I was thinking more about what I wrote about regarding Darwin and using efficiency to succeed.  I’m all about efficiency, and who will succeed in life depends on how efficient you are.  A good case study for look at:  I was in Au Bon Pain today and got myself a nice little wrap for lunch… yum yum yum.  It was 1:30.  It was Boylston Street.  On a beautiful Sunday.  There is a parade outside.  There are a dozen and a half middle school girls waiting in line for sandwiches.  Let’s see what happened.

HOW TO GET A SANDWICH AT AU BON PAIN

1.  Fill out a piece of paper a specify what you want
(Also known as: Check things off/circle things/write things in/draw pretty pictures)
Why This Sucks: There are boxes for different types of sandwich ingredients – like veggies, meats, cheeses, etc.  That’s fine, but the further right the box the darker.  Meaning, by the time I pick which type of cheese I want, I can barely tell what my options are because the background of the box is so dark.  (This is a particularly fatal disaster if you happen to circle co-jack instead of cheddar.  Ouch.)

2.  Hand Paper to The Sandwich Maker Person
Why This Sucks: When I say “give it to the sandwich maker”, this means you place it on the counter in front of them.  When they are finished making one sandwich, they grab the piece of paper in front of them and begin to make that sandwich.  This means that if some guy puts his paper on top of mine after I place mine on the counter, his sandwich will get made first.  NOT COOL.

3.  Wait, Watch, Maneuver Among Crowded Space of Hungry Middle School Girls
Why This Sucks: I’m hungry.  And by nature, an anxious person, so I’m nervous someone is going to scoop in and put their paper on top of mine.  Hopefully they won’t and I’ll linger among the high school girls and sip my diet soda.

4.  Pick up my sandwich when The Sandwich Maker Person calls my name
Why This Sucks: Well, this doesn’t suck.  What sucks is what comes next…

5.  Say “Excuse me” 12 times while finagling through a throng of people to pick up my sandwich at the counter
Why This Sucks: If there is a congestion issue on ABP, there is a problem.  This means that they are setting up their restaurant really poorly to not allow proper flow of traffic.  They are missing out on sales as I cannot easily access other parts of their restaurant and help myself to more food (bad for me) but more profits (good for them).

6.  Say “Excuse me” 12 times while finagling through a throng of people to walk to the cash register
Why This Sucks: Finally, mission accomplished.  Sandwich in hand, I just want to leave.  But no, I have to push through people just to pay.  Seeing that PAYING is what ABP’s end goal is, you’d think they’d make this step a) first and b) stupid easy.  But no, they want to make it as difficult and aggravating as possible.

7.  Pay
Why This Sucks: After waiting for what seems like an eternity and long enough to realize I need to write about it on my blog, they have successfully received bad press.  However, who wins?  They still got my 9 bucks – but now they’re getting 1,000 words on how their operations aren’t efficient.  Which is worth more?

WHAT I SUGGEST
I’m not one to just complain and call it a day.  Here is just one approach to how ABP can mitigate their aggravation effect.

1.    Order sandwich from cashier (this consolidates two huge steps in the process).
2.    Order goes to The Sandwich Maker Person who proceeds to make my sandwich.
3.    Probably by the time I’ve finished paying and getting my diet soda, my sandwich will be ready.
4.    Why this works?  ABP operates to make money – not make sandwiches.  So, if they can get me to pay within 120 seconds of walking in the door, I’d say that’s pretty good.  By capitalizing on the understandable time I need to spend waiting for my sandwich, they can increase business and make me a happier customer.

Just my thoughts… what do you think?

P.S.  Au Bon Pain can’t spell.