Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2012 | Page 26

M U L

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B R A N D

M A N A G E M E N T, C O N T I N U E D
Personality: I am a very relaxed, fun-loving type of guy. I very rarely
get upset or mad. It takes a lot to get me to the point where I am angry.
Someone would have had to do something very bad to see that side of
me. I guess it is unfortunate that people can’t see it coming, because I
really don’t have any levels of anger. It’s kind of like a light switch for
me. But, like I said, it is a seldom occurrence. When the weather is warm
you’ll normally find me in jeans, a Hawaiian shirt, no socks, and loafers.
I guess I aspire to be Jimmy Buffett. I wish I could play the guitar to complete the persona. I am a family man and don’t really enjoy much time
apart from them. I want to have fun all the time, surround myself with fun
people, and I want the people working for me to have fun.
How do others describe you? I hope that people think of me as being
laid back and fun. I think most people would also think of me as being very
successful, and I guess I am, but I have also had my share of failures. The key
is to have more successes than failures.
How do you hire and fire? At this point in the game, I am only hiring
top management level. I think I start the process like anyone else. I look at
resumes obtained from outside sources or, as I prefer, recommended by other
management. My interviews are probably unlike others. I don’t ask many technical questions. I’ll ask a few, but I believe much of what we do technically can
be learned easily. What is important to me is personality and character. In our
business, personality is huge. Guests want to feel comfortable and welcomed,
as if they were in your home. I want managers who can convey that feeling.
As for character, I want good, honest people working for me. I tend to look

for family people who talk about their kids a lot. I look for people who stick to
their word. Integrity speaks volumes to me.
Firing people is still very hard for me, but I found that beating around the
bush just makes it worse. If we’re at the point that I need to fire you, it means
that you are a very bad performer, or there has been something done that calls
into account your integrity. I will sit with the person and explain that it’s time to
part ways and I appreciate their time with us. That’s all there is to it. There is
no science and nothing special about it for me.
How do you train and retain? Another reason to be part of a great
franchise, as I am, is the training offered. My franchisors offer very effective
training programs for management that last up to 12 weeks. Although we can
train new managers in-house, I prefer to send my people to corporate stores
to learn the systems. If we train in-house, I feel the managers are getting a
watered-down version of the training program. Corporate training tends to be
much more successful instilling policies, procedures, and branding. And, on an
ongoing basis, the franchisor will send operations tools and manuals to keep us
up to date on the latest and greatest techniques and regulations.
How do you deal with problem employees? A leopard doesn’t
change his spots, and I don’t think a problem employee is often turned around.
I will make some initial efforts at counseling and trying to get to the root of the
problem, but if the issues aren’t resolved quickly I let the employee go. If you
don’t get them out quickly, they could become a cancer in your business. There
are too many good people out there to waste time employing people that stir
up trouble.

BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenue: Not disclosed.
2012 goals: We are looking to add three new Tio Juan’s Margaritas restaurants to our portfolio this year, as well as one Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. This
should effectively double our company’s revenues or better.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? It would be
easy to measure it by the number of restaurants or the sales volumes, but the
smart thing to do is measure it by cash flow. I could easily add more restaurants, but if they don’t make money is that really growth?
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
I plan on continuing to grow the number of restaurants in my portfolio. I have
no plans on retirement, nor can I fathom ever getting out of the business. I love
it too much. I think there would be a gaping hole in my life witho