Getting Ready for the Season  

 We have all heard the old saying,

"You never get a second chance  

to make a first impression."

And in our business, it's all about the first and last (or is that "lasting") impression we leave on our guests.

I know that you have been busy getting ready for summer: re-writing and re-pricing your menu, hiring staff, getting equipment that you haven't used for awhile out (or putting away the snow blower), and worrying about your cash flow and what kind of season it will be.

Now that you have those things are done, it is time to step into a different pair of shoes - your customer's. Years ago, when I worked for an international hotel company, I had to serve as Manager on Duty (MOD) one weekend day a month. All of our MODs had to walk the entire hotel, inside and out at least once a shift checking for burnt out light bulbs (there will be a lot fewer of these if you use more compact fluorescent lamps), maintenance issues, slip and fall hazards, check staffing levels, and anything else that might negatively impact the guest's experience and hotel's reputation and profitability. We were specifically instructed to make sure that we altered our walking routes so that we could constantly "see" the hotel through "fresh" eyes.

Heck, one of the GMs at one of our sister hotels made his managers do the same thing but while looking in a mirror so they really got a different view of the place!

During the next few days you need to leave your business, go somewhere where you can clear your head (perhaps to your newest and most significant competition to do a little "competitive shopping") and head back over to your business as if you were a customer approaching it for the first time. What are your first impressions of your business? Are the:

• Signs and identification elements clean, readable, and properly lit at night?
• Are the hard surfaces (sidewalks, driveways, and parking lots) clean and in good repair?
• Are the soft elements (lawns, shrubs, flowers, etc.) healthy and inviting?
• Is the building in good repair?
• Are the doors and window clean and do they operate easily?
• When you first walk-in the door do you see a neat, organized space and friendly, welcoming employees?
• Are the menus clean and self-explanatory and are staff attentive and willing and able to assist?
• Is the dining area neat and clean?
• Are the restrooms clean, well-stocked, and odor-free?

In other words would you want to patronize your own business?

You should then leave your business and make the same sort of observations as you leave. This way you will experience both the "first" and "lasting" impressions that your guests have.

As you take this little tour, carry a pad with you and make note of the things that you want to change or improve. Don't forget to record the things that your business and staff does well so that you can build on that while addressing areas that you want to change.

If there is more than one entrance onto your property or into your building, you should repeat this little exercise for each possible path into (and out) of your business. In addition I would recommend that you do it at different times of the day so that you can see how changing light levels (natural and artificial) impact the visibility of your business and the guest experience.

Once you have all this information, you can compliment your staff on what they and your business does well, as well as setting prioritized goals for operational improvement.

Please remember that what is obvious to you is not always obvious to the guest! Recently I did a "mystery shop" of a restaurant. I had specifically been asked to see if the managers was "touching tables". While we saw five managers, only one "touched tables," leaving a bad impression in our minds. When our experience was reported to the owner, we received an explanation that the other four managers had other duties that night and weren't supposed to "touch tables." To those of us who did not know, and I am sure most guests, it looked like one manager was working hard and that the other managers were avoiding guest contact.

For those of you who really want to take the experience "to the next level" take the tour as if you were a new employee entering the business for one of their shifts during their first week of work. Make sure that the employee entrance, changing and rest rooms, locker area, and break room (if you have them) are clean, neat, and properly equipped. Then check out the work stations - to make sure that your employees have enough supplies to work with and that things are well-organized in a logical manner.

If you want your guests to be satisfied with their experience, the both the physical structure and the staff have to shine.

Good luck and have a great summer!

One of the most stressful things for any employee, but especially for a new employee, to handle is a complaint. Many people at all levels of business dread hearing complaints and are relieved and happy when they can get through a day without hearing a single one.

Not hearing complaints should not lull you into a false sense of security as only a small portion of people actually voice their complaints to the business. Instead they tell their family, friends, and associates - often amplifying the negative aspects of the situation in the retelling.

Research shows that most people find complaining to be very stressful, so rather than bring additional stress on themselves, after all they're already unhappy and stressed, they put up with the problem, but tell the "friendly audience" all about it. In addition some people don't believe that anything will come of their complaining - see last month's newsletter for my experience in this regard.

So while you may not hear complaints, there is strong possibility that they are out there. That is one of the reasons that it is so important for managers and supervisors to interact with guests because this provides an opportunity to hear about and observe problems while the guest is still in your business and the problem can be corrected. (Guests who've had problems corrected professionally tend to become loyal customers!)

Once you make it easy on the guest, you need to make it easy on the staff by explaining to them why customers complain, the different types of complaints, and how to handle the different types of complaints.

The main reason that guests complain is that something is not right. They are unhappy with the product or service, not the person delivering the product or service. Therefore the first thing that employees must understand is that they should not take complaints personally.

Employees should learn to apologize for the inconvenience without blaming other employees, suppliers, or the guest. When taking the initial report of the complaint they should not say anything that suggests that the business was at fault or that could be taken as accepting liability for a problem. A simple statement that expresses regret and connects the employee with the guest should be sufficient, as in:

"I'm sorry that your storm windows came in damaged. I can imagine how frustrating that must be since you've already waited more than a month for them."

Wherever possible guests should be given two or more options for correcting the situation such as:

"We can do one of two things: we can reorder your windows and see how quickly they can ship them, or we can cancel your order and refund your money. Which would you prefer?"

After the guest has selected a solution, follow through to make sure that the situation gets resolved,  apologize for the inconvenience, and thank the guest for bringing the matter to your attention.

Now that you understand how to handle complaints, let's look at the four different types of complaints:

1)    There is a problem that needs to be addressed. These are the majority of complaints and are surprisingly easy to fix by following the steps listed above and fixing the problem!

2)    The person making the complaint is looking for attention either because they are lonely or because they are trying to impress someone with their importance, toughness, etc. Often these show up as regulars who complain, but keep coming back. While we all dread seeing these people come in because we know that they are probably going to complain, if we pay attention to them, and "kill them with kindness", it is very likely that you can forestall their complaining and keep them and the staff happy.

3)    There is a perceptual problem between what the guest thought they were getting and what they actually received. These are nearly impossible to correct, but fortunately they are relatively rare. These problems should be directed to someone in authority so that they can understand the problem and do what they can to remedy the situation, although in most cases about the best that you can do is apologize profusely for the misunderstanding.

4)    You have a scammer who is trying to get something for nothing. These seem to come in waves and the frequency of their occurrence seems much higher than it actually is. To some extent the best way to handle these situations is to have prepared for them in advance and have a ready response that rests on a well-thought out policy. This allows you to apologize for the situation and to stick to a "policy" with respect to your business' response.

I remember the first time one of the restaurants I managed was approached about participating in an "entertainment" coupon book. I was told that this would be a better way to reach potential new customers since the books would be sold to those who were more likely than the typical newspaper reader to go out to dinner in my type of restaurant, rather than the cheapies who clipped coupons. The sales rep had all sorts of demographic information to prove his point. And as a final parting shot, since these coupons would be on good quality paper, neither my guests, nor my staff would get their hands inky and dirty.

We signed up for one coupon book the first year, and the next there were many competing coupon book producers looking to include our 50% off deals in their books. We participated in these programs for a couple of years, eventually dropping out as the number of coupons grew to the point where the likelihood of repeat business was almost non-existent because there were so many half-price offers that there was little reason to come back a second time and pay full price. We also experienced a number of operational problems associated with the redemption of the coupons - floods of users, inappropriate tipping, etc. to the point where the revenue did not justify the expense. We also felt that the distribution of the coupons cheapened the image of our restaurant.

The 'modern' version of the coupon book, is the internet coupon company. While Groupon is the best known, a recent report on National Public Radio reported that there are more than 350 similar companies in the United States alone. USA Today reported that one such company aggregates coupons and distributes daily offers from more than 300 sites.

The e-coupon craze has grown both in numbers of providers and number of subscribers. Groupon grew from 3.4 million subscribers in Spring 2010 to more than 83 million in Spring 2011!

Spokespersons for these coupon sites, and some of their users, echo some of the comments made by my old entertainment book sales rep including, that clipping coupons seems cheap, while presenting a downloaded e-coupon or better yet flashing one on a smart phone is an "in" thing and confirms that smart phone's user is one of the "technologically hip." And of course there are no inky fingers.

Comments from e-coupon site subscribers indicated that at least some of them were displaying behaviors similar to those of the coupon book purchasers in that they use the coupons to:

• Go to places that they could not normally afford.
• Visit places or do things that they normally would not do and that they probably will not return.
• Experience what is 'new' and look forward to the next 'new' experience.
• Ease the guilt of pampering themselves.
• Stretch their money and will probably continue to make purchase decisions based upon discounts or coupons for the foreseeable future.

While discounts can go as high as 90% off the published rate, the typical discount is 50% - the old "buy one, get one free" of the coupon books.

If you're not participating in these e-coupons, you're not alone. A recent survey of restaurants indicated that 71% of respondents had no interest in becoming affiliated with Groupon. Presumably the "not interested" response rate would have been the same or higher for the lesser known, but competing e-coupon sites.

At Wheelwright Consultants we urge you to carefully consider the benefits, costs, and operational issues involved with any mass-marketing program. There may be instances where these programs can be beneficial. A well-thought out, properly targeted marketing program may provide a much better return on your investment.