By Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman’s Co-Founding Partner
originally written for Specialty Food Magazine, January/February 2009

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you might wonder if the world is on its last legs. I mean, there’s no question that there are strange and challenging things happening on Wall Street and around the globe. A lot of people have lost homes they didn’t plan to lose. Others are out of jobs they thought they’d have for many years to come. Savings accounts have been diminished and companies have closed. The emotional, economic and social consequences of those things are very, very real. But that said, here we are—life and work go on. A customer stopped me the other night to ask, with this sort of knowing look, “Has it been hard the last year or so?” I thought for a minute and said, “Sure.” But then I added, “It’s pretty much been hard since we opened up in 1982.” And that’s the truth. It has always been hard and it is certainly hard now. But I welcome the challenge and, personally and professionally, I feel positively about the future.

Yet, I’ve been reluctant to write about the economy because the last thing I want to do is to make a suggestion that doesn’t work out for someone somewhere. All I can do in my column is share what our plan is here at Zingerman’s. Feel free to add to this mix, adapt it and make it your own, or just ignore it entirely.

So what are we doing to work through the months and years ahead? Basically, we’re just doing what we’ve been doing for a long time now, but trying to do it better than we ever have. We are remaining positive and proactive, and that is well in sync with who we are as an organization and as the individuals within it. Here is our plan:

Live the spirit of generosity.
More than ever, I believe this is the time to give of ourselves. Last fall, when stocks were at record lows, Warren Buffet wrote a nice Op Ed piece in The New York Times about why it was a good time to buy stocks and to stay calm and focused on the long haul. “A simple rule,” he wrote, “dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy; and be greedy when others are fearful.” I’ll adapt that here to go along with our philosophy—be generous when things are good; be even more generous when times are tough. While the world contracts and tightens and starts to slip into being more selfish and cynical, giving in small ways—whether it’s a sense of appreciation, a small donation, an extra mile for a coworker or a thank-you card for a customer—can make a big difference for the better. Paul Newman once said, “I don’t think there’s anything exceptional or noble in being philanthropic. It’s the other attitude that confuses me.” I’m with him. Let’s give more, not less.

Push for greater, more exceptional service experiences.
This is a place in which the specialty food world is probably better positioned than many industries—we’ve always known the importance of giving amazing service. Certainly pushing ourselves to deliver great guest experiences isn’t any different today than it’s always been. But in challenging times it’s even more essential, and more important to do it better than we ever have. On top of which, no matter what’s going on economically, giving great service to customers costs little, or often nothing other than a bit of extra effort. Connecting on a personal level, going the extra mile, having fun, showing care for people’s personal circumstances and learning their tastes all make lasting impressions.

I recently talked to Tony Cox, the man who started the 5th Food Group, an online and mail order consulting business based in Dallas, about the state of the economy. We’ve been working with Tony and his team for nearly ten years now and I think he has a great sense of the specialty food world. The first thing he said was that companies should raise the bar on customer service. “When times are tough, it’s easy and tempting to scale back on doing what we are here to do as a business—serve the customer,” he notes. “But one bad or unresolved problem can lose you a customer for life. On the other hand, if we continue to exceed customer expectations, we can win them for life. Short-term operators and companies in trouble may not have the guts to do what’s right and service the customer at all cost, and that can be our gain.”

Make the food better.
To me, this one is huge and I think it’s the exact opposite approach to what most businesses do in times like these. I have no way to prove that I’m right—hindsight will of course be 20/20 for all of us—but I’ve strongly come to believe that when times are tough we need to drive quality up, not let it come down. Most other businesses will find ways to cut corners, eliminate training and reduce the price of their products in the belief that it will make them more accessible. I think that’s a strategy that is doomed to failure.

By contrast, this is the time to put more space between us and what others are doing—to take great products and make them even better. We need to come out with new foods and services that are even more special than we’ve ever done. I think the worst thing possible would be to allow the emotional pressures of the moment push us in ways that lose our differentiation. A slight step-up in technique, a bit higher-quality raw material, for example, can cost little but yield noticeable and meaningful results.

Guard your margins.
Earlier this year when I spoke with Bo Burlingham, editor at large for Inc. magazine and author of Small Giants: Companies that Choose to be Great Instead of Big, he put margin maintenance at the top of his list for tough times. To his view, margin erosion is the most common cause for otherwise successful businesses to begin trending into trouble. Sales may slide up and down but if we don’t hold our key margins—here at Zingerman’s that’s food cost and labor cost—in line, we’re going to be in a difficult situation. Which is why, as tough as it may be right now, it’s extremely important to raise prices when we need to.

Tony Cox told me much the same thing. “Don’t let food cost creep up. The last thing you need in this environment is to have higher than expected/planned food costs.” He added, “Keep variable labor costs for food prep and fulfillment in line with sales. If these costs historically run 12 percent of sales, and sales take a dip, or don’t materialize as planned, management needs to be ready to keep costs in line.”

Before you give in to the pressures of cutting your prices, remember that full-flavored, well-made artisan food is never going to be as cheap as mass-produced food. And the truth is that an expensive pastry, sandwich or entrée that we price 5 percent lower than we should be charging to hit our target food cost, isn’t going to be any more affordable to people having a hard time making ends meet than it would be at 5 percent more. But, as you know in the food world, 5 percent is often the difference between a business that’s losing money and one that’s profitable. And to be sustainable, to be here for another 27 years (our 27th anniversary is coming up in the middle of March), and to help keep our community solid, we need to be profitable. So let’s charge what we need to charge—allowing us to stay generous—regardless of what emotional winds are swirling about us.

Go for greatness.
Though it’s hard to fight the mood of the moment, we’re working hard here not to let ourselves slide towards pessimism or any sort of losing mentality. This is the time to strengthen our efforts to take an active approach and not to wait for someone else to fix things. To quote Shawn Askinosie of Askinosie Chocolate in Springfield, Mo., “We must take personal responsibility for recovery.” A great example of this happened years ago when we lost a sizable account, the dinner roll business we’d been getting from Northwest Airlines. The question came up about whether, given the circumstance, we should lower our year-end expectations for the department. The answer, which came from a fairly new employee, Rehan Siddiqui was, “No. We get our butts out on the streets and look for new customers!” Rehan is right on. When times get tough, it’s time for us to get going. Victims wait, but we need to keep moving.

Invest more in people.
I know when money’s tight it seems that the last thing you want to do is spend more of it. But seriously, spending small amounts of money on more training can help bring big benefits later on. Because while other businesses are floundering and their employees grow less focused and feel ever worse about their work, we have a chance to help ours feel and do better. An inspiring and informative one-hour training class can elevate the level of effectiveness of our entire staff for days, weeks and months to come.

It’s important to recognize too that there’s an opportunity right now to bring great people, those who are talented but have been let loose by other businesses, into our organization. If there’s any way to bring them on board—even in part-time positions—we have a chance to get some skilled folks on our team that will help us get to greater heights when the economy comes around—as it eventually will.

Be receptive to customer requests.
Find ways to ‘just say yes,’ when customers ask for out-of-the-ordinary products or services. Be willing to not only bend and break the rules, but also offer an understanding smile in the face of a difficult service situation. Make smaller portions or custom combinations, offer free tastes or even send customers home with food gifts (you could call them samples). These gestures are all easy and affordable ways to care for customers and keep them coming back now and when the economy improves down the road.

Watch the details.
Everyone is well aware of the fact that it’s the little things that make the difference between being a great winning team or one that tries hard, means well, but loses. During tenuous times, it is more important than ever to keep a close eye. Should you, for example, re-evaluate salt levels in your stew? Improve crust colors on your pies? Get in the habit of rechecking all orders before they go out? It is these totally teeny tiny little things that make the difference. Also apply this to money savings: A company’s finances can go from so-so to successful because of one small detail that staffers catch such as a purchaser who finds ways to save $50 a week on onions or employees who weigh incoming deliveries to catch inaccuracies. These small things can be the difference between staying in business and failing.

Have a lot of fun.
While it’s important to be extremely empathetic to those in need and the struggles around us, it doesn’t mean we need to act morose. To the contrary, I think that creating wins and spreading our own positive energy helps to make the world around us a better place. Times are indeed tough but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, smile and appreciate the people and the great food around us every day while we work through it all.

Get on the floor (feet first!)
You can’t underestimate the value of a calm, positive presence from people in leadership when the messages from the “outside” are that the “end of the world is nigh.” A couple of hours of working alongside the frontline crew—on the phones, doing demos, on the floor with customers and staff—can go a long way towards calming tensions, helping staff stay focused and creating a positive picture of the future.

Reconnecting with your staff and reinforcing your corporate philosophy has, of course, long-term benefits as well. Danny Meyer, who leads the Union Square Hospitality Group in New York City, recently shared with me that, “Especially in these times don’t forget to feed the culture. It’s why your best people work for you, it’s the key to your ability to attract the next generation of champions, and without it, you are just like all the other folks out there.” I think he’s right.

This economy gives us a great opportunity to learn from our staff and from each other, and I’m always happy to have further discussions and learn from you as well. (My email is arizingermanscom  (arizingermanscom)  .) In the meantime, here’s looking forward to a positive future when we will reflect on these tough times and share our stories of how we worked through things so successfully.