Teamwork Cooks Up Superior Satisfaction

I had the extreme pleasure of dining this past week at Per Se in New York City. Many thanks again to my most gracious hostess Shelly Sun of Bright Star Care LLC.

I was in NYC for my Women Presidents’ Organization Platinum meeting. I look forward to these meetings because I always come away with great ideas for growing my business. I’m a foodie and I love a great meal but dining at Per Se transcends eating to a whole different level and it truly is an experience that one will remember for a long time to come. While the food is phenomenal what makes the experience so exceptional is the service that is wrapped around the food. At a basic level serving food is a commodity. Creating a world class experience that makes customers rave about you sets you apart. From the moment I stepped into the room for our meal I was treated like the most important person in the room.

 

Teamwork in the kitchen of Per Se in New York

The level of communication between the staff was fabulous. I have several food allergies. Not a problem, and once communicated the rest of the night was flawless with everything being put before me, regardless of the server, being void of the allergy foods. Even with the passed hors d’oeuvres a special version was created for me, without asking, several times. Course after course was delivered with flawless timing. Though a long meal, the pace was consistent and well timed. It was like watching a well-run machine.


The French Laundry kitchen streaming video at Per Se.

After our meal we were treated to a tour of the kitchen and that is where you can see the real teamwork in action. It is an amazing system of communication and timing. There is also a transparency to the operations happening in the kitchen. The Per Se kitchen is linked by video to the French Laundry kitchen in Yountville, California.

Allowing both kitchens to view the level of performance occurring at each location. We also learned that everyone starts at the bottom and must work every position as they work their way up the ladder. This allows every employee to know the process of making superior food and delivering a world class experience from every position. Everyone can talk about the food being served in-depth.

This last point is interesting because in America we built a superior level of manufacturing excellence through the use of apprentice systems. Like Per Se, a well-planned educational process was offered to workers, deepening their skill-sets and making them that much better as they moved on to the next classification of their job. Economics, and to some degree technology, has eroded this system. I think we have done our employees and our economy a disservice. We are now feeling the effects with an increasing shortage of skilled labor for the manufacturing sector.

I thought about my own team at home. They are awesome. They build a superior, high quality product. Often with short lead times. Often to a customer's special request. They take great pride in what they create. We receive high marks on our net promoter score surveys.

I can only hope we are creating raving fans like the team at Per Se though it may be hard to be as excited about guide wheels, linear motion systems and complex assemblies! We can’t transport your taste buds through the sublime silky delight of a taste of foie gras but we can deliver phenomenal performance for our customers applications, often in the most critical and extreme environments imaginable.

"The Power Has Shifted" - Part 2

A good visual explanation of the shift in power to the customer. To read part 1 click here

The Power Has Shifted

I just finished reading “More consumer manufacturers selling online, competing with retailers” by Barry Shlachter. (Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/12/28/2731510/more-consumer-manufacturers-selling.html#ixzz1A72OsI1F) The article raises several good points about the shifting relationships between manufacturers and retailers. In my industry the same is true between manufacturers and distributors. The article states "The primary driver for all this is a more educated and informed shopper, who is getting more information through more channels," said Eric Best, CEO of Mercent, which offers online marketing technology and services. Best goes on to say "Manufacturers realize they can increase their margin, establish a more direct relationship with consumers and also be in a position where they're forced to reconcile the changing customer behavior with Facebook, Twitter and also mobile devices as points of engagement with their customers..."

I think the article missed the boat in focusing on who has the power – the manufacturer or the retailer. What is buried in the quote above is the obvious answer – neither. Now more than ever it is the customer. The internet has allowed our customers to source our products by whatever means they want.

Our customers now have the technology to interact with us as they want. They dictate the buying process. I get frustrated listening to circular arguments about who sold what to what customer. The bottom line is that the choice cannot really be controlled by either side anymore. The customer drives the choice. If we create barriers to purchase, getting information, engineering support, etc. the customer can find alternatives. The internet is full of businesses that make it easy to do business with them and are willing to play on the customer’s terms. And it is only a search term away on Google. And a computer is no longer even required; any smart phone can do this now as well. 

That is what I love about the explosion of social media. It is interactive. It is not really controllable, so you learn the good and the bad. You get feedback on a constant, real-time basis from your customers. It allows you one more channel for building relationships and providing the information and feedback channels in a method your customers want, need and may prefer.

Relationships between manufacturers and retailers/distributors need to focus on the customer, and servicing the customer’s needs. When that truly becomes the goal, it will be a win-win for all.

Thriving in the New Economy - WOMEN PRESIDENTS' ORGANIZATION - Annual Conference

KEYNOTE ADDRESS - PROFESSOR NEELI BENDAPUDI, Ph. D., Professor of Marketing and Director, Initiative for Managing Services Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University

We had the pleasure of hearing Professor Bendapudi speak today at the opening session of this year’s annual conference. Here are some of the highlights from her speech.

Title of Speech – Customer Apostles
·         Do you REALLY know who your customer is?
·         Do you REALLY know what they want?
o   Try standing behind your customer and looking at the world from their viewpoint
o   Does every level of your company see their part of the process from your customer’s viewpoint?
·         How do you create WOMP? (Word of Mouth Potential)
o   Your employees are your living brand
o   Can every employee tell your company story?
-        Effective way to teach your culture
o   Do your employees know how to create a Gumby moment?
-        Being flexible to your customer needs
-        The ability to really listen and solve their problems
-        And do it with speed and accuracy
o   Your customer highest trust is in what other customers say about your product service over what you claim
·         Your employees are your living brand
o   Hire correctly
o   Do they show passion
·         Customer Apostle versus Terrorists
o   Do you know which buckets your customers are in?
o   Only 4% of customers ever complain
o   You should see a complaint as a gift
·         Make a LASTing impression when you receive a complaint
o   Listen
o   Apologize
o   Solve the problem to the best you can
o   Thank them