What can a small-business owner learn from an annual convention of pizza parlors? (Other than the realization that you are probably really, really hungry?)
Potentially — a lot.
That’s part of the idea behind a recent Forbes article, which profiled the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and shined a light on That’s A Some Pizza, a longtime family business outside of Seattle headed by Will Grant, the second-generation owner.
Turns out, the secret to his success involve a lot more than dough, sauce and cheese (although his ingredients matter and are top quality, just like your flowers).
Here are some of his insights, sliced up into edible little bites just for you:
Think of customer service as a kind of marketing. Every interaction with one customer is a chance to grab another, thanks to online reviews and personal recommendations, which matter a lot in both the restaurant world and floral industry. That means owning up to missteps, quickly.
“I think the No. 1 philosophy that has stood us in good stead is the feeling that every mistake is a chance to make a lifelong customer,” he said. “When we make a mistake, not only will we pay for the meal but comp the next one as well to make sure the customer comes back. We will even cover it if the mistake is, or seems to be, the fault of the customer. My feeling is that there’s no point being stingy about the cost of one pizza order, if you compare it to the cost of weekly orders for the next several years from a happy customer.”
Make time to mentor. Don’t expect your team to offer the kind of service you expect if you haven’t invested time in training, Grant said. And employees can tell when you really care about them and when you’re just pretending to, he added.
“As an owner I’ve been able to become a mentor to my managers and staff,” he said. “In my perspective you need to actually care for your employees for them to care about your business. Only with their respect are you able to push them to work their best, always improving themselves. And by giving the managers the respect and authority to do a good job they in turn are mentors to the staff befriending them and asking for their hard work and showing them how to work hard by example.”
Another tip from Grant? Invest in training for yourself and time to network with your peers —that’s why he was attending the Las Vegas expo.
Looking for an opportunity to do just that? Find out more about the Society of American Florists’ annual convention, SAF Maui 2016, Sept. 21-24.
