Sean is an assistant manager at my local McDonald’s. The other day, I heard him grousing about the shake machine, which seems to break down three or four times a week. Each time this happens, he ends up dealing with disappointed customers and making amends with coupons and free food. The repairman has been in several times and concluded that it will cost just as much to fix the machine as replace it. Sean’s approached the store owner about this situation, only to be told that replacement is not in the budget and he will just have to “deal with it.”
So what to do? Well, Sean’s gotten creative. It has dawned on him that continuing to ask for help is not going to get him anywhere. Instead, he’s created a simple spreadsheet to track how many times the machine breaks down, for how long, how many orders have been turned away, the value of those orders, and the value of the coupons and discounts provided to compensate for customer disappointment. Now he’s asked all other managers to keep track of this on their shifts as well. After 30 days, he’ll be able to take those numbers to the owner and demonstrate that replacement saves time and money, not to mention manager morale. Questions – Would you have thought to take this approach? Who else in your organization would have the creativity and confidence to do the same?