Disorganization...

I admit that I am not the most organized person I know. I try, and my failings frustrate me severely, but I wing it as often as not. I especially hate it when I am not well enough organized in my business to know exactly where I stand at all times. Friday, I beat myself up for 3 hours because I missed an opportunity to make money and help out a mother in need of a day off, simply because I had not written down in the RIGHT place that one of my kids was out on vacation. Grrrr....

Last night I went with a friend to the grand opening of a local bar/lounge. Apparently, they were holding a karaoke contest yesterday evening, and she wanted to sing. It was a good idea, as she won first place!

However, the disorganization of the staff was driving me crazy. The owner apparently had not planned for much of a crowd because he had only 2 servers working and 3 bartenders. The two servers were serving well over 100 people all night, while the owner looked on doing nothing. I could see that no one at the tables were getting any kind of service, and many ended up going to the bar themselves to get their own drinks because the service was useless.

As I watched, I was getting more and more frustrated. Not because I was waiting, because I wasn't actually ordering anything, so it didn't affect me directly, but because it was OPENING NIGHT! How do you expect to keep your business going in a tough economy if you can't make a good impression on your first day!! I'd be amazed if even a fraction of the customers that were there last night go back for another try. It is likely that most of those would tell their friends and family about the experience and influence that many more people NOT to try it.

Yet the owner seemed largely unconcerned about the chaos that was occurring. At one point I approached him and suggested that he needed more servers. Had I been a little braver, I would have told him to give me a shirt, and I would help! His response was lost in the noise of the band and an accent I couldn't understand. However, what I could catch of his answer was pretty close to a shrug-off.

I am always interested in the rise and fall of businesses. What makes one work when another very similar venture fails miserably? How do some restaurants and bars hang on for decades when they seem to have only a slight stream of customers, where others that seem so popular and packed on the weekends, crash and burn in a short period of time?

This bar is this man's second attempt at this same location. It is interesting that he didn't learn anything from his previous experience here. I guess time will tell.