Category Archives: Helpful Hints

March 6, 2020 · 4:28 pm

Stocking Up

It’s Foodie Friday and the big news this week is the coronavirus. Besides the presidential election here in the US, nothing else seems to be getting nearly as much news coverage and rightly so. It’s a very serious thing, one that could require you to “self-quarantine” for 10 days to two weeks.

One of the more interesting effects that the spread of the virus has caused is people stocking up. It’s impossible to find hand sanitizer, either in a store or online and some enterprising folks are selling $5 bottles of the stuff for hundreds of dollars. Nothing like a little price-gouging, right? In Australia, it’s apparently hard to find toilet paper as Aussies have been stockpiling toilet paper in response to the coronavirus.

I did my regular weekly shop yesterday and the shelves were full of everything except the aforementioned hand sanitizer. It’s interesting. Every time there’s been a mention of a spell of really bad weather, bread, water, and eggs are hard to find as people stock up in case they can’t get out for several days. In this case, several days will extend for much longer and yet as I looked over other carts in the store, nothing seemed different. Maybe they’re not thinking yet about how to make three meals a day with limited access to the outside world.

It got me thinking. Most people don’t have a well-stocked pantry. I’m willing to bet most also don’t have a large, stand-alone freezer. I happen to have both, not because I’m a hoarder but because I like to have a lot of ingredients on hand to be able to deal with whatever meal situation arises. One study estimated that 80% of households don’t make dinner plans until 4pm that day. I try to plan ahead but the reality of work and energy sometimes sets in and those plans get changed. It’s good to have the ability to change up and having the pantry and freezer stocked up make that possible.

There’s a business point to be made here. I’ve worked in places where there was no “stocking up.” Budgets were locked and inflexible. There wasn’t any training system in place to help employees grow their skill sets. There was THE PLAN and that’s what was going to be executed regardless of changing conditions. As businesspeople, we need to think ahead. Not hoard nor overspend on solutions to problems that are highly unlikely to occur. But when there are warning signs, or as in this case, very clear examples, of a situation developing that could impact the business, we need to plan and move quickly. Think about how many businesses’ supply chains from China have been interrupted and you’ll get what I mean. For example, investing in training means that when some folks are absent and unable to work from home you’re covered.

How serious is the coronavirus problem? Watch the news for a few minutes and you’ll see that it’s quite serious. Stock your pantry with staples that will keep – pasta, canned goods, etc. Stock your freezer with frozen veggies and maybe some proteins. Hopefully, this passes quickly. Do the same for your business. Invest in stocking up and you’ll be prepared for any eventuality.

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February 28, 2020 · 12:15 pm

One More Chance

Foodie Friday at last! I live in a smallish town. For a town its size, there are actually a lot of dining options and many good examples of different cuisines. Still, it’s always disappointing when one of the places here goes way downhill.

That happened to a place we used to frequent. They arguably had the best burger in town. It was ground in-house and always cooked perfectly (mid-rare, and only because they grind the meat themselves). They had wonderful parmesan truffle fries. When I wrote about this place two years ago I said

They grind the burgers themselves out of a combination of several cuts of beef and they cook it nicely. It’s perfectly seasoned and is served on a bun that absorbs the juices without falling apart. I order mine with bacon and a runny fried egg (why not have breakfast with your burger?) but they offer many other options. It’s a work of art: the Mona Lisa of burgers.

Unfortunately, shortly after I wrote that, things began going downhill. First, our favorite bartender (we always eat at the bar) departed for parts unknown and even texting him didn’t help since he must have got a new phone number (people generally don’t change their numbers just to avoid me). Then something changed in the kitchen. The burger wasn’t the same and it was never cooked right. The fries left the menu. Soon, we left too and haven’t returned.

A few weeks ago, signs went up outside the place that new management was coming. Their Facebook page went into more detail. So the other night, we decided to give it a second chance and went back. We sat at our usual places at the bar and the new owners were sitting there having dinner. We talked about what had changed and they talked a lot about how they were going to make it better. And it was better! The burger was a little different but was ground in house and cooked well. It was back and it was joined by a really good fried chicken sandwich that was new. Woo hoo!

My point today is about second chances. Some people think that there are no second chances in life. As managers, they operate the same way. One employee screw-up and the relationship is never the same. That’s wrong. Giving someone a second chance is giving them the opportunity to improve. Mistakes are learning opportunities.  In general, the only mistakes I wouldn’t tolerate were errors that resulted in destroying trust (you lied to me) or multiple repetitions of the same mistake. That’s either willful or demonstrates that you can’t – or won’t – learn.

Maya Angelou said something that’s always resonated with me on this subject. “I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.” That’s what I think we all should be after, whether it’s as managers or as people looking for a great burger. Things can change, people can do better. When you see that those changes have happened, I think it’s incumbent on us to give a second chance to see if things have improved. Don’t you?

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February 26, 2020 · 3:57 pm

Please F Off

Part of the process in the franchise consulting I do is to acquire leads, just as it is in most sales-related businesses. I do that in a number of ways, once of which is through what are called “portal leads.” These are names, phone numbers, and email addresses, among other things, those interested parties have submitted to get more information about a particular franchise or just to speak with someone about franchises generally.

It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that some percentage of these leads are submitted by people surfing around late at night. Maybe they’ve been drinking or maybe they’ve had a bad day and are angry with their current job and are thinking about moving on or taking more control by investing in their own business. These folks don’t answer the phone or respond to emails. There is another tiny percentage of leads that have been submitted by people playing jokes on their friends, generally college students.

I got one of those the other day. The lead was in Norman Oklahoma although the phone number was a Dallas area code. Still, Norman is a college town so it wouldn’t be unusual for people to relocate there. Of course, when I dialed the number, the person who answered was not the person whose information I had. That happens sometimes too – often a typo when the person is typing in their number. The email worked, however.

I hadn’t heard back the next day so I sent another email explaining why I wanted to speak to them. This one came back with a curt reply: “please fuck off.” That’s an exact quote including all lower-case letters. It’s our topic today.

I’m from New York so I’m quite used to rude. My issue is that rude seems to be the new normal. If I was, as this fellow is, a senior at the University Of Oklahoma and was going to be entering the job market with my BBA in Finance and another BBA in Venture Management come May, I wouldn’t be cursing anyone out, especially not someone I don’t know. I appreciate the fact that I may have obtained his information through no fault of his own, but the reply and how he handled it is all on him. I realize that he doesn’t know me but I’m also relatively easy to check out. Maybe a contact with 40 years in business could be useful to him even if he’s not interested in a franchise?

The world moves quickly and at times we’re all under a lot of pressure. It’s taken me four years living away from New York to truly appreciate how far nice will get you. The old me would have tracked this kid down as well as forwarded his comments to the heads of his major departments, inquiring if this is how all OU seniors approach the world.  Let’s all remember that privacy is non-existent and people with bad intentions can find you and make your life hell, as sad as that is. Maybe it’s the old hippie in me, but a little more nice in this world would be just fine with me. You?

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