The Power of Perfection

Recently, as I turned 50 years old, my lovely wife Vicki completely spoiled me!

Many different things planned over a period of a week, plus a lovely holiday and an F1 GP ticket booked for Dubai/Abu Dhabi in December.

I’m a very lucky man!

Part of the celebrations meant driving over to Jeremy Clarkson’s original farm shop at Diddly Squat farm and having a nose. Then further on to his new pub “The Farmers Dog”, to look around the site and have dinner before heading home.

The point of this particular piece is to emphasise how much JC needs to be praised for this one.

If you’ve not watched the Prime TV show “Clarkson’s Farm”, you really should.

We all know he’s known for being a bit daft and mocking everyone and everything. But this show really does allow you to see the real side of Jeremy. Passion, emotion, work ethic. It’s all in there, and it’s quite incredible to watch.

What Jeremy has done for the farming community is astonishing. And whether you love him or hate him, no one can deny how good he’s been for the industry. And how much bloody hard work, blood, sweat, and tears he’s put in.

Why am I bringing this up? Simply because of the “wow” factor at that pub/restaurant.

Business is difficult. Business is hard work. It’s about dedication and serious drive for what you’re trying to achieve.

All members of your team need to be in the right mindset.

What I witnessed at the Farmers Dog was nothing short of perfection. In every single way.

The place was one of the busiest venues of its type that I’ve ever seen. It was a constant “river rapid” flow of people in and out.

Bear in mind here, the outside space is catering for endless pub garden tables & chairs, the “Grand Tour” tent, which has been installed as a permanent fixture (very nicely), and an outside bar included. There’s an element of the original farm shop and merchandise sales going on all the time.

The pub… well, that’s what everyone wants to see and therefore anyone there goes to have a look, grab a drink, and of course have a table for dinner if pre-booked. And this is where the utter magic happens.

The pub bit isn’t actually that large. Cleverly, they’ve catered for the “covers” more by using most of the space for dining. (A lot of space!)

Even with all of this going on, we walked in 2 hours ahead of our table booking and were served at the bar within about 3 minutes. We were even able to grab a seat near the bar and just watch the onslaught of customers constantly streaming in. Queue after queue. Each queue disappears in seconds. Then we were taken through to our table. Beautifully laid. Perfect customer service. Drinks ordered and food ordered. We chatted and watched.

Meals arrived. All perfection. Desserts arrived. All perfection. Eventually, we left and got on with our 2-hour journey home.

Sounds normal, doesn’t it?

It wasn’t…

We’ve been talking about it for days.

Yes, the drinks were all good. Including his Hawkestone lager. Probably the nicest lager I’ve ever had.

The food was properly amazing. Presented beautifully.

Again, nothing too strange here.

Now, remember the number of customers in and out.

And now think of the amount of staff. Kitchen, bar, serving, cleaning, clearing, managing shops, and all sorts. There were so many that it was quite mind-blowing.

Here’s the amazing bit. Where almost every place I’ve ever been to would have been a hectic and manic environment.

Where almost every place I’ve ever been has stressed, brow-wiping team members.

Not one person. The entire day. Broke a sweat, didn’t smile, didn’t look unhappy, and didn’t have a negative slouch, shrug, or feel about them.

Not one.

We were there for hours.

We were there on a blisteringly hot 31-degree day.

No sweat. No tears. No frowns. No grumps.

Shoulders back. Heads high. Chins up. Smiles and nothing but pure perfection.

All day long…

A nod to the power of getting it right.

Motivation.

That’s what it’s all about.

Make your team members happy, treat them right, train them right, and you have an unbeatable combination that is very rare these days.

Go visit and go enjoy. This small piece of writing simply cannot do it justice, regardless of how much I try…