Hi and welcome to our new GRS Blog! I’m Tom Bronson, CEO of GRS, and I will be a regular contributor to this blog, along with many of my colleagues here. What we plan to offer is some practical advice and tips for restaurateurs. Certainly, we will talk about our products and solutions, but more than that, we want to share ideas and successes to hopefully inspire you to greater success in your own place. Interestingly, we have a wealth of former restaurant owners and operators here at GRS – with a wide range of experiences. We hope, some of them helpful to you!
In this first message – I’d like to talk a bit about relationships… Relationships make life interesting. There’s customer relationships, vendor relationships, employee relationships, personal and family relationships… the list goes one.
One of my mentors told me (a VERY long time ago) – never say you “work well with people.” His response was always – “As opposed to what? Working with dogs or monkeys??” Everyone works with people. Everyone moves from one relationship interaction to another constantly. At one moment you’re talking to your kitchen staff (employer/employee relationship), the next you’re on the phone with GRS (customer/vendor relationship) to get that menu item added to your system. Next your first customers arrive and are ready to order (business owner/customer relationship). We seamlessly move from one relationship to the next all day, every day. Sometimes, when things aren’t going right, you might even say that you move from one “train wreck” to the next all day, every day. Other times – when you’re “on top of the world” – every interaction you have leaves the other person with that same feeling! Think about it – your attitude impacts everyone you come in contact with – and it can possibly change the nature of the relationship.
At GRS – we do our very best to think about that last sentence before we interact with anyone – our customers, vendors, employees, and future customers! We choose the right attitude – because we understand that the next interaction may impact our relationship for a very long time. Imagine what kind of night it’s going to be at the restaurant if you come tearing in just before dinner rush and put all of your employees on edge… Think your customers don’t feel that? Think again!
Most of the time, we’re pretty good at it… but just like you, every now and then, we fall on our sword. When we do – call me. When we make your day – post it here!
Enjoy our blog – and let us know what you’d like to hear about.