Having worked in the restaurant industry through most of my adolescence and into my early 20’s, I was well aware of the old adage that went something like:

If a single upset customer tells 10 friends about an unsatisfactory experience, it’s conceivable those 10 friends could perpetuate that report to another 10… and so-on, and so-on… eventually damaging the restaurant’s brand bad enough to put it out of business.

Or, as Máma Brandcheffio said:

“Piss off one customer and you’ve lost 100…”

So, at a very young age, I was forced to learn two very important aspects to marketing.

1. Word-of-mouth marketing is very powerful.
2. The customer is always right.

WHAT? The customer is ALWAYS right?

Máma Brandcheffio used to tell me:

“Even if the customer is wrong, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”

Even at 15, that concept incensed me.  Today it seems like a complete disregard to human civility (See last week’s post) and is entirely defeatist in nature.

Luckily, I came to my senses.

Chew on this:

Originally, one disgruntled customer could, with good effort, affect the opinions of 100 others with their own word-of-mouth marketing.  In 1983, that was a pretty big deal. With 100 potential customers talking about poor service or a fuzzy hamburger bun, over several days, maybe months, the reputation of the restaurant could be damaged enough to warrant inspections, improvements or to be ostracized out of business all together.

That was 1983 word-of-mouth. (Yawn)

Today, our “upset” customer can take a photo, text a gripe to their iPhone or Tweet it to thousands or tens of thousands before your gazpacho reaches room temperature! If “viral” enough, those thousands can make an instantaneous decision to re-tweet it to their lists reaching thousands more!

Word-of-mouth marketing has reached light speed!

Restaurants, from local and regional to major chains, are taking a “more than cautious” approach to social media marketing.  They want to make sure it’s not a “fad” before jumping in.

Have they lost their minds? Maybe in 1983 that’d be okay, but this is 2009!

Not only are social media tools like Twitter and Facebook the fastest growing user-based tools on the Web, they have moved the “Customer is always right” paradigm entirely into the customer’s control, forever altering the approach to marketing communication and public relations.

Restaurants may not want to get involved in a “marketing” sense, but can you imagine how fast they will have to scramble when the “Chris Brogan” of the restaurant industry sends a damaging Tweet or photos of one of their cooks, in uniform, picking their boxers out of their ass as they walk into the kitchen?

Mmmmm, appetizing…

To put it simply, social media WILL affect your restaurant. Ignoring it is not an option for today’s restaurants, no matter what size.

It’s better to use basic social media tools and participate in a brand management program.  Otherwise, you can watch your brand (and your future) carried away in the beak of that ubiquitous little blue Twitter icon.

Food for thought.

Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

I’m kind of a quirky guy. I don’t like reading fiction. Now, as a “Right-Brainer” you’d expect me to really dig fiction. But for the longest time, my Barnes & Noble receipts have been filled with non-fiction. Most of the time, my reading list looks like some research junkie’s to-do list.

So, when I was chosen to join this week’s Post 2 Post Book Tour for Gregg Fraley‘s novel, “Jack’s Notebook,” I jumped at the chance. I was craving something “out of the norm.” And “Jack’s Notebook” is definitely not “IN the norm” for a CPS process book. “Jack’s Notebook” isn’t a DIY book. It’s not a traditional academic book. It’s not anything I’d ever have chosen to read (on my own). But on the cover I read “A Business Novel About Creative Problem Solving” so I was in. And after the first three pages, I realized that Jack, the main character, was generally me about five years ago… BOOM! I was hooked.

Personal similarities aside, Gregg Fraley builds a great story about Jack and Molly – two lost souls looking to improve their lot in life, but seeming to miss “The Big Picture.” Enter Manny – a sage, motivational guide that, after a chance meeting, pulls Jack through the six stages of creative problem solving techniques – all documented in Jack’s notebook.

Through an intriguing plot of romance, risk, difficulties, and not-so-perfect second chances, Fraley mixes his masterful teaching of the creative problem solving (CPS) process. From a truly unique perspective, Fraley gives us a novel outlining a complex process while proving that such processes can be learned and remembered through good, intriguing plot and narrative. And not only does he show that the CPS process is effective and easy to understand in business applications, but just as easily applied to any level of personal challenges – from basic to life-altering.

From page one, we’re allowed, without rote academia and monologues, to follow Manny, Jack, and Molly through the steps of the CPS process to an exciting and rewarding (albeit creative) conclusion. And as a bonus for us “just show me the map” readers, the process and notes are masterfully summarized at the end of the book. But don’t skip forward! The story is what gets you there.

I recently had the honor to ask Gregg some questions concerning his process and decisions while writing “Jack’s Notebook.”

Brand Chef(BC): What was your decision to create a novel based on the CPS process over a more traditional academic / case-study approach?

Gregg Fraley(GF): I decided to write a novel to teach CPS because I felt it was more involving and engaging than the typical business book or academic/case-study book. I have been impressed by the work of both Eli Goldratt, who wrote The Goal, and Patrick Lencioni who have pioneered the idea of business fiction. There books had me learning and I thought it was the ideal vehicle for CPS.

Also, there are some people who never buy dry business books. I was trying to reach people with this book who need the concepts of creative thinking who would not buy a business book but might buy a good story.

BC: How much of the novel is based on yourself or real situations / characters you’ve worked with? Do you have any examples you could site?

GF: It is not autobiographical exactly but it does draw on many experiences I’ve had in my life. For instance, I was once a budding photographer, and, I had many lousy jobs! In a sense I am both the main character Jack and the mentor character Manny, the professional problem solver. I’ve played both roles in real life. On the other hand I’ve never been involved in a kidnapping, never rode a horse, never broken into a ranch estate, and never staged explosive diversions. Clearly, this is a work of fiction!

BC: Have you found that, with advancements in technology (e.g. – online documentation, project development software, etc.) the note-taking stages for CPS have changed?

GF: How one does CPS has indeed changed over the years. Believe it or not, Post-its were at one point a major advancement! Having said that, realize that CPS is a problem solving “model”. It’s not prescriptive in terms of the tools you use to implement it. So, any stage could be done with paper and pencil, or, with an advanced software tool. I’ve done complete CPS cycles in the virtual world using tools like WebIQ.net, but it could be done with simpler tools, like email. I think the kind of “ideation” one does virtually versus the kind you might do in person is different — and they are both valuable and good. The ideal situation is to use both over a time period that allows incubation. For instance you could assign tasks to innovation teams members via email, get them started, and then collect their responses in preparation for an on-site intensive to complete a problem solving session. Why not use the best of both worlds?

BC: How, from a business mindset vs. a creative mindset (left brain vs. right brain) do you treat the CPS process differently? Do you find one group more capable or does it create more of a challenge for either?

GF: The thing is I don’t see a difference between a business mindset and a creative mindset. Business people have to be creative everyday, they face huge challenges, and the best business people have a creative mindset.

Creativity is more than self-expression, it is that, but it’s also problem solving and decision making. Business people are very in touch with problem solving and decision making, and stereotypically less so with self-expression.

There is a common myth that goes something like this: there are creative people and non-creative people. Creative people are artistic and right brained. By contrast business people are left brained and uncreative. In reality this is a myth that defines creativity too narrowly. Every human being has creative potential and it is their choice to use it and develop it or not.

To answer your question more directly, business people tend to take to a structured process like CPS because it gives them a way to use their creativity, it’s a “how to.” Creative artists, who are more familiar with creative process, sometimes find it too confining. There usual process is more organic and less structured. Some traditional creatives find CPS is helpful because it gives them something to fall back on to restart their organic creative process. I also find that traditional creatives can be very good at parts of CPS. For instance, improv actors are very good at the ideation phase of CPS – it’s what they’ve trained themselves to do.

In a post in this morning’s Freakonomics section of the New York Times, authors Stephen Dunber and Steven Levitt pose the question, “Is Water Too Cheap?” Their post, based on economist David Zetland’s argument on California’s water problem, outlines a restructuring of water pricing that would “punish water guzzlers and encourage conservation.”

In Zetland’s argument, he states that by restructuring the water pricing (dramatically raising costs from approximately $2.80 – $3.40/gal. or $35/mo. to $5.60/gal. or $95/mo. – a 217% increase) for Californians, the market will correct itself.

(chart credit: Forbes.com & Los Angeles Department of Water and Power)

Okay, I see that. Instead of simply breaking even on water costs and creating an unmanageable water deficit; make municipal water a profit center and discourage users from over use.

But as Dunber and Levitt so aptly ask, “…would higher prices at the tap be as influential … as higher prices at the pump,” creating a tipping point for water usage, just as they predict will happen for gas.

Assessment: I think market manipulation like Zetland’s suggestion will just lead us down a detrimentally slippery slope. And that slope is covered with water and crude oil.

Let’s look at it this way.

According to the US Census Bureau, California‘s population is hovering right around 36.5 million (just over 10% of the total US population) with a projected growth rate 7.6% annually. That works out to 12 million households consuming water and about 13 million in ’09. If we’re to pump the costs of water up by over 200% for 12 million households what do you think will result?

More bottled water.

Sure, bottled water currently costs more than tap, but after a tap cost hike like the one Zetland is proposing; where will consumers turn for hydration on those hot California days? Pools, baths, dishes, cars and lawns aside; demand for ingested water would become such a commodity that bottle manufacturers – those non-biodegradable, crude oil thieves – would be swimming in a pool of Middle Eastern Saudi swill and ozone destruction.

Higher tap costs = higher bottled water consumption = higher crude oil consumption + additional non-recyclable waste = aforementioned slippery slope.

But that’s just my opinion.

Of course there are efforts to move plastics to a “more green” production process, but how soon will that happen?

I’d love to get your spin on this. Do you think 10% of the U.S. population can be made to pay more for water – forcing them to look for other resources for consumable water? What kind of effect will that have on our National economy? Will it measurably affect the already skyrocketing crude oil costs? And globally, will it have an effect on the environment?

Let’s get this conversation boiling.

Until tomorrow,
Keep Cooking!
Andrew