15 Lessons Schools can Learn From Restaurants

 And if the 'meal' is not meeting their needs and they are not eating it, we must realize that students are still hungry, and we can't just keep giving them the same meal and expect them to eat it with the "when they are hungry enough, they will eat it" mentality.  It doesn't work....
I need new carpet in my house.  I have a dog and a cat, and unfortunately, between the two of them, they have managed to pretty much destroy the carpets in each of our five bedrooms (picture leaving your cat in the bedroom and then having it claw at the door for about three hours--nice).  Factor in our two young children who seem to be harder on the carpets than football players with cleats on a soggy field, and we have a formula for new carpets.  So, we called Home Depot, had a very nice man come out and measure up our rooms, and then tell us we would have a quote by Thursday.  Anxious to find out about the cost and when we could get the carpets replaced, we didn't wait by the phone, but we were actively curious.  The call never came...

Sigh...ok, they must be busy, we'll get a call on Friday.  Hmmm, Friday comes and goes.  Nothing.  Saturday morning, still nothing.  So finally, we call on Saturday afternoon, and who'd believe it, the quote had not been done.  The person on the phone told my wife "There's nothing we can do until next week.".  We sat and chatted about this for a few minutes, and wondered whether we should be looking at another company.  Spending a couple thousand dollars on carpets is not a small deal for us, and if the first dealings we have with one of the litany of carpet options out there is negative, why would we give them our business?

I will finish this story later in this post, but this experience made me think about customer service.  I have seen a number of valuable posts that make analogies:  why schools are not like businesses, if we treated doctors like we treated teachers,and a variety of other excellent comparisons.  However, I think the one that resonates with me is around the customer service that I think is ideal when I go to a restaurant.  A satisfying experience for me at a restaurant might look something like this...

• I probably will have heard of this restaurant through positive, word-of-mouth comments, and if I haven't, I likely will have Google searched it and gotten some reviews.
• When I come to the restaurant, it should be inviting in every sense
• When I walk in, I like a friendly greeting from the staff, even if it's just to be acknowledged by saying "We'll be right with you"
• It's kind of helpful to see the menu displayed, so I know what the restaurant offers.
• If the restaurant has been recognized in the news or elsewhere for its' service, in the community, or has employees that have been recognized for their hard work, it's nice to see those things displayed.
• When the host or hostess walks me to my table, it's nice to have a quick conversation, and perhaps a "You will love the food here--it's awesome!"
• At our table, I expect it to be clean and presentable.  I also expect that they recognize that I have two children, and need to have a table that accommodates this, as well as a booster seat and a high chair.
• When the server comes, it sure feels nice to get a smile and a hello, and perhaps a description of some special entrees that are on the menu for the evening.
• The menu needs to be clear and easy to understand.  Nothing like reading a menu and feeling embarrassed because you really don't know what the heck anything is.
• I would like some flexibility--I know this can't be limitless (I can't order a burger at a Thai restaurant), but if I want to get salad instead of fries, or would like to add hot peppers to a pasta dish, I would like to be able to individualize my meal a bit)
• I am patient, but don't really want to wait too terribly long, especially with my two little ones in tow.
• If there is an issue, or something has been forgotten, JUST TELL ME!  Don't make me wait and wait and wonder, and not acknowledge me.
• The food needs to be good!  I need a couple of "yums" from around the table, or as my two-year old says, "Dad, this is VERY tasty!"
• I like to have a server check in on us and sincerely be curious about whether we are enjoying our meal.
• I don't want to feel rushed out the door, but I also don't want to wait for ages to pay the bill.
• It's really cool when the owner sees us on the way out and asks if we enjoyed ourselves, and thanked us for choosing this restaurant.  I know this is not always possible, but when the "head honcho" takes a moment to say thanks, it really means something.

So bearing this in mind, I need to substitute my school into this context...

• People have heard of our school through word-of-mouth, and if not, they have probably searched it, or been on our website.
• Lesson:  Our rep needs to be good, and our first contacts(ie. website, newsletter, phone greetings, etc) better be good.
• When I walk in, I like a friendly greeting from the staff, even if it's just to be acknowledged by saying "We'll be right with you"
• Lesson: even if the office is packed, our clients need to be acknowledged very quickly
  
• It's kind of helpful to see the menu displayed, so I know what the restaurant offers.
• Lesson: Let's make our course selection booklet very user friendly, accessible, and interactive (ie. including video clips by students for each course in our online course book), and have copies available for people while they wait.
• If the restaurant has been recognized in the news or elsewhere for its' service, in the community, or has employees that have been recognized for their hard work, it's nice to see those things displayed.
• Lesson learned: Our trophy cases need to be up to date, any articles that are in the paper about the school or our students need to be prominent for people to see, and our history and traditions should be evident
• When the host or hostess walks me to my table, it's nice to have a quick conversation, and perhaps a "You will love the food here--it's awesome!"
•  Lesson learned: When a new student comes, I need to reassure them and their parents that they WILL be successful at our school, and that we have multiple mechanisms to help them do just that.
• At our table, I expect it to be clean and presentable.  I also expect that they recognize that I have two children, and need to have a table that accommodates this, as well as a booster seat and a high chair.
• Lesson learned: We have an old building, but it can still be clean, with a friendly and welcoming feel to it--and this mostly will come from the people that are in it!  As well, if there is a student with special requests or needs, we must find a way to try and accommodate them.  If we truly cannot (in some very specific and odd circumstance, like we don't have a course or program that they are looking for) we must be very clear about this UP FRONT, and do everything to help them to find a spot that can. 
• When the server comes, it sure feels nice to get a smile and a hello, and perhaps a description of some special entrees that are on the menu for the evening.
• Lesson learned: We need to highlight the things that make us South Kam, and encourage the student and the parent to get involved in these very special things.
• The menu needs to be clear and easy to understand.  Nothing like reading a menu and feeling embarrassed because you really don't know what the heck anything is.
• Lesson learned: Timetables, maps, how to get around, where to park, when study block is, connections tutorials, and the like--these MUST be clearly explained and demonstrated)
• I would like some flexibility--I know this can't be limitless (I can't order a burger at a Thai restaurant), but if I want to get salad instead of fries, or would like to add hot peppers to a pasta dish, I would like to be able to individualize my meal a bit) 
• Lesson learned: We must try to individualize the programs that we offer, the types of instruction and assessment and interventions that we give--we must tailor-make education as best as we are able.
• I am patient, but don't really want to wait too terribly long, especially with my two little ones in tow.
• Lesson learned:  Return phone calls.  Don't keep parents or students waiting in the office.  Get those letters of reference done quickly.  Meet with kids now, when they need you.
• If there is an issue, or something has been forgotten, JUST TELL ME!  Don't make me wait and wait and wonder, and not acknowledge me.
• Lesson learned: Getting parents involved as quickly as possible when there is something that is not going well is absolutely paramount.  Academics, behaviour issues, attendance as well as the positive things--JUST TELL PARENTS!  They will understand, and try to help!
• The food needs to be good!  I need a couple of "yums" from around the table, or as my two-year old says, "Dad, this is VERY tasty!"
• Lesson learned: The product that our students consume must be YUMMY.  It must satisfy them.  It must stimulate them to want more.  It must make them want to come back again and again and again.
• I like to have a server check in on us and sincerely be curious about whether we are enjoying our meal.
• Lesson learned: We must give extensive amounts of feedback, all the time.  We must be actively curious about how our students are doing, and what we can do to improve their experience in schools.  And if the 'meal' is not meeting their needs and they are not eating it, we must realize that students are still hungry, and we can't just keep giving them the same meal and expect them to eat it with the "when they are hungry enough, they will eat it" mentality.  It doesn't work.
• I don't want to feel rushed out the door, but I also don't want to wait for ages to pay the bill.
• Lesson Learned:  If a parent or a student has an issue, take the time to listen to them, and seek to understand where they are coming from.  And don't take too much time to get back to them.  We must recognize that while we may have dozens of issues to deal with, they have ONE, and it is really important to them.
• It's really cool when the owner sees us on the way out and asks if we enjoyed ourselves, and thanked us for choosing this restaurant.  I know this is not always possible, but when the "head honcho" takes a moment to say thanks, it really means something.
• Lesson Learned: As the Principal, I need to be out there and visible with our students and our parents.  Take the time to come out of the office and ask people if they have been helped, or if there is something that I can do to make their experience a little better.

And these are just the things that come to mind when I go to a restaurant--you may have many others.  But ultimately...

• Our students and our parents are our clients.
• We are not the only "restaurant" in town--there are many options, including online possibilities
• The loyalty of the client is something that we must take VERY seriously, and loyalty to quality trumps loyalty to an organization
• The client expects and deserves excellent service
• When a mistake is made, we need to acknowledge it and make it right
• The most precious commodity that we hold at bricks and mortar schools is the ability to develop a relationship with students and parents
• If we don't develop these relationships on a variety of fronts, we will lose our clients.

So to finish my Home Depot story...

...the call never came.

But a few minutes later, something happened.  The phone rang.  And it was the manager of the local Home Depot.  He apologized for the quote not being ready.  He told us that first thing Monday morning, he would contact the installer, and he would personally make sure that we had that quote on Monday.  Without fail.

And that's all it took.  A phone call.  A personal contact acknowledging that there was a mistake made.  A message saying that we were valued and important.  A guarantee that we would have the situation rectified.  And involvement from the highest level.  As a result, my wife and I are not looking at other carpet stores.

And there it is. A bit of customer service goes a long way.  For all of us.  In any profession.  But in the analogy of the restaurant, what's on your menu?