The wonder of childhood is buried in us all.

The great thing about Disneyland is that you can release the child that hides inside you. Nobody will care if you are being silly, weird or even ridiculous because they are way too busy doing the same thing. The best thing for us all to do is to remember that child inside and let them play more often.

Listen and Learn.

It's amazing the things you can learn if you stop for a moment and actually listen to the people right in front of you. I am talking active listening. Hear what they say, process it, think about it and then let them keep talking. Often we are just waiting for those talking to stop talking so that we can let them know what they really think. (Guilty as charged.)
It is important for us to respect and honor their thoughts with the space to speak and be heard. As often as we want people to hear us we forget that they would enjoy that same favor. Let 'em talk you'll be surprised at the things people say.

Loyalty and the work place.

Loyalty is difficult to find and harder to hold onto. If you have employees that have become loyal to you and your studio, stand by them. Talk to them, engage them in whatever way you can.

Show them they matter.

Keep them loyal.

Nothing can help your studio more than an employee that touts its successes and praises you as a boss.

On the flip side of this lies a lethal poison. If we don't show them that we are worthy of their loyalty and hard work, they will turn sour and eventually leave us. Now the tale they tell of us becomes venomous. "They were worked too hard and never really felt appreciated."

Most employees, good and bad, do leave us but keeping the great ones within in our good graces is an important part of being good employers.

We have all had the bad apples, the laze abouts, the truly tardy, the Forgetful Freds and Chatty Cathys. These are easy to come by and just as easy to let go. That is why it is so important to hold tight to those employees that have shown themselves to be so loyal. That loyalty means that they care about your business. They want you to succeed and they want to be part of that success.

Could we hope for more?

Scales of employment

Employing people is difficult, no doubt about it. Though employing chimpanzees now that would be a challenge. So let's ask ourselves if employing chimpanzees might be worth it in the long run. Let's do a pros and cons list.

Pro- They work for bananas and playtime.
Con- They play much more than they work.

Pro- They are make us laugh and enjoy a good wrestle now and then.
Con- They have the strength of 5 men and bite.

Pro- They can be trained to do the exact things you ask.
Con- They also throw feces.

So you see employing Chimps, though entertaining, may not be in our best interest.

Let's apply this to our current employee hiring practices. It is important to weigh the pros and cons of keeping someone in your employ. They may be very good with the customers but if their work in other areas is costing you money you must weigh whether the positives are enough to keep them under your hire. What if they are great at doing all the things you ask but seem to have no people skills? Again can the risk of them upsetting a customer be outweighed by their diligence in other areas? Only your scales will answer these questions.

Keep in mind, if you spend more time worrying about one employee than you do all the rest of your staff, I think your scales have tipped.

Avoiding Mutiny

You are the captain of your ship. Unfortunately you are the only one that thinks that. The crew has become unruly and overcome with scurvy. A mutiny is brewing. Without some quick thinking, and maybe a lemon or two, you are headed for the long walk off a short plank.
The good thing is it's not too late. You can always get the crew to come around to your side. Ask yourself why this has happened. Why won't they swab the decks and load the cannons? Are they incapable? Have you been too easy on them and now they walk all over you? Maybe too hard on them to the point they feel like nothing they do is right so why bother? it's good to bring the crew together and let voices be heard. Break bread pass out the lime wedges and air out things that have been bugging you. Then let them have a turn. Let them be frank without recourse. some things may be hard to hear. That's okay. Once everyone has had a chance to speak, it's time for you, and the crew, to come up with solutions together. The crew does have a hand in running your ship. For that they should be heard and respected. With the knowledge that you give the orders and they must be followed.

Click on the comic and see if this sounds like a familiar, scenario.

Service is seeing the future.

Believe it or not you can tell the future. Not the kind of future telling where you know the lottery numbers and the next four presidents but the very near future. Here's an example: A two year old grabs a glass from the counter, little does he know the glass is half full with milk. Do you know what happens next? I don't have to tell you because you can tell the future. Here's another: A party of fifteen 7 year old girls has come to paint at your studio and they are all finished but not quite leaving. Can you tell me the decible level in your studio for the next ten minutes? Knew you could! You are very good at this.
So now I want you to use your powers and apply them to your customer service. Imagine how grateful a customer will be if you anticipate their needs before they even know they need something. Changing their water, giving them a new palette, stopping them from making a mistake that might seriously affect the outcome of their work. You have an intuitive sense of what is to come. Though most things are new to your customers, you have been on this ride before. You know what is coming. Your customers will be amazed at your precognitive skills. Remember use your powers only for good.

Is it I before E except after C? Or is it...

Have you noticed that rules only seem to apply when they suit the person that made up the rule. For instance the aforementioned rule applies in the word "receive" but not to the word "concierge" Yes, yes that's derived from French. That doesn't seem to keep it out of my English dictionary so the exception to the rule stands.( You can use the word "their" for your example if you prefer. Yeah no "c" to be found but sure enough the "i" stands mockingly after the "e"?) Problem being that most rules were constructed to save us from ourselves. Don't speed, don't do drugs, don't play with fire, don't mix water and oil, don't stand in the middle of an open field in a lightning storm. All good rules. I do recommend following them.
What happens when you don't follow the rules. We are assuming, of course, that the rules we are about to break are rules that were created by you. The rule to our rule breaking is that there is a good reason to break the rule. In the name of our customer. Take any of the following rules and break them at will:
Open early, or stay open late.
Wave your studio fee.
Accept a coupon that has expired.
Get a customers piece done tomorrow, no extra charge.
Run with scissors. (No don't, but I want you to keep your wits about you.)
Paint today, on shift.
Take a day off at Christmas.(ew naughty.)
Let someone start painting with five minutes left til close.
Don't charge extra to come back and finish.
Give a discount.
Letter someones platter. Pro bono.

I am sure you get the point. It is up to you to decide what rules must stay firm and what you can bend. The point is to decide how important the it is to be an oak and not a palm tree.
The customers will feel special, like they have an in. They got to go past the velvet rope, they're on the VIP list, they got an onion ring in their french fries. They get to feel special like you cared enough to bend the rules for them because they matter to you.
Here's the hard part.
You have to do it for people that may not be your favorites right now.
Oh I know, not an easy task. Why, oh why, would you bother with that ornery customer that keeps coming in and causing trouble. Because she keeps coming in. Because her story of you will be one that she tells over and over. How she is always treated so special. How you always take care of her needs. How great you were to stay twenty minutes late. You will become legendary! Caring so much about your customers. Doing all that they needed you to do and so much more. I hear you oh naysayer of naysayers, "No way she does that. She goes home, brews a cauldron with bat wings and eye of newt, then comes back to cast her evil spells on me.". Could be true, fun to think about but even if it is your generosity and compassion will not go unnoticed by other customers. They too will witness all that you are and are trying to be. They will tell the stories as well. With all those stories of good will circulating. How could anyone possibly not want to visit your studio time and time again. And isn't that the point?

Motivation is positive

It is in my job description to be critical. I can walk into any place of business and find 5 things that could be more efficient or better utilized. However, criticism does not motivate. It actually has the opposite affect. It dejects and deflates. Like it or not, as humans, we tend to be very sensitive to the critical even if it is true. We want people to dote on us, stroke our pride and notice the good things that we have done, however small. So, what is one to do if we are having a hard time finding something positive to say but we need to motivate our employees? I like to put it like this:

"Let's have a positive conversation about a negative subject."

This short quote gives you the opportunity to talk about a difficult subject with the goal being a positive outcome. Frame of mind is the key. If you help people understand that your goal is to fix the problem, not fixate on the problem, your outcomes will be more enjoyable. Help them to help you tackle the problem they created. Show them they are the solution, they only need to be shown how. Then when they fix it, praise them. Nothing feels better than feeling better about yourself.

Change is the one thing you can count on.

Change isn't always easy. Change just is. It will usually happen whether we want it to or not. The key to change is to try to make the change ourselves. This way we get to dictate how the change will affect us. It puts us in the drivers seat.
Okay but what if the change is forced upon us? Yep, good question. There will be times when the environment around you necessitates change. Nothing we can do about it except decide how we will facilitate the change. Make it positive and move on.

Most of the anxiety of change comes from the anticipation leading up to the it. The truth is that the change itself is usually much less difficult than our imaginations lead us to believe.

The old adage is to embrace change. I know, I know you don't really feel like giving change a big warm hug. That's okay. Just start by putting your arm around it and getting to know the change. In time it will grow on you. As the change occurs you may begin to see benefits that were unknown to you.

Something to think about while changes occur is what if they didn't? If things stayed the same where would you be right now? If you are in a good place would you have gotten there without change? If you are in a bad place would you prefer to stay there or are you hoping things will change for the better?

Firing is Tiring: A softies tale.

There was a time when I adhered to an extremely strict guideline when it came to firing. Don't! I foolishly believed that even the worst employee could be charmed into a picture of efficiency and motivation. Alas this is not to be. People can change, will change, have changed but usually only because they have decided it is time. That's not to say we can't make a difference. Be positive, train, train, train, be flexible and be yourself.
That being said.
If you have several employees that are great, but one or two that are dragging behind, it may be best to cut the stragglers loose sooner than later.

Here's why: The sum of your good employees will be canceled out by just a couple of strokes from the bad employee. One bad shift, bad customer experience, bad kiln load will easily dismantle days of good work from the rest of your staff. Setting you and your studio back ages. Your team will begin to work against each other. This can cause chaos and you may lose your good staff because of your bad staff.
In fact your good staff may begin to resent you, yes you. Your noodley backbone will be seen as unappreciative. Meaning you let one staff member get away with hell and your others will feel unappreciated because they get paid the same to do twice the work.

In the end your best play may be to start the paper trail. Make that employee aware that they are on notice. If things don't change, politely let them sail away. You will feel tensions ease and spirits lift. Firing is never an enjoyable task but if done with prudence, it can make all the difference to you, your studio and your staff.

Difficult times demand difficult measures

The situation is desperate. Possibly the hardest thing you have ever dealt with and your mind is swimming with thoughts of doom and despair. Fear not! You are quite capable of dealing with every situation.

Here are some tips.

Remove yourself, if possible, for at least a day. Regardless of the issue, emotion will make you react. Though we want to act quickly we must weed out the bad ideas. Smacking someone with a dead fish would be an example of a bad idea that may occur to you in stressful times.
Keep your eye on the goal. What is the goal? Success! Ask yourself if this situation is one that is helping your cause or detracting from it. Then act accordingly.
Que sera sera. Every situation has a beginning, a middle and an end. Whatever will be, WILL be. The outcome of most situations is way less disastrous than we imagine it will be.
Stay Positive. It is so easy to drop into our Eyeore facade and drag our feet around pulling everyone around us down too. Don't bother with this attitude. It is important to stay positive and keep your head high. Why you ask? If no other reason than...
Why not?

Most of the problems and challenges you face are temporary and will pass. They are not world ending issues. The sun will rise again. If it doesn't don't call me. I am going to take advantage of the extra hours of darkness and try to get a little shut eye.

Is your employee a "Rock Star"?

In the past service with a smile was the aspiration of every restaurant and retail establishment in America. As we entered the age of self-serve gasoline, self-serve laundry and DIY. The service industries lost their luster and with that we lost those ever present smiles that accompanied the service we sought. We also seem to have lost the idea of serving.
Without tagging generational gaps and separating each of us into our own lettered cubby I can say only this; The service workers of today have a flaw that has been metered on them by the likes of reality television and cell phones. They are going to be rock stars! No seriously, rock stars. Ridiculous?
Here is my explanation.
The employee of the service industry today has decided that their current job is only that, a job. They will someday be moving on to bigger and better things. The job that they currently hold has nothing to do with the glorious future that is playing out before them. Many have forgotten to be where they are, talking on the phone to someone about something that is happening somewhere else or worse texting the same. They will be famous or at the least rich. As we all know this won't happen to most if anyone we know.
It is our job to bring them back to this time period, if only for the time they spend working for us. Keep them centered, make them accountable and bring their sense of service back to putting themselves second and the customer first. Be the example, show them that hard work can be good work and working hard is working good.

Royalty passed.

This weekend, in my little town of Santa Cruz, we lost a woman who represented one of the last bastions of a by gone era. Gilda of "Gilda’s' on the wharf” A quaint little restaurant nestled half way down the pier on the Santa Cruz wharf.

Gilda was known as the "Queen of the Wharf". There wasn't anyone that didn't know her and more importantly she knew all of them too. She made a point of remembering who you were and this made her special. She was a service guru, personal service, not just here are your eggs on time service. She smiled, greeted you like family and took care of you just the same.

Busser, hostess, waitress, cashier, you name it she did it. She believed in doing all these jobs everyday, all day, 5 days a week. Up until she died at the age of 83. Gilda passed away the way she said she always wanted to said nephew Geoffrey Dunn, a Santa Cruz author and historian. "She told everybody she wanted to die with her boots on at the wharf."
(Quoted from Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Gilda believed in what she did. She loved her restaurant, her customers and her town. She had an influence on the people that she touched. She taught us that hard work and resilience are keys to success.

What are you the Queen (King) of?

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/story.php?sid=64640&storySection=Local

Do more for less, it will reward you.

All inclusive or studio fee? Add another product stay with what you have? More advertising or less? So many questions, and really, not a correct answer for the bunch. You can do any of these things or none of them.

With the steady rise of competition and so many uses for discretionary income it is no longer what you do that will bring your customers back. It is how you do it. Do what you do the very best and there will be no competition. Best greeting, best paint talk, best bathroom, best, best, best. Strive daily to make your service undeniably superb and people will gladly shell over gobs of cash to be in your shop.

Don't add a class, teach people for free. Instead of charging extra for a new paint or activity, let people try it for free. Create lore about your business that will be told to others and returned back to you. The greatest thing that you can do for your business is to nurture those that frequent it. Simple but sometimes forgotten.