Consistency In A World Gone Mad

Posted by barblog on Nov 25, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Service | 5 comments

A few years ago, Beamish Irish Stout had a slogan on their advertisements that read: “Consistency In A World Gone Mad”.

The idea being that you would always get what you expected with Beamish. You knew what was coming! I was reminded of this slogan this morning as I had my breakfast. A couple of times a week I grab my breakfast at a local breakfast diner, one of a mid size chain dotted around the country. It’s not the nearest diner to me, it’s not the cheapest diner, but it is BY FAR the most consistent diner.

The first time I ate there, I loved their omelets so much I went back again the next day. The result was identical. Shortly afterwards I tried another diner in the chain with the same result, and another, then another. Each diner cooked the omelet exactly the same way, had the same side dishes, the server asked me the same questions and I left with the same satisfied smile on my face.

We’ve become used to consistency in fast food chains and retail stores with their pre-packaged goods, but it’s still a novelty to us to get consistency higher up the food service chain. Customers notice it and I drive a little bit further for my breakfast because of it.

If what you’re serving keeps your customers happy, then document your procedures and standards and replicate them over and over again. Your customers will thank you AND pay you for it.