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 EHC #547
 Insights for the Professionally Curious
 July 25, 2008 
Good Morning!

I have already sent over 120 pounds of paper off to recycling (seriously) and I am only about halfway through shoveling out my office! The productivity of a clean desk is overrated -- studies show that people who work in piles are 39% more productive than the clean desk freaks -- but there does come a point where you are drowning in your own debris and need to lighten up.

In my case, I suspect the impetus for the de-cluttering is to clear a space for the birth of Six Star Hospitality. The program designers are stepping forward and we have started to create the pieces. Very exciting. Watch for more details as we go ... and look for an official start date in March 2009.

Speaking of dates, mark your calendars for November 17-18 when Joel Cohen and I will hold our Last Birthday Bash in New Orleans. Why is this the the last one? Certainly not because we won't have any more birthdays -- we plan to keep that up forever! -- but after this year, the Bash will be included in the Six Star program and not be open to "outside" attendance. 

When I say included, I mean part of the program -- no big add-on registration fee for Six Star participants. We don't think it is hospitable to nickel-and-dime your guests so we clearly will not deal with our partner restaurants that way either. What else won't we do? No BS, no 16-page sales letters, no hype, no "gotchas" and no small print. Radical!

Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor

The Perpetual Problem
Why Don't They Do What I Ask?

Let's say that you want a member of your staff to achieve a certain result and it is just not happening.

The old model of management would call for several counseling sessions (all properly documented, of course) followed by termination if the person was unable to deliver the needed results.

While termination is sometimes an appropriate course of action, are there any other possibilities that might explain a lack of performance and help salvage the situation?

Here are a few potential explanations for the lapse in achievement I suggest you explore - and roughly in the order listed - before you decide to cut a marginal employee loose:
  • They don't understand what you want.
  • They don't understand why it is important.
  • They don't understand how to do it.
  • They have a better way to do it.
  • It doesn't have to be done!
  • It is beyond their abilities.
  • They don't want to do it.
Given how difficult it is to find and retain quality staff, termination should be the option of last choice. Do not give up on anyone until you have given them every opportunity to succeed.

Six Star Hospitality(tm)
Rethinking Restaurants

WHAT IF some of the best minds in the business came together to re-think how restaurants operate ... to imagine how they could be ... not waiting for change but becoming the catalyst for it?

WHAT IF we could trigger a contagious resurgence of hospitality in the world by delivering the experience of heart-felt caring to every patron of every independent restaurant, every time?

WHAT IF we devised an elegantly simple system to provide the logic, methodology and support structure that would enable every independent restaurant to operate with effortless excellence?

WHAT IF this approach provided restaurant owners and staff with a fulfilling sense of purpose and the joyful experience of enriching the lives of the people they serve?

WHAT IF this program was so irresistible and easily affordable that hospitality truly became the competitive point of difference in every independent restaurant in the world?

Would you think we're crazy ... or would you ask, "How can I be a part of it?

Well, it is happening, it is called the Six Star Hospitality Program ... and I invite you to have a role in creating it. As a start, you can help just by answering a few simple questions. So far, 204 operators have contributed their ideas to this first step of the project. Have I heard from you yet?

Rather than take up space in the EHC, I will be sending updates and progress reports to those who want to be part of making all this happen. Just indicate your degree of interest when you contribute to the survey.

As the saying goes, "Play big or go home!" We are obviously upping the ante with this audacious project. How large a game are YOU willing to play?
Last Week For the July Survey
Tipping The Scales

The media is reporting that another casualty of the down economy is server tips ... not only because fewer people are dining but because those who are may be leaving less to the hard-working service staff.

Let's look closer at that this month. Are you seeing evidence of reduced tips? If so, how are you addressing it? Have you instituted a service charge and if so, how has it been received by your guests and staff?

Staff compensation is one of the elements I will be examining as the Hospitality Imperative project proceeds. The first question to ask is not, "How do we do this better?" but rather, "Is this what we should be doing at all?" Let's find out.

As usual, I will send copies of the survey results to everyone who participates. In the meantime, you can download copies of all past EHC surveys -- including the massive WOW Ideas collections.

Click here to add your thoughts to this month's survey.

Here's What You're Passing Up To Save 75 Cents!
In This Week's EHC Special Edition ...
  • Role Models - a look at a couple of places of exemplary hospitality with an insight into how they pulled it off
  • What's The Point? - a personal insight into how to make your entire life a total joy!
  • What Did You Learn From Your Staff Today? - one operator's insight that there are many ways to listen ... and not all of them involve conversation
  • Special Offers on Management Resources - while I am still in that business
Solve the problem of what to talk about in your next staff meeting. Upgrade to the EHC Special Edition and get it all!
Copyright ©2008 William Marvin. All rights reserved.

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