Best Practice: Consistency

Best Practice: Consistency (con•sis•ten•cy) noun

: agreement or harmony of parts or features to one another or a whole.

A leader must exhibit consistency at all times, even when alone. This process will allow a leader to show others that through their actions others will be satisfied with what is being presented.
Being consistent within customer service in a restaurant, retail establishment, or manufacturing will drive standards and expectations to be created and expected.

A good example of this is: Caesar Salad’s within Applebee’s.
Because of my love of Caesar Salad, I will order and rate a restaurant on how this salad tastes appearance and presented.
Applebee’s has a standard and most likely training material that shows how it should taste, appear and be presented. This means each Applebee’s no matter where in the world it is, the Caesar Salad should be the same.

How is this accomplished? The leader in this case is the Chef or Kitchen Supervisor. It is their job to make sure that the cooks follow the recipe and not add more garlic or less pepper due to a single cook’s preference.

This allows customers to know when they go from a location in Boise, ID to Wenatchee, WA that the salad will be the same.

When people come to know that they will get great food and service from a national chain, they will be more likely to go another location in another town or state because of consistency.

If the leader is not consistent in their duties and training, it will lead to chaos and will drive customers away from that location and possibly other locations.
And, yes. The Caesar Salad at both locations was consistent and that is why I rate Applebee’s Caesar Salad as some of the best that I have had!

FYI: I worked at the Four Season’s Olympic Hotel in Seattle, WA. I was in charge of making Caesar Salad dressing for the entire hotel. I now make the recipe at home and while camping. Each year I hold a Compadres (Guy’s Weekend) out in the woods of Oregon. Each year I make the Caesar Salad. I show people how to make it. My paternal Grandfather also made sure that in any outing there was a Caesar Salad. I am continuing that tradition. Someday my son/daughter will do it.

Caesar Salad:
1 whole large egg
1 large egg yolk
Funky French Mustard
1 Lemon
Parmesan/Asiago cheese
garlic (Roasted if you want added flavor)
Red Wine vinegar
Olive Oil
Tabasco sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Capers
Black Pepper Corns
How to make it:
Get a blender. Put in everything except the olive oil and Red Wine Vinegar. Whiz everything up really good. Reserve lemon for flavor while blending.
Turn on Blender and keep it going. Open top whole (through lid if possible, and begin pouring Olive Oil. It will start getting thick. Thin out with vinegar a bit. Keep alternating until you get the volume you desire. Taste along the way. During this time you can add lemon or garlic or Worchester sauce as needed.

There you are, no secrets left out