| At Beaches, Good Customer Service Is Not By Happenchance |
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VANCOUVER BUSINESS JOURNAL July, 2001 Management Concepts JONNIE MARTIN For a lot of years I have been teaching the principles of good customer service to clients, in coaching sessions and in seminars. Some of the underlying themes have included these:
Last week, while enjoying one of my many business lunches at the Beaches restaurant in Vancouver, I was reminded once again what good customer service looks like, feels like. I have been coming to Beaches since it opened in June of 1995 and I have never been disappointed. The service is quick and friendly and responsive. As I sat among the happy buzz of customers and attentive waitpersons it once again entered my mind that owner Mark Matthias was doing a lot of things right in managing Beaches - but this time I was determined to ask him about it and to write down his secrets. In a few days I sat down with Mark for a chat and he was quick to say that there were not any secrets - just some basic business fundamentals that worked. First, Mark and his partners are committed to the core belief that the guest is number one at Beaches - and they gear their hiring, training and management systems to that principle. Everyone from the front to the back of house knows that at Beaches, the guest comes first. "If the guest is the most important person in our organization," says Mark, "then the next most important group of people is the team - because they touch the guest." Mark uses the inverted pyramid organizational structure - where the team is trained to serve the guest and management's role is to support the team. Mark's low turnover in team members begins with a very focused hiring process made up of no fewer than 3 interviews. Beaches is looking for people with a great work ethic, great attitude, and an outgoing gregarious personality. "They have to come across the table at me," says Mark. New hires participate in a three-hour orientation conducted by Mark himself. In that way, company philosophy is not diluted through layers of delegation. Mark is able to tell the Beaches story and to clearly outline what is expected of team members. New hires are told that they are expected to have upbeat attitudes, a penchant for service, and strong team-work ethics. The importance of the customer is taught from the very beginning and team members are given a great deal of latitude in making decisions that are in the best interest of the guests. "Yes we have rules," Mark says, "but if those rules conflict with what the guest needs, team members are taught to change them." Beaches employees are told that it is OK to make an occasional error as long as they clean it up - and learn from it. It is important to make sure the guest wins - so repairing errors to the benefit of the guest is paramount. Because they hire good people to begin with, Mark says that his team members feel bad when they do make a mistake - but in turn feel good about repairing it and making the customer happy. Everyone on the Beaches team is treated with respect - both front and back of the house. Everyone is an insider with Mark sharing both the good and the bad news of the business. There is a great deal of communication and training of every sort - from daily interactions to quarterly group meetings. Mark and the other managers are right there on the floor, helping the team each day to succeed. Managers take their team support roles seriously and Mark says that 100% of his personal focus is on the team. While he already has many support systems in place, this year his corporate goal is in making Beaches the best possible place to work. Frankly, I'm not sure what Mark can improve. He already pays good wages and bonuses, has a 401-k plan, employee (and family) discounts, Christmas gifts, quarterly fun activities and other perks. At 5 years, an employee gets a free trip to the beach; at 10 years, it's a trip to Hawaii. Mark believes in working hard together - and then sharing the wealth. In looking back at the interview and my countless trips to Beaches, I certainly felt I'd seen all my favorite customer service principles in action. The owners of Beaches clearly understand that the restaurant guest is the key to their success; that food is a commodity but it's the warm and friendly service that bring people back; and that it's the team that serves up the laughs. Mark Matthias pays attention to all of these basics. But I don't agree with Mark's conclusion that "he doesn't have any secrets." I think that Mark himself is the secret ingredient to the success of Beaches: an energized leader that gives unselfishly of himself to his troops; who believes in them and is committed to their success; who gets right there in the trenches and leads by example. Mark gives so much of himself in his corporate role of "team cheerleader" - a role with incalculable value to this successful restaurant in Vancouver (and its sister site in Beaverton). It's a level of passion and commitment that I wish I could bottle and take into other organizations. |