smokun
Consultant - Rainmaker
When is enough... ENOUGH?
In case you've forgotten basic business 101, you should realize that THE MARKETPLACE SETS THE STANDARDS. It is wise to constantly monitor your customers' satisfaction... and engage them by seeking feedback.
This discussion is exactly why the healthy challenge of competition improves the marketplace; ANY marketplace. The age old point of diminishing return where the customer is willing to pay a certain amount for a product or service, but once that perceived value is met, consumers accept that level of performance. Then, competition must exceed the normal expectation by pushing the arbitrary envelope.
All this esoteric discussion about "clean" seems a bit obsessive-compulsive. The successful operators I know determine what their particular standard is, and focus on its achievement. They monitor their competition constantly because watching the marketplace provides a healthy balance of consumer options. There are trade-offs in everything, and even those with the best intentions fall victim to compromise simply due to the economic reality of supply & demand. What level of "clean" do you seek to provide? Will the marketplace support it? If so, your task is to find the point of diminishing return... and plan to fall acceptably short of it.
And while we're on the subject of CLEAN, one more thought. I find it curious that many of those who extol the importance of cleanliness... operate some of the dirtiest, dingiest, stinkiest facilities in their marketplace. Some have staff that look like a rag-tag operation with partial or no uniforms and a definite lack of personal appearance standards... with a few employees who "look and smell a day or two past-due.
In case you've forgotten basic business 101, you should realize that THE MARKETPLACE SETS THE STANDARDS. It is wise to constantly monitor your customers' satisfaction... and engage them by seeking feedback.
This discussion is exactly why the healthy challenge of competition improves the marketplace; ANY marketplace. The age old point of diminishing return where the customer is willing to pay a certain amount for a product or service, but once that perceived value is met, consumers accept that level of performance. Then, competition must exceed the normal expectation by pushing the arbitrary envelope.
All this esoteric discussion about "clean" seems a bit obsessive-compulsive. The successful operators I know determine what their particular standard is, and focus on its achievement. They monitor their competition constantly because watching the marketplace provides a healthy balance of consumer options. There are trade-offs in everything, and even those with the best intentions fall victim to compromise simply due to the economic reality of supply & demand. What level of "clean" do you seek to provide? Will the marketplace support it? If so, your task is to find the point of diminishing return... and plan to fall acceptably short of it.
And while we're on the subject of CLEAN, one more thought. I find it curious that many of those who extol the importance of cleanliness... operate some of the dirtiest, dingiest, stinkiest facilities in their marketplace. Some have staff that look like a rag-tag operation with partial or no uniforms and a definite lack of personal appearance standards... with a few employees who "look and smell a day or two past-due.
