Being Friendly Like Frisch’s® Big Boy®
Yesterday, I had an amazing time going to Shelbyville, Tennessee to visit my friends at Uncle Nearest Distillery (more on that it a future post). On the way we stopped at my favorite place to eat, Frisch’s Big Boy. Now, if you have never experienced a Big Boy®; you need to! It’s iconic. Frisch’s Big Boy is the original “craveable homemade foods.” After we ate and were back on the road I told my wife that I was always impressed with how friendly everyone was at Frisch’s.
That is by design. Frisch’s® brand promise is, “Good fun happens over great food served by friendly faces.” It has always interested me how much relationship building and fun happen around meals. I’m also a big believer that successful leadership involves inspiring teams to deliver memorable moments that combine quality, fun, and genuine care. It is always clear when entering a Frisch’s Big Boy that a culture where warmth and genuine friendliness are at the core of every customer interaction has been created and fostered.
As leaders, we can take away from this that we must not just deliver excellent service but also a joyful and friendly experience. We must create an ethos of enhanced customer satisfaction, building strong relationships, and cultivating a sense of community. As they say, “Frisch’s Big Boy is a place where one meal can make your entire day.” Are you creating that kind of friendly atmosphere?
“Big Boy” Leadership
This week I went to Nashville, Tennessee with a group of great colleagues from Noble Education Initiative to put on a day of professional development for Trevecca Nazarene University. The day was amazing, and there was some great learning that went on. Really it comes down to being student centric – whether that student is a college pre-service teacher or a pk-k-12 student in our schools. We must deliver our best each and every day.
Our professional development covered the topics of “A Day In The Life Of Our Indy Schools,” Social Emotional Learning, Restorative Justice, and our Eight Step Process for Continuous Academic Improvement. Plus, we started the day with Mr.& Mrs. Potato Heads and participants making their Potato Heads answering the question: what does education look like on you? At the end of the day, participants had the opportunity to reflect and change their potato head answering the statement: now I look like this. Here is the agenda we used for the day:
On the way down to Nashville we saw signs for Frisch’s Big Boy. Since all six of us seemed to have some affinity or fond memories of going to Frisch’s Big Boy, it was decided that is where we would eat on the way home. Needless to say, I was excited because there is just no better hamburger than the Super Big Boy.
On the way home it became quite fun searching for our Big Boy location. Of course, I became “Big Boy” because I am a “Big Boy.” And…I couldn’t wait to get my picture taken with the iconic Frisch’s Big Boy. In fact, the group was so kind to buy me one of the “Big Boy” banks. It is now a treasured item on my desk.
Then I got to thinking about the principles and core values that guided Dave Frisch, the founder of Frisch’s Big Boy restaurants. He founded on the idea of great food, a great work environment that was fun for employees, and a place of integrity. Who could argue with this?
As I did a little Big Boy studying. I found that Frisch’s Restaurants, Inc. use the value of being “Guest Centric.” Being in the field of education this was interesting to me because we use the term “Student Centered” a lot. I like the “guest centric” terminology better, however, because it refers to internal and external guests. The internal guests are employees. Frisch’s wants to provide its best service and support to its employees. I’ve always said in education we need put teachers first so we can put students first. I love that Frisch’s says, “We will be our best every time by delivering our best and being guest centric to our internal and external customers.” I believe this speaks to empowerment, engagement, and professional growth and development of staff, regardless of the industry we are in.
Frisch’s also has a core value of treating everyone as family (employees and customers), too. Their restaurants have a very diverse workforce and customer base. Frisch’s supports each team member through teamwork, coaching and development, fair treatment, and mutual respect.
Do you practice “Big Boy” leadership?
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