Opportunity Knocks Twice; Chapter 17

Editor's Note: Utah Pulse is serializing the book, 'Opportunity Knocks Twice,' by Don Hale, as told to Mark Hale. We'll publish two chapters a week. You'll enjoy the wit and wisdom of one of Utah's great entrepreneurs, founder of Hires Big H. To buy the book, click here.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Business Principles — People

There are three “P’s” to business: people, product, and profit. I believe that. Focusing mainly on the first two—people and product—really helps the third “P”—profit—take care of itself. Consider a few of my thoughts concerning people, product, and profit over the next three chapters. These are principles we use to operate Hires Big H.
Let me introduce the “people” principle with this portion of a newspaper article about Hires Big H:

The one bad thing about Valentine’s Day, in the view of a person with three young daughters, is its unfortunate placement— smack-dab in the middle of cold-and-flu season.
When these two events come together, as they did last week for our family, there is no dining out on Valentine’s Day. Instead, there’s heating up frozen pot pies, scrounging for leftovers and wondering if the supply of Kleenex will hold out.

By Monday night, with the kids a bit better but still contagious, and my husband and I so dazed by lack of sleep that we didn’t trust ourselves around the stove, things had reached a desperate condition. Get a baby-sitter, you say? Not a chance. Drop the kids of at grandma and grandpa’s? Can’t. They don’t live within a 1,000 mile radius.
So, we chose a cross between dinner at Mom’s, dining out, and takeout: Carhop service at Hires Big H.
Many valley residents take Hires for granted. Like Mom’s house, Hires is always glad to see us, and there’s always something good to eat. There are reasons Hires has attained this place in our hearts, and they were on display Monday.

First there’s the service. Whether you dine in or go carhop, the service is generally swift, cheerful and thorough. Appearing less than a minute after we pulled up, our carhop took our order for dinner and dessert but said she’d hold off bringing dessert until we flashed our headlights. As soon as we did, she was there with our freshly made shakes and banana split.

Then there’s the food. It’s just great. Pick any burger on the menu, and you’ll receive a hot, well-cooked patty of chuck that is ground fresh on the premises. The beef is bonded to the soft and floury buns – procured from a local bakery – with melted cheese, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, and additional toppings that range from bacon and ham to pastrami and Roquefort dressing. (Stacey Kratz, The Deseret News, February 20, 2004)

CUSTOMERS

One of the first things any successful business person learns is the importance of customers. Focusing on customers means everything to a business. Without customers, there would not be any business—you would be out of business. And so to our restaurant businesses, customers are everything.

Customers come first. They are your boss. They pay your wages.

Customers are the purpose of your business and never an interruption to it; drop everything to serve customers.

Each business should be so prepared, organized, clean, and ready that as soon as the business opens, employees need only focus on providing the business’ product and service to the customers. As one has said,

Sell customers what they want, not what you think they want.

A customer once told us, “Your onion rings are delicious, but the order is too large.” So we responded by reducing the portion and the price and the rings are now even more popular.

Listen to your customers; many times they have great ideas.

Perhaps the best advice I can offer about customers is to remember that they are people like you and me—important and unique. And like you and me, they all want to be treated and valued in all the areas important to human beings. People like to be acknowledged. People like to be treated with kindness and respect. People like to sense that to you they are important. People have needs that should be met. That is the reason they have come to your business.

Greet customers as soon as they arrive; smile and make eye contact with them.

Call customers by name—hearing your own name is one of the most pleasant sounds in the universe.

Offer to help or serve customers within minutes of their arrival.

Make customers feel a part of your business, a part of your family circle. Businesses grow in sales according to how well they take care of customers. Treatment of customers, given a fine product, will determine a business’s success. Every day is a new day for performing. Every good performance brings good will and new customers; every poor performance brings ill will and the loss of customers. As has often been said,

New business is what you get by how well you take care of old business.

A satisfied customer will tell one person, a dissatisfied person will tell ten people.

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

EMPLOYEES

The same principles that apply to customers apply to employees. Employees are important and unique. They want to be acknowledged, treated with kindness and respect, and know that they are important to you. And they need to be paid. I like what Lee Iacocca said about being successful in business: “Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them.”

Approach people in such a courteous way that they will want to do what you have asked them to do.

Ask questions rather than making statements or demands.

I soon realized that I was not much without employees. I may have nice restaurant buildings, but until my employees come to work, nothing happens. It is difficult to run a business by yourself, so always treat your employees well. Remember your employees are the ones who will be taking care of your customers. If you treat your employees well you have a much greater chance that they will treat your customers well, particularly when you are not around.

Business is relationships with people.

As we have treated our employees well, many of them have responded with loyalty. In our 45 years of business, some of our employees have been with us for most of those years.

MANAGEMENT

Business owners have to wear many different hats. You may need to be the manager as well as the owner—especially when starting a new business—but what every business owner learns is that management is the key to success.

Where you do not have a good manager, you really do not have anything.

Managers keep the business all together. They must run a tight ship and realize there is always room for improvement. Every business needs a leader and the manager is that leader. The manager acts as the brain and the employees act as the muscles. When the brain ceases to function, the muscles cease to respond. So it is in management. Businesses can only be as good as managers allow them to be. Rarely will employees be any better than the example set by the manager. As managers learn to take care of business, the business prospers and everyone’s job becomes increasingly more secure.

Analyze business weekly so that weaknesses can be turned into strengths.

Make decisions based on business needs, not on personal needs.

Take good care of your business so your business will take good care of you.