South-Western - Management  
Go 'Fish': Coffee Company Takes a Cue From Seattle Seafood Market
Topic Motivation
Key Words Motivation, Training
InfoTrac Reference A112248126
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News Story 

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has seen a 69 percent drop in turnover companywide as well as individual store successes, like an increase in average check size by 12 percent, since incorporating Fish principles and training into their coffee shops. These principles include:

  1. Play: "work that is made fun gets done."
  2. Ask employees what they think is expected of them.
  3. Make Their Day: "when you make someone's day through an act of kindness or unforgettable engagement, you can turn even routine encounters into special memories."
  4. Be There: "Being there is a great way to practice wholeheartedness and fight burnout."
  5. Choose Your Attitude: "When you learn you have the power to choose your response to what life brings, you can look for the best and find opportunities you never imagined possible."

The chain felt the philosophy was a good match for their culture, and have allowed employees to come up with their own ways to have fun at the job and engage customers. Some of these ideas include Fun Friday, where employees dress up for theme days like NFL or pajama day and give discounts to customers who do the same.

The company created a Fish license to give to those who go through the training. They have also created a Fish Pledge and a FIN award -Fishing Inspired Energy. Rewards include a trip to Seattle to see Pike Place market and the real fish guys at work.
Questions
1.

What are the Fish principles?

2.

You are a manager of a plant that manufactures dog food. Name five ways you might use the Fish principles to have more fun at work that would impact the productivity of your workers.

3.

Do you agree that having more fun at work can contribute to greater morale and increased sales? What might be the downside to this philosophy?

Source "Go 'Fish': Coffee Company Takes a Cue From Seattle Seafood Market." Nation's Restaurant News, Jan. 12, 2004 v38 i2 p16.
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