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doing things right. And we had two very powerful programs that was. And that made a huge difference too, and it was absolutely at
encouraged that positive behavior and built what I call a culture of
family.
It started with a program that I developed called Difference Dollars,
and it was really, really simple. It’s something that any restaurant
can do right off the bat. But when you notice employees going
above and beyond and making a difference in either a guest’s
experience or a team member’s experience, helping a team member
in need, going above and beyond to deliver an amazing guest
experience – it doesn’t matter if you’re in the kitchen. It doesn’t
matter if you’re in the front of house. Every week, we recognized
two to four people throughout a staff of 60, and by recognizing
them, I noticed something that made a difference. And then we
would call the entire team together on Friday and Saturday night
before the doors opened. We’d have 30 or 40 people all gathered
around in the kitchen, and I would get up and talk about what these
individuals did that made a difference, and then I would present
each with a $20 dollar bill and a can of Red Bull. It was something
that – no one knew when they were going to be recognized, but
it was genuine, it was authentic, and it was absolutely something
that made a difference. Those people – you could just see the pride
on their faces, and then when the entire staff applauded for that
contribution, it just carried the team week after week after week.
Even when we were slamming busy, even when customers were
coming in the door at 10:00 p.m., it’s like that culture of family –
everyone supported each other and that was like a cornerstone
recognition moment.
And then those people would be recognized on a Make a Difference
board where we would literally print what it was for all to see, who
did it, and what they did to make a difference. And it wasn’t just
about the $20 dollars and the can of Red Bull, although that was
kind of a little incentive kicker. It was really about that recognition
that made them feel proud of what they were doing, and it
encouraged them to just do their best work and best practices. That
was one example.
Another thing I found out in the beginning was all of my suppliers
in the business, whether they be food service suppliers, liquor
companies, beverage distributors, credit card processors, all the
people that we did business with in the marketplace, I asked them
for valuable merchandise that they may have kicking around. And I
quickly found out that a lot of these companies had warehouses full
of this stuff from past promotions that they didn’t use everything
or whatever it was. And they started dropping this stuff off at our
door, and we got golf clubs and skis and snowboards and stereos
and television sets and wearables, high tech outerwear and hoodies.
So I filled the closet with prizes every single season, because we
were only open four months a year, and then whenever I noticed
somebody going above and beyond and making a huge difference,
I’d have a little chat with them. I’d thank them personally for their
contribution and how much they meant to the team, and then I’d
say, “Hey, let’s take a walk to the closet. Go pick out something.”
And they’d walk out of there with a pair of skis or golf clubs or
something with tremendous value – neon beer signs – whatever it
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no cost to my restaurant, but it elevated the team and it drove them
forward and it helped build our brand.
Nick:
Let me ask this too. I know you have a system that helps restaurant
owners, and I’m assuming it could probably help bar owners as well,
really turn their staff into sales superstars. And before I ask you a little
bit about that, one of the things I’d like to pick your brain on that I’m
sure anybody would want to know, give me one example of how you
are able to get the staff to double their check averages.
Roger:
It’s as simple as recognizing an order taker – that’s a term that I use
pretty loosely because I dine out across the country. I go to bars
and restaurants all the time. In this business, I’ve noticed so many
operations that aren’t training their staff. These people might be
personable and friendly, but they still have that pad in their hand.
They take the order, deliver the food, and bring the check, and to
me those are ordinary experiences. But where I’m going with this is
an order taker’s M.O. or general way of operating is by asking what
I call yes or no questions. And any time you sit down in a restaurant
and they say, “Does anyone want dessert? Can I bring you anything
else?” that is a path of least resistance, ordinary experience
happening that is not dazzling the customer. That’s not telling the
customer anything about what makes that restaurant unique and
special, so it all starts with product and restaurant knowledge.
We have to recognize that every day in our restaurants and bars,
we are getting new customers walking in the door for a variety of
reasons. Either they drove by your place and it looked appealing
and it just happened to be lunch or dinner time, or they saw an ad,
or someone said, “Oh, go check that place out.” They’re walking in
for the first time and they don’t know the first thing about what’s
unique or special about that restaurant.
So we develop staff to have such incredible knowledge that most
of the time, nine times out of ten, any questions that get asked by a
customer are answered. It’s not an “I don’t know” or “Let me go ask
my manager,” which is a negative impression. It’s like they’re on top
of this stuff. So the easiest way of doing that is eliminating the order
taker mentality, absolutely forbidding the yes or no questions, and
instead giving choices. By giving choices and bringing those choices
to life, you can suddenly double your odds of making the sale, and
these choices are opportunities.
I’ve always said that every table in a restaurant or every seat at a bar
represents a series of opportunities as long as that person is sitting
in that seat. And opportunities exist across the board – appetizers,
entrees, desserts, specialty cocktails. Whatever they are, the guest
may have no idea that they’re really going to enjoy this stuff. So if
we’re not educating, informing, and entertaining each and every
guest, every table, every time, we’re delivering ordinary experiences
and leaving lots of sales on the table. So by giving choices and
bringing them to life, that’s the way you can double a check average,
and it works nine times out of ten.
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