all into play tonight, but that will just frustrate us," explained Agnes, "Instead, I want you to pick two things off of this list and focus on them. Now do you think we should all pick the same two, or should everyone pick their own."
The group discussed it for a moment and concluded that that each day for the next month, they would cycle through all of the service points and hold each other accountable for executing each point.
Agnes relaxed. With each team member buying in to the new standards, she could focus on her next task, implementing Delivery and improving her Take-out Business.
Ryan Volberg is the CEO of Vivonet, a company dedicated to ensuring retail and restaurant success.
 Category: Survival Tips Story of Agnes the Restaurateur
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