God is in the details

I went into a Made In Japan restuarant yesterday. Great place - calming music, the right temperature, excellent lighting and very friendly staff. However, in chatting with the manager, he pointed out that contrary to my review the place wasnt doing well. Seemed strange to me until I sat down and ate my food. I noticed two things:

1. The front door was extremely hard to open. I saw two seperate incidences where someone tried to open the door, couldn't, got embarassed and left.

2. The menu sign behind the counter was very difficult to read, big pictures but small writing. It looked as if there were these little squiggly lines between beautiful pictures. Again, two seperate incidences where someone waiting in line, couldnt see, turned and left.

Now, I was there for 20 minutes. Extrapolate those 4 lost customers and you are looking at almost 12/hour or 96 per day. Yes, it probably isnt that high, but it certainly is a significant number. Whose fault is this?

Well, I would say that its both the managers and the franchise manager. As a manager, he should spot these things quickly (its right in front of him). As a franchise manager, there should be a checklist for all the details of a business.

1. Easy for customers to get in? Check.
2. Easy for customers to order? Check.
3. Learn lessons from one store to apply to another? Check.