Last week we were very fortunate to gather our Store Leaders and Home Office leaders together at the Puyallup Ram for two days of learning, sharing and networking.  A big shoutout to Mark Patterson and Banger Smith for putting together this important, engaging growth session.  Many thanks to Amanda Helmke and her Puyallup team for showering us with Gracious Hospitality as they hosted their Ramily. 

            What did we work on over those two days?  Giving the guest the best experience – period!  One more time.  Give the guest the best experience – period!  We will give every guest a memorable experience that showers them with Reasons to Return. By doing so we will cultivate loyal guests every day and be the leaders in our markets.  We serve with energy, passion and purpose every shift.  We hold ourselves and our fellow team members accountable for creating memorable moments that cultivate loyal guests.  We feel proud and inspired by our restaurants packed with smiling guests and engaging members.  Every one of us, every shift, every day – period.

            How do we give our guests the best experience – period?  How will we elevate our guests’ experiences?  How will we cultivate new, loyal guests?   Hire right, train right, treat right.  Every team member knows and upholds Ram Rules.  Teams full of “A” players.  Non “A” players immediately elevate to “A” players.  We align with our teams every day by checking their temperament, talking to each team member and giving them one daily goal to elevate the guest experience.  Engage our guests from the moment they walk through the front door.  Smiles and eye-contact.  Servers lead our guests to the Ram’s elevated, signature experiences.  We love peak hours and packed restaurants.  Drop those “Rocks”.  Drop those “Boulders”.  “Rocks” are those little things we do for our guests that create memorable experiences and “Boulders” are those great big things we do for our guests that elevate their experience at the Ram.  All surfaces sparkly clean.  100% Ram beer knowledge.  Ask our “A” players to teach us how to elevate the guest experience.  Every Mud Pie sold is walked through the restaurant like it just won a Michelin Star.  “Thank you’s” to all.  Every Ram team member is responsible for growing our business and will be held accountable to do so.  Give the guest the best experience – period!  That is our mission.  The tools surround us all.  

This March we say Happy Birthday to: Olivia Mancilla Hernandez.

A sincere thank you to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month:  Jessica Yazzie (7 years), Jacob Mills (5 years), Jacqueline Beauchamp (5 years), Laura Torres Aguirre (13 years), Amy Westerhausen (18 years) and Diane Williams (16 years). 

“Everyone appreciates being appreciated.  Catch people red-handed in the act of doing something right each day – and praise them for it.”

~ Bob Moawad

Happy February, Ramily! This is usually not one of my favorite months of the year, but this year, there is something to look forward to. At the time of writing this, the Seattle Seahawks have made it to the Super Bowl. It’s been a long time for us Hawks fans, and I forgot how fun those two weeks leading up to the game are.

We are off to a hot start with our Mug Club parties this year, with plenty more to come. Shoutout to our teams for making these events funandengaging. You know you’re doing something right when you hear members in the bar telling others to join the club. Word-of-mouth is a powerful tool. People want to be a part of our club, and the numbers show it.

There’s a dive bar in Sun Valley, Idaho called Lefty’s. They have a Mug Club of over 200 members. Behind the bar, the members’ mugs hang from the ceiling, all uniquely decorated with stickers. They come in, get their mug filled, and enjoy a beer. One look around the room and you know exactly who’s in the club. Every time I see that, I think “I want to be a part of that.” Every day, we are refining our “I want to be a part of that.” Not just for the Mug Club, but for everything we do. How can we deliver a unique, memorableexperience? What can we do that nobody else does?

Speaking of things unique to us… Burgerama is right around the corner. Thank you for all the great submissions. Testing those burgers is one of the best things we do all year. Burgerama is our chance to show guests just how innovative we can be, and the best part is, it comes from our teams. Around this time every year, I start getting emails from guests asking when Burgerama is going to start. They know it’s coming. It’s memorable.

In January, there was a lot of innovation on our main menu. Several new items and a few returning favorites. I have seen a lot of Husky Burgers leave the window lately. That’s a hearty lunch for some of our guests… I respect that. When we work on big menu updates like this one, we ask what makes us craveable. One of the biggest complements to us in my mind is when someone tells me they love a specific item (often a burger), and they order it every time. That tells me we do that thing better than anybody else. Craveable, memorable, chosen.

Happy February Birthday to: Megan Miller and Rylan Marshall.

A special “Thank You” to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month: Sean McCamish (5 years), Luis Cabrera Garcia (5 Years), Laura Davalos Anguiano (10 years), Hannah Weathers (12 years).

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
~Pablo Picasso

Name the movie: “If you build it, they will come.”  That phrase was whispered by a mysterious voice in a corn field in Iowa in the 1989 film Field of Dreams.  Writing that gives me pause as I realize some of you were not born yet in 1989.  In any case, I hope you have seen the film because it is a winner.  If you have not seen it yet, give it a watch.  You will be happy you did. 

After hearing that mysterious voice whisper that phrase, an Iowa corn farmer, played by Kevin Costner, is moved to plow under some of his corn field and build a baseball field – a Field of Dreams.  Everyone says he is crazy for doing so.  His determination wins the day as his baseball field becomes a magical success.  I am reserving further details so as to not play spoiler.  Folks come from all around to watch baseball games in a corn field in Iowa.  In a time before mass internet and cell phones word of mouth drove them there; no marketing and no self-promotion.  Just “…build it, they will come.” 

How things have changed since 1989.  Not only do you have to build it today, you have to promote and talk about it.  The highest success comes when one’s friends promote and talk about what you have built.  Self-promotion, as such, is difficult for many – believe me I understand and appreciate the value of humility.  In today’s world though, those who get talked about celebrate.  Last week, we asked our leaders to go on the offense and ask our friends and guests to share their love for the Ram, our food, and our graciously hospitable team members online.  To help move the needle, per se, so that when folks unfamiliar with the Ram search the internet for a great place to eat the Ram is at or near the top.  Great online reviews are the best way to ensure that.  In one week, the result has been impressive.  On this Monday morning of December 1^st, I got writer’s cramp from writing so many Boulder Cards to our team members who were mentioned positively online by our guests.  Now that is Game On!  We had about a half dozen restaurants really stand out – thank you.  We expect all restaurants to stand out from here on out.  We have a tremendous number of guests dining with us this holiday season.  Let’s have our Game On!  Let’s Make ‘em Smile and let’s give them Reasons to Return.  Let’s also graciously ask them to share their positive experiences at the Ram online. 

            Happy December birthday to: Murph Miner, Amanda Helmke, Kelly Van Matre, and Austin Iverson.

            A sincere thank you to those team members celebrating significant anniversaries with the Ramily this month: Angelina Basile (9 years), Codi-Rei Pezario (9 years), Stacey Moon (21 years), Marquise Davis (6 years), Payton Sutphen (7 years) and Robyn Ortiz (10 years).  Thank you all very much.

“You must get involved to have an impact.  No one is impressed with the won-loss record of the referee.”
~ John Holcomb

“I attribute my success to this:  I never gave or took an excuse.”
~ Florence Nightingale

Happy November Ramily.  There is plenty happening to touch on.  I was able to enjoy my first El Gordo of the season the other day.  Kudos to our brewing team for exceeding the mark with our pumpkin seasonal this year.  We charged the team with making a more full-bodied, tad spicier, layered presentation this Fall and they nailed it.  Hug your brewer. 

We must also recognize our culinary development team for their November Pizza of the Month and Burger of the Month creations.  Back in the limelight is The Broadway Melt bringing together a succulent beef patty (Wagyu, Chicken or a Garden Burger happily substituted) topped with garlic-roasted mushrooms, bacon, roasted-onion compote, bacon-onion jam and Havarti cheese – a perfect pairing for the Fall season.   Make The Broadway Melt even better by adding a side of Parmesan Truffle Fries with truffle aioli dipping sauce.  For November we proudly present The Al Fresco as our Pizza of the Month.  Top our crispy, crunchy beer crust with a garlic-artichoke white sauce, add roasted mushrooms, bell peppers, garlic confit, artichoke hearts, fresh arugula and dust with parmesan.  High fives to Austin Iverson and Brandon Escovedo for teaming to give our friends this tasty pie.

We are in the midst of a busy sports season.  A busy holiday season is also upon us.  That means countless opportunities to engage and impress our guests.  The first step is having our Make ‘em Smile. This means the primary responsibility of every team member is to put a smile on the face of every guest that comes through our doors. Eye-contact, warm greetings, and smiles lead the way.  Our ultimate goal is to get our guests to come back as often as possible.  A sure-fire way we achieve this is through Optimal Spend.  That means we discover their wants, needs and tastes then pair them with their optimal beverages and food items.  We call this successful salespersonship.  We give our guests Reasons to Return with Friends.  The Ram experience is so compelling that it touches their soul, makes them tell their friends and urges them to return expeditiously.  Thank them.  Show gratitude.  Be humble.  Finally, we execute this principle by having our Game On!  We are prepared to execute (and will execute) at the highest level every shift, every day, every week, every month, every season, every year.  When we put those four principles together Make ‘em Smile, Optimal Spend, Reasons to Return with Friends and Game On together we call that package Napkinomics.  Go get ‘em Ramily – drop those Rocks and Boulders, exceed expectations and perform Above the Line. 

How about a big Happy Birthday this November to:  Beckey King, Sean McCamish, Michael Royster, Alejandro Hathaway, Dan Levingston, Sandy Graves and Kristy Iverson. 

            Special thanks to the following team members who celebrate significant anniversaries with their Ramily this month:  Trisha Watkins (18 years), Aaron Perreira (8 years), Eileen Robins (9 years), Michelle Sutter (6 years), Anna Jacobson (13 years) and Norma Aguirre-Ortiz (9 years).  Thank you all very much.

“If you want love, give it away.  If you want friends, be one.  That’s how it works.”

~ Dan Zadra

“I could use a hundred people who don’t know that there is such a word as impossible.”

~ Henry Ford

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