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Changing our models
The theme of this year’s State of the Industry is that our business model is broken and no longer sustainable. To bring the model back to health we are going to have to make some new and unlikely unproven changes.
We are now requesting of our community leaders no new costs while we reinvent ourselves. The other part of this effort is to support and bring to light ideas that can bring us back. The association is not promoting any of these as the right model for you but is providing you with ideas that might get you thinking and maybe play with versions that could work for your business. These ideas are currently working for the operators who are using them.
So far, we have produced four videos and support documents explaining details and legal boundaries with more on the way. Those mentioned include:
What I found interesting as I interviewed each of these folks is that the most successful of them have had really strong buy-ins from their servers. They worked with their teams for months to communicate the “why” and the “how to do it right.” They took in feedback, so the team felt they were part of this model versus this model was being done to them.
As I was conducting the interviews, one of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that in order to make this work, team communication is as important as the change itself.
Businesses that have changed the tipping model have found a way to work with the servers so when the guest asks, “Is this working for you? Are you being treated fairly?” the servers uniformly say, “Yes, I’m being taken care of. This business is treating me well.”
When the servers give an answer like that, the customer’s concerns melt away.
Watch the videos, look for ideas beyond the functional change and listen to how they communicated with their teams and what might work for you.
While I’ve been traveling the state for my CEO Roundtables, I'm talking to operators about ideas that they have, and we may bring you additional videos or other ideas on how we can change our model. If you are interested in joining us at one of our upcoming meetings, please reach out to your territory manager.
I’ll be in the following places:
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Tacoma, March 6
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SeaTac, March 12
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Auburn, March 20
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Redmond, March 27
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Ellensburg, April 16
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Puyallup, April 17
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Spokane, April 23
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Pullman, April 24
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Oak Harbor, April 30
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Bellingham, May 1
Note: By the time you have read this I will have already been to the following cities:
Olympia, Port Angeles, Longview, Vancouver, North Seattle, Downtown Seattle, Everett, Bellevue
Sorry to have missed you! If I did, hopefully I will catch you next time around. Feel free to email your thoughts on the ideas we need to consider as we change.
And as always, it’s an honor to serve you, |
