Have you seen the show on Spike called Bar Rescue? I don’t know how I found this show, I am not in Spike TV’s main demographic, but I am glad I did. I love this show.
The show is a reality show starring Jon Taffer, a bar and nightclub consultant. He travels around the country saving bars that are close to the point of going out of business. He talks a lot about the science of running a bar and tries to help these troubled bar owners learn how to apply this knowledge to make their businesses profitable.
The first time I watched this show, I was amazed at how much a bar owner will lose before he/she will ask for help. A few of the bars were losing $100,000+ per year before Jon arrived on the scene. I deal with companies that are losing money, but never to this level. It amazes me that a business owner would decide to stay on a failing course so long. Some of these people would have been better to just shut the doors, stand outside, and hand out money.
It’s great to watch Jon work, from management to marketing to operations, he touches on everything to improve the business. Everything he does is really focused on creating a great customer experience. (side note: creating a great customer experience is one of the greatest marketing strategies for just about any business)
So why does this show make me feel better? It makes me feel better because in many of the situations, even though he is giving superb advice and the owners have asked for help, they just don’t want to listen. They have this amazing resource and refuse to take his suggestions.
I have always been amazed when this happens with clients, but it seems like this might be a common problem for consultants. Why is it that a struggling business resists help? Why would a business owner keep doing the same things again and again when he/she is getting a bad result? I know change is hard, but sometimes it is necessary for survival. Don’t be so afraid of it.
If you have never seen the show, I put a preview clip below. You can watch the show online if you don’t get the Spike channel at your home. I would highly recommend watching a few episodes. As a viewer, you can watch as an objective third party. Maybe some of the things you observe will help you in your business.
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