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| Fast Casual Pizza |
There are
several areas that are key to success and while all these areas are important
any one is not the end all and be all to a successful formula. I’m sure you can
think that local chain that has the worst pizza in town and yet you see their delivery
vehicles everywhere you go. My own personal mystery was a pizza place in
Brooklyn that was run by a guy with no personality that I am sure inspired the
soup Nazi years later with his disrespect and rudeness to his customers. Aside
from the pizza makers smoking while they made pizza, he would tell you to eat
the unburnt part of the pie if you dared to complain. How about the places that
are so far off the beaten path you need a guide to find them or better yet they
have no name on the joint? You can’t make this stuff up but it gives one hope
that there is room for all of us to succeed. I want to qualify this as my own
personal opinion from working with, knowing and visiting with hundreds of pizza
men and women all over the country. By no means is this THE BIBLE OF PIZZA or
to be taken as law but it will give you a pretty good idea of what to concern
yourself with if your new to the game, stale or in deep trouble.
1) Location, Location, Location-the best
way is to be the only game in town or be in a tourist location where there are
no other options available or the ones available are of no consequence due to
being very expensive or a different and specialized category like a fish
house. Some the most successful places specialized
in malls, theme parks, schools, military bases or small town USA.
2) Make the best pizza known to man or
there about. If you are making a really top notch product people will find you
and not only that, people will talk. Word of mouth is the best advertising it
has been said. The reason for this is that people will trust the opinion of friends
and family over silly unfounded claims of the best pizza in town and such
advertised in the local paper.
3) Be unique. Examples of this are
everywhere but they may not seem apparent. Like making a Chicago pie where
there never was one, having a wood burning brick oven, using insects as a
topping or having a pizza drive through like OL Jose’s in Pineville West
Virginia where they are using a revolving brick oven.
4) Be a social maniac. Take pride in
being part of your community. Before there was social media, there were social
men and women. These wonderful people actually cared about the people they met
and considered customers as friends to share joys and sorrows with. One very
moving example of this is when people would come to Goodfella’s Pizza in Staten
Island on their way home from work in the days after 911 just to get out of the
house and be with people who cared in a friendly and safe environment. There
are many examples I can think of; like the guy who coaches the local little league,
the girl who hosts local heroes with pizza parties, the place that supports boy
scouts, the place that sponsors Special Olympics or the guys that collect
donations for slices to feed the homeless. There are so many ways to build good
will in a community and give back while earning respect and loyalty that I
could write a book about it but you get the idea.
5) Service. Run a tight ship that gives
service and shows genuine care for the customer’s experience. I don’t know
about you but when I am ignored, the host is not pleasant, the server acts like
he is doing me a favor, the table is dirty when I am seated or my unfamiliarity
with ordering and the menu is treated with impatience, you have lost me, and more
importantly, any future income my patronage may have brought. This may seem
like a given but if you are not on top of this and setting a good example for
your crew it will never happen. A little thing like a smile or help and
directions can go a long way in building a relationship with your customers.
One terrible example I won’t forget was having my little daughter with me in a
new town when she had to use a bathroom so we walked into a place and we were
treated so rudely I swore I would never visit that place. I understand the old “Bathrooms
are for paying customers” routine but sometimes being human and having
discretion can earn you a great deal of loyalty. In other words, if it isn’t
costing you anything to be kind-always be kind. Believe it or not but this also
includes salesmen wasting your time. Those salesmen are not only people but
potential customers with family and friends that also eat.
While no list
will guarantee your success, if you follow these points your odds will greatly
be increased and if you earnestly follow point 5 you will contribute to a
better world by treating your fellow citizens with courtesy. Happy pizza my friend
and best wishes.
Great advice , Thanks
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