Last night while channel surfing I stumbled upon a reality
show that caught my attention. While the show obviously reeked of scripted
television its premise is what intrigued me and kept me watching. The premise focuses
on helping under performing establishments such as restaurants and hotels by getting
to the root of the cause for this. The show makes these small businesses ask
the questions, whose needs are really being served? Is the primary goal to
serve the owner or the customer?
This episode focused on a married couple that owns and
operates a bed and breakfast that was in danger of declaring bankruptcy. At the
start we learn the property was actually the husband’s old elementary school
which he purchased to convert into his dream bed and breakfast. As viewers got
a tour of the Inn they couldn’t help but feel they are walking into someone’s
outdated and unkempt home as opposed to a place of business. The décor of the
entire establishment just screamed dated while owners pet dogs ran amuck
throughout the Inn. The husband truly believed the look and pets actually added
to the charm and unique feel of the establishment. Viewers were also treated to
the Inn’s monthly dinner mystery theater in which the husband was of course the
star of the production. When the host asked how much profit it was generating
for them, the wife was quick to answer that it didn’t generate any as it more a
show for her husband and his friends. As
the show progressed and more layers were peeled back, it became glaringly
obvious to viewers that the husband was clearly more interested in reliving his
past and acting out a childhood fantasy of merging his home and school into one.
He was too busy playing in this environment he seem to lose focus on day to day
business operations. It was no wonder why the business was in the bad financial
shape it was in. The only effort the Inn made to generate new business was renovating
the banquet hall for $50,000. The renovations ended up being a bad investment as
the husband remodeled with a look that fit his personal taste instead of one
more appealing to renters or guests. The husband essentially created an Inn
that fit his own needs and comfort as opposed to a business establishment
catering to its guests. Of course this is being a show about helping businesses,
the Inn was given a new lease on life as it received an all expenses paid
makeover from top to bottom and a few lesson on how not to run a business.
If only all business
had a TV show or benefactor to save them from themselves such as the Bed and
Breakfast. Unfortunately real life doesn’t work out that way for most business
operating in the same manner. The scenario of the Inn mirrors many companies in
various fields in which owners are more concerned with using the business as a
way to serve their own personal needs. Often time owners are too concerned creating
this environment that they envision in their head that they are not aware that
they created a place that customers don’t care for. Have you ever walked into establishment
in where the owners and employees dominated resources intended for customer use?
Or have you ever walked into a business where you felt as a customer that your
mere presence was an inconvenience to the staff? It can leave one wondering if
these business owners ever considered customers when they were initially thinking
of starting a business. Customers are not the only ones that suffer through the
owner’s vision of how they operate their business. Often times employees are
just as frustrated as customers dealing with owners that change things at a
moment’s notice or incorporate procedure that only make sense to them. Being a business owner gives you the freedom
to create the work environment that you have envisioned but at the end of the
day the purpose of business is to generate profit. That profit comes from the customers
who’s needs and satisfaction have to come first above all else.
It is not only the self serving owner that can destroy a business;
even those with the best of intentions that can be harmful to themselves. Another
program I can across showcased a family owned and operated restaurant that was
on the verge of closing. The owner decided to start her own restaurant after
several years in the food industry in which she felt her and her co workers
were treated poorly by management. She set out to create an establishment where
employees were treated fairly and would be happy with their jobs. She believed
that in doing so the employees would be more productive and better serve
customers. While in theory that would work, what she created was something far
from that. Almost immediately she hired her family and anyone looking for work
and giving them as many hours as needed. She quickly lost control of the work environment
as the freedom here staff were given would lead to chaos. The staff would clock
in when they wanted and often times being playing on their cell phones instead
of attending to customers. The host of the program had to look the owner in the
eyes and tell her that vision was a failure because she never thought of it as
a business. In her vision she was really just thinking of an ideal work
environment for herself but failing to realize that alone wasn’t enough reason
to start a business.
People often fantasize what it would be like to be the boss
and call the shots. In those fantasies they might picture what their office
looks like, the products they would sell, or how they would treat staff and
handle certain situations. What they often fail to think about is how all those
things would affect customers and if that is even a business they would want to
do business with. Ownership and title could always be transferred over to another
party but a business will always need a customer/client to stay in operating.
An owner often needs to take a step back and put themselves in the customer’s
shoes.They need to see if the customer’s needs are being met and if not what
changes need to be made so that they can. Only from a customer first based
foundation can an owner have the freedom to incorporate what they envisioned in
their business environment.
-Sergio Esteban Bustamante (S.E.B.)
-Sergio Esteban Bustamante (S.E.B.)
