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November 2003
TheRight Attitude Pays Off…Every Time , Tom Boyles

While attending the Fine Foods Show in Sydney this year, I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of pizza store owners. I learned more about the Australian pizza industry in two weeks of talking one-on-one with owners than in the past year of editing the Australasian PMQ.

As pizza operators stopped by the PMQ booth, I talked with everyone who would tolerate my distinctive Southern American voice (why does everyone think I talk funny?). I got some fantastic story leads that you will be reading about in the next year's worth of PMQ Australasia. Thanks to everyone who dropped by to say hello. For everyone who couldn't make it this year, be sure to drop by and catch us next year in Melbourne.

But getting back to my point, I got a few short success stories right there on the spot. One of them was from Tim and Cathy O'Connor, owners of Winmalee Pizza. The more I travel the globe eating pizza and talking to owners, the more I realize that some forms of marketing are the same no matter where you are. Tim and Cathy offer these titbits of knowledge about things they have done to boost sales and bond with their community.

"One of the things we do is sponsor local soccer teams in our area," Tim said. "We help pay for the uniforms and also give pizzas to the kids and for parties the team has. You have to be in the community, and be a part of it. People do business with people who get involved with what is going on and want to help out. We have about three other pizza stores within seven minutes of our store. There are two chains and one other independent. This gives us an edge over them and allows people who may not normally try us a chance to taste our pizza."

Do It For The Right Reasons
"The big emphasis is on being involved in, not just a part of your community," Tim says. "Chances are, you have to live there as well as your kids and/or friends. The least thing that can happen is that you will meet more people. Increasing your business is an extra bonus. Too many people only look at what they will get back before they get involved. We have an attitude that we consider ourselves privileged to be able to help in lots of different areas, particularly people who are less fortunate than ourselves. We consider it almost a responsibility as a small business owner to do things for others regardless of the 'monetary' benefits, simply because we are in a position to help."

Building Relationships with Customers
"We have a list of customers with special orders, they just ring up and say I'll have a (xxx) special (usually their name or address) and we know what it is. Customers often come up with their own creations and know they can ask and we will give it a try for them. Another thing we do is to carry a couple of free pizzas down to the local tavern. What we do is, when an order is wrong, rather than toss it, we turn it into marketing by taking it to the bar. The tavern owner likes this and recommends us when people ask for a good place to eat and people get a chance to try them out. The first time we did this, we had a guy come in and wanted to order two of the pizzas we just carried to the tavern," Tim said.

A Good Idea at Work
Another thing they did was after they were open for 12 months, they put menus (4,000) in the local newspaper. "The day the menus came out, we got about a 40 to 50 percent increase in business that night," Tim said. "Because we weren't expecting that much more business, we weren't able to properly serve everyone the way we would like to. The next week we thought we should have printed an apology in the paper for not being able to serve everyone who came in that night. Fortunately, the boost to our business maintained. That marketing cost me about $800 all together."

Ideas come from many different places, sometimes right from your own employees. "We get a great pleasure out of employing local young people," Tim says. "For many, this is their first job. They are often a great source of ideas on areas in the community that we may not be aware of."

I talk to a lot of pizza operators all across the United States and getting involved with your community is a commonality all successful owners have. Australia is known for great service in the restaurant business, but great service goes beyond the front door. You live, work and make your living there and people remember things you do to give back to the community. There are many other things you can do, such as working with schools, churches, offices and businesses. Drop in, say hello and drop off a free pizza…they'll remember and appreciate you for it.

A Good Idea at WorkThe Winmalee Pizza Philosophy
"To sum up our business philosophy, it is having a genuine heart for your community organizations, the people and our staff, which emphasizes caring first and giving, balanced by a good business plan," Tim says. "Be involved both personally and professionally. It is about creating a family atmosphere. Most customers know what football team I barrack for and will give me hard time if they lose, or stop and have a drink if we are the local tavern, or bring their kids in to watch their pizzas being made, etc."

PMQ

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