Lane Cardwell

"Hey, Crab! Just Let Go!"

When I was young my grandmother took me fishing for blue crabs in one of the saltwater rivers near Jacksonville, FL. It was very simple. We took a cane pole, tied one end of some fishing line to the pole, and the other end of the line to a raw chicken wing. No hook. We then dropped the chicken wing in the water, let it drop to the shallow bottom, and waited for a tug. The tug was usually a blue crab trying to eat the chicken wing. We would then slowly pull up the wing with the crab still holding on with a claw.
 
The moment of truth was when the crab was above the water line, and was gently swinging toward the open ice chest. Half the time the crab would see us, think that perhaps this could not be a good thing, and would release the chicken wing, falling back into the safety of the water. The other times the crab would continue holding on to its chicken wing dinner, and would find itself in the waiting ice chest, soon to become our dinner. I asked my grandmother why all of the crabs didn't just let go of the chicken wing when they saw danger looming. "Greed can paralyze you," she said.
 
I think about those blue crabs every now and then when I see a restaurant business paralyzed by greed. It's hard, when things have been so good for so long, to ever think that you will have to change. The term greed may be a little harsh in describing this inactivity, but it is rooted in the same emotion. "I have it, I like it, and I don't want to give it up."
 
Usually, what needs to be changed has been with the concept since its inception and is a key element of the business. It also tends to be unusually profitable. It is the combination of these two things that causes the paralysis to set in. At the back of the owners mind is usually the thought, "If I give it up, what will I replace the profits with?"
 
It might be that the concept was able to charge a premium price for a product that was unique, but now it isn't unique. Sometimes it relates to a price value positioning that gives more food for a somewhat higher price, but times are changing. Could be that the menu didn't pay attention to health and nutrition, but customers are noticing. I have seen a la carte pricing for older concepts, but the newer concepts are offering bundled choices. Maybe the food cost of their signature dishes used to be low, but now it is high. Some concepts were able to get by with food that needed little done to it in the kitchen, but the new competitors are cooking from scratch.
 
The funny thing is that in situations like these it is clear to everyone outside of the concept what needs to be done. Sometimes the people inside the concept know what needs to be done, but they don't want to give up the certainty of a profitable, but declining, position. Concepts that break through these challenges almost always come out stronger over the longer term. Those that cling to the chicken wing, even as disaster looms, are the ones that often slowly drift out of popularity and profitability. Hey! Just let go!
 
 
 
 

Posted by Lane Cardwell on June 2, 2008 | Comments (5)