A short conversational clip (Speaker A and Lisa) about the value of restaurant owners maintaining a physical, unpredictable presence through random, unannounced check-ins. Speaker A recommends owners avoid being on the schedule, pop in incognito ("secret shopper" style, hoodie/sunglasses), and intervene quickly when communication or inter-location issues arise to protect team culture.
Chapters
You know, a challenge that I've had even myself is just, like, when there is a communication between team members or even between two locations now, you have to nip it in the butt very fast. And I think. And so I think that if the owner is not involved and they don't have a physical presence or. And I think your team will also take advantage of that. Right. And so that's another disease that can exist in restaurants. So the reality is a lot of owners are not present. And I like to think my staff likes that I'm present. But, I mean, I don't know. We'd have to ask them.
When I come to Chicago, I'll ask your staff.
Yeah, I think them. I definitely. I keep them. The things that I learned being an owner, I never put myself on the schedule. They should not know when I'm coming. I love that.
I love that. That should be. Every owner should do it. You should never be on a schedule. You should just be like. You should pop in.
Yes.
Randomly. That's the best way to get your finger on the pulse of the culture.
Yeah, I agree. And so, like, whether that means. And it's really funny, too, because, like, some of the. You'll hire team members, and they won't even at first know who I am if I wasn't sitting in the interview. And you know me, I'm, like, in a hoodie and sunglasses, and they think I'm so. I'm just like, all eyes. I'm almost like a secret shopper. Yet I'm the owner.
You are. If I walked in your restaurant, I would like. So if you ever walk into Cafe Cremery in Chicago and you see a woman with a hoodie on, sunglasses, headphones on, on her laptop in the corner as Lisa.
I know. I adapted hoodie cult when, you know, I love that. I know a lot of people in Chicago like walking around and things, but the other thing is just that you get stopped a lot. Right. And so, like, with that being said, I just, like, adapted a hoodie and sunglass culture just so, like, I can go incognito.
