Swinging for the Fences - Part IV

In my series on the parallels between Major League Baseball and the catering game, I've examined the roles and responsibilities of the owners, the managers, and the players. With the playoffs underway and the World Series quickly approaching, it’s time to look at the fans, the paying customers, and see where they fit into this equation.

Simply put, the fan is king!

The only obligation the fan has is to enjoy the game on their own terms (providing they’re not celebrating by tipping cars and throwing bottles). And, as we see every year during the World Series, it is perfectly acceptable for fair weather fans to cheer right alongside the diehards. An organization would be foolish to discourage the enthusiasm of any fans.  I am always perplexed that along with the standard promotionals such as “Bobble Head Day” or “Ice Cream ‘Sunday,’” ballparks include the self satisfied announcement of “Fan Appreciation Day.” What, one whole day to appreciate the fans? Imagine how badly a hospitality company would fare if it only appreciated its guests on special days.  It would ruin us.  

Caterers must realize that, just as in baseball, clients may change allegiances at any time based on whim, whimsy, fickle, or folly. The client may determine that their caterer is not worthy because of a small PR mistake or because of repeated poor performance. Sometimes, the client is influenced by the preferences of others in the community. Or they lose faith, maybe rightly so, when their team trades all its core players as the Red Sox did this summer. Clients lose confidence when their caterer seems to have a revolving door of Chefs, account executives, and key staff. Really, anything can cause a client’s loyalty to waver.  That is their prerogative.  It is up to the caterer to find innovative ways to keep hitting home runs and keep fans engaged.

Baseball and Hospitality are both games of business. However, we – the owners, managers, coaches, players, and staff - must never forget that the game is, in the end, about ensuring entertainment and celebration for our fans and clients. Without that fun, the money never flows.

By the way, my favorite team was knocked out of playoff contention weeks ago but I’m one of those eternal hopefuls chanting the phrase “Wait ‘til next year.”  A similar determination drives me in catering.  Every new event, every new inquiry, every newly-met prospective client is a chance to be the hero who clinches the Series with a grand slam, thereby winning a fan for life.

Pouring For Profit

Exclusive!  Here's a sneak peak at excerpts from an article that will soon appear in Catersource Magazine:

I recently began consulting with a busy catering group whose beverage packages were losing money. They knew that alcohol sales should generate great financial return and they couldn’t understand why that wasn’t happening for them. One look at their liquor storage room and I began to see the problem.  First the door to the room was wide open and completely unattended.  A couple questions revealed that there were half a dozen keys to the liquor room floating about. Secondly, there were no specific policies regarding packing or pre- and post-event inventories. Lastly, the bar staff were largely unsupervised, with no one responsible for on-site beverage management or consistent handling of the product. Without any monitoring of their liquid assets, this company might as well have been pouring all that booze down the drain.

Fortunately, these problems can be addressed with straightforward solutions rooted in focus and intentionality.  I worked with this company to implement what we called The New Rules:

1. Lock it up.  We changed the lock to the liquor room and produced just two keys to the new lock.  One is for the owner and one is for the kitchen manager.  The only people authorized to use the key are the kitchen manager or her assistant.  They are required to sign the key in and out for each use.
2. Write it down.  An inventory sheet is posted outside the liquor room.  The manager initials each item as it is removed, noting the date and time.  Liquor pull sheets are produced for every event using a system that monitors inventory at multiple times: when it arrives at the event site, when it is packed up after the event, and when it is returned to the shop.
3. Keep your eyes open.  Bar servers are now carefully schooled in proper bar management.  They are taught to provide consistent and measured pours, and they are rewarded for high performance.  They have been enlisted in the company's goal to improve beverage profits and their new sense of purpose shows in their careful efforts.

It may seem that The New Rules are redundant or over-the-top, but because good bar management can play such a dramatic role in increasing profitability, it’s worth being vigilant in this area.  Within a short timeframe, my client began to see increased margins on liquor sales. Even better, the new discipline has begun to carry over to other areas of the business.

The full article will appear in an upcoming issue of Catersource Magazine. 

Timeless Hospitality

Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne

My wife, Carole, planned a wonderful birthday weekend for me in Milwaukee. (No gifts please. Your readership and comments are gifts enough.) The trip included a Brewer’s game at Miller Park and a stay at one of the country’s coolest and best-run hotels, The Iron Horse. Carole announced that she had a surprise outing planned during our stay. Immediately, I thought…a tour of the Harley Davidson Museum or, better yet, enrollment in Harley’s Motorcycle Boot Camp. I imagined myself decked in black leather, boots, and a shiny helmet racing on a V-Rod, jumping canyons à la Evel Knievel.  Instead, we drove down a pretty little country road to a quaint museum called Ten Chimneys in Genesee Depot. Ten Chimneys is the famed estate of the iconic couple of theatre’s Golden Age, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. While not what I had envisioned, it was, indeed, a surprise and the experience was wonderful.  

The Lunts staged their house as if it were a Broadway set. Each room is designed in a different motif, with a liveliness and style that lured Hollywood and Broadway luminaries. Rooms magically combine the garish with the elegant. Some rooms are named appropriately to reflect eras of the theatre. Others touch on humor like "The Flirtation Room." Bedrooms are named for beloved guests such as Laurence Olivier, Katharine Hepburn, and Noël Coward.

The Lunts went to great lengths to make their guests feel welcome and to create for them memorable experiences.  Guests were hosted in beautiful suites, wined, dined, entertained, and bestowed with gifts. The Lunts maintained that hospitality is all about thoughtful planning, theatricality, and attention to detail.

"Thoughtful planning, theatricality, and attention-to-detail.” The very pillars that caterers and hospitality professionals hold dear. They are also the foundation that makes The Iron Horse such a special hotel.  So, while I didn't take Harley lessons, I did take a lesson from the famous couple: we should imagine ourselves as theatrical producers or directors. We set the stage and create the magic so that our clients may star. As they take their bows, we can await the best of all client requests: “Encore!’’

Carole Wool

Swinging For the Fences - Part III

In our series exploring the parallels between Major League Baseball and the catering game, we've covered the subject from the perspective of both the owners and the managers. The MLB season is now in the midst of what are commonly referred to as the “Dog Days of August” and it’s time to turn our attention to the people who really make it happen.   Assuming that the management has put all of the pieces of the team puzzle in place, at this stage, the game is strictly in the hands of those on the field: The Players. 

By mid August, the end of the regular season looms and the playoffs are in sight. This is when would-be contenders fade fast and the most resilient, talented, and disciplined teams surge ahead. Players are responsible for staying healthy, making smart behavioral choices, narrowing their focus, and playing harder than ever. Ball teams are made up of power hitters, speedsters, dependable fielders, and domineering pitchers; each player working to maximize his individual success and that of his team. The same can be said of catering companies. Here, salespeople, cooks and chefs, operations staff, and event servers must work in harmony for the benefit of the clients and the team.

Catering company employees are responsible for keeping their energy high, approaching each event enthusiastically, and staying alert to handle any curveballs.  In order to achieve success, the entire staff must be dependable and work together trustingly.  Chefs rely on smart work from the sales team.  Servers depend on good decisions by the operations team.  Sales people must trust their event staff to serve their clients well.  If the entire team can work together, the caterer will be hitting home runs.  If resentment and egos get in the way, there can be no hope of becoming the champions.

Success all boils down to player execution. Home run titles, strike out records, MVP and Cy Young awards are fantastic but it is a World Series trophy that sums up the success of the team.  Likewise, reaching personal sales goals, moving up to Sous Chef, or learning a new service style is valuable for personal growth but catering companies are judged based on whether or not they hit it out of the park on event day.

And who does the judging?  The Fans.  But that’s for next time….