What would Ramsay do?

If you aren’t already you must start watching Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (on tonight).

The show in a nutshell; Gordon Ramsay takes restaurants that are struggling, assesses what they are doing wrong (and often where personalities are getting in the way of success) then gives them a plan to turn their failing business into a (hopefully!) profitable one.

The last episode was about a chef in love with a menu that was long, complicated and hard for staff to explain to customers. He also had a giant ego, invested in the payoffs he got from being ‘top dog’ and desperately afraid of change.

So what’s the solution? Well, it’s actually a pretty similar plan each week and could be easily applied to any industry, not just restaurants. And it’s very, very applicable to rescue…

 

First, get real

You can’t fix something if you don’t know why it’s broken. Although obvious to everyone around him, this chef had such large emotional investment the way he ran things, that he was blind to why it wasn’t working. Ramsay took him out into the community and asked the customers exactly what was wrong with the experiences the restaurant provided. Ouch!

Ask your clients, past, present and potential for honest feedback about how they regard you. Ask volunteers for suggestions. But be warned; you must listen to their feedback whether you like what you hear or not. Punishing them for giving you honest criticism is a sure fire way to have them never be honest with you again.

 

Simplify, simplify, simplify!

In an effort to please everyone who came through the door, this restaurant offered a giant, complex menu that make it difficult for the chef to manage and meant they had no real specialty.

In a rescue sense it would be the equivalent to adding pet supplies, dog washing, behavioural training and boarding; and becoming sidetracked from your core business: animal rehoming.

By offering everything under the sun, you become ok at lots of things, but exceptional at none. You have one chance to be top notch. Don’t stuff it up by losing your focus.

 

Set your standards high – then beat them

You can’t do it all. You can however aim to be the best at what you do.

In the show, the cook was busy, so to save time he bought most of his ingredients frozen or premade then claimed to cook them in house. In turn, customers had an ordinary experience and chose to eat elsewhere.

Even if the pace is hectic, realise that to succeed you have to treat all your clients like gold. Work with them to meet their needs and never lie or make misrepresentations because when you are found out, your clients will stop trusting you and your image will be ruined.

 

Tell the right story

Every business tells a story. This restaurant was untidy, the staff disorganised and the food, average. The story they told their customers was “we really don’t care”.

What story are you telling? “We are competent professionals who you can trust with what we know is a big decision for you”. Or is it another story entirely?

 

Get an attitude adjustment

Often the chefs on Ramsay’s show have been failing so long, they’ve forgotten what it feels like to be successful. They’ve lost their passion. But then having a famous celebrity chef storm in, help out and believe in them, is the shot in the arm they need to reclaim a love of their work.

Now you might not be able to call on Ramsay to help you with that whiney co-worker that makes life unbearable, or the seemingly never ending supply of kittens that drains you, but you do have to find a way to find your passion again.

Look for inspiration outside the rescue industry (as often people inside are tapped out) or form a group of similar minded POSITIVE people who can give you props.

Loss of passion = loss of motivation… and is absolutely a killer.

 

Be the bigger man

Ramsay shows the restaurant staff where they are going wrong and calls them on every single misconception they have. But, as soon as they ‘start to see the light’ and are willing to get on board, he is their biggest champion. He gives them tools to succeed and supports them 100%.

Don’t make it hard for the people around you to admit when they’ve been proven wrong, because if the cost to them rejoining the team is to swollow pride, then they likely won’t come back.

 

What would Ramsay do?

I think we can all benefit from sometimes taking a step back and asking “what would Ramsay do?”.

I suspect the answer might just be “%^!* that off – lets do it better”.