Month: April 2017

Fired: Go West. Or East. Just go.

/ rickeydobbs / 1 Comment

I fired someone on Monday.

She had it coming.

Bad attitude. Flippant guest service. Repeated 10+ minute bathroom breaks in the middle of volume. Refusal to follow recipes. Verbally abusive to supervisors in my absence.

The last straw came when a loyal guest complained about her. The employee was less than deferential to the guest’s questions about vegetarian versus vegan items on the menu. The guest was kind. She told me, “I think your employee just needs a little more training.”

She’s worked here for 3 years. Continue reading →

You, too, could someday be rich.

/ rickeydobbs / 11 Comments

How many people do you know?

I’m not talking about people with whom you have deep, personal connections. I’m talking about people you know…kids who went to your school, co-workers from current and previous jobs, family, extended family, etc.  People who loop you in when they have babies or get married or something.

I’ll count any people about whom you could tell me one single thing beyond their name. Continue reading →

Sorry, but our shareholders don’t think you need a second opinion.

/ rickeydobbs / 8 Comments

There is an underlying premise in America that, in my opinion, needs to be examined:

We assume that just about anything can be done better if it’s done for profit.

We have this sense that if you want to make any service the best it can be, introduce competition and the profit motive will drive the competitors to fight and claw each other until the absolute best service possible rises to the top. The market’s invisible hand will lift the best up while smacking the worst down.

The market is like a pimp, according to my thorough research which included watching HBO and listening to hip hop. Continue reading →