Monday, November 29, 2010

A Formula for Success


I spent the Thanksgiving Holiday in Chicago visiting my daughter. We arrived on a Sunday evening and left on Friday, so it was a short visit. (And a cold one as well, at least for this Southern boy.) While there we visited a number of restaurants, all very good. But one in particular stood out. It seems to have hit on the formula for success. It is a lesson that can be learned by all organizations. From my observations (I ate there three mornings out of the 5 we were in town) here is the list:
  • Quality (the food was varied and delicious)
  • Fast (we never waited more than 10 minutes, barely time to finish a half cup of coffee, which was on the table within 2 minutes of our drink order)
  • Friendly (everyone had a smile and we were greeted as we walked in the door)
  • Pride (we overheard the chef, as he was handing a customer another egg, that one of her eggs had been "cosmetically challenged" so he wanted her to have one that looked better)
  • Understood their limitations (the restaurant was smaller and served breakfast and lunch.)
  • Knew that customers would pay extra for the extras. (It is not the McDonald's price list.)
Does your place of business exhibit these 6 features? Does your HR department abide by these? It should.

I was not only impressed with the place as a restaurant but also as a business. I have no financial interest in the place and will probably never visit again, but I will name them as a recommendation. If  you are ever in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago stop into the Over Easy Cafe. Everything I said about them is shown in a quote from the chef/owner Jon Cignarale, “Everything about the meal is important, from coffee on the table as soon as you sit down to your eggs actually coming over easy… This is what I love to do – I wouldn’t want to wake up everyday doing anything else.”

Do you have a similar quote about yourself?

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