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The Lemon Tree is a bistro-style restaurant that features a stunning Roman Cavern dining room, set in part of Colchester’s ancient town wall. I’ve been in the restaurant business for eleven years, starting out as a chef, doing the usual kitchen tasks, including the washing up. I now own The Lemon Tree with my wife, Joanna, and we’ve won several awards, including Customer Service Award 2006, Businessman of the Year 2007 and Essex Business of the Year 2008.
Running a restaurant can be a relentless schedule of chasing and managing supplies – from local farmers, grocers and organic producers – marketing, securing bookings, maintaining a premium customer experience, complying with health and safety regulations, renewing accreditations, creating a top-class menu and, of course, keeping track of finances.
At the time I met Chris Crace from ActionCOACH, two years after establishing The Lemon Tree, I was exhausted and stressed. I’d built up a good customer base, but I wasn’t operating efficiently. My ‘to do’ list just grew longer and longer each time I looked at it, but I didn’t have time to actually ‘do’ it! Turnover could be erratic, and we didn’t have suitable systems in place to manage the business day-to-day. I’d experienced coaching before, so I knew in broad terms what it was about. Having met Chris, I liked his personality and positive outlook, and so I started business coaching. Small changes for great results Until then, I’d been using a table in the restaurant as my desk, and one of the first things I did as part of Chris’s coaching was to move into a separate office. It meant a higher overhead, but it gave me a better place to work.
We’ve made changes to a whole range of things within the business. ActionCOACH encouraged me not to rest on my laurels but to keep reviewing and questioningthings, recording and measuring our performance, and exploring new and better ways of working. It’s very apparent that, when we introduce a few extra steps into different processes, we produce great results. We now continually adjust how we operate. By taking forward
the principles learned during the coaching, I think the biggest change has been in the way I work and the way I’ve developed. We’re also more conscious now about how we use the resources within the business.
The Lemon Tree to embrace new technology, but we now have an online booking facility for customers. It means staff are not tied up handling and returning phone calls, and we need never lose a booking if we’re not here. We’re listed on various high-profile restaurant websites, bringing us extra customers, and we have different promotions throughout the week, such as our “Piano Days.”
We also give customers an envelope on arrival containing a voucher for a special free gift as part of their meal. These little things give customers a memorable experience and associate The Lemon Tree with a lasting feel-good factor. We’ve extended our premises and doubled the kitchen area to make it easier to cater for big outside events, a growing part of the business.
Accountability for all
My lifestyle depends to a large extent on the team I have supporting me in the business. Our managers now have greater ownership of their own targets. We have almost zero staff turnover and we all enjoy an environment in which we can thrive in our roles. I’m enjoying running the business so much more now and I want to do more of the things that work well.
Having someone from outside look at things from a different viewpoint is invaluable, especially when you’re at a makeor-break point. It’s lonely at times running a business, even if you have a partner or family. For me, ActionCOACH has been an impartial sounding board and someone to talk things through with. I’m not interested in reading a report about my business, as I might do if I hired a consultant. Instead, I want ideas and nuggets of practical advice that I can turn into greater profit.
For me, ActionCOACH has been good value for money, leading us to new levels of productivity. I certainly wouldn’t go back to where we were before. We now have solid financial control, I’m far more efficient and, instead of the business driving me, I’m firmly in the driving seat. It’s as though we’ve moved up a gear to a place of new potential and new opportunity.
If you’re thinking of having coaching from ActionCOACH, I’d simply say, “Do it!”
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