It’s the little things we don’t plan for
That bring our business to its knees
I received a great lesson in business the other day -- from the bathroom at Starbucks.
Now before you think I've gone wacko, let me explain.
I was at my local Starbucks, and needed visit the men’s room. When I did, I noticed that the toilet seat was broken. One of the two anchors that holds it to the bowl assembly had broken, so it was swiveling like a salsa dancer.
Now this didn't surprise me because it happens quite a bit. In fact about once a month, at the various Starbucks I frequent, I find this broken toilet seat syndrome. Which means alot of people with big butts drink coffee. Or that something I'd never thought about was actually quite common.
So what the heck does this have to do with business?
Seemingly nothing, until you figure how much it costs to replace that toilet seat and just how many Starbucks there are across the country. . . across the world.
Because in business, its not just the major expenditures that cause problems. We do extensive research into things like computers, office rental, and product creation. We've justified them down to the penny, and know precisely our return on investment.
But its really the little things -- the piddly, continual problems -- that chip away at our gains, even prompt us to find another business to get into.
I read on the Arizona Coffee Blog that Starbucks now has 8,000 stores just in the United States. So even if it costs $30 to fix that toilet seat -- in materials and labor -- when you multiply that by the world-wide reach of Starbucks, -- you’re looking at:
8,000 stores X $30 per repair X 2 repairs /year
Almost half a million dollars . . . in toilet seat repair costs alone!
Almost half a million dollars . . . in toilet seat repair costs alone!
Now this probably doesn't bring a tear of sympathy to your eye.
Starbucks is big business, charging 4 and change for its fancy cups of Joe and several bucks for its gum and "after coffee chocolate". But the kicker is, until I brought this to your attention, you probably would not have thought that replacement toilet seats were a six-figure line item in their budget.
And if you can say that about toilet seats, how many other equally bizarre deductions are eating away at their profit?
Now you may not have many bathrooms in your business. And the toilet seat in your home or office may be the same one you've been using for years if not decades.
But there are probably at least two or three similar budget items eating away at your profitability. And until you become aware of them, you'll never realize they're the reason why all the work you're doing isn't adding up on your bottom line.
My high school English teacher once cautioned that before we leave home, we should check up on the cost of toilet paper and tooth paste. Not because we couldn't afford it. But because they were just two of the things we had taken for granted that we would suddenly be paying for ourselves. And while the adventure of being out on our own might cause us to leave, the cost of these mundane necessities could bring us to our knees.
Business is much the same. Almost all businesses factor the costs of their major items into their overall decisions. But its the really successful ones that create space in their budget for things that can't be foreseen.
And while it sounds funny, its often for want of the cost of a few broken toilets seats that the business was lost.
