BUSINESS | LEADERSHIP | HOSPITALITY
Wicked And Wonderful — How Can One Restaurant Be So Different?
I had a startling Eureka of the tangible effect of leadership at a restaurant.
Last weekend my wife and I went to the local waterfront restaurant for lunch, as we do almost every weekend. Saturday was warm and sunny; you could smell the spring and hear children’s laughter predicting the coming holiday season.
The restaurant sits overlooking the bay, with a massive lawn for kids to play and families to have their picnics — an ideal, picturesque place to chill out and have some good food in excellent company.
The queue was long, but I knew it was worth waiting for. My wife got us a table inside, and then after a ten-minute wait, I faced a smiling young man at the counter.
He took our orders; I could tell he was busy, but the smile never left his eyes, and he even gave me a very personal welcome by remembering my favourite dessert, an apple pie. –’ You don’t need to have the table number; we know you,’ he said and continued, ‘it’s great to have you around’.
It made my heart sing because I felt so appreciated, patron in the true sense of the word.
A delicious food came late but was hot and worth the wait
At the counter, I was warned that the kitchen was bustling and that it might take up to 30 minutes to get our food.
We waited patiently, observing the other customers, staff and the glimmering sea.
It was hectic, and the young (obviously high-school-age) girls and lads bringing the food, coffee and their smiles to the customers were almost running.
Bringing food, cleaning tables and ensuring everything ran smoothly was fun to watch.
The manager, a young lady I had seen so many times before, never lost her friendly and engaging way of serving the customers. She also interacted with her staff with smiles, occasional laughter and kindness.
Then our food came — again with a smile. The shy but pretty young lady ensured we had all we wanted. And it was delicious.
After eating, having tea and the famous Apple Pie, we were content and ready to go home. At the door, the manager waved to us, shouting, ‘thank you for coming, welcome soon again’.
That was a perfect Saturday lunch.
On Sunday, we decided to do it again
Because we had this first warm spring weekend, my wife suggested we have lunch at home but go to the same restaurant for afternoon tea when it might be a bit less hectic.
So, we went to the old place, but it was even busier than the day before.
My wife found a table closer to the counter. An old couple we met invited us to sit with them to avoid the long wait for an empty table. It was very generous, and my wife took the offer happily.
After a long wait, when it was my turn to order, I could see that the young man was agitated, and there was nos smile. He took my order hastily and didn’t even say thanks when he had already started serving the next customer. The manager was next to him, watching his every move.
Because we sat close to the counter, I saw what was happening. The manager was different, strangely identical looking, but definitely not the one usually at weekends.
She grimly gave instructions to the young man at the counter, shouting to the kitchen and then to the barista, who tried to keep up with the ever-growing orders.
The young lads and ladies who were running looked disorganised and worried. No smiles there, either.
When I went to get ice cream for my wife from the other counter, the manager herself was serving me. She pushed one young helper away and asked me what I wanted without looking at me.
She so sloppily gave me the ice cream that she dropped one scoop on the floor. — ’Don’t push me,’ she whispered through her teeth to the young helper who had been at least a meter away.
However, I got my ice cream and went back to the table.
After a while, we decided to leave. It was not funny anymore to see how the manager operated. The staff made mistakes because she constantly interrupted them: wrong orders, cold food, and unhappy customers.
The old lady at our table told us that the manager is the owner but usually never comes at weekends, but her sister runs the place then. So, it was the sister we usually saw there. It explained a lot.
Information at the car park
We left for our car. The car park was behind the restaurant building, and next to it was a little shed.
A young kitchen hand leaned on the shed’s wall smoking his e-cigarette. He looked tired, bored and pissed off.
– ‘Hi, what’s going on,’ I asked when I met his eyes. I had seen him many times before, and he was always friendly and easy-going.
He responded with a joyless laugh, — ‘I gave my notice to the bitch; I couldn’t take it anymore’.
Then he told me how the owner made the whole place upside down with her micromanagement. Also, the new barista resigned the same day because the owner screwed up the orders but blamed the barista.
– ‘She is the worst boss I have ever had, and luckily I got a new job closer to where I live. I hope her sister would have been here instead of her. She is nice,’ explained the young man and returned to the kitchen.
One person can cause a massive change in no time
These experiences showed me how one person could change the whole culture in one day.
What usually was a delightful and fun way to have lunch or afternoon tea became an embarrassing event. I could feel the frustration of the staff when they tried their best, but that wasn’t enough for the owner.
It was like being in a laboratory observing some sociological experiment.
The styles of the sisters who run the restaurant were polar opposites. And the results were telling.
This reminds me again of the research by Dr Paul J Zak. According to it, people at high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work and 50% higher productivity.
On Sunday at that restaurant was no trace of trust whatsoever. And on Saturday, it was a shining example of what trust can almost instantly do for your business and customers.
The owner should stop and ponder and learn from her sister some leadership skills.
I witnessed a textbook example of what leadership could be and what happens if it’s not. The owner lost two valuable professionals in one day, and I am pretty sure some customers, too.
I checked their TripAdvisor ratings, and there were a few very nasty comments about the Sunday at this gorgeous restaurant. And the funny thing is that excellent feedback is almost always buried under these rants.
What we often remember is the shit, not the shine.
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