“Ship” It!

Seth Godin (who I have referenced in previous posts) is big into the concept of “shipping”. In other words, what projects or accomplishments have you seen through all the way to completion? What have you shipped? The end of the year is a great time for reflection, so I have decided to post a list of everything I have “shipped” this year.

-Successful transition of Federal Heights FSU to Scott When (Scott finished his first month with an 18% sales increase from the previous year)
-Launched a blog to chronicle my Chick-fil-A highlights
-Assisted Doug Bizerra in a successful Spicy Chicken Sandwich Rollout
-Trained 3 new leaders at Chick-fil-A at Gardens on Havana
-Completed 2 transitions at Chick-fil-A at West Oaks Mall (an Operator to Interim Manager transition and a Interim Manager to Interim Manager transition)
-Completed a massive cleaning and maintenance project at West Oaks Mall that saved Chick-fil-A, Inc thousands (literally!) of dollars in replacement equipment
-Part of an elite team at Chick-fil-A at Fox Valley Center that set numerous sales and Grand Opening Records including the largest Grand Opening Day in Chick-fil-A history
-Key leader at Chick-fil-A at Fox Valley Center where we reached over $1.5 million in sales in the 4th quarter with a brand new team

This was a fun – and valuable – exercise for me. It allowed me to look back on the year and separate completed accomplishments from the ones that I did not have the energy/time/guts to finish or “ship”. It also got me into the right mindset in terms of goal-setting as I head into 2011.

Great planning and great intentions are only part of the equation…what were you able to “ship” in 2010?

Social Media

Our Marketing Director, Becky Lockwood, has done a phenomenal job with our Social Media. I have always believed that Social Media can be a tremendous marketing tool, but now I have been fortunate enough to see it in action. Just like anything else in marketing, a tool is only as effective as you make it. Becky has done a great job building a fan base, communicating with our guests, and providing a platform for raving fans to sell the brand for us!

Facebook is our primary source for social media. We have the system set up so that Twitter feeds are sent out when we post something on Facebook as well. In order to build our “fans” on Facebook, we had signage all over the store, encouraged team members and their friends to sign up, and even had a contest to see who could get the most people to “like” our page. We will never stop the process of getting more and more people to “like” us on Facebook, but it was extremely critical at the beginning to get a solid fan base.

We do a great job of balancing our posts with messages and upcoming events so that people are not solely using us for free offers and giveaways. This is the most crucial step of all in my opinion. Basically, we are just creating even more emotional connections with our raving fans…really creating a “tribe” atmosphere, somewhere our guests can belong. It is so evident that the most regular contributors on our page feel like they are a part of our group. Chick-fil-A, in part, is how they define themselves! This is incredibly powerful, especially in light of Chick-fil-A’s marketing strategy to create raving fans.

Our fans are quick to post comments and pictures on our page. It is always encouraging to hear stories of times when we were able to get it right, when team members who went above and beyond to provide an over the top guest experience, or just to see pictures of raving fans with all of their Chick-fil-A gear. When someone posts on our wall, hundreds of people – their friends, our fans, etc – are able to see first-hand how great Chick-fil-A is. This truly is grass-roots marketing at its finest!

We also inform people of special offers and promotions, many of which are only offered to our Facebook “fans”. By using these offers in moderation, it is yet another way to create the “tribe” mentality – people have a special satisfaction when they know that they are part of a select few who are privy to special information and savings!

I am so thankful to see social media done right! This is such a powerful (and free!) marketing tool, and it is extremely effective when it is used properly.

Handling Disappointment

Our restaurant is located right outside of a flourishing mall. There are hundreds of popular retail stores around us in every direction as well. Suffice it to say, we were expecting a very busy Black Friday.

During the week prior to Thanksgiving, we spent hours planning for this day…it was surely going to be like a second grand opening! We carefully planned every detail, coached the team, and prepared for almost every possible scenario. ALMOST every scenario. Unfortunately, one of the only things we failed to plan for was the second slowest Friday since our store opened! The area around us was actually TOO busy. All of the roads, including the mall access road that our entrance is located off of, were complete gridlock. Nobody was even considering entering our parking lot because it was sure to add 20-30 minutes to their drive.

What made Black Friday such a great day is how the leaders and the team responded to the initial disappointment. We decided that with all of the resources at our disposal, we were going to bring our delicious food to all of the people! We put sandwiches in TMS bags and handed them out to all of the cars stuck in traffic!

The response was incredible. Roughly 75% of the people we gave sandwiches to had never had Chick-fil-A, and a large number did not even know where we were located! (this was literally 100 feet from our building) Rather than being complacent and let down, we made the most of what we had. I am proud of the way we handled our disappointing day – the attitude our team showed was admirable and productive.

Taking a Step Back

This was a week of reflection.

All of the leaders were able to take a day off this week…for three of us, it was our first off day since the store opened (not counting Sundays of course)! That was 54 days without an off day! (quick side note: this stretch showed me the value of Truett's decision to make Sunday a day of rest for Chick-fil-A...those built in off days improved our performance dramatically.)

I really learned the value of intentionally taking time off. We were able to recharge, refocus, reflect on our experiences, and make improvements. It was fascinating to see each of us come back after we had a day to regroup. We each had new ideas, new perspectives, and a new approach to the business!

We also had a team meeting this week with the entire Front of House team. This meeting served two main purposes: to reflect back on what we had accomplished together and to refine ourselves to focus on what we are capable of accomplishing in the near future. It was so encouraging to see the energy that the team had during the meeting. Our team already possesses a cohesion that often takes other groups YEARS to attain.

I believe that there is incredible value in intentionally and strategically stepping back and reflecting on the business.

Fear and The Jeweler (A Tale of Failure and Missed Opportunities)

So as you may have gathered already from my previous posts, we have been extremely busy the past couple of months. Naturally, the traffic at our restaurant has been heavy, especially during our peak lunch and dinner rushes. As a result of this, our neighbor next door (a jewelry store) has become increasingly difficult to deal with, prompting us to go under construction yet again to resolve some of the traffic issues that he believes are threatening his business. It has become clear that he would be happier had we never opened.

Now think about that last sentence for a moment. This “businessman” would prefer to have an abandoned Smoky Bones restaurant next door than a flourishing Chick-fil-A. This caused me to wonder the obvious question….why?

The answer, I believe, is fear. With the 4th quarter approaching, the Jeweler is fearful that our business is going to have a negative impact on his. He is afraid because something different is taking place. Fear has caused this man to go into survival mode. He is determined to get things back to the way they have always been.

As a businessman he should be looking for a way to turn this into an opportunity. There are hundreds of ways that a Jeweler could partner with a restaurant so that both parties win. I mean, he has a captive audience (our guests waiting in line) right outside of his door! There are hundreds of ways he could use this as an incredible marketing opportunity. He could use this as an opportunity to capture an entirely new customer base! Just think of the possibilities…his business could double!

Unfortunately for all parties involved, the Jeweler has decided to let his fear get the best of him. His lack of ingenuity or creativity coupled with his crippling fear has eliminated his chance to build off of our positive momentum.

It is a sad lesson, but an important one: A leader driven by fear will not take risks, will miss opportunities, and will focus too much on self preservation. In other words, fear leads to failure.

URGENCY!

This week my main focus was on increasing urgency. It seems a little crazy that this would ever need to be a focal point considering our volume, but it was nonetheless. By increasing the team’s urgency, we are able to provide a better guest experience while increasing our productivity as well. This ultimately leads to a busier and more profitable store, both in the short- and long-term.

I had an “aha” moment this week in this area. It became very clear that the team’s lack of urgency was a direct result of my perceived lack of urgency. I am naturally a calm person. Even when I am frazzled internally I come across as cool and collected. This trait was becoming a detriment to the team. I had to make a conscious decision to show emotion, to create a stir, in order to send a message to our brand new team members.

The initial results have been positive. While the team still is not where they need to be in terms of their speed and efficiency, they have become noticeably faster – especially when I am around creating a stir. This is only the beginning, but I am excited to have made this discovery and encouraged by the team’s initial response.

Another Milestone...

We just past the $1,000,000 mark today!

(It only took 37 days...unbelieveable!)

Leadership

In a recent blog post, popular author and entrepreneur Seth Godin said,

“Risking the appearance of weakness takes strength.”

This statement really resonated with me, specifically as it relates to shaping and leading a business. So often leaders fail to do the little things that build trust and good rapport – both with the team and the market. By sharing credit with others, avoiding shortcuts, seeking alliances, and apologizing share credit and be public in gratitude, avoid shortcuts, seek alliances, apologize, etc.

The Market Expansion team did a great job at putting together possibly the best group of trainers ever assembled for an opening. Everyone is a leader at their respective restaurants, but it is interesting to see the differences in how each person trains and operates. The leaders who are willing to get their hands dirty have been far more effective than those who are less willing to appear weak or vulnerable.

Great leaders are confident enough in themselves to risk the appearance of weakness. And – if you are really paying attention – the difference between these leaders and the rest of the pack is easy to differentiate.

Drive Thru

We have now been open for 28 days and it is therefore official...

#1 on the Drive Thru Report for the Chain!

...another reason to celebrate at Chick-fil-A at Fox Valley Center!

Sales

It is still so amazing to me what we have accomplished at Chick-fil-A at Fox Valley Center. We have now finished our 5th week of business and still have yet to do less than a $20,000 day!

$20,000

It is remarkable. Lines are still out the doors during peak times. People are still sitting in tents outside because there are no available tables in the Dining Room. And we just finished our FIFTH week!

$20,000

I had only been a part of a handful of $20,000 days before this experience, and they were all memorable! All of those days were triggered by big events, crazy promotions, or local community events…but our only marketing to this point has basically been to unlock the doors!

The last 5 weeks remind me of John 21 when Jesus told his disciples to fish on the other side of the boat and when they did so, they were unable to raise their nets because of the abundance of fish. We laugh now about how nervous we were before we opened - we really did not know what to expect!

What an amazing experience to be a part of…this is truly something that I will never forget!

Building the Factory

This was an amazing week at Chick-fil-A at Fox Valley. We made a number of strides as a leadership team to be proactive instead of reactive. In just this past week we have set up a number of systems to make us more efficient, organized the restaurant, hired even more personnel, and strategically focused our efforts on specific training needs. In essence, we began building the factory.

It is so easy to get caught up in the daily operations of a grand opening of this magnitude. However, merely problem solving and reacting to each day as it comes is no way to manage a business. This week we intentionally decided that we were no longer going to run this restaurant day by day but instead plan and organize and start building for the future.

We created a number of systems in the restaurant in order to stay organized and to track our progress. We now have helpful checklists for opening and closing the store, a new method to more accurately order inventory, and a written down document with roles and responsibilities for each team member and leader.

This new perspective on the business has been so exciting because it really has enabled me to see the potential impact we have on the team. We are starting with a clean slate – no bad habits, no lazy tendencies. The team is excited to learn and eager to show us what they are capable of.

HR

Early into our second full week of business it became apparent to us that we had underestimated the number of team members that we needed to operate Fox Valley Center. It was time to hire…and hire quickly! I found a quiet corner in the back of the restaurant, called a number of prospective team members, and then proceeded to conduct over 40 interviews this week alone (no lie!). It is my philosophy that hiring quality people and training them properly is more important than anything when assembling a team. Because of this philosophy, I was determined to find quality people and not just warm bodies to get us through a short period.

We had the pleasure of having a couple of operators help us out this past week, including Jason Ramsey. Jason is passionate about the hiring process and had a lot of valuable information and tips to share with me during the interview – and training – process.

One tip that I really liked is to start the interview with a short story about my journey with Chick-fil-A. This helps relax the interviewee and results in more honest answers (and less canned responses).

Another tactic that I had never thought to do in an interview is to test the interviewee throughout the course of the interview. For example, if I “accidentally” drop my pen while talking and the prospective team member does not even flinch to pick it up, chances are that she will not pick up a cup in the parking lot on her way in to work.

Overall the week was a success…we ended up hiring 16 new team members who we are VERY excited about and the amount of information that I was able to learn from Jason and the other operators this week was amazing!

Thoughts on Leadership

It has been interesting this week to observe our trainers, particularly how they interact with our team members. Each trainer was hand picked to be a part of this group that is widely considered the “All Star Team” – they are the best of the best…but it is obvious that some of these leaders are having a greater impact than the rest of the group. What is it about this select few that has enabled them to separate from the pack? The answer, I believe, is that they have fully embraced Servant Leadership.

Servant leadership is about creating an environment that enables team members to perform their jobs to the best of their ability. Great leaders also have the gift of discernment between when a team member needs to be pushed or when it is time to rescue a team member that is overwhelmed and simply unable to keep up. This kind of leadership creates sustained, long term success.

The leaders who have not fully embraced servant leadership usually err in one of two directions. Either they take over entirely too soon so that the team member is unable to learn or gain valuable experience or they remove themselves almost entirely from the equation so that the team member is left to either “sink or swim”. In both of these circumstances, the leader had been unable to coach and effectively communicate with the team member in training.
The most effective leaders at this opening, and in general, are the ones who have been able to serve the team members by providing resources and creating an environment that produces the desired results.

153k

Grand Opening Day Sales: $51,171

2nd Day Sales: $49,140

3rd Day Sales: $53,211

Grand Opening Weekend Total: $153,000

Number of $5000+ hours: 8

Number of $2000+ hours in Drive Thru: 2

Tons of Chicken Sold: 4+

Wow. In my 4 years at Chick-fil-A, I have never experienced anything CLOSE to what the past 72 hours have been like!

The entire weekend was like a big party…everyone was just so excited that we were finally in Chicago! The Drive Thru line was literally ¼ mile long and the line to order inside extended to the end of our property. Our guests stood in line for 45 minutes JUST TO GET TO THE DOOR OF THE BUILDING!

Even the basic operational side of this weekend was incredible. Everyone's role was extrememly specialized. For example, we created a queuing system where guests could stand while their order was being prepared. There were two of us simply taking orders from the baggers to the end of the counter where there were two or three others whose sole responsibility was to call out names and deliver the appropriate meal to each guest.

We hooked up an ice dream machine to a generator outside so that we could pre-make milkshakes just to stay afloat. We had a trainer manning a booth outside whose only responsibility was to provide our Drive Thru guests with condiments. We had a team member would spend an entire shift simply emptying trash cans. It was fascinating to be a part of this process as it unfolded and evolved.

I will never forget being a part of this unbelievable, RECORD BREAKING, weekend!

Public Relations

We were fortunate enough to have 3 team members awarded the $1000 scholarship this month from Truett. This is an outstanding achievement and an amazing reward for these team members and their hard work. Additionally, it is a great PR opportunity!

Public Relations is a fantastic marketing tool because it is effective in creating emotional connections with the community…for FREE! Chick-fil-A Inc. provides a press release with each scholarship, but we decided to take it a step further by adding a picture (which really draws the readers’ eyes). In addition to that, this created a buzz with the team members involved because they were going to get their picture in the paper.

Public Relations is a great way to enhance the brand and inform customers of Chick-fil-A’s unique culture.

Sales Increase!

I am proud to announce that this month Chick-fil-A at West Oaks Mall enjoyed a sales increase! This is only the 3rd month in the last 2 years that West Oaks has had an increase in sales! It wasn’t much (less than 1% up), but an increase is an increase!

I can see 3 main contributors to this increase:
1. The Twilight movie…drawing traffic to the movie theater in our food court (sales up over 40% that weekend)
2. 4th of July fell on a Sunday this year (an extra day without limited hours)
3. Back to School Sale in mall on last weekend of the month (sales up over 20% that weekend)

All in all it was an exciting month!

A More Systematic Approach

I have continued to make observations of the restaurant throughout my time here, and about midway through the month I started to notice some consistent negative trends. These were all issues that were easily remedied by creating and implementing basic systems.

Food Prep
We were preparing far too much food each day for our low sales volume. I created a food prep list that is based on sales volume. Therefore, on slower days – like Mondays – we do not prepare as much food in the morning as we would on a busier Saturday.

Chicken Rotation
We were consistently forced to quick thaw chicken when I first arrived. This seemed ridiculous because of our low volume. I created a system to ensure that we always had enough chicken thawed based on our sales volume, without thawing significantly more than we need. Since the implementation of this rotation system, we have not had to quick thaw chicken even once!

Waste Tracking
The team was trained to ring in waste on the register and discount it like a coupon. While this is great for food cost – simply putting waste into the marketing category – it does not give us an accurate picture of our food cost gap or giveaways. Now, team members track waste on paper by marking an easy-to-use waste tracker that is kept in the boards area.

Build-Tos
There were no build-tos created for truck ordering. This caused us to frequently run out of some items and have way too many of other items. An inconsistent inventory can encourage team member theft and can also be extremely frustrating if not enough stock is ordered. The build-tos enable us to manage inventory in a much more effective manner.

Under Pressure

After examining the unit's situation, we decided that it was necessary to pressure wash the entire back of house at West Oaks Mall. The walls and floors were caked with dirt and debris and this seemed like a great solution. Check out some of the before and after pics….

As you can see, I was able to remove an extraordinary amount of dirt and debris from the walls and floor of the restaurant. I had unrealistic hopes that the store would look brand new when we were finished, but it is a nice consolation that by moving all of the equipment and pressure washing we were able to remove so much dirt.

If there is time to lean...

A major focus this month has been on cleaning the unit. This has been an intensive – and time consuming – project, but we are really beginning to see results. The goal of this blog post is to give you a glimpse of what we have accomplished.

Food Safety

We focused on the basics during my first week at West Oaks Mall, specifically Food Safety.

Health Inspection Audit
A company called Steritech performed a health inspection audit early in the week. This was a rigorous test that closely examined all the food safety areas of the business. It was clear that I had my work cut out for me after this audit.

Training
I instructed all of our team members to watch the Safety and Security dvd and pass the certification test with a 90% or higher. To ensure their understanding of the fundamentals, I went over crucial areas like the Temperature Danger Zone, proper hand washing, and fire safety individually with each team member.

Cross-Contamination
When I arrived, there were no systems in place to separate raw chicken from ready to eat food. For instance, there were no yellow handled tools in the restaurant and yellow gloves were not used to bread chicken. After ordering the right equipment we are now able to easily differentiate tools and gloves for raw chicken and ready to eat foods.

Biological Contamination
Proper hand washing procedures were not in effect, even when a team member would switch from breading raw chicken to preparing ready to eat food. After much discussion and many reminders, the team has significantly increased their hand washing. Also, employee drinks being held and consumed anywhere in the restaurant. This was solved by creating drink stations where team members could store and drink their beverages away from food and service areas.

Chemical Contamination
A lack of organization posed the biggest problem regarding our use of chemicals. We did not have all of the appropriate bottles which caused us to put incorrect cleaners in incorrect bottles. We discovered this because there were 2 bottles with multipurpose labels next to each other with different colored liquids inside. We also did not have adequate storage for our chemicals, which encouraged team members to hang bottles wherever they saw fit – including over paper and food products. This was easily remedied by purchasing and installing bottle shelves by the mop sink.

We were also not using sanitizer in any fashion outside of the dish sink. There were no sanitizer buckets or bottles in the entire restaurant. While there were green packets of sanitizer in the building, nobody in the store knew what they were used for. Everything, including all food surfaces and prep areas, were cleaned with multi purpose and degreaser. This was a MAJOR area of focus and each team member is now fully informed on how to prepare, test, and use sanitizer properly.

Physical Contamination
There were a few areas regarding physical contamination that we needed to work on. Team members were wearing too much jewelry, including multiple rings, dangling earrings, gaudy necklaces, and bracelets. Another team member issue was a lack of hair restraints. This was solved simply by having the leaders strictly enforce the rules laid out in the employee handbooks. Also, a majority of our light shields for the fluorescent lighting were cracked and broken and needed to be replaced.

It was a busy first week at West Oaks Mall but was all worth it when we passed our REAL health inspection with relative ease at the end of the week!