Does it drive you crazy when a customer complains and you end up having to comp a meal or two? Do you get on your staff when they substitute a baked potato for the vegetables? If so, you may be focusing on short term results at the expense of building a solid base of loyal, repeat customers.
con referencia a: Blogger: Service Excellence - Create Post (ver en Google Sidewiki)Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Grow Your Business Through Superior Customer Experience
Your customers experience your brand every day, with every transaction made at your retail units. With so many options available to the customer, their experience with your front line is a powerful differentiator. Yet how do you make sure your customer's experience at every opportunity is one that will generate growth?
con referencia a: Service Excellence: Grow Your Business Through Superior Customer Experiences (ver en Google Sidewiki)Monday, October 12, 2009
Grow Your Business Through Superior Customer Experiences
Your customers experience
your brand every day, with every transaction made at your retail units. With so
many options available to the customer, their experience with your front line
is a powerful differentiator. Yet how do you make sure your customer's
experience at every opportunity is one that will generate growth?
Listen to your customers,
listen to your employees, and align those customer desires with employee
actions through a powerful integrated approach that:
- Understands what customers value and what employees do
to impact that
- Engages employees in planning and implementing
improvements
- Rewards and recognizes employees for improvements
Sounds simple, right? But
when I ask anyone in the service industry "what keeps you awake at
night?" the most frequently-mentioned topic was how to use customer
feedback to drive performance improvement. This may seem surprising given
the number of organizations that regularly gather surveys, comment cards, and
other sources of customer data. But, based on the feedback I get, it appears that a large
number of these companies are not satisfied with their ability to use customer feedback
to improve performance and/or achieve desired business results. Integrating
customer feedback into a continuous improvement process is the essential.
Continuous Improvement –
Doing It Right
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, W. Edwards Deming popularized the notion of viewing quality improvement as a continuous, closed-loop process. This same approach has been discussed in connection with customer satisfaction measurement and management for at least 15 years The idea is fairly simple: Use measures of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (and related voice of the customer data) to identify priority issues for improvement. Plan and implement efforts to address those issues, and then gather new measurements to determine if actions taken are having their intended effect. Apply this process on a continuous basis to monitor and manage customer experiences in ways that will lead to desired business results.
Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, W. Edwards Deming popularized the notion of viewing quality improvement as a continuous, closed-loop process. This same approach has been discussed in connection with customer satisfaction measurement and management for at least 15 years The idea is fairly simple: Use measures of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (and related voice of the customer data) to identify priority issues for improvement. Plan and implement efforts to address those issues, and then gather new measurements to determine if actions taken are having their intended effect. Apply this process on a continuous basis to monitor and manage customer experiences in ways that will lead to desired business results.
In Spanish www.serviciofueradeserie.blogspot.com
www.yaseintl.com
Friday, October 9, 2009
WHAT IS DELEGATION ?
It is not possible for a single person to handle all the tasks in an enterprise. Moreover, the task of the manager is not to do all the work on his own but to get the work done by other members in the organization. For accomplishing the group purposes, delegation is necessary. Besides, there is a limit to the number of persons, a manager can supervise. Once this limit is crossed, authority needs to be delegated to the subordinates.
Authority gets delegated when a superior gives a subordinate, the discretion to make decisions. A superior can delegate only that authority, which he has and cannot delegate the one be does not have. The important decision for a manager is to decide when to perform them on his own. To determine when delegation is most appropriate, the managers should ask five basic questions:
1. Do the subordinates have the necessary information and expertise to perform the task ?
2. Are the subordinates committed for successful implementation of the final decision ?
3. Will the capabilities and interest of the subordinates be expanded by this delegation ?
4. Do the subordinates share with management the same set of common values and perspectives ?
5. Is there sufficient time to do an effective job of delegation ?
If any of these questions remain unanswered, the probability is greater that the delegation will not be effective. More time will be required, lower quality will result, more frustration will be experienced and less empowerment will occur.
THE ART CALLED “DELEGATION”
The failure of delegation occurs not because managers do not understand how effective delegation can be done but because they are unwilling to apply the principles for the fear of loosing their importance. The studies of managerial failures reveal poor and inept delegation. The root cause Lies in the personal bias of the managers.
Receptiveness :
Delegation involves decision making and decision making always involves use of discretion and foresightedness. Managers fear that their subordinates decision may not be exactly the type the superior would have made. Besides, it involves the willingness to give a chance to the ideas of other people. The manager should be able to welcome the ideas of others as well as be able to compliment them for the good work done.
Readiness to delegate :
People who gradually move up the executive ladder in the organization tend to keep on taking the decisions for the positions they have already left. This is sheer waste of time and effort on the part of a manager because the same time can be devoted for far more important decisions. Managers need to concentrate on tasks that contribute most to the firm’s objectives and the other non-important tasks can be delegated.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Who's Running the Restaurant?
www.yaseintl.com
I seldom meet a working owner or salaried manager in a restaurant that isn't working less than 70-80 hours a week. When I ask them when was the last time they took a vacation, I get a similar reply: "Vacation? You've got to be kidding."
[The same response was yielded recently from two independent operators who both had questions concerning the exploration of franchising. It's self-evident that if you don't have time to leave your current operation to take a vacation, you are certainly not ready to franchise. You must ready yourself first.]
While commitment to excellence in all areas of operations is vital, a question remains: Are you running your restaurant or is it running you? There are several steps an operator can take to have a life beyond their restaurant:
1. Establish prefix working hours. Short of sudden death, adhere to these hours.
2. Restrict unsolicited communications. Do not become victim to purveyors and other assorted vendors, and/or the media sales people of which you are a great target for their once-in-a-lifetime special offer of products, services or "fantastic" advertising opportunities. Yes, there may be promotional programs in which you may want to participate. But request all offers in writing and do not waste time with on-site meetings or lengthy discussions on the telephone. If the calls themselves become burdensome, refer them all to your agency or a selected staff member with a patent-scripted reply.
3. You set the agenda. The only people you really have time to talk to are your customers and staff. In order to meet your objectives efficiently (problem solving, finalizing catering contract etc.), you must first determine if the matter is "real" and worth addressing. Secondly, establish the parameters of the discussion to keep things moving graciously without getting sidetracked. Develop and outline and limit all meetings to a maximum of one hour. If you cannot meet your objectives in that time period, alternatively set up a second meeting, but do not deviate from your original agenda or timeline. Meetings lasting longer than this time period often fragment into 'stream of consciousness' discussions due to people tiring. At the conclusion of the hour, depart and move on to your next matter of business.
4. Paperwork. All paper, including mail (snail and electronic), should only pass through your hands one time. Upon review, there is only one decision to make: act on it (reply, delegate action, write check for payment etc.), file it (for your records in the appropriate place) or throw it in the garbage. Once you review any document, promise yourself that you will not leave this decision unfinished and you'll be glad later. While you may admire the lovely brochure your received from Vendor X, if you have no intention of buying their products in the next three months, slide it into the paper shredder under your desk. The seemingly ominous mountain of paperwork will be greatly reduced in no time.
5. Hire sufficient office support staff. Owners, chefs, managers, good kitchen crews, wait staff and good hosts/hostesses are the restaurant rainmakers. Their collective focus should be on restaurant operations -- not office work -- which can be delegated to numerous qualified and available applicants. There is no reason for any owner or manager to be sitting in front of a computer terminal performing minutia office tasks at 1AM, which could be effectively delegated, ranging to the level of a college intern with regular duties outlined, assigned and supported with adequate reporting forms.
Good luck in your recovery program!
I seldom meet a working owner or salaried manager in a restaurant that isn't working less than 70-80 hours a week. When I ask them when was the last time they took a vacation, I get a similar reply: "Vacation? You've got to be kidding."
[The same response was yielded recently from two independent operators who both had questions concerning the exploration of franchising. It's self-evident that if you don't have time to leave your current operation to take a vacation, you are certainly not ready to franchise. You must ready yourself first.]
While commitment to excellence in all areas of operations is vital, a question remains: Are you running your restaurant or is it running you? There are several steps an operator can take to have a life beyond their restaurant:
1. Establish prefix working hours. Short of sudden death, adhere to these hours.
2. Restrict unsolicited communications. Do not become victim to purveyors and other assorted vendors, and/or the media sales people of which you are a great target for their once-in-a-lifetime special offer of products, services or "fantastic" advertising opportunities. Yes, there may be promotional programs in which you may want to participate. But request all offers in writing and do not waste time with on-site meetings or lengthy discussions on the telephone. If the calls themselves become burdensome, refer them all to your agency or a selected staff member with a patent-scripted reply.
3. You set the agenda. The only people you really have time to talk to are your customers and staff. In order to meet your objectives efficiently (problem solving, finalizing catering contract etc.), you must first determine if the matter is "real" and worth addressing. Secondly, establish the parameters of the discussion to keep things moving graciously without getting sidetracked. Develop and outline and limit all meetings to a maximum of one hour. If you cannot meet your objectives in that time period, alternatively set up a second meeting, but do not deviate from your original agenda or timeline. Meetings lasting longer than this time period often fragment into 'stream of consciousness' discussions due to people tiring. At the conclusion of the hour, depart and move on to your next matter of business.
4. Paperwork. All paper, including mail (snail and electronic), should only pass through your hands one time. Upon review, there is only one decision to make: act on it (reply, delegate action, write check for payment etc.), file it (for your records in the appropriate place) or throw it in the garbage. Once you review any document, promise yourself that you will not leave this decision unfinished and you'll be glad later. While you may admire the lovely brochure your received from Vendor X, if you have no intention of buying their products in the next three months, slide it into the paper shredder under your desk. The seemingly ominous mountain of paperwork will be greatly reduced in no time.
5. Hire sufficient office support staff. Owners, chefs, managers, good kitchen crews, wait staff and good hosts/hostesses are the restaurant rainmakers. Their collective focus should be on restaurant operations -- not office work -- which can be delegated to numerous qualified and available applicants. There is no reason for any owner or manager to be sitting in front of a computer terminal performing minutia office tasks at 1AM, which could be effectively delegated, ranging to the level of a college intern with regular duties outlined, assigned and supported with adequate reporting forms.
Good luck in your recovery program!
Who's Running your Restaurant?
I seldom meet a working owner or salaried manager in a restaurant that isn't working less than 70-80 hours a week. When I ask them when was the last time they took a vacation, I get a similar reply: "Vacation? you've got to be kidding.".....Read more www.yaseservice.blogspot.com
con referencia a: Blogger in draft: Service Excellence - Create Post (ver en Google Sidewiki)George's Rumblings
Today I feel the need to write about how independent restaurant owners and operators are coping with the econimic crisis that is affecting the country. I understand very well how tough it is for some of you and also, as an operator myself, know how frustrating it maybe to see business sliding to the point one starts feeling hopeless, and think that the only alternative to improve it is to make cuts, even in areas that will affect customer satisfaction directly......
read more at yaseservice.blogspot.com
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