The Sanford Berenberg Experience: Message of the Day

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Message of the Day - Honest and Straight Forward

Good Morning,

Sunday evening, Karen and I enjoyed dinner at one of our regular stops; Cracker Barrel. While there we notice a few new servers. You may have noticed some stars on the aprons the staff at the restaurant. This is part of their PAR (Personal Achievement Responsibility) program. The newer staff will have a 'Rising Star' on their aprons. This program teaches their employees all different facets of the business from understanding the menus, serving the foods to understanding the profit and loss statements to help them know how the entire operations is run.

Anyway, our server was Nick, one of these new servers. He was sharp and focused. When he asked us for our drink order, I jokingly said 'Scotch and Soda'. He smiled and said it would take a little longer to procure as he would have to go across the street to get the Scotch and Soda. After taking our drink orders he came back in less than a minute with both of our drinks and took our dinner order.

Karen and I started talking and expected a ten to twenty minute wait for the food. We were pleasantly shocked to have our meals delivered in under five minutes, both piping hot. I only had enough time to lose at the pegs/pyramid game a few times before the food arrived.

As we were eating, Nick came by and asked how everything was. We told him how surprised we were with the speed of the food.

Nick proceeded to explain clearly and succinctly what happened. Since Karen ordered the special, there were many being prepared and one person cancelled their order so they had an extra meal ready. My order was a feature of the week, and it was made every two hours. Due to our timing, we lucked out.

We were very impressed with the straightforward and clear explanation. Unfortunately I am sadly used to a battery of "I don't knows" or "I'll look into it for you's", or worse the epic length dissertations.

I think we can all learn something from Nick. He was clearly in tune with the way the Cracker Barrel kitchen works. He understood its operation and was able to articulate it clearly and quickly.

An honest and straightforward response is the best response. Something that I know I (and possibly some of you) need to improve on, and luckily, we have the model Nick provided to guide me. And yes, he got a good tip.

Enjoy!