No business can afford to become complacent. There must be constant scrutiny. Owners who can afford to hire consultants usually do so when it is too late. Those who act in a timely fashion often uncover issues which are evident to a fresh pair of eyes. that is, if those eyes are in the head of a person who has spent a few years 'troubleshooting' businesses.
If you can not afford to hire someone to monitor your business, to prevent issues from swallowing it, you might be able to find a friend who will be your 'spy'.
This friend must be 'on the floor' to experience what is really happening.
Every business owner needs to appreciate that problems which may seem trivial can become devastating.
The clerk who is babbling on the phone, ignoring the customer doesn't lose that one customer. Everyone who hears that customer report;
"Imagine, I walked in, came to the desk and the gal was on the phone, deaf dumb and blind to me..."
will not enter that business.
This is because everyone has experienced this, whether at a Hotel, supermarket, lawyer's office, and the bad taste that it left is reborn when the report is heard, in relation to your business.
The worker who barks at the client or guest, doesn't insult one person.
Cast yourself into the position.
You enter this restaurant, expecting service. No one notices you. You see a worker wiping a table. You ask a question, get a sharp response.
What do you do? You walk out.
You go to another restaurant, and mention; "I was at Other Place and...." strangers at nearby tables hear, repeat.
That one worker, wiping that one table, snapping at one person, has now cost that restaurant dozens of customers. Everyone who hears your report will recall it whenever they see or hear of that venue, and walk away. And often, this causes others to walk away.
One minimum wage worker being rude to one customer could cost the business.
In this book I will list real life events that have cost commercial enterprises custom, and in some cases, the entire business.
Hopefully, if you have a business and I hit certain targets, you will not slap aside facts or try to explain them.
It is the attempt at explanation, justification, which those who troubleshoot businesses know by heart. And it the Epitaph.
Realise that any business can plummet, any business can go out.
In the opening I mentioned a simple situation.
A potential customer enters. There is no one there to greet, however, someone is wiping down a table. The customer speaks to the cleaner who doesn't stop what she is doing, rudely barks at the potential.
This event seemingly minor, caused the closure of that restaurant.
The person barked at didn't need to be famous, write a column for a local paper or blog, or be associated with an agency. The potential customer need only vocalise the experience to others.
The rudeness of one worker, no matter how trivial, is enough to destroy a business. For if you were going out to lunch and saw that restaurant and recalled the report of the rudeness, would you enter?
Look at the simple errors;
1. The door is not locked, nor is there a 'Closed' sign to alert the potential customer.
How hard is it to keep the curtain drawn, the door locked, a Closed sign posted until the business is ready?
2. There is no one to Greet the Customer.
If the door is opened, if the public can enter, there MUST be someone there to greet them. They shouldn't have to wander around; "Hello?"
3. A cleaner is wiping a table.
Does the cleaner stop, paste on a smile? No. The cleaner is focused on the table. The table is important. The customer is obviously not.
How does one hire any member of staff who doesn't comprehend the importance of the customer?
4. The cleaner is rude to the potential customer.
How was this cleaner hired, and what has provoked this attitude? Where is the sense of priority? Politeness?