Looking Good and Smelling Good

We’ve all had seasons of our lives where we just wanted to “look good and smell good” to show others we’re doing great….even to the extent of a “fake it till you make it” kinda thing.

I wonder, is this the season our industry (location-based entertainment, fun centers) is currently going through due to a very healthy economic climate? It could be. We all love the outcomes of a healthy climate. We all love “looking good and smelling good.”

What this tends to lead to, however, is that because we look good and smell good, we sweep organizational issues under the rug for now…stuff ‘em in the trunk, out-of-sight-out-of-mind. We can do this because revenues are, in certain organizations, are at an all-time high. It could be that most of your guests are happy because there are so many more guests than usual coming through your door.

It makes me wonder if, when the bubble bursts, we will slip down a slope to the mire of an economic downturn or panic on Wall Street? Will the issues we swept away…things like the underperforming team members, undertrained sales staff, or no sales staff resulting in low or no outbound sales, high turnover on the front line due to lack of proper training and leadership training….rear their ugly heads?

The challenge is that these issues start to erode the wonderful windfall of increased revenue experienced before the burst. Even some of your rainy day revenue gets called upon when you can’t seem to keep the right people, or even find them, and suddenly guest service is at an all-time low because you haven’t invested in your most valuable asset, your people.

Here are some of the issues that came up the last time we had an economic downturn:

• Not having the right people in the right seat doing the right thing
• Deteriorated great guest service
• Overall leadership issues
• Zero or stale sales process in place to support sustained growth
• Zero or stale training process in place to support sustained growth

Let’s work smart in the next two to five years to keep a lot more of your hard earned money with you by eradicating the issues related to hiring, training, and empowering of your people. Call me today to get started! 817.886.4840.