Pizza Today - March 2017 - 76

received was a book written not by an
American, but rather a Chinese general
from 2,500 years ago. How could this
be relevant? I assumed the book would
be super aggressive, but it was actually
a very methodical and focused look at
leading soldiers. Here is a quote from
Sun Tzu that I use today when I think
about other restaurants that open right
next to me and try to steal my market
share: "If you know the enemy and
know yourself, you need not fear the
result of a hundred battles. If you know
yourself but not the enemy, for every
victory gained you will also suffer a
defeat. If you know neither the enemy
nor yourself, you will succumb in every
battle."
Let it be known that I don't view the
competition as my enemy. I do regard
the competition as a potential threat,
however. As such, it's my duty to my
business and the 200-plus lives of my
employees that I take any threat seriously and use it as a chance to reflect
on what our failure points are so we can
correct them. Sure, I notice what the
other place doesn't do as well - but an
ego boost doesn't keep the lights on.
There are two kinds of people
in business: the ones who are never

wrong and the ones who openly try to
know when they are wrong so they can
fix it.
Now let's talk about owners and
upper level managers. Do you find
yourself or the higher ups on your team
talking down about other local restaurants? Do they do it so often that it's
almost a game to see what they can find
wrong about other places? Let's ditch
the "they're bad, we're great" mentality.
No matter how bad or good a restaurant is, there is always something to
learn. Here's a list I go through each
time I go in somewhere new:

1. Is the best member of this staff
more attentive and a better salesman than the worst member of my
staff?

Your goal here is not to be shady
7 6 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / M A R C H 2 0 1 7

and try to steal this staff member for
your team, but rather to reflect on what
this person is doing right that my staff
member isn't so we can train to get better with definable goals.
2. What about the food is better?

Not many people want to admit
someone has a better product, but if
they have a long line and you have
empty seats, then the question has
already been answered for you. Your
food might appeal more to you than the
average person, but what is appealing
about this food that is drawing a crowd?
3. What is their call to action, and
how does it differ from mine?

Is there a great special that is attracting people? How do I create a special
that isn't a blatant copy? Example: This
place is packed for a discount slice
night; can I do a discount of something
else on a different night to attract the
same demo?
4. What about the ambiance is
more inviting than my location?

This is the one that gets overlooked
a lot. And the most issues fall under
this. Does their soda machine make
less noise? Is their lighting near the
bathroom nicer? The menu, the font,
the forks and knives, the glassware, the
mats on the floor, the cleanliness of
their vents - take it all in and then self
evaluate.

5. Speed and price.

How long did they take and how
much did it cost? Were they faster than
us? Not on your best day, but on your
worst ... were they faster? If the cost
was higher than expected, how did they
create the pull for you to order what
you did? What was the soda price,
average app price, and how much food
did you get for it? What are their pizza
sizes and amount of slices per pie? Is
that kind of price model working or is
it too complicated? If it seemed high,
did people seem to mind? If it seemed
low for the amount of food, where are
they making money via their menu
mix? Overanalyze everything.
If you walk out of a place and your
only comment is about how much of
a waste it was, than you are correct.
You wasted an opportunity to grow. By
downgrading the other guy you only
marginalize yourself and seek to conduct no real R&D in regards to your
brand. Even in the worst restaurants
you can find something to learn not to
do. You can't be in love with yourself
and your restaurant if you want others
to be. Constant self evaluation and
always knowing that you can be better
is how you get there. n
MIKE BAUSCH is the owner of Andolini's
Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a
frequent speaker at the International Pizza
Exp family of tradeshows.
http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM
Pizza Today - March 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - March 2017
