The Difference in Night and Day

I have always heard there are two kinds of people in the world . . . “ those who get it and those who don’t.”   On Tuesday I had the chance to meet one of each. They both are managers of restaurants. Beyond that, they have little in common.

The first, was in charge of a new restaurant in the town where I live. A couple of friends of mine and I decided to give the place a try. We walked in and the place was packed. To me this seemed like a good sign. It wasn’t. In fact, it was just the opposite.

The three of us placed our orders and waited anxiously for the meals to arrive. About 20 minutes later a waitress returned to our table to inform us that they had run out of two of the three things we had ordered. Mine was one of the three!

After reordering and waiting again for several minutes, the waitress returned with my meal and some bad news.  She informed my friend, Mark, that they had just run out of the entrée he had reordered. Needless to say they didn’t get it.

The second restaurant was just the opposite. It was a place called Buca di Beppo and it was run by a man named Nelson. Nelson and his staff were amazing! They accommodated us in every way.

The hostess seated us at a nice table, but it wasn’t actually the table I wanted for my family.  I called her back over and asked if it would be possible for us to be moved to the family table in the kitchen. She smiled and promptly moved us. Next, a kind waitress came over and took our order. She was pleasant and even made a couple of helpful suggestions before taking our order. Within minutes of her leaving us guess who shows up at our table? Nelson himself! In his hand was a complementary order of fried mozzarella which was hot and delicious. “On the house,” were his words, “Hope you enjoy.”

The next 45 minutes were filled with Italian dining at its finest. The table was loaded with salads, pizzas, pastas, and a delicious family-style entrée. When the entrée arrived, Nelson accompanied the waitress and sat a special side dish on the table. He said, “These potatoes are a favorite to go along with this dish. I can’t serve this on my watch without including them. No charge. Enjoy.”

The meal was without question the best experience I have had in a restaurant in the past decade. Why? Because Nelson gets it!

When it comes to leadership, we all need to remember “the difference in night and day.” The truth is, the food at lunch that day was really pretty good. The trouble is, the service and preparation were so lacking that I wasn’t very hungry once the food arrived.

Nelson, on the other hand, reminded me that night that he is not in the food business. He is in the people business. Sure, his food was amazing. But I suspect, it was a lot more palatable because of the way we were treated.

Many leaders have great ideas and a strong message. Unfortunately, they forget the power of relationships and they never get their message across.

As a leader, never forget the principles of night and day:
1. People are more important products.
2. It doesn’t cost anything to smile.
3. Being a servant is more important than being a server.
4. Generosity comes back to you in the end.

If you will live by these 4 ideals, I am confident that it will mean the difference in night and day for you just like it is doing for Nelson.

And for a great meal, go see him @ Buca di Beppo on Mansell Road in Alpharetta, Georgia.

i2i,

Randy

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