How to Save Thousands of Dollars in Two Hours - Part 1

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Daniel was a great cook, and knew he had the entrepreneurial spirit when he opened his first restaurant. Not only did his special style of cooking bring forth the most heavenly smells, he knew he could easily teach it to others. So, when he saw a vacant building in just the right spot, he decided to go for it. He quit his job, borrowed the money to get started, and opened his first restaurant. Business was great from the beginning, and within 2 years he had opened 3 more restaurants nearby. Daniel realized he was starting to get burnt out, though. He rarely took a day off, and hadn't been on vacation since before he opened his first restaurant. He worked 12 hours a day, seemed to have more work at the end of the day than when he started. <br>Feeling frustrated, Daniel decided to delegate some tasks to the staff, but realized they were all running from the time they got there to the time they left. There was nobody else to take on any of his tasks. How could that be, though, when he knew they weren't doing that much? What was filling the time of everyone there?<br>He decided to do what we have all done, or thought about doing. He stopped running like a chicken with it's head cut off and started looking and listening to what was going on. He realized the headwaiter was spending more time on the phone than he was greeting and seating customers. The other servers were taking up the slack by seating customers themselves, which caused confusion. The cooks were constantly describing meals to the staff, which took time away from cooking, so nobody was really available to do the job they were supposed to.<br>Daniel realized he needed a system, and he needed it fast. He brought the staff together for a brainstorming session, and found that the most common interruption to normal tasks were very simple questions, questions that could be answered simply and quickly, but people were constantly asking the questions, and the staff simply couldn't keep up.<br>After much deliberation, and consulting with many friends, relatives, and business associates, Daniel thought he'd found a 2-part solution.<br>1. He changed the back of the menu from a stylish piece of artwork to simple questions/answers and descriptions of the daily special as well as basic meal preparation.<br>2. He contracted to have a Web site built about his company. As a part of that site, he had a Frequently Asked Questions page created that contained the top 10 most commonly asked questions and answers. Then, he changed the phone system so when people called, they would hear a canned message before they got to the front desk. The message directed customers to his Web site for daily specials, hours of operation, and other common questions.<br>Six months later, Daniel called another meeting and discussed with the staff what changes they had seen. Every staff member was doing the job they needed to do, on time, and without being rushed. Together, they determined that the two changes they made reduced question calls by over 50, allowed staff and customers to know exactly what the daily specials were, and they were busier than ever.<br>Two simple changes saved hours of work every week, and they allowed Daniel to delegate some tasks to other personnel. He was able to go down to 10 hours per day, and take at least one day off each week. He also started thinking about where he would go on vacation that year.<br>More than that, both he and the staff were more relaxed and more confident. Customers saw this change, and came to the restaurant even more.<br>This story is fictional, but it is created from my personal experience of working with stressed companies for the past 10 years. Stepping back and analyzing the situation is a very difficult thing, but it's so rewarding. Granted, creating a Web page of frequently asked questions will not solve the answers of the universe, but what if they:<br>? Save Money by lowering the amount of time on the phone.<br>? Double your customer base by giving your customers more confidence in you.<br>? Triple your company's visibility by having a well-designed Web presence.<br>? Create a more relaxed environment for you and your staff (as well as your customers). How much money are those things worth every year? A company with a staff of 3 people can save the entire cost of a Web site in one year. And, depending on the company, you could save the entire cost in a month or two. It could literally save a one-person small business from going under.<br>Read more in Part Two.

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