Tag Archives: business

April 17, 2015 · 9:04 am

Cooking On The Road

Foodie Friday, Myrtle Beach edition.  I’m on the annual golf trip with my buddies (our 21st, thank you) and as you might expect I get to do a good chunk of the cooking while we’re here.  That’s not a complaint.  This area has a serious lack of high-quality restaurants and over the years our group has figured out that staying  in and spending the money on high quality ingredients trumps paying for mediocre food dining out.  I certainly don’t mind cooking.  There is lots of willing and competent help here and those who can’t cook are eager to clean up the mess.  Perfect!

There is one thing I have learned over the years that actually is a pretty good business thought too.  If you’ve ever been on vacation and tried to cook in the rental’s kitchen you know that you are facing a serious challenge.  I think the same company puts the identical dull knives, glass cutting board, and crappy pans into rental condos everywhere.  I don’t mind the mismatched dinnerware nor the 2 slice toaster (ever made toast for 12 in a 2 slicer?).  I do mind the ridiculous – and dangerous – other equipment.  What do we do?

We bring our own.  A couple of good knives, a full-sized rubber cutting board, some serious BBQ tools, a large pot and/or non-stick pan with a lid can make all the difference.  It also requires some smart meal planning choices.  You have to accept that you’re going to stick to basics that don’t require a lot of pans and hopefully very few steps.  Roasted large cuts of meat and better than individual steaks and braises are better than sautes.  You plan your product based on conditions as well as your ability to support it.  Which is the point.

Different conditions, a changed situation means you need to plan ahead, figure out the appropriate resources, and adjust your strategy.  Doing hat you’ve always done and which has satisfied your customers in the past might not have a chance in the situation you’re facing.  No one starves on this trip – we eat quite well, actually – but I don’t even think about making the stuff I’d prepare at home in my fully stocked kitchen.  I don’t try to make it all perfect; I do try to keep the boys fed and happy.  You can think about that the next time the marketplace puts you in a strange business kitchen.

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March 30, 2015 · 11:15 am

Loyalty Isn’t Stupidity

We’ve been customers of a particular heating oil company almost since we’ve moved into this house. That was in 1985. Sure, on occasion we’ve asked around to see if we’re getting hosed on heating oil prices (not usually) and we’ve found them to be pretty reliable when there is an issue. The service techs show up quickly and are generally pleasant. Given the cost of fuel and the amount we use along with the annual inspections and tune-ups, the last 30 years of our business has probably been worth at least $100,000 to them. We won’t be renewing our contract in a couple of months. Here is why and it’s instructive for any business.

A few weeks ago we noticed some water on the basement floor near the water heater.  Our water heater is just a tank – the furnace actually heats it – so we called the oil company to come take a look.  Admittedly we told them we suspected a leaky water tank which they replaced.  The next day, water on the floor.  Repair comes back – it was a faulty circulator which they replaced.  Of course, that inexpensive part might have been the problem all along but no one actually ever checked it before pulling the tank.  New tank, new circulator and a dry floor.

That stopped after another couple of days.  More water in the same area.  We had the annual boiler inspection scheduled for three days later so we waited to see what it might be – hopefully not a furnace issue.  The inspector came and found the leak – it was a relief pipe and the leak was probably caused by an old or faulty valve.  The water tank?  The circulator?  No, they were fine.  The furnace was fine too.  Phew!

When we woke up the next day the house reeked of oil.  I thought it was just the residual smell from the burner cleaning.  The Mrs. went to look and found oil all over the floor.  Our fourth visit in a week from the fuel company to fix the problem (the cleaner had forgotten to shut something) resulted in a floor now covered in oil-absorbing kitty liter which they just called to come clean up in a few days.

In a sentence – the customer reported a problem which you misdiagnosed twice, selling them thousands of dollars of stuff they might not have needed.  You also screwed up a routine cleaning and now the customer is once again inconvenienced (the smell, having to be home for more service calls, etc).  This customer’s patience and loyalty are at an end.

That’s the lesson for all of us.  No matter how loyal a long-time customer has been, every interaction is an opportunity to win their business again.  When we take that loyalty for granted and are sloppy (a nicer word than dishonest), we make withdrawals from our loyalty bank account.  This company overdrew – we’re closing the account.  Our intention is to explain exactly why to them as we don’t renew.  Who knows – maybe I’ll just send them this link.

Lesson learned?

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March 27, 2015 · 10:41 am

Easy Recipes

This Foodie Friday will involve a trip to the store for me. I like to avoid the markets over the weekend so Friday mornings are sometimes spent reviewing and searching for recipes. A little menu planning in advance means just today’s trip to the stores.

Pulled pork in BBQ sauce sandwich with slaw

Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I was going through a few food sites looking for ideas it struck me how many recipes involved the word “easy.” I suspect part of that is an appeal to the time crunch all of us seem to be under and part of it is to make cooking less intimidating for those whose kitchen skills involve a microwave and opening a can.  The recipes are indeed easy – dump some stuff in the slow cooker, walk away for 6 hours, voilà! Supper!  While I love my slow cooker and have made, say, pulled pork in it, I’m not going to tell you that the end product is anything like, or near as good, as what I produce from my smoker.  The smoker is a tricky beast to use and requires a lot of attention. Which is, of course, the business point.

I’m not going to tell you that we need to make things as difficult for ourselves as we can.  In fact, I think quite the opposite.  What I won’t do or ask my clients to do as part of making things easier is to denigrate the quality of their offerings.  That’s where “easy” tends to become hard.  Maintaining the greatness of your brand, your products, your services isn’t easy nor will it ever be.  It requires constant vigilance and a proactive mindset.  You can’t just set the cooker and walk away.

So here is the easy recipe for this Friday.  This is the one that gets us to great while being relatively easy. As a person, learn the basic skills you need and practice them.  That’s true in the kitchen and the office.  Possessing those skills – critical thinking and communicating first and foremost – and getting them right makes using them easy.  As a manager, hire and train only those people because when every member of the team gets the basics right every day the end product will be easy AND great.

You in?

 

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