From the moment patrons step onto the red carpet at Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron, they expect to be treated as if they were guests in the home of Prescott Griffith.
After all, that’s the reputation Griffith has built for Carousel in the 21 years he’s been owner, president and CEO of the largest professional dinner theater in the country.
Griffith not only makes that pledge to Carousel’s guests, he fulfills the promise by treating his staff as family, and as responsible individuals who are crucial to Carousel’s success.
“I think employees want to feel they belong, and here we have a whole sense of family. They used to call me Dad, but now that I’m getting older, I don’t hear it as much. Maybe they think I’ll be offended,” Griffith laughs, referring to Carousel’s 175 employees who interact with guests on Carousel’s reservation lines and in the 1,100 seat showroom during eight weekly performances — 416 performances each year.
Typical of most father figures, Griffith will reach into his pocket when an employee is short on funds for tuition or a new furnace. He’ll lend an ear when someone has a problem, whether business or personal.
He’s also a storyteller, inspiring employees with anecdotes about formerly dissatisfied customers who are now loyal patrons as a result of Carousel’s bend-over-backwards philosophy.
“It all starts with training, and in the employee training process, we instill the attitude that customers are guests of the theater, and every employee is part of this family — this team that works together to please our guests,” Griffith says. “No matter what it takes to do the job, everybody pitches in and does it. You don’t hear, ‘Sorry, this isn’t my station!’”
The family and team atmosphere is enhanced by weekly management meetings to keep employees in the loop, and a “Q-Time” gathering for all service staff before every performance.
“That’s where we reinstill, ‘Let’s go out there and make the guests happy.’ It’s like a cheerleading and information session,” Griffith says.
Employees themselves are treated as guests when they use their staff passes to enjoy Carousel performances. Every employee receives six dinner-and-show tickets per show (six new shows annually), and four show-only tickets. And when menus change with every new show, all employees are brought together to sample the new dishes.
“That’s when we go over the mission statement, the position of the theater, changes in operations or service and new employee benefit programs,” Griffith says.
Griffith provides benefits almost unheard of in the food service industry: Competitive wages, medical insurance and prescription plans (of which Carousel pays a large percentage), a 401(k) plan and incentive bonuses.
To emphasize that bonuses are not a benefit, but rather an incentive to please customers, Griffith ties a contingency to the merit compensation. Guest service managers who receive eight or more guest complaints a month lose their bonuses. Since that could mean a forfeiture of hundreds of dollars for some employees, the policy keeps them on their toes.
“Some people might complain just to see if they can get free show tickets. If I determine a complaint is not valid, it’s not counted toward the employee’s limit. But it does show our dedication to assuring that every guest leaves here satisfied, and it shows employees that if the theater is doing well, they’re going to do well because they get a percentage of Carousel’s profits.”
Griffith says he must be doing something right.
“Some of our employees have been with us for a decade or more, and the majority of our staff would probably give away the whole store to satisfy our guests,” he laughs.
Marcia Ferguson says benefits and bonuses are great incentives, but employees also want to be acknowledged for going the extra mile. As director of volunteer services and telecommunications at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ferguson says the hospital motivates its 2,000-plus employees and 500 volunteers by recognizing outstanding performance.
Two years ago, Mercy instituted a program called “Sharing the Mission” to identify and reward staff members and volunteers who do an exceptional job of caring for patients.
“Unlike some recognition programs where you use comments from customers, with our process you can also get feedback from co-workers and people in other departments,” she says.
Display boxes containing “Sharing the Mission” recognition cards are posted throughout the hospital to make commending an employee a quick and easy process. The checklist format cards include categories ranging from exceeding customer need to compassionate conflict management.
Mercy designed a special database to track the accolades, which are posted on a bulletin board for all to see, noted in a special recognition newsletter, recorded in the employee’s personnel file and considered meritorious come annual reviews.
“Our performance evaluations have an entire section devoted to our mission, interpersonal skills and teamwork, so if you’ve been recognized five times, that of course influences the evaluation,” Ferguson says.
Ferguson says every five plaudits employees receive places them at various recognition levels, such as bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Each level brings rewards, such as a certificate or plaque, a gift or mall certificate, an invitation to the annual recognition dinner and a chance to win a weekend getaway.
“When we started this process, we didn’t want it to turn into a striving for gifts. We wanted it to be focused on recognizing the value in people and encouraging them to grow in that behavior,” Ferguson says, noting that honoring an employee’s contributions to superior customer satisfaction has reinforced the desired customers-come-first mindset.
“Many managers have given me feedback that it’s helped inspire some people who weren’t as good with customer and interpersonal relations. It’s been a very effective program,” she says.
“It’s also made a big difference in developing a team atmosphere.” How to reach: Carousel Dinner Theatre, (330) 724-9855; Mercy Medical Center, (330) 489-1000
