Article

How Culture Influences the Guest Experience and Repeat Patronage

We often hear the term "culture" tossed about in terms of business environments. A business is an entity, a place, and a concept. And regardless of the values of its owners, a business doesn't have a culture independent of its employees. Culture is a reflection of how the people who work in the business think and act on the job. And it's really no more complicated than that. That said, there is a great deal owners and managers can do to influence culture.

A culture of indifference is a workplace where most employees don't like their jobs and they're indifferent to what's going on. You can't afford it, and in this RestaurantOwner.com Learning System course, you and your managers can get ideas on how to avoid it.

Every business has a culture. In some cases, it is positive and, in some cases, unfortunately, it is not. This is significant because your restaurant's culture will determine what it's like to work in there and how well your people will perform every day. It will influence the quality of staff you attract and hire, and ultimately the guest experience.

Here's the situation that you might have experienced that illustrates the power of culture. You are in the midst of interviewing job applicants and you are so impressed with a candidate, you are sold on him or her in the first few minutes. You know you are going to hire that person. He or she displayed the energy, the eye contact, the smile, and the enthusiasm that won you over. You knew you have found your next "ace" employee. And, sure enough, in the first few weeks he or she did not disappoint. That person brought a positive attitude and willingness to learn. After a few weeks, however, you notice that person began to lose enthusiasm. He or she started showing up for work late and even missed a day or two. Within a month or two, he or she was no longer your superstar, but even become a problem employee.

What Went Wrong?

You are disappointed to say the least, and you are wondering what went wrong. How could he or she have changed so much so quickly? You might think you made a hiring mistake and now doubt your instincts. You might retrace that person's experience when they came on board. What ifs that employee's first day was on a busy Friday or Saturday when the restaurant was slammed and he or she was learning the ropes while trying to keep up with the demands of the shift when everyone in the house was stressed. What if he or she did not receive much training because your manager or senior staff "didn't have the time"?

What if they didn't get any feedback on how they were doing and they didn't receive any recognition when they did a good job or went out of their way to do more than expected? What if the rest of the staff wasn't friendly and welcoming? What if your managers accepted sloppy performance from other employees? As you might expect, it wouldn't take many of these factors for that new hire to feel the business is indifferent, and that shapes his or her attitude. If they have pride in their work, they are likely looking for other employment. In the meantime, they will simply get by -- the same as the rest of your team.

That person becomes a casualty of a negative culture. You might not realize it, but your business is in decline, even if it is only a slow death spiral. And that is particularly true in this environment when you are competing for a dearth of quality employees who want to work in the restaurant business.

Many of us have worked in negative business cultures. It affects our attitude and performance, even if our bias is to be good employees.

That's the reality of the impact culture has and how it influences the way employees perceive their employers and their co-workers. It infiltrates everyone's attitude and behavior, including yours.

The symptoms of a negative culture include employees who feel the need to protect themselves. You find staff blaming others and saying things like "that's not my job". Mediocre performance is accepted, and people are often critical of each other because there's an atmosphere of chronic distress. You hear people coming up with all kinds of excuses and constant bickering, whining and complaining. And it becomes a culture of indifference. In other words, a workplace where most employees don't like their jobs and they're indifferent to what's going on.

Survey Says

An indifferent employee cannot deliver an extraordinary guest experience. Consider the following. A few years ago, a national retail association conducted a survey and asked people why they stopped or quit going to certain businesses.

The survey found that three percent of people change geographic locations in any given year. Five percent develop relationships with other businesses or change buying habits for no specific reason. Nine percent leaves because of superior competition. Fourteen percent leave because they are dissatisfied with the product or service. And a whopping 68% of customers no longer patronize a business due to a perceived attitude of indifference on the part of an employee.

Have you ever stopped going to a restaurant when the food was really pretty good and, in fact, it might have been great? Unfortunately, you experienced an attitude of apathy, stuffiness, or disinterest from the moment you showed up at the door and possibly right through service. It turned what could have been an exceptional experience into a negative one, even though the food might have been exceptional. All it takes is a culture of in- difference to kill a restaurant. Guests will notice it, whether they are dining in or carrying out, and they will not return.

The Upside

So, let's look at what you tend to see in a strong positive culture, and how you might emulate it in your business. Employees like their jobs so there's genuine enthusiasm about what they're doing. Cooperation occurs naturally. You notice teamwork and a spirit of helpfulness. Staff demonstrate flexibility and mutual respect for teammates.

Most people will put up with a weak culture only for the paycheck. And they will do just enough to get by. In a strong culture, people are willing to give you their best. They gladly, willingly give you that extra effort because they want to. Cooperation and flexibility emerge naturally because it makes sense to behave that way.

A good way to describe a positive culture is "engaged". Some people are really engaged in what they're doing, they like their job. They feel valued and they believe that they're doing something meaningful.

You know that one article is not going to give you all the information you need to make meaningful changes in your business. That is why we offer RestaurantOwner.com members a Learning System to help develop owners, managers, and staff members' critical skills to optimize every restaurant business.