• "There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot." - Steven Wright

• Discipline of Market Leaders. Authors: Michael Treacy & Fred Wiersema. Publisher: Addison-Wesley. Choose your customers, narrow your focus, dominate your market. This must read book is a landmark work that describes how the best companies are reinventing competition in their markets.

• http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/csr.asp Starbuck’s Coffee is one of the fastest growing franchise companies on Planet Earth. Visit their website and discover how they are achieving the Triple Bottom Line; social responsibility, environmental consciousness, and economic returns to staff and shareholders.

One of the great things about being in business today is that there are so many successful companies to emulate. The figurative wheel has already been invented, so there is no need to start from scratch. So it is with most of the day to day processes and systems common to the majority of businesses.

When Carl Sewell, CEO of the Sewell Group of automobile dealerships in Texas, was refurbishing his Cadillac dealership in Dallas, his research into the best materials to use included studying what floor tiles other businesses use in their high traffic and public toilet areas.

It probably comes as no surprise that the company he emulated when it came to floor tiles was McDonalds. His reasoning was that if the brand and quality of tiles used by McDonalds could stand up to the wear and tear of their customers and staff, then that would be good enough for his dealership.

He also researched how they kept the tiles clean and how often they needed to be cleaned in order to retain their maximum shine. The result of his findings is that all toilet and restroom areas of his dealerships, including the floor tiles are cleaned every hour. Yes, every hour.

And it doesn’t stop there. The same level of attention to detail and cleanliness applies to all Sewell staff amenities.

As trivial as it may appear, one of the issues that invariably gets raised at staff and management training and planning sessions, is the problem of dirty dishes in the staffroom sink. Over the years, I have visited many a clients lunchroom area and I have always been amused at the array of signs threatening all sorts of consequences to those who fail to wash their own coffee cup.

The solution is simple. Either everyone washes their own cup, or nobody does. What I mean by this relates to leadership in action. My observation is that the number one culprits in not adhering to company policy of washing your own cup are senior management. Now I am not going to debate whether they should, or whether they shouldn’t. But what I am saying is that if they don’t, there is absolutely no chance that the rest of the staff will. Do as I say, not as I do, won’t work. Never has, never will.

Here are a few suggestions. Buy a dishwasher and a sufficient number of cups to save staff having to wash cups during the day. At the end of the day, load up the dishwasher and by the time you return the next day everything is washed and dried. The second suggestion is to draw up a roster and get each member of staff, including the CEO to take turns at keeping the staffroom clean. Another option is to employ a contract cleaner to wash the dishes every evening after the close of work. A final alternative is to use disposable cups, although the environmental problems associated with this option make it a choice of last resort. Whatever solution you opt for, just do it. If you have a problem in this area it simply means that whatever strategy you are employing is not working. If you want a different result, do something different.

Toilets and lunchrooms are generally a good benchmark for measuring a company’s service culture. They provide an opportunity for management to demonstrate to both staff and customers how much they care about their welfare, to show they understand the difference between customer service and lip service.

Until next week, many happy customer returns!

Graham Harvey APS