For those of you that do not know “My Story”, I was born and raised in Cold Spring, New York. A very small town with one traffic light about 50 miles north of New York City. I came to the University of Delaware in 2001 and never left. I graduated with a degree in Political Science and a minor in History. I was working at Bennigans on 273 throughout college and was offered a management position when I graduated. Unfortunately, the corporation went bankrupt a few years later and I had to chain lock the doors. Lucky for me, I saw Buffalo Wild Wings was opening a new store on Limestone Road, and ten years later, here I am still. I have worked shifts in 8 of our 9 locations, excluding Rehoboth, had the privilege of doing two new store opens at Newark and Bel Air. I have been a General Manager for 7 years in total and made lots of great friends working at H5H. Personally, I love the Yankees more than anything except my family and Jesus. Also I am an avid golfer, let me know if anyone wants to get beat on the course. That’s my story in a nutshell.
As we reintroduce the five values of H5H, what we refer to as S.T.A.R.S., we start with Serve Others Well, the basis of our values. (Serve others well) is not only the basis of our values but an essential part of life. “Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them. “ ~ Thomas Kinkade
In our business, we are rewarded for serving others well. Without serving others well, we would not be able to keep the doors open. Serving other comes in all shapes and sizes. It could be as tiny and unnoticed from saying hello to someone as you hold the door open for them, to something larger like going above and beyond to make someone feel special. “When you enjoy what you do, you will work hard to become excellent at it. When you are excellent at what you do, you will serve others better by doing it well. The more you serve others, the higher your reward.” ~ Bobby Pancake
In life, we say things like, “treat others the way you want to be treated.” But from a selfish point of view, most people in today’s day and age, look for the self-benefits of a situation. In today’s world of instant gratification, instant information and participation trophies, people expect the reward before they complete the process. People tend to think they are owed things, or it’s their birth right to more money, better hours, etc. [I feel if everyone just stepped back and took a minute to listen to the teaching of our greatest servant, Jesus Christ, the man that was put on this earth to serve others and give the ultimate sacrifice of death so we could all have eternal salvation.] Talk about serving others well, the best example of a servant leader in history.
If we just focused on a few things we could do each and every day to serve others well, think of how much better this world would be. Think of how much better our personal lives could be. If we put service to others ahead of personal gratification, just maybe you will end up with those results and rewards that you were seeking. “When you are able to shift your inner awareness to how you can serve others, and when you make this the central focus of your life, you will then be in a position to know true miracles in your progress toward prosperity.” ~ Wayne W Dyer
In our business where we get paid to serve others, the question then becomes are we doing it well? Do we take orders, drop food, turn tables, and look for the next customer? Or do we take care of the guest, like they were a guest in our home? Do we open the door for people, do we walk a guest to their car under an umbrella during a rainstorm? Do you go above and beyond to make someone feel welcomed and special? Do you buy a scoop of ice cream because Little Lucy just got all A’s on her report card. Do we know our guests? Do we know NASCAR Nick comes in every Sunday and sits at table 213 and we make sure his TV is set and ready to go? Do you know Crispy Cathy is here and likes her wings cooked for thirty minutes, and we double check with her to make sure they are perfect every time? There are legit hundreds of little things we can do every single day to serve others well. “Success means we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others.” ~ Marianne Williamson
Serving others well does not always come from a book, or a five steps of service card or a training video, sometimes, serving others well, just comes from being NICE. “Do what you say you are going to do, when you say your going to do it and the way you said you were going to do it. That’s it..oh yeah and be nice about it” ~ Bobby Pancake.
“True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.” ~ Sheri Dew. True leaders lead by serving others well. True leaders lead by example. What are you willing to do that the average manager is not willing to do? Start looking in the mirror and see how well you serve others, set the example and I guarantee you will be impressed with the results.
“Work and live to serve others, to leave the world a little better than you found it and garner for yourself as much peace of mind as you can. This is happiness.” ~ David Sarnoff
What’s your Story?
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