Everything I know About Marketing I Learned Working in Restaurants

Living and Learning in the Southcoast, MA – Part One - WELL, ALMOST.  I STARTED WORKING AT THE AGE OF FOURTEEN AT THE OLD GULF HILL PARLOR IN SOUTH DARTMOUTH AS A DISHWASHER.  There was a gentleman named Manny Couto who was in his nineties and one of the best dishwashers there.  

 I learned from him.  He had a system, pride in his work and he cared about the cooks who put food on his plates, the waitresses who served the food and their customers. He was especially fussy about the silverware because he said even the best meal could be ruined by a dirty fork.  Guy Kawasaki would have been enchanted by him!

My manager was Ed Piccard.  He was like my father and big brother all rolled into one.  He said that although he would miss having me doing dishes, he needed me in the kitchen.  Besides, Manny would train another kid to take my place.  Working as a prep cook under Ed’s guidance, I went on to run the whole kitchen after the self-professed numero uno of the kitchen, a really smart guy named Jeff Zink, went off to college.

Working at Gulf Hill I learned about people, teamwork and systems.  I also learned how to work over forty hours between Friday after school and into the wee hours of Monday morning.   On summer Sundays we scooped Gulf Hill’s famous ice cream from the time the soda fountain opened at eleven; non-stop until two the next morning.  I also had the privilege of working for Gulf Hill’s ice cream maker – Joe Duffy – who’s only demand from me was to never run out of hot coffee.  He also only had one cuss that he uttered often; shit and three is nine - never heard anyone else who said that.  

 Most of the kids were afraid of Joe but I wasn’t.  Joe taught me consistency, product management and customer care.  He would make small batches of peach ice cream and other flavors for our older long-time customers.  I also learned how to make ice cream molds and ice cream cakes with Joe. 

Gulf Hill Parlor was in the restored barn of the original Gulf Hill Dairy.  I got the job because of our Gulf Hill Dairy milkman.  Anyway, there were two older farmhands; Gene Simmons and Freddy Bellevance.  Gene was one of the strongest guys, besides my dad, that I ever knew and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.  He brought me my dairy order everyday and always had a smile on his face.  As I’m writing this, I’m realizing that this post will have to be in at least two parts as all these memories flood in.  Freddy was very quiet but friendly and would do almost anything for anybody.  What I learned from them was that a good team can be like family.  

Dot Frates ran the floor.  She was the waitress’ boss.  I learned all about respect from her.  Yeah, she ran the floor like an invading general and, as most women in charge who are good at what they do, she was called a bitch.  Bitch or not, she was always fair and kind to me.  Of course, I can’t forget Pat Wood.  I ended up working with her again at Freestones in downtown New Bedford when I graduated from the University of Miami.  Pat was one of the most voracious readers I’ve ever met.  She was also one of the most normal people I’ve ever met.  In a business where nearly everyone complains about anything and everything, I don’t think I ever heard Pat complain.

Restaurants are a great place to learn marketing basics.  S.W.O.T. Analysis for example; the internal controllable factors (Strength & Weakness) were about people, management and standards.  They’re internal and controllable.  Hire good people and treat them well.  Manage like you mean it.  Create and maintain standards that frame your customer’s expectations.  As for the external uncontrollable factors (Opportunities & Threats) well, you have to know what you’re doing.  Be conscious and conscientious and the opportunities will present themselves.   

As for the threats, it’s the same thing.  Rising overhead costs, taxes, regulations and whatever is thrown at you.  I remember when we had to open every single bottle of diet soda we had.  Cases and cases and cases of it and dump them out because they contained cyclamate, an artificial sweetener which caused a widespread cancer scare.  Then there was the tornado that we didn’t know was a tornado that came up from Padanaram Village.  We knew it was obviously one heck of a storm but what was more amazing was how we all worked together to survive that night.  

Gulf Hill Dairy had a great ad slogan on their products and trucks.  It went like this - You Can Whip Our Cream, But You Can't Beat Our Milk!   More about that the next time I return to this subject…

Let Go of the Peanuts & You’ll Be Free!

Southcoast, MA - We’re no different than our primate cousins it seems. My first boss whose Army enlistment was about to come to an end was anxiously waiting for the ceremony to start. It was December 7, 1941 and he was getting out! The commanding officer asked every other man to step forward. “Welcome to the 1st Cavalry Division gentlemen. Pearl Harbor has been bombed and you’re shipping out to the Pacific.” While in the Pacific, Ed spent quite a bit of time in the Philippines where, he said it was hot, rainy and miserable. The reason for this post is because of a less than fruitful day in my first class of the day.

It’s a lethal combination. I’ve been told by colleagues that it's one of the toughest subjects to teach (I won’t mention the subject here), it’s spring semester, mostly seniors and, class is at 8 AM. Teaching, even on the best day is sometimes a challenge. You’re in competition with yourself to deliver more and more and at a higher level. You want your students to be interested, engaged and enthused. But, no matter what happens, or doesn’t, in the classroom, I’m responsible. It comes with the job. I’ve previously described the challenges of teaching as pushing string, corralling cats and trying to get the horses to drink. The biggest challenge, for me, is based on the concept of teaching old dogs new tricks.

One of my friends and colleagues calls what we do in class – edutainment. We’re comics, seers, parents, and a number of other things all rolled into one. I thought of Ed because he told me an interesting story about how the native Filipino people captured monkeys. It seems that monkeys are no different than us. Their habits are based on the same reasons we get into the habit of doing things.

Ed said the Filipino monkey hunters would make a hole in a coconut small enough for a monkey to squeeze their hand into. The coconut would be staked to the ground. Inside the coconut was a monkey-sized fistful of peanuts. Smelling the peanuts, the monkeys would cautiously approach the coconuts. The hunters would be waiting nearby watching for them to stick their hand in the coconut for the peanuts and then would run out from their hiding places yelling and clapping their hands. The monkeys, in a panic, would refuse to let go of their fist-full of peanuts. The only way they could escape was to let go of the peanuts in order to pull their hands out! They imprisoned themselves and were captured as a result of their habitual thinking. They screamed and hollered but would not let go of the peanuts!

No, I’m not comparing my students to those monkeys. I am, however, correlating their behaviors. You see, my students, even the best of them, are the products of our standardized educational environment. They have been conditioned to sit, listen, record and retain. Or, as I’ve mentioned before – read, remember and regurgitate. They are prisoners of an instructor-centric environment. My classes are learner-centric. That means that they must become involved and invested in their educations. Even at the peril of not getting a good grade, they will not “let go of the peanuts” and save themselves!

Yes, they’re seniors (whatever that means). Yes, it’s spring semester – their last semester (whatever that means). Yes, it’s eight o’clock in the morning and it’s Monday (whatever that means). They have an opportunity to engage themselves in a course project that will enhance their resumes, as well as, their (professional) social media sites (Linked In) and, with enough effort, self-promotion and good timing – who knows where their well-executed project will take them or give back to them.

Ed told me that the monkeys weren’t the only stubborn creatures he saw during World War II in the Pacific. He saw his comrades constantly complain about constantly being wet, yet they did nothing to change the outcome of their circumstance. He was not just my first boss; he was one of the best bosses I ever had. He taught me how to notice how and why people do or don’t do what they need to do. He said you needed to know this if you needed them to get something done or, figure out a way to get it done. He once came into the building saying how the air conditioning unit shed needed to have the leaves cleaned out of it.

It was spring and the days were getting warmer. He told us when he went to inspect the job; he found a ten dollar bill. He showed us a rumpled and dirty ten dollar bill and wondered if anyone wanted to volunteer for the job. You see, it wasn’t the ten dollar bill he showed us because there was no ten dollar bill.

Ed had more volunteers than he needed and the job got done. Yup, some of the volunteers found a few dollar bills. He had planted them there for motivation. Ed had learned on December 7, 1941 to let go of the peanuts but many of his buddies didn’t. They continued to complain about how unfair it was that they were back in the Army and how they hated the heat, bugs and rain for starters. They never learned to let go of the peanuts.

On that note, here’s an old story about two Buddhist monks who were on a journey. It had been raining and the roads were very muddy. They came upon an elegant lady who could not cross the road lest (don’t get to use that word much) she get her feet, shoes and dress full of mud. The elder monk picked her up with the protests of the younger monk ringing in his ears. Stopping to help the woman was delaying their journey he shouted. The young monk continued grumbling about stopping to help the woman for quite some time. Finally, the elder monk said, “I put the woman down about five miles back but you’re still carrying her – why?”

He obviously wouldn’t let go of the peanuts! My class has to do their “big” course presentation in two days. Let’s see if they can let go of the peanuts and get down to the job at hand. [AUTHOR’S NOTE: Ed was Ed Picard and he was the manager of Gulf Hill Parlor in South Dartmouth – thank you Ed!]