There is an old saying that a manager lights a fire under people, but a leader lights a fire in people. I’ve learned a long time ago that there are three traits of a great leader. The first is passion. A great leader has passion for what they do. They have excitement every day they come…
The Only Thing Consistent in the World is Change
April 27, 2016 by
Change is inevitable yet we innately, as humans, hate and push back to it whenever possible. The reason we do this is because change typically takes us out of our comfort zone. I learned this first hand when I was 19 years old and I was a fry cook at a restaurant called Chan’s…
A Customers Lifetime Value
April 21, 2016 by
When I do training, I tell all of my audience that when you’re in the service industry and whenever you have a team member that is face forwarding a guest they have an unbelievable effect on that guest’s lifetime value. If you think about it, any consumer that comes into a place of business, whether…
The One Commonality of a Bad Service Experience
April 14, 2016 by
As a restaurant and bar owner, I have discovered that there is one commonality between a bad service experience; whether it be that I have the poor experience myself, I receive a complaint letter from a guest for one of my restaurants or I receive a bad mystery shop. That one commonality of all three…
Who Do You Work For?
March 9, 2016 by
When I work with and train service teams, I invariably ask the audience who they work for. I’ll go around, and I’ll ask specific people what they’re job is. I’ll get various answers: bartender, server, dishwasher, cook, hostess, etc. I then tell them that that is their role, but their number one job is to…
What is the No.1 Way to Make Someone Feel Important?
March 2, 2016 by
Often when I work with hospitality groups, I ask the question, “What is the No.1 way to make somebody feel important?” I get many answers from, “Smile at the guest,” “Make eye contact,” “Say hello,” “Simple greetings,” and while all those are great ways to make somebody feel good, they don’t make somebody feel important.…
Is Every Member of Your Team a Brand Ambassador?
February 26, 2016 by
Whenever I work with leaders of organizations, I notice that the most successful leaders are great at utilizing their team to grow their brand. In my business, hospitality and the restaurant business, I ensure that every one of my team members knows everything they need to know that one of my guests might ask them. …
Don’t Confuse Results with Effort
February 12, 2016 by
Quite often I engage with team members that complain about all the hard work they do without achieving the desired result. I like to use the fly analogy as I discuss with them that all the effort in the world doesn’t mean anything if you don’t achieve your desired result. Have you ever witnessed a…
