Marketing with Moxie

I must be insane.  We took our kids to Six Flags Fiesta Texas on the last Saturday of Spring Break.  What were we thinking?  It was packed (duh).  And I hate crowds.  I really do.  But we sucked it up for the kids, paid an outrageous amount of money for a Flash Pass to avoid the long lines (so worth it), and had a pretty good time.  One thing that made it better was the friendly workers.  As we rode the nostalgic Whistle Stop train through the park, every staffer, clad in a day-glow yellow shirt, stopped what they were doing to smile and wave at us.  Later, being the typical stubborn male who is genetically programmed to never ask for directions, I was hunched over a park map to navigate our way to the next ride.  Two smiling day-glow-shirted guys stopped and asked, "Can we help you find something?"   "Why yes, yes you can!"  I said.  Cool.  I didn't have to ask, and they didn't make me feel like a boob.  I witnessed one ride manager skillfully handle a ticked-off dad who was mad about being asked to form a new line because some kid had created an "illegal" line by removing a chain.

I did a little research to find out why Six Flags workers seemed to be more attentive than I had ever experienced as a kid.  I stumbled upon an online case study from SASI, a Houston-based leadership training firm.  According to its web site, SASI trained front-line employees with an empowerment training course that taught them to: 

• Engage employees in the learning process
• Clearly communicate the vision and mission of Six Flag Theme Parks to every employee
• Define appropriate guest service behaviors
• Create active participation while practicing guest appropriate behaviors
• Create baseline cultural agreements between employees and Six Flags for execution of policies and standards

They also trained employees in conflict resolution.

The need for training was the brainchild of Six Flags chief Mark S. Shapiro  -- who pumped in millions of dollars a few years ago to improve the customer experience at Six Flags parks across the country.   According to a recent New York Times article, it worked.  Customers are more satisfied, spending more money, and even though Six Flags corporation is facing a potential bankruptcy, it's not an attendance problem that's causing its financial headaches. 

Marketing with Moxie?  Yes.  It starts and finishes with the satisfied customer.  A lesson for any size business to remember.

While visiting my retired parents in Harlingen, Texas a few weeks ago, they took me to a restaurant revered by blue-haired snowbirds, leather-clad bikers and young families.  Every Sunday, people come from miles around to feast on a mouthwatering buffet at the Casa Blanca Restaurant in Raymondville.   It's a family-owned place that patriarch Joe Cantu started 38 years ago.  Truly a hole-in-the-wall, you'd never guess that inside a little rundown building, awaits food fit for a Sunday buffet at a big-city luxury hotel.  This is no-frills food at its best.  They don't need no stinkin' china or sterling silver here.  The buffet is set up on two 8-foot folding tables.  Fresh salads that beat any I've eaten at Luby's are served in big metal and plastic mixing bowls that probably came from Kmart.  Time-worn chafing dishes warmed by sterno cans feature tender green beans, succulent mashed potatoes, sweet baby carrots and dressing to die for.  Then comes the carving table with a little dog-eared, cedar-shingled roof hovering over mounds of meat:  turkey, pork chops, ham and roast beef.  Everything served piping hot and piled high.  Silverware comes in a little white paper sack along with paper napkins.  Nothing fancy here folks.  But ahhhh, after that first bite, you'd be just fine eating with your hands.

I managed to speak with Joe's daughter Gloria Cantu at the carving table during a rare lull in the serving line. 

"What's your family secret?" I asked. "Why have people been lining up out the door every Sunday for nearly 40 years?"  Gloria flashed a sly little smirk.  "We don't do it half-assed like Chili's where you pay a lot of money to get something that doesn't taste good.  My dad makes it every morning starting af 5 am.  He does it all.  We all work it.  We know how to make food taste good."

I asked her about their marketing.  She gave me a puzzled look.  "You know, advertising," I said.  "Oh, we don't advertise.  Well, maybe just a couple of times of year in the local paper when we run our holiday specials.   The special is everything we have here today, but we add dessert."

Of course.  Dessert.  Roll me out when I'm done.

So, what are we to make of all this in the internet age of blogs, tweets and optimized SEO marketing?  My takeaway:  If you have a passion for excellence, know what your customers want  and treat them with respect, the rest can just about take care of itself.  There's a lot of talk these days about using technology to create a herd of people who will follow you with a passion.  But in Raymondville, Texas, we are reminded that there is no substitution for great food served up with a heaping spoonful of TLC.   Generations of faithful followers have spread the word far and wide without a fancy marketing plan, catchy jingles or a cute pepper-shaped logo.  Go figure.

Oh, and Casa Blanca is up for sale. No one had shown any interest when I met the Cantu family. But don't expect to see Chili's rolling in with bulldozers anytime soon.  That location surely won't fit their real estate market segmentation profile.  Even if they tried to fill the great food gap after Casa Blanca closes, my guess is that they would be out of business within six months.  I'll bet Gloria would agree.