1. Piling too much work on at once causes everything to suffer.  My best chef, Anya, was able to put our food at almost triple the rate of speed as everyone else in my kitchen.  As a result, when tickets got backed up, I loaded her up.  What happened?  Anya started producing lower quality food, which got sent back.  I probably should have spent the money to hire someone else.
2. At a certain point, all the training in the world can’t help a slowpoke.  I had to fire one of my chefs, Sarah, because she was just too dang slow, even after two rounds of training (which costs a pretty penny, I might add).  Know when to cut your losses and move on.
3. Good equipment matters.  When I upgraded the stoves in my kitchen – not a cheap endeavor – my chefs were able to produce higher quality food more quickly.  The lesson here is that an upgrade, even when your current equipment is working fine, can make a major difference.
4. It’s sometimes a good idea to ignore your boss.  When I first started playing, my GM suggested that a six-star dish (on a scale of 10) might not be high enough quality to serve.  However, each time it was recooked, it lost stars.  Had I disregarded that advice and concentrated on getting more food out faster, I would have earned enough money to buy higher quality ingredients the next time around.
5. You never know where innovation will come from.  As I mentioned, I was surprised to see Marriott making such a bold move, since they are typically more conservative.  In fact, a PBS special I watched about Bill Marriott mentioned that his philosophy was to let others go first and then come behind them and do it better.  In this case, at least as far as I know, Marriott went first, and they did it brilliantly.  I won’t discount a more conservative culture’s ability to be creative as quickly again.

Susan Deluzain Barry
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