Good Business Model

[l2ridehd]

Yesterday I was having lunch at Tony's Pizza in Northern VA. This is a small 5 or 6 restaurants chain all in Northern VA. I was alone eating lunch kind of late so the place was empty and there was a new older person behind the counter, very full head of white hair and very Italian. He came over and asked me if lunch was good, which it was, in fact excellent. I asked him who he was and had a good discussion with him. Turns out he was the "Tony", from Italy and the owner of all the establishments. I asked why he was working at this one place as it is the furthermost West one of his restaurants.

This is his business model. He rewards his managers by showing up one hour before the manager starts, meets them at the door, takes the key and sends them home and pays them for a day off. He manages the place for that day. He sees who shows up for work at what time, checks inventory, works the counter, meets the customers, checks the kitchen, quality of the food and service, and does everything the manager should do on a typical business day. He shows up completely at random, usually once every couple of weeks and runs his business to make sure it is operating the way he wants. He will even on occasion show up two days in a row.

I was impressed. I have always liked the food and service at all of his places, and now I know why. The manager and the employees never know when he will be there. But they know he will. What a great way to manage a business.

[lanabanana73]

Wow! That is really impressive. He should market that idea and we'd have lots fewer businesses going under in this country. Kudos to him!

[jimbo2012]

That is great idea, but a bit dated, in our stores we use closed circuit TV with mics (16 in each store).

I can view them from here on my laptop. :wave:

What we like to do once in while is call the store and say something like why isn't the delivery put out on the selves, it's been sitting there for a while.

Or Joe is on his cell phone instead of helping customers etc.

[coach 67]

Boy Howdy,Not sure if I would like working there. Big brother watching your every move.

[l2ridehd]

Dated? Maybe. But there is nothing using technology that comes close to hands on doing. Talking to your people, talking to customers, tasting the food, walking out back to those smoking, meeting the delivery people, seeing how clean everything is in places no camera can look, how clean is the silverware, using the same tools your people use, etc. No camera can talk to your employees, see pictures of their kids, ask questions, and thank them for a job well done. He has taken MBWA (manage by walking around) to a whole new level.

[jimbo2012]

Boy Howdy,Not sure if I would like working there. Big brother watching your every move.

Really, did U know the highest theft rate is not from customers it is from employees?

Our shrinkage dropped after the cameras, two were arrested, one quit.

If big brother bothers U we think you're up to something.

On cable tv there is show every-week on restaurants using surveillance, you would be amazed what goes on when the CAT's away

[BobnBev]

I wonder if Tony would consider opening a restaurant here in TV?:$:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Thanks for posting that, l2. I agree - hands-on is always good!

Bill :)

[2BNTV]

Tony is a very smart businessman. There is no better way than to check into things yourself and talk to your customers. He must be doing something right as he has a chain of stores.

I agree that theft is from employees as I have learned from my fathers business.

[redwitch]

I can see using cameras, they're a good tool to protect your business. However, I think Tony has the right idea, as well. I imagine the morale at his restaurants is pretty high. People know he cares and he will listen to them. A place with just cameras and phone calls telling them what to do has got to lower morale. Coming in, taking over for a day, talking to everyone, letting them know you do care about more than just the bottom line is great incentive.

Even the restaurant show involves a lot of hand's on management and talking to staff, letting them know they are important and part of a team.

[graciegirl]

Ah yes. I so agree with Tony, who MODELS for people the behavior he expects and if he is warm too, he rewards them for it. He makes them see that they are PART of something good and allows them to know that they too can be successful on their own if they wish. I would guess his goal is not to see who is stealing or doing something wrong, because he probably knows his people and they know him and that goes a long way in running a business with less "shrinkage". I called on many small businesses in one of my prior jobs and the most successful ones were hands on, on site, and with management and ownership not afraid to get dirty and stay late.

Good for Tony...with his white hair, my kinda guy....and good for you Chris, who chose to share it with us.

[coach 67]

Really, did U know the highest theft rate is not from customers it is from employees?

Our shrinkage dropped after the cameras, two were arrested, one quit.

If big brother bothers U we think you're up to something.

On cable tv there is show every-week on restaurants using surveillance, you would be amazed what goes on when the CAT's away

I understand,You would rather "watch" them rather than talk to them.Sounds a lot like Walmarts to me.Some of the best jobs I had where when I was young. Great owner and great boss,who would come back and get their hands dirty. Morale must be low at your place.

[Uptown Girl]

Yesterday I was having lunch at Tony's Pizza in Northern VA. This is a small 5 or 6 restaurants chain all in Northern VA. I was alone eating lunch kind of late so the place was empty and there was a new older person behind the counter, very full head of white hair and very Italian. He came over and asked me if lunch was good, which it was, in fact excellent. I asked him who he was and had a good discussion with him. Turns out he was the "Tony", from Italy and the owner of all the establishments. I asked why he was working at this one place as it is the furthermost West one of his restaurants.

This is his business model. He rewards his managers by showing up one hour before the manager starts, meets them at the door, takes the key and sends them home and pays them for a day off. He manages the place for that day. He sees who shows up for work at what time, checks inventory, works the counter, meets the customers, checks the kitchen, quality of the food and service, and does everything the manager should do on a typical business day. He shows up completely at random, usually once every couple of weeks and runs his business to make sure it is operating the way he wants. He will even on occasion show up two days in a row.

I was impressed. I have always liked the food and service at all of his places, and now I know why. The manager and the employees never know when he will be there. But they know he will. What a great way to manage a business.

Outstanding!!! Any way to let Tony know what you posted??? You would make his day!

[buggyone]

I understand,You would rather "watch" them rather than talk to them.Sounds a lot like Walmarts to me.Some of the best jobs I had where when I was young. Great owner and great boss,who would come back and get their hands dirty. Morale must be low at your place.

I agree. It is a lot easier to sit at your desk and watch your computer with the 16 cameras in each store than to actually go out in the trenches and talk with the managers, employees, and customers to see how things are doing.

When I worked for the Veterans Affairs in Washington DC, the best Secretary of Veterans Affairs we had was Max Cleland. He would greet employees in the front lobby in the morning and make it a point to go around to different offices during the day to see what employees do and how they feel about their work. He would also show up at the Contact Office where vets and their families go for information and talk to them.

[Mack184]

Yesterday I was having lunch at Tony's Pizza in Northern VA. This is a small 5 or 6 restaurants chain all in Northern VA. I was alone eating lunch kind of late so the place was empty and there was a new older person behind the counter, very full head of white hair and very Italian. He came over and asked me if lunch was good, which it was, in fact excellent. I asked him who he was and had a good discussion with him. Turns out he was the "Tony", from Italy and the owner of all the establishments. I asked why he was working at this one place as it is the furthermost West one of his restaurants.

This is his business model. He rewards his managers by showing up one hour before the manager starts, meets them at the door, takes the key and sends them home and pays them for a day off. He manages the place for that day. He sees who shows up for work at what time, checks inventory, works the counter, meets the customers, checks the kitchen, quality of the food and service, and does everything the manager should do on a typical business day. He shows up completely at random, usually once every couple of weeks and runs his business to make sure it is operating the way he wants. He will even on occasion show up two days in a row.

I was impressed. I have always liked the food and service at all of his places, and now I know why. The manager and the employees never know when he will be there. But they know he will. What a great way to manage a business.
Back in days gone by Col. Sanders was famous for showing up at the various Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise restaurants unannounced to see how things were going. If you were running things the way they should be done it was a very pleasant visit, but woe to the store & it's manager where they were not!

[shcisamax]

Dated? Maybe. But there is nothing using technology that comes close to hands on doing. Talking to your people, talking to customers, tasting the food, walking out back to those smoking, meeting the delivery people, seeing how clean everything is in places no camera can look, how clean is the silverware, using the same tools your people use, etc. No camera can talk to your employees, see pictures of their kids, ask questions, and thank them for a job well done. He has taken MBWA (manage by walking around) to a whole new level.

I couldn't agree more. Cameras and off site technology have a place but not for this purpose. Right BillnBrillo?

[eweissenbach]

I agree, Tony is a brilliant manager! I have eaten in many restaurants where I look around and see nothing but teenagers and young adults, who are almost always screwing around, not attentive to customers, and the place is a mess. I always think, why would someone pay several hundred thousand dollars for a franchise, or to open a business from scratch and then hand the operation over to a bunch of kids. These places almost always end up bankrupt or sold.