It's not always rainbows and butterflies (Maroon 5)
It would seem that I have never fallen as you read this blog. That is the last thing that I wish to portray. I have completely rebuilt my life several times. The last time was the worst.
I don't share this story often and I can't honestly say how deep I will go today but I don't want anyone to think, even for a moment that I am the best thing since sliced bread. Hopefully that is enough cliches.
I have been terminated in the past. I put my loyalties in the wrong people, more than once. The first time it pushed me out of a company that I loved. I had a difficult couple years of being self-employed and working less than management positions. Sometimes working 3 jobs for a short time to keep enough in the bank account. After 2 years and the truth showing itself to my former company, they were ready to give me another chance. I had already decided that I would once again pursue a career in management. Learning from my past mistakes of giving up my integrity for what I thought was a friend, I began to keep people at a distance.
2 years of success followed and a closeness developed with my new GM. He wanted to jump ship for a growing casual dining concept. And he asked me to go too. He left, took vacation time and started a new life waiting for me to join as his right hand.
Then he came back. Unknown to anyone but me and his family that he had attempted to do something else. He had did the same as my former GM and crossed me. Sold me an idea I could believe in and then tried to take all back. I wasn't buying it anymore.
I happened to be in a New Store Opening in New Jersey for the company I worked for when I gave notice. I wasn't returning to my home store. The reason, I no longer trusted my GM.
As it turned out, not a bad move at the time. What seemed like success followed me for a fair amount of time. You read these stories and most are the during those years.
Then the "Crash and Burn". A series of small events lead to something bigger and soon no one would take me but a car dealership. It fed the family and made me hungry to return what I thought I loved as a career. Under capitalized, I branched out on my own in the restaurant business and what resulted was what some of my friends would call "a dead cat bounce". I lost everything.
Except a bag of clothes that were decent enough to interview in until I had some pocket money. 800 miles on a motorcycle, countless bottles of liquor and trying to forget, I got back on the horse, yet again.
Humans have the ability to forget how bad the pain is at the end of the day and I just needed time to heal, regroup and refocus. Since those dark days in 2008, I have been knocked down a few times, had a pity party or two and just kept going. Rose to the top, fell back down, kicked once or twice and it looks like this year will be another one of the good ones.
To anyone who wants to do well in this line of work, I will share the words I wrote to a former employee. "I believe in you, you should to."
Friday, July 28, 2017
Thursday, July 27, 2017
3 types
I changed the title to protect the innocent (me) from being prosecuted for revisiting an idea that was written while employed by a different company that may or may not have intellectual property rights on thoughts that were shared at the time of employment.
I am a numbers guy. If you think math is not important, I would say you don't fully appreciate math and definitely don't understand what the numbers say when you listen. I have always claimed that I am no different than Neo as I see the code in front of me and can decipher the language.
That being said, let's dive in to the 3 types of restaurants.
I worked for a chain from the late 90's to early 00's, a franchise. I was told, by a company franchise consultant, that our brand would never be a destination restaurant. I accepted that fact to her face and left the conversation alone. I never enjoy having an intellectual battle against a less than adequate foe.
This was the same person that recommended my termination as a GM but I didn't hold that against her, I used it as motivation but we can visit that story some other time.
Overflow, Multiple Choice and Destination
Watching hourly numbers, I was able to see that I had an overflow restaurant.
Odd term but true. We didn't get busy at noon or 6pm, our rush started at 12:40 or 7 pm. Why? Everyone else was busy and we had an empty parking lot and no wait at the door. I hated understanding that we executed so badly that no would trust us during a busy time. I had just got there, been told by the powers that be not to expect anymore than that and the sales level was largely unchanged in the 3 years before my arrival. 1.6 million/year. How do you combat the mentality of a guest that doesn't trust you but has no other choice? Put staff and managers on for when the push starts. Blow them away when they walk in the door. You should have an extra 30 minutes to prepare and then be ready for it. But mostly, accept where you are in the grand scheme of things and change it.
What happens to a guest when they drive through 2 different parking lots and decide they have to settle for you AND you are ready for them? We move to the 2nd type of restaurant.
Multiple Choice
"Hey Honey! Where do you want to eat tonight? Restaurant A, B or C?" Now we've moved from the random chance of visitation to one of the top 3 picks. Most would be happy with that. Big time.
No, not really.
Same restaurant. Florida. Late November, early December. Just before season. For those who have lived through the experience, you have sympathy for what we is about to happen to us.
You don't see the numbers, though. You don't listen to the guest. Many of them begin to say good-bye as season approaches and they will not return with their wallets until after Easter. "We don't want to wait in line as the snowbirds arrive and take our spot that we have enjoyed for the last 8-9 months. We won't fight the crowds." Why? Because as a multiple choice restaurant our machine that is service doesn't always hit all 8 cylinders. Long waits, long tickets and minimal guest interaction. the real question is Why Bother? It's the tipping point when you understand it.
Destination.
My conversation about never being a destination restaurant dealt with a finer dining experience than what I could provide to the guest on a daily basis. She meant 3, 4 or 5 stars. No, I will never be that type of establishment. Remy from "Ratatouille" pulled off what I could never do. A list of names 6 months in advance that anxiously awaited their turn to dine with one of the finest chefs in all of France. I was never fooled by her statement.
To move to a destination is not about being so much better that there is a book with names who choose the times they want to come, that's actually a multiple choice. April with Remy at 7:30.
No, destination is simply "Hey Honey, are we going to Restaurant A tonight?" Of course the answer is yes.( And here is the tricky part for my Southern Friends). "Let's go at 4:30 or 5, before the rush starts and watch the tourist stand in line, sound good? I mean, it is our restaurant, why do we have to wait?"
It all starts with knowing you place and be willing to change your lot. This is a true story of a business that more than doubled its sales in 6 years and I was able to listen to the numbers.
I am a numbers guy. If you think math is not important, I would say you don't fully appreciate math and definitely don't understand what the numbers say when you listen. I have always claimed that I am no different than Neo as I see the code in front of me and can decipher the language.
That being said, let's dive in to the 3 types of restaurants.
I worked for a chain from the late 90's to early 00's, a franchise. I was told, by a company franchise consultant, that our brand would never be a destination restaurant. I accepted that fact to her face and left the conversation alone. I never enjoy having an intellectual battle against a less than adequate foe.
This was the same person that recommended my termination as a GM but I didn't hold that against her, I used it as motivation but we can visit that story some other time.
Overflow, Multiple Choice and Destination
Watching hourly numbers, I was able to see that I had an overflow restaurant.
Odd term but true. We didn't get busy at noon or 6pm, our rush started at 12:40 or 7 pm. Why? Everyone else was busy and we had an empty parking lot and no wait at the door. I hated understanding that we executed so badly that no would trust us during a busy time. I had just got there, been told by the powers that be not to expect anymore than that and the sales level was largely unchanged in the 3 years before my arrival. 1.6 million/year. How do you combat the mentality of a guest that doesn't trust you but has no other choice? Put staff and managers on for when the push starts. Blow them away when they walk in the door. You should have an extra 30 minutes to prepare and then be ready for it. But mostly, accept where you are in the grand scheme of things and change it.
What happens to a guest when they drive through 2 different parking lots and decide they have to settle for you AND you are ready for them? We move to the 2nd type of restaurant.
Multiple Choice
"Hey Honey! Where do you want to eat tonight? Restaurant A, B or C?" Now we've moved from the random chance of visitation to one of the top 3 picks. Most would be happy with that. Big time.
No, not really.
Same restaurant. Florida. Late November, early December. Just before season. For those who have lived through the experience, you have sympathy for what we is about to happen to us.
You don't see the numbers, though. You don't listen to the guest. Many of them begin to say good-bye as season approaches and they will not return with their wallets until after Easter. "We don't want to wait in line as the snowbirds arrive and take our spot that we have enjoyed for the last 8-9 months. We won't fight the crowds." Why? Because as a multiple choice restaurant our machine that is service doesn't always hit all 8 cylinders. Long waits, long tickets and minimal guest interaction. the real question is Why Bother? It's the tipping point when you understand it.
Destination.
My conversation about never being a destination restaurant dealt with a finer dining experience than what I could provide to the guest on a daily basis. She meant 3, 4 or 5 stars. No, I will never be that type of establishment. Remy from "Ratatouille" pulled off what I could never do. A list of names 6 months in advance that anxiously awaited their turn to dine with one of the finest chefs in all of France. I was never fooled by her statement.
To move to a destination is not about being so much better that there is a book with names who choose the times they want to come, that's actually a multiple choice. April with Remy at 7:30.
No, destination is simply "Hey Honey, are we going to Restaurant A tonight?" Of course the answer is yes.( And here is the tricky part for my Southern Friends). "Let's go at 4:30 or 5, before the rush starts and watch the tourist stand in line, sound good? I mean, it is our restaurant, why do we have to wait?"
It all starts with knowing you place and be willing to change your lot. This is a true story of a business that more than doubled its sales in 6 years and I was able to listen to the numbers.
Tuesday, July 25, 2017
APSOlutely
This seems to be relevant today as uncertainty swirls around friends of mine. I am not worried about change, I embrace it.
I moved my family from SW Florida to Wisconsin in 1997 on the hope that I could become a GM in a short time with Apple South. I liked the company. They were in a growth mode and the concept of Applebee's was a good fit for my personal style of management. 12 weeks of training later took me to the end of September. Rockford IL, State St. Associate Manager lasted a month. Madison East, WI, Kitchen Manager lasted 3 months. Madison West, GM. January 1998. Anyone who knows the history of Bee's and Apple South know what happened next.Tom DuPree with all his infinite wisdom and infighting with the smaller parent company decided to sell all of his restaurants. 293. I happened to be in charge of one of the them.
I have be to honest, I wanted to work for APSO. I chose my employer and performed for them. They rewarded me and advanced me quickly. I wasn't the happiest about the sale but I did get to the coveted position I wanted and began to have some success in the transition. I was an infant learning to walk.
The company knew that they could not sell closed restaurants for the same dollar amount as operational ones so they offered an incentive bonus to stay until the store was sold and books were closed out. Some of the stores sold quickly in desirable markets. Others, like mine, took awhile. 9 months to be exact. I still remember the first official meeting with our soon to be new owners. Good bunch of people, probably doing extremely well but I was so hung up on wanting to work for
APSO that I wouldn't even give them a chance. I sat crossed armed through the entire meeting.
2 things happened next.
My restaurant sold and I walked away with a lot of bonus money. I was picked up by a former APSO store in Florida that was just getting its bearings and we had an exciting run together. The only thing I ever pondered was What could've happened if I stayed with the new company?
In times of change, there will always be questions that have better answers with 20/20 hindsight. My situation turned out the right move for me and my family. For some, I am sure that the transition into a new life was not smooth, not without turbulence. But change will come in all of our lives. Wallow in the self-pity of the next chapter that you have no control over or embrace it and run as hard as you can to the end.
And know that it will probably find you again.
I moved my family from SW Florida to Wisconsin in 1997 on the hope that I could become a GM in a short time with Apple South. I liked the company. They were in a growth mode and the concept of Applebee's was a good fit for my personal style of management. 12 weeks of training later took me to the end of September. Rockford IL, State St. Associate Manager lasted a month. Madison East, WI, Kitchen Manager lasted 3 months. Madison West, GM. January 1998. Anyone who knows the history of Bee's and Apple South know what happened next.Tom DuPree with all his infinite wisdom and infighting with the smaller parent company decided to sell all of his restaurants. 293. I happened to be in charge of one of the them.
I have be to honest, I wanted to work for APSO. I chose my employer and performed for them. They rewarded me and advanced me quickly. I wasn't the happiest about the sale but I did get to the coveted position I wanted and began to have some success in the transition. I was an infant learning to walk.
The company knew that they could not sell closed restaurants for the same dollar amount as operational ones so they offered an incentive bonus to stay until the store was sold and books were closed out. Some of the stores sold quickly in desirable markets. Others, like mine, took awhile. 9 months to be exact. I still remember the first official meeting with our soon to be new owners. Good bunch of people, probably doing extremely well but I was so hung up on wanting to work for
APSO that I wouldn't even give them a chance. I sat crossed armed through the entire meeting.
2 things happened next.
My restaurant sold and I walked away with a lot of bonus money. I was picked up by a former APSO store in Florida that was just getting its bearings and we had an exciting run together. The only thing I ever pondered was What could've happened if I stayed with the new company?
In times of change, there will always be questions that have better answers with 20/20 hindsight. My situation turned out the right move for me and my family. For some, I am sure that the transition into a new life was not smooth, not without turbulence. But change will come in all of our lives. Wallow in the self-pity of the next chapter that you have no control over or embrace it and run as hard as you can to the end.
And know that it will probably find you again.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Debbie does the Galaxy
I decided to change the subject slightly. Today is porn.
Well, food porn anyway.
I would like to tell you that I have been in the restaurant business for 30+ years. Food cost for the stores that I worked in were in the 22% range up to 28% for casual dining. Today, with the cost of food as we see in the grocery stores, we run a food cost in the general vicinity of 23%. How is that even possible?
Debbie does the Galaxy is how it is possible.
I honestly don't remember how much Hostess Ho Hos cost when I was a kid but they were a favorite.
Chocolate covered devils food cake rolls filled with an amazing creme. I would save my allowance for them and the berry filled pies that they made. Heaven for a 10 year old. Soon we discovered Little Debbie's. You could find them in vending machines and in the discount markets. The first time I tried them, expecting the flavor of a Ho Ho, I begged my mom to never buy them again. I knew, at 10, what quality was and Debbie's Swiss cake rolls was not it. Sadly, Hostess could not compete with the economic demands of the public. The last time I actually saw them was in a 7-11, priced more than one dollar for 2 while Debbie had a box of 12 (6 packs of 2) for 99 cents. My taste buds finally learned to accept a flavor I wasn't fond of and eventually looked forward to during the midnight run to the kitchen with a glass of milk and a quick snack.
Fast forward 20 years
2 weeks ago, my wife brought home a box of Swiss cake rolls. Instantly I knew something was different. They were longer. My uneducated guess said 25% longer, not bigger, which to me, is important. Ok, they are bigger but not thicker, just longer. And even though they are an inferior substitute for Ho Hos, they have become that late night staple I dream of. They didn't make the Milky Way mistake.
I know its hard to believe that the most sought after candy bar in the world (based solely on numbers) could possible make a mistake but the Mars company did. Worse, they never consulted with me to inquire about the problem.
The current Milky Way candy bar is 2 3/4oz. It has been down sized slightly over the years but proportionately still the same. That is the key. In their attempt to increase sales, they did 2 things. First, the mini. Tasty yes but not a Milky Way. Too much chocolate for the nougat and caramel. Throws the flavor off. You buy the bags at $7/lb and think nothing of the taste difference.
The worst came second. Big Size. This was to gain more sales per purchase in the hopes no one would notice the discrepancy in flavor. The bar was thicker, more nougat, more caramel. The balance of chocolate was now out of whack. They could've went the Debbie route and just made the bar longer.
Last week, I made the decision to write this blog. My wife brought home a new abomination. "Great Value Swiss Cake Roll" I've decided NOT to settle for another change in a favorite. And if Hostess would box of 12 of their original Ho Hos, I would gladly pay the asking price, maybe enjoy them less often but savor every bite.
As the menu prices rise, understand one thing...you are eating GV and not Hostess.
Well, food porn anyway.
I would like to tell you that I have been in the restaurant business for 30+ years. Food cost for the stores that I worked in were in the 22% range up to 28% for casual dining. Today, with the cost of food as we see in the grocery stores, we run a food cost in the general vicinity of 23%. How is that even possible?
Debbie does the Galaxy is how it is possible.
I honestly don't remember how much Hostess Ho Hos cost when I was a kid but they were a favorite.
Chocolate covered devils food cake rolls filled with an amazing creme. I would save my allowance for them and the berry filled pies that they made. Heaven for a 10 year old. Soon we discovered Little Debbie's. You could find them in vending machines and in the discount markets. The first time I tried them, expecting the flavor of a Ho Ho, I begged my mom to never buy them again. I knew, at 10, what quality was and Debbie's Swiss cake rolls was not it. Sadly, Hostess could not compete with the economic demands of the public. The last time I actually saw them was in a 7-11, priced more than one dollar for 2 while Debbie had a box of 12 (6 packs of 2) for 99 cents. My taste buds finally learned to accept a flavor I wasn't fond of and eventually looked forward to during the midnight run to the kitchen with a glass of milk and a quick snack.
Fast forward 20 years
2 weeks ago, my wife brought home a box of Swiss cake rolls. Instantly I knew something was different. They were longer. My uneducated guess said 25% longer, not bigger, which to me, is important. Ok, they are bigger but not thicker, just longer. And even though they are an inferior substitute for Ho Hos, they have become that late night staple I dream of. They didn't make the Milky Way mistake.
I know its hard to believe that the most sought after candy bar in the world (based solely on numbers) could possible make a mistake but the Mars company did. Worse, they never consulted with me to inquire about the problem.
The current Milky Way candy bar is 2 3/4oz. It has been down sized slightly over the years but proportionately still the same. That is the key. In their attempt to increase sales, they did 2 things. First, the mini. Tasty yes but not a Milky Way. Too much chocolate for the nougat and caramel. Throws the flavor off. You buy the bags at $7/lb and think nothing of the taste difference.
The worst came second. Big Size. This was to gain more sales per purchase in the hopes no one would notice the discrepancy in flavor. The bar was thicker, more nougat, more caramel. The balance of chocolate was now out of whack. They could've went the Debbie route and just made the bar longer.
Last week, I made the decision to write this blog. My wife brought home a new abomination. "Great Value Swiss Cake Roll" I've decided NOT to settle for another change in a favorite. And if Hostess would box of 12 of their original Ho Hos, I would gladly pay the asking price, maybe enjoy them less often but savor every bite.
As the menu prices rise, understand one thing...you are eating GV and not Hostess.
Friday, July 21, 2017
BB-X-Y=M?
I hope you like some of my old stories because we will delve into my past to explain some present frustration.
In 1968, I had my first job. Illinois State Fair. My father had a cotton candy, sno-cone stand and in '68 had the opportunity to add a second location for lemonade across the street from the grandstand at the state fair. He took a small shed and converted it with water and the bare minimum required by the health department. Great money making idea. 950 lemonades in one day! One small problem. 2 locations and 1 man who happened to have 2 kids. One was 10 and the other was 8 with no other help available.
At 8, I learned how to multiple 30 and 35 cents, and to add the two totals together. Cotton Candy was 35, sno-cones, 30. We made the syrup in the bathtub a week before the fair, Mom loved that. My 10 year old sister was in charge of breaks for both of us and to actually jumped in during the rush from the grandstand.
Illinois State Fair 1968. Opened on Friday and ran through 2 weekends. A 10 day event. The gates may have opened at 8 am but people lived on the grounds during the entire fair. After 19 years of doing that fair and we graduated from Floss to Corn Dogs, I learned that people will eat Corn Dogs for breakfast if you will cook them at 7.
There were no turn-styles to count the number that came thru and actually left and in reality, the gates never really closed. We stayed opened from 8am til the blow off from the grandstand. Usually around 10 pm. In '69 with Sony and Cher, they ran longer. Maybe because the Hell's Angels lit cigarette lighters to encourage extra encores but I'll save that story for a different time.
14 hours a day. 10 days. 8 years old. I was raised to work. That's one of the few things I understand. Yes it was child abuse, yes it was in direct violation of child labor laws, although they couldn't stop me from working for a family business. They changed the laws in '76 and finally got me out of the trailer after 7pm each night.( I cut lemons in our stock truck after that time each day).
This is not a plea for pity. I'm okay with the way I turned out, mostly. This is just background for a conversation from today.
Baby Boomers grew up different.
One of my current employees came to me today and gave notice. She is a Millennial. This kid would make a boomer proud. Not over endless abuse at work but a work ethic that some managers from a different time dream of. Why did she give notice?
Recently her step-sister got a job too, but not at my company. Her step-mother wanted me to work around the 4 day only schedule for my employee plus only schedule her when she could drive her step-sister 35 miles to work. Not impossible, not easy either. Then the step-mother said she could NOT work Sundays even though she had to drive the step-sister to work on Sundays and make 2 round trips just to be the shuttle service. I started having a hard time understanding the restrictions. Today the final complaint came, not from the employee, who wanted to work as many hours as I could give her but again, from the step-mother.
"My step-mom is not happy and is making me quit. My scheduled out time is not the time I actually get out. She doesn't like it that I have sidework to do before I leave."
Valuable employee. Long term lifer, for those who understand.
I don't know if the step is an X Gen or Y but I do know that she is standing in the way of a refreshing change of employees. Maybe this one is unique, I don't know but I will gladly take more chances on these kids based on the one who had to give notice today.
In 1968, I had my first job. Illinois State Fair. My father had a cotton candy, sno-cone stand and in '68 had the opportunity to add a second location for lemonade across the street from the grandstand at the state fair. He took a small shed and converted it with water and the bare minimum required by the health department. Great money making idea. 950 lemonades in one day! One small problem. 2 locations and 1 man who happened to have 2 kids. One was 10 and the other was 8 with no other help available.
At 8, I learned how to multiple 30 and 35 cents, and to add the two totals together. Cotton Candy was 35, sno-cones, 30. We made the syrup in the bathtub a week before the fair, Mom loved that. My 10 year old sister was in charge of breaks for both of us and to actually jumped in during the rush from the grandstand.
Illinois State Fair 1968. Opened on Friday and ran through 2 weekends. A 10 day event. The gates may have opened at 8 am but people lived on the grounds during the entire fair. After 19 years of doing that fair and we graduated from Floss to Corn Dogs, I learned that people will eat Corn Dogs for breakfast if you will cook them at 7.
There were no turn-styles to count the number that came thru and actually left and in reality, the gates never really closed. We stayed opened from 8am til the blow off from the grandstand. Usually around 10 pm. In '69 with Sony and Cher, they ran longer. Maybe because the Hell's Angels lit cigarette lighters to encourage extra encores but I'll save that story for a different time.
14 hours a day. 10 days. 8 years old. I was raised to work. That's one of the few things I understand. Yes it was child abuse, yes it was in direct violation of child labor laws, although they couldn't stop me from working for a family business. They changed the laws in '76 and finally got me out of the trailer after 7pm each night.( I cut lemons in our stock truck after that time each day).
This is not a plea for pity. I'm okay with the way I turned out, mostly. This is just background for a conversation from today.
Baby Boomers grew up different.
One of my current employees came to me today and gave notice. She is a Millennial. This kid would make a boomer proud. Not over endless abuse at work but a work ethic that some managers from a different time dream of. Why did she give notice?
Recently her step-sister got a job too, but not at my company. Her step-mother wanted me to work around the 4 day only schedule for my employee plus only schedule her when she could drive her step-sister 35 miles to work. Not impossible, not easy either. Then the step-mother said she could NOT work Sundays even though she had to drive the step-sister to work on Sundays and make 2 round trips just to be the shuttle service. I started having a hard time understanding the restrictions. Today the final complaint came, not from the employee, who wanted to work as many hours as I could give her but again, from the step-mother.
"My step-mom is not happy and is making me quit. My scheduled out time is not the time I actually get out. She doesn't like it that I have sidework to do before I leave."
Valuable employee. Long term lifer, for those who understand.
I don't know if the step is an X Gen or Y but I do know that she is standing in the way of a refreshing change of employees. Maybe this one is unique, I don't know but I will gladly take more chances on these kids based on the one who had to give notice today.
Monday, July 10, 2017
Where is Nantucket?
I can't find the title to explain what I want to say today, hopefully, by the end I will find it.
Most of my ramblings have been about a not-so-distant past but this one is about today.
Progress. The use of technology to make life easier. Seems simple and there's hardly any need to expound on the idea. We do have microwave ovens, computers that are handheld, and soon those flying cars we all dreamed of AND self-driving!
The future appears to be an amazing adventure that is on the cusp of exploding each day with something we barely could imagine only a few scant years ago.
Today, I understand the truth.
30 years ago I was new manager in a corporate world. Low man on the totem pole, as it was. I was desperate to find the right staff for my kitchen crew because I always seemed to be 2 or 3 cooks short of having an efficient team. I asked my regional manager for a series of questions that I could use during the interview process, 15-20 good, revealing questions to ask every candidate, slowly seeing what it was that I was looking for in that potential employee based on how they answered, body language, or any other outward sign that they displayed. In time, I would see a pattern of success or failure based on a face to face conversation. A bonding.
I didn't get those questions from my regional that year and it would be many years before someone other than me came up with standard to follow. This is about today, however.
Today, when you apply with a company you simply go on line. No need to even leave the comfort of your own home to line up a possible interview with a small catch...you have to complete an assessment. What I wanted was 15-20 questions, what we have is 100 or more that delve into the psychology of what the company is hoping to find in a generation of work ethic challenged youths.
The captain of the ill-fated whaling ship "Essex" that inspired the Melville book "Moby Dick" only had one question. Can you get to Nantucket before we sail? Didn't work out for him. He didn't choose his crew and his men chose a job and he happened to be the boss.
The assessments by the big boys like Snag-a-Job, cull the field by accident. They really only ask the same question, Can you get to Nantucket? It will be difficult for people to accept this idea so I will explain it as I did to my Regional Manager today.
Two former employees scored "serious concern" on the psych test for attitude, not that I ever experienced a problem with either one. I want both of them back.
I am the leader of a small restaurant, people choose to work for me or not. I hired my crew based on that face time that we had, bonded with them through orientation, oversaw their training. If recruiting companies wish to profit off of me, the questions should be geared to the type of leader I am, not the type of cookie cutter employee the company thinks they are looking for based on a demographic the recruiter thinks we want.
As managers, we want to build a team. We need the face time with everyone so we can make the judgement call of who wants to work with us. We need the ones who will stand with us when the shift goes wrong not jump ship during the first crash and burn. Ones that want to be apart of something.
Progress is not an answer in hiring in the service trade but 15 questions are as long as one is not Where is Nantucket?
Most of my ramblings have been about a not-so-distant past but this one is about today.
Progress. The use of technology to make life easier. Seems simple and there's hardly any need to expound on the idea. We do have microwave ovens, computers that are handheld, and soon those flying cars we all dreamed of AND self-driving!
The future appears to be an amazing adventure that is on the cusp of exploding each day with something we barely could imagine only a few scant years ago.
Today, I understand the truth.
30 years ago I was new manager in a corporate world. Low man on the totem pole, as it was. I was desperate to find the right staff for my kitchen crew because I always seemed to be 2 or 3 cooks short of having an efficient team. I asked my regional manager for a series of questions that I could use during the interview process, 15-20 good, revealing questions to ask every candidate, slowly seeing what it was that I was looking for in that potential employee based on how they answered, body language, or any other outward sign that they displayed. In time, I would see a pattern of success or failure based on a face to face conversation. A bonding.
I didn't get those questions from my regional that year and it would be many years before someone other than me came up with standard to follow. This is about today, however.
Today, when you apply with a company you simply go on line. No need to even leave the comfort of your own home to line up a possible interview with a small catch...you have to complete an assessment. What I wanted was 15-20 questions, what we have is 100 or more that delve into the psychology of what the company is hoping to find in a generation of work ethic challenged youths.
The captain of the ill-fated whaling ship "Essex" that inspired the Melville book "Moby Dick" only had one question. Can you get to Nantucket before we sail? Didn't work out for him. He didn't choose his crew and his men chose a job and he happened to be the boss.
The assessments by the big boys like Snag-a-Job, cull the field by accident. They really only ask the same question, Can you get to Nantucket? It will be difficult for people to accept this idea so I will explain it as I did to my Regional Manager today.
Two former employees scored "serious concern" on the psych test for attitude, not that I ever experienced a problem with either one. I want both of them back.
I am the leader of a small restaurant, people choose to work for me or not. I hired my crew based on that face time that we had, bonded with them through orientation, oversaw their training. If recruiting companies wish to profit off of me, the questions should be geared to the type of leader I am, not the type of cookie cutter employee the company thinks they are looking for based on a demographic the recruiter thinks we want.
As managers, we want to build a team. We need the face time with everyone so we can make the judgement call of who wants to work with us. We need the ones who will stand with us when the shift goes wrong not jump ship during the first crash and burn. Ones that want to be apart of something.
Progress is not an answer in hiring in the service trade but 15 questions are as long as one is not Where is Nantucket?
Monday, July 3, 2017
Agape
Agape. Unconditional love.
Yes, this does relate to restaurants the same way Memphis Raines does. Experiencing something that has such a profound impact in your life that it can be transferred and absorbed into your being. That was what I had when I went on the "Gulf Coast Walk to Emmaus #31 and sat at the table of Peter". I will proudly be forever know as that person.
I won't share the specifics, it is a private group and divulging information would or could ruin the experience for another. It's a spiritual retreat. Men go one week and , hopefully, their wives go the next week, although it is actually harder to get the men to commit. Doctors and religion are not big on our agenda.
On my weekend, I learned about the word agape. Peter and Jesus had a simple conversation in Greek. "Peter do you love me? (agape, unconditionally) "Yes, I love you like a friend." (he actually used a different word to respond) "Peter do you love me?" he asked again, same context. The response was the same in a variation. "Yes,I love you like a brother." The third time he asked is what I want to talk about.
I moved from "pilgrim" to worker by the next year and all the "walks" after my own. I think walk 34 was the first one and I was, naturally, a cook. And I learned what it was like to give your all to something you loved.
Service is agape. The restaurant business has 3 different stages of agape, answers, as Peter would attest.
The first being, I'll give you some service, bare bones minimum so I continue to draw a paycheck or get a fair tip for the service I provide. Unfortunately, this is what we usually get from a typical food service staff member. The cook doesn't want to lose their job, host, server, etc. Mistakes are okay after all, we're buds!
The second stage of agape. Largely, no mistakes. You got exactly what you ordered, with a refill of a drink, timely clearly of plates and maybe I asked if you wanted dessert. We are family and you can even see ketchup on a different table if you really needed it and I forgot.
But agape is more. Its the unconditional love of what we do.
It's the anticipation of what someone needs, be it a guest, employee, or community and making it something that causes them no distraction during their time with you without an expectation of anything in return.
Yes, this does relate to restaurants the same way Memphis Raines does. Experiencing something that has such a profound impact in your life that it can be transferred and absorbed into your being. That was what I had when I went on the "Gulf Coast Walk to Emmaus #31 and sat at the table of Peter". I will proudly be forever know as that person.
I won't share the specifics, it is a private group and divulging information would or could ruin the experience for another. It's a spiritual retreat. Men go one week and , hopefully, their wives go the next week, although it is actually harder to get the men to commit. Doctors and religion are not big on our agenda.
On my weekend, I learned about the word agape. Peter and Jesus had a simple conversation in Greek. "Peter do you love me? (agape, unconditionally) "Yes, I love you like a friend." (he actually used a different word to respond) "Peter do you love me?" he asked again, same context. The response was the same in a variation. "Yes,I love you like a brother." The third time he asked is what I want to talk about.
I moved from "pilgrim" to worker by the next year and all the "walks" after my own. I think walk 34 was the first one and I was, naturally, a cook. And I learned what it was like to give your all to something you loved.
Service is agape. The restaurant business has 3 different stages of agape, answers, as Peter would attest.
The first being, I'll give you some service, bare bones minimum so I continue to draw a paycheck or get a fair tip for the service I provide. Unfortunately, this is what we usually get from a typical food service staff member. The cook doesn't want to lose their job, host, server, etc. Mistakes are okay after all, we're buds!
The second stage of agape. Largely, no mistakes. You got exactly what you ordered, with a refill of a drink, timely clearly of plates and maybe I asked if you wanted dessert. We are family and you can even see ketchup on a different table if you really needed it and I forgot.
But agape is more. Its the unconditional love of what we do.
It's the anticipation of what someone needs, be it a guest, employee, or community and making it something that causes them no distraction during their time with you without an expectation of anything in return.
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