The Rule of One

I had a bad dining experience tonight, at a restaurant I've been to many, many times. The kitchen was obviously in a hurry, cutting corners on my meal. Maybe they were still worn out from Valentines Day. Who knows? All I know is that I had a long day, thought that eating out at a sit-down restaurant with a full bar would be a better experience than eating at, say, McDonalds, and I was wrong.

They did not understand The Rule of One.

The Rule of One states that any given person or customer will see only ONE dinner, ONE cake, ONE cookie, or ONE whatever. You may make hundreds, but they see only ONE.

And their entire collective experience at your establishment will be based on this ONE.

At the bakery, we care about every single cake, cookie or pastry that goes out of the shop. Not only should  it taste great, but the color of the icing should be just right, not too dark or too light. The piping should be neat and attractive, the surfaces smooth, and the edges clean and crisp. On EVERY cake or pastry.

We understand the Rule of One. We know you may see only one of the hundreds or thousands of cookies or cakes or pastries we make. And we want you to be absolutely amazed by that ONE.

It's a really simple concept.

I make a point to teach it to all my employees, and I sure wish every other owner or manager would do the same.

Comments

[Lisa Bagby]

Agreed. This rule of one can be translated to ANY service related industry! You get one chance to make an impression. Thank you so much for the service that you provide, not only the glorious baked goods, but the personality and attention to detail. People (like me!) really do appreciate excellent customer service.

[heidi]

we should open a consulting business in t-town to improve front/back of house action. this place needs serious service help.

even a former hostess who spent a lot of time crying in the walk-in knows this ;)

[Debbie Holley]

Mary...You certainly do a great job!!!