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O
ne of my favourite TV shows
of late has been Gordon
Ramsay’s
Kitchen Nightmares
and the spin-off series
Hotel Rescu
e.
Both series are certainly great
entertainment, provided you don’t mind
the occasional burst of foul language!
For those of you who haven’t seen the
show, each episode follows the script
of highlighting a poorly performing
restaurant or hotel. Gordon goes in,
checks the place out and then seeks to
turn the business around by working on
various aspects of the business.
Gordon has the runs on the board
as a chef and restaurant owner, not to
mention a successful media career as
well, so eventually most of the business
owners come around to Gordon’s
ideas and changes. Sadly, most of
the businesses are already in serious
financial trouble so they really have
little option but to change or close the
doors.
FAMILY AND BUSINESS DON’T
ALWAYS MIX
Many of the businesses featured
on the show are family-run affairs
with mother, father and adult children
involved. Quite often the source of
conflict revolves around the father as
head of the family also acting as head of
the business.
But, you cannot run a business the
same way you run a family. Each person
needs a carefully defined role within the
business as a point of focus.
If the father isn’t a chef but loves
interacting with customers then stay
out of the kitchen and don’t get involved
in the menu. The head of any business
should always have regular face to face
experiences with paying customers to
ensure feedback is received and acted
upon. They do not need to be hands on in
every aspect of the business, just where
they can make the most difference to the
success of the business.
CUSTOMERS AREN’T ALWAYS
RIGHT, BUT THEY ALWAYS COME FIRST
Argue with a customer and you can
almost guarantee they won’t be back.
In fact, in the digital world we live in,
arguing with a customer can quickly
end up online and spread through social
media or the local community.
Yes, my heading for this section states
that the customer isn’t always right, but
how you deal with customers that raise
issues, real or perceived, is critical.
Resolving the matter to the
customer’s satisfaction is far more
important than proving yourself to
be right all the time. Because ‘we’ve
always done it that way’ is the most
dangerous phrase any business can
be based around.
FEEDBACK MUST BE ACTED ON
Feedback can come from many
sources including customers, staff and
suppliers. Learning to listen and take
in the feedback is the key to having a
small business that is able to evolve as
needed to meet the market conditions
and customer’s needs.
Once feedback is received the
hard part starts. Courage is needed
to change. We all like to develop
routines and patterns for ourselves
to alleviate the stress of constant
change management but the truth is
change is good. Watch your customers
carefully and learn from them. Learn
from their buying habits, their return
rates, the spend per customer and
so forth.
Your staff are also an important
source of feedback; if you need more
proof of this then check out another
reality show
Undercover Boss
– the
show is a hit and for good reason.
Get out of your office, interact with
your staff and develop an open honest
relationship. If staff do not feel secure
in their job or intimidated by you, then
you won’t get any feedback from them.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
The idea of going into business
with family is understandably
appealing. But, if proper steps
aren’t taken, it’s not all it’s
cracked up to be. Accountant
John Corias
explains.