I am a restaurant person.  My first job was handing out cheese samples in the mall for a gourmet cheese company.  That was my first job serving food and making sales.  I love restaurants…and have worked in virtually every position on the org chart.  Perhaps I would still be in the restaurant business if my husband hot rod’s partner had not died.

Team Pride…

My nephew Christian is a restaurant manager with a very cool company in Park City, Utah.  It’s called Bill White Enterprises.  http://billwhiteenterprises.com Owner, Bill White operates differently from most restaurateurs.  His focus is on happy diners.  That is the statistic that drives every decision.  How do we create an amazing dining experience…and how many people do we make happy?  Every day, that’s the basis of the management team’s discussion.  Sales revenues are reviewed monthly…and not of immediate interest.   The team understands that a fantastic gastronomical experience delivered to enough people drives the top line and bottom line numbers.  Interesting!  Not business as usual.

The chain has five restaurants, all different concepts…from a classic bakery to southwestern fare…all committed to the “slow food” movement.  Bill isn’t interested in cookie-cutter franchising.  Not that there is anything wrong with franchising.  It just isn’t for him.  The flagship company is Wahso, and serves Asian and French fusion cuisine in a lovely setting, right on historic Main Street.  Recently, members of a major car manufacturing company spent a few days visiting Wahso.  As part of a creative effort to increase sales in the off season, Bill’s Sales team made a reach to corporations who may want to learn from their unique approach to customer service.

The staff at Wahso crafted a presentation for the auto executives.  Each team member demonstrated his or her department, and how they contributed to the whole experience.

The unanticipated benefits…

Team Pride take aways…

• Training is a benefit, not a burden.  Train your team…and help them become trainers.
• Don’t copy your competition.  What do they know that you don’t know already?
• Look outside your industry for inspiration…and examples of excellence.

Team Pride hits Vegas…

As a bonus, Bill took his management team to Las Vegas.

The ulterior motive?  To learn how other customer-service industries satisfy the most seasoned pleasure seekers.

Bill White leverages the passion he has for his business…and his management training is born from his desire to turn others on to the magnificence of the dining experience.  They have systems and procedures at Bill White Enterprises.

More lessons from the restaurant industry…

You go out to dinner.  Use this time to learn from some of the world’s best (and worst?) customer service practitioners.

Looking for Dispatching Skills?  Study the hostess.

Check out the bussing crew for warehousing tips.

Study a waitress offering dessert for a lesson in “add on” sales.

A good restaurant manager could teach you something about triage.  Once upon a time, as a new restaurant manager, I pulled my general manager aside to let him know that I was completely overwhelmed.

One more order…

Look for restaurant experience on your prospective employee’s application.  It’s a good indicator that this person can multi-task, understands customer service…and might be able to whip you up an omelet on a slow day.

Xo$, Ellen