The Lesson of the Shamrock Shake
Dear Friend,
Last week I was walking through the food court
at a local mall here in the Twin Cities area.
I peeked up at the menu board at McDonald's and
noticed an old favorite, the 'Shamrock Shake'.
For those of you unfamiliar with the 'Shamrock
Shake', here is what it is:
McDonald's takes a basic shake. They add a little
green food coloring, and some mint flavoring. Then
they put it on the menu in the days leading up to St.
Patrick's Day.
Do you know where the Shamrock Shake came from?
Back in the fifties, when Ray Kroc was expanding the
McDonald's franchise, he put a SUGGESTION BOX
in the back of each one his restaurants.
This wasn't any ORDINARY suggestion box.
It was a SPECIAL suggestion box.
Not one for his customers.
It was one for his EMPLOYEES. Ray Kroc REQUIRED
each one of his employees to submit AT LEAST one
idea per week to this special suggestion box.
***
And as I understand the story, it was a sixteen year-old
counter employee that suggested they add a little green
food coloring to the vanilla shake - to spur shake sales in
the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day.
McDonald's added a little mint flavoring to the shake,
and the 'Shamrock Shake' was born.
Every year, a few weeks before St. Patrick's Day,
McDonald's adds the Shamrock Shake to their menu
as a seasonal option. And as I understand it, they go
through a LOT of those shakes every St. Patrick's Day!
***
A few years ago, after hearing this story, I added a
suggestion box under the cash wrap stand at MY cart.
And asked my staff to submit a suggestion at least once
per week.
We'd read the suggestions each week at our weekly
breakfast meetings. Some of the suggestions I got
were unfeasible, or were ridiculous, or were clearly
just in jest.
However, I also got a lot of GREAT ideas that helped
make my carts run more smoothly. And got one BIG
idea that led to measurable increase in sales of over
a quarter of a million dollars in the last five years.
Would I have come up with that BIG idea on my own?
We'll never know. But I don't have to know. Because
someone on my staff gave the idea to me.
****
You don't have to be a huge corporation to profit by
adding a suggestion box to your business. Whether
you have one employee or a hundred, YOU can get
access to simple ideas for improving your business
each and every week.
Add a suggestion box for YOUR employees. REQUIRE
them to add at least one suggestion per week!
It's simple. It's easy.
All it takes is ONE good idea to make this pay
off in a BIG WAY!
***
Oh, and that reminds me....my diet has changed quite
a bit since I was a younger.
I don't usually eat at McDonald's any more.
However, last week when I was walking by, I DID stop
by and pick up a small 'Shamrock Shake'. Seemed like it
was the least I could do to pay them back for the use
of their idea....
That's it for today!
Be profitable!
Brady Flower
