HOW WELL DOES YOUR STAFF KNOW ITS PRODUCT? Chris Byrnes I recently spent a few days at the Fallsview Hotel in Niagara Falls where the CRTC held its hearings. On the first night, our group had dinner in the Keg Restaurant within the hotel and we encountered Katie, a waitress who was full of life, good spirits and did a wonderful job of serving us. Her product knowledge was excellent and her professional, confident manner added to the experience. We dined outside the hotel on the second night and when I asked our people where they wanted to eat on the 3rd night, the consensus was that we return to The Keg, but only if we could once again have Katie wait on us. On arrival, we were given the choice of a table in another waiter’s area immediately or wait the 30 minutes for a table to open up in the area where Katie was working. Our group elected to take a seat at the bar and wait for Katie. She welcomed us back like long lost friends, even though we had only met her once before. I was impressed that she remembered our names, as well as the food preferences of the different members of our group. Katie had a “shadow” working with her on this evening by the name of Julie. I later learned that Julie had been working at this restaurant for three months but was still not yet qualified to go solo and work with the public. Julie had worked in every different area of the restaurant, learning how the food was selected, prepared, presented and delivered. She told me it would be another two weeks before she would be considered qualified enough to represent the restaurant and work as a waitress.
Among our group was a man who had worked in radio sales and on his first day he was given a desk, a phone and a print out of a client list and told to go for it. He quickly found that some of the businesses had closed, or the primary contacts were no longer there or the phone number or address information was incorrect. What a contrast between the level of training this young man had received and that which the wait staff at the Keg had been given.
A friend of mine was head-hunted about two years ago to take over marketing for McDonald’s. His first day on the job at this high powered corporate position was not spent behind a desk, but working behind the counter at a McDonald’s restaurant. In fact he had to spend his first two weeks working at various jobs within the restaurant until finally, during the third week, he got to meet his boss, the man who had head-hunted him for the position. The first thing this new boss asked my friend was what he had learned? The response of course was that the customer is the most important person in the business and it’s all about the product and the service. By the way, all McDonald’s executives are required to spend at least one day each year working behind the counter. McDonald’s excels at developing systems that work and can be easily implemented. The company also provides great training so that no matter what McDonald’s store you visit, in any of the 119 countries in the world where they operate, you can be assured of good service, and a consistent product delivered at a price that is reasonable. They call it Q.S.V. which stands for Quality, Service and Value.
McDonald’s has been the first employer of millions of young people all over the world, and at the company’s recent conference in Chicago, they orchestrated a live satellite link-up with the commander of the Space Station, Dr. Leroy Chiao, who at age sixteen got his first job as a McDonald’s crew member in Walnut Creek, California. Dr Chiao credits the training he received at McDonald’s as the catalyst that helped him get to the top of his field with NASA.
These are just two examples of the food industry and they way it ensures that customers’ expectations are met and exceeded. So as terrestrial radio faces potentially more competition, how well do you think your staff really knows its product? How much ongoing training do you give them? Try calling your switchboard and asking about a contest that is running, or ask one of your sales people what time a feature runs on your radio station.
We are often asked to create seminars for radio groups and individual radio stations, and the feedback we receive is very positive. The process seems to help lower staff turnover and build morale because people feel that the station is upgrading their skills and helping them be better broadcasters. |