EP Insights & Action

INSIGHTS BLINK CAFES
Should we listen to
Vanilla Ice for
management advice?
Simon Carey, Director at Blink Cafes explores whether companies who try
to provide all services should instead collaborate for the best delivery.
“Stop, collaborate and listen.”
Did musician Vanilla Ice have it right
as a management philosophy?
Well perhaps if we put the words
in a slightly different order, then he
did. Maybe stop, listen and collaborate might
be a better order of events. Are companies at
risk of trying to be the “Jack of all trades” to
secure a contract? Is collaboration a better
approach to deliver the best customer and
client experience?
So let’s stop for a minute and take stock
of what it is we are trying to achieve in a
typical catering contract. A typical contract
normally covers a wide range of different
offers and services. This would usually
include a mix of coffee bars, fine dining,
hospitality, retail, grab and go, micro markets
and lots of different food counters. Is it
possible to be the best provider in all of these
different offers? Does this not just lead to
mediocrity in some of them?
We then need to listen to what clients and
customers are looking for. I often hear them
asking for “best in class”, specialists or an
offer that is as “good as the high street”. The
question is; can one company deliver the best
solution for all of the offers required?
This leads us to collaboration. Would
it not be better for caterers to collaborate
with specialists for some of the services? I
appreciate there would be a loss of turnover
and income for the caterer, but the client
and customers would be delighted with the
offer. This should then lead to a longer-term
contract. It should be completely fine to
argue that there is someone who is better at
operating coffee bars and that a partnership
can be formed for that particular service.
I am strong believer that the best results
are achieved when several parties work
together and specialists deliver what they
are best at. If you look to the wider world for
inspiration, we could look at the food halls
that have sprung up around the globe, pulling
together the best food providers under one
roof. Great examples include Time Out in
Lisbon, Hudson Eats in NYC and even Street
Feast in London.
It is also important to note that some of
the leading brands in the world are looking
If you look to the wider world for inspiration,
we could look at the food halls that have sprung up
around the globe, pulling together the best food
providers under one roof.
to collaborate with SMEs in order to bring
in new ideas and specialists into their
companies. John Lewis, IAG and BUPA
have all started incubators to collaborate
with new partners. They have admitted they
need support in certain areas. They fully
understand that by improving one area it will
develop their overall service. All they have
said is “Come and show us what you can do
and if it’s successful, come and work with us.”
I think we should encourage collaboration
and appreciate the benefits it can bring,
rather than be fearful of it. Back to Vanilla
Ice for the reason behind this: “anything less
than the best is a felony”.
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