Training and Developing for a Great Guest Experience

Chad — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:19:17 +0000

The mantra here at Olga’s Kitchen is very simple “Every Guest Leaves Happy”. Everything we do is focused around those four simple words. A few weeks ago I asked Doug Hetherington our Director of Operations Service and Training to explain to me how training and development of our staff insures that every guest leaves happy. Here is what he wrote back:

“First let’s define “training” and “development”. Staff training is a series of steps within a process where our staff, both new and existing, are able to obtain knowledge and understanding of the skills and procedures necessary to successfully produce our menu, and to provide our guests with a memorable dining experience. In other words, when our staff members have successfully completed the learning objectives of our training program, it allows for us as a restaurant concept to meet our objectives as well.

Staff development on the other hand is a means by which a staff member works through a process to further build upon learned skills, and advance within their position to gain additional knowledge and talent. This process may also lead to additional responsibilities or advancement within our organization. In the case of hourly staff members, the results of development will lead to increased productivity; with management staff, the outcome will produce stronger leadership and improved results. As a whole, a staff development program that creates a highly-skilled team will provide for better execution and drive a great guest experience.

Olga’s Kitchen recognizes the importance of a well designed staff training and development program. The benefits are many:

Reduced staff turnover and associated costs

Increased morale

Enhanced staff productivity

It promotes continuity and solidifies the Olga brand among all our locations

Team motivation

Most important of all, it allows our guests to have a great experience.

Our training program is detailed and organized in a way that provides for consistent and uniform delivery of information from one trainee to the next, regardless of which trainer is doing the training. Within our management program, we devote a total of 12 weeks to the training process, both within the initial four weeks of introductory training and the subsequent eight week mentoring program.

We have worked hard over recent years to establish solid programs, for both our hourly staff and our management team members, and we will continue to invest in making training a significant part of the Olga’s Kitchen culture.”

It is easy to tell that Doug takes training and development of our staff very seriously. Hopefully his work shines thorugh each and every time you visit an Olga’s Kitchen. Remeber our goal is for every guest to leave happy, if we fall short we want to hear about it. Have a great rest of the summer, stay safe and see you soon!

Did you say Angus Steak Burgers?

Chad — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:19:48 +0000

Having lived in quite a few different places in my life I have to admit I was skeptical when my friends and co-workers boldly proclaimed the summer months here in Michigan were paradise on Earth. I’ve seen summers in New England, St. Louis, Colorado and Texas and have had more than my fair share of pleasant evenings and sunny days. I approached my first Memorial Day here with a sense of dubious anticipation.
Having experienced the last three weeks I am quite happy to admit that they were not exaggerating.
WOW. The days are just the right amount of warm; the nights are simply spectacular….and what’s up with the nearly 17 hours of daylight?? As far as I’m concerned, I’ve found my home.
Few things speak of summer better than freshly grilled burgers among family and friends. I channeled my ‘inner griller’ and have brought three fresh tastes for all of you Olga-fanatics to enjoy all summer long.
The first thing I need to mention is that I take burgers *very* seriously. Having grown up on a ranch where we raised our own cattle, I recognize that a serious burger starts with top-quality beef. We decided to pull out the stops and have made the switch to an Angus Steakburger . Steakburgers contain ground up pieces of all the best cuts of beef: the rib, the strip, the tenderloin and the sirloin. The flavor is richer, meatier and TOTALLY addictive.
Our first new offering is a classic: Olga’s Classic Cheeseburger. The steakburger is seasoned with our signature blend of spices and cooked perfectly right when you order it. We melt cheddar cheese over the beef and wrap it up in freshly-baked Olga bread with tangy mayonnaise, crisp leaf lettuce, crunchy pickles and sliced juicy tomatoes.
The second burger is in honor of all you folks who crave adventure, excitement and refuse to settle for the mundane or the pedestrian. The “Boom-Boom burger” is just for you. We take a spicy and bold creamy pepper sauce, melt zesty jalapeno-pepper jack cheese over the steakburger and top it with an AWESOME chopped pepper relish. We finish it off with some red onion slivers.
Our third burger is our take on the ‘BBQ cheeseburger’. We call ours the Crispy Onion Smokehouse Burger. As you’ve probably come to notice, I like to make sure that our offerings are uniquely our own with flavors and combinations you simply can’t get anywhere else. With our smokehouse burger we’re doing that by adding our own ‘sweet & heat’ bacon, tangy BBQ sauce and crispy onion strings.
BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!
We REALLY decided to celebrate our favorite season by upping the stakes (Get it? STAKES?) and instead of simply giving you our delicious Curly fries with our burgers we’ve added Unlimited Sweet Potato Fries to all of our burger’s this summer. These aren’t just any sweet potato fries…We dress ours up with a great lemon-thyme-basil seasoning and serve them with a creamy maple-yogurt dipping sauce! Did I mention you are entitled to UNLIMITED portions!!

We hope you all have a great summer season. Get out and enjoy the sunshine, the crazy-long days and the fact that we live in a pretty spectacular state.

Yours in the bread,
Quinn Adkins

Executive Chef

A Secret Worth Sharing!

Chad — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:10:35 +0000

One of the great pleasures of my job is that I get to work at our
Restaurant Support Center. By far the most interesting area of the
building is the comissary and test kitchen. This is where all the
“magic” happens. I thought it would be really interesting to ask one of
the very few people who actaully know the recipe to our famous Olga
Bread Scott Jordan, what it is like to be privy to such a secret. He
wrote me back with the following story:

It all started about ten years ago for me. I had been
working as a manager’s assistant at the Restaurant Support Center It
was a lot of hard work but it exposed me to many of the behind the
scenes operations of the restaurant business and that was interesting.
It was a good job but not a great job. Then one day that changed.

My boss notified me that we needed to have a private conversation.
“Oh great” I thought. “I’m no fool. I know these things rarely have
happy endings.”

I wrapped up my immediate task and was led into his office. One hour
later I was a changed man. I had been given a secret. Normally when I
think of secrets I invision stuffy boardrooms, hush conversations in
corners and politicians whispering in one and others ears. Not exactly
the kind of secrets I would really want to know, but what I learned was
nothing like that.Sure I would have to keep my knowledge to myself but
in so many ways it was really meant to be shared. I would now be
responsible for making Olga Loizon’s secret recipe bread. That’s right,
from that day forward I knew the secret recipe and I was honored.

Today I continue to take great pride in making great bread for a
great company. Keeping the secret hasn’t been all that hard mostly
because I get to share it with all of our guests a little bit every
time they take a mouthwatering bite of their favorite Olga!

I owe a lot to Olga Loizon and I bet anyone who has ever tried our
secret recipe bread would thank her as well. I for one can testify that
Olga’s secret recipe bread is one secret worth sharing!

Scott Jordan

Once I read that I knew I had to share it with all of you. It really
is something that after 40 years of business there are still only a
handful of people who know what Scott knows but hundreds of thousands
who know how delicious our bread is!

Hard At Work…

Chad — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:07:18 +0000

It has been a while since I last posted but let me tell you about all the great things we have been working on!

1) Great new everyday values starting at $5.99 – We have been gathering a ton of feedback over the past 6 months from Facebook, Twitter, and in our stores and there is one overriding request we keep hearing – “Lower Prices”. We are committed to providing the best value we can for our guests and though we know that price is a huge piece of the value equation we also now that food quality and quantity as well as the speed and accuracy or our service are all factors in determining value. We have reworked the value section of our menu and come June 29th I am confident that you will be happy with the changes we have made.

2) Some Seriously delicious New Burgers – We have three new ½ Pound Angus Steak burgers all crafted to perfection by Chef Quinn. We are serving them up with UNLIMITED sweet potato fries and maple yogurt dipping sauce. I don’t want to say to much about them because Chef Quinn will be posting about them on the 29th, but believe me they are great!

3) A new updated menu – Are you missing the Mediterranean? Did you fall in love with the Turkey and Artichoke? Maybe you can’t get enough of our new salads…. Don’t worry we got you covered. We have taken the best of our seasonal offers and rolled them into our everyday menu selections. I for one can’t wait to sink my teeth into another Mediterranean Olga!

4) Brand new Premium China Mist Iced Tea – we have taken our iced tea selection to the next level with the introduction of China Mist Teas. We will feature two fresh brewed offerings – Traditional Black Tea and Tropical Passion Fruit. These teas will be a real treat for all you iced tea drinkers!

5) New location with a brand new service model – We are opening the next generation of Olga’s this summer at Great Lakes Crossing Mall. It is still a little hush, hush but keep this name in mind….Olga’s Fresh Market Grille!

We have put a ton of work into making this summer the best we have ever had. We hope to see you in our stores soon and remember the big date for all our new changes is June 29th! Have a safe and wonderful week!

Fresh Tastes for the Spring!

Chad — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:48:44 +0000

As a newcomer to our fair state I’ve been told we suffer through the winters so we can enjoy the beautiful weather the rest of the year.
The sense of the earth coming alive again and beginning the cycle of growth and renewal speaks to all of us this time of year as we start becoming more active and enjoying time outside once again.
As part of the celebration of the warmer weather’s arrival, we here at Olga’s have gotten into the spirit of things and are presenting three new salads we feel embody the spirit of spring. All three feature lighter and healthier ingredients and some interesting presentations that we hope you will enjoy as you make your own transition into spring. We’ve made these salads ‘perfectly portioned for spring’ which means you’re going to be full and satisfied when you’re finished but not uncomfortably so! We also were very careful of the calorie counts on these items for those of us (me included) who are mindful of how many calories we’re consuming on a daily basis.
Our first salad is Pan-Asian. We start with blend of baby greens and crisp romaine and add fresh red bell peppers, asparagus and grape tomatoes. We sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and our new Olga’s won tons which are baked every day in our restaurants from our own Olga bread dough. What makes this salad truly exceptional is the dressing, served on the side, which features hints of sesame oil, ginger and a whisper of soy sauce. All of this for around 300 calories!
We’re really excited about the Spring orchard salad, which features fresh strawberries, mixed greens and romaine, toasted sunflower seed kernels, feta cheese and our new Zesty Olga croutons. Our dressing (which is served on the side as well) is an apple vinaigrette. This dressing is made with no corn syrup and has an amazing aroma and flavor of fresh apples, and is well balanced between the natural sweetness and tartness you’d expect from an apple vinaigrette. It pairs *marvelously* with the sweetness of the strawberries, the tangy feta and the zesty crunch of the croutons. Not bad for a salad that tips in just under 400 calories!
Bringing new flavors and combinations to our faithful guests is one of the greatest pleasures of being a chef. I’m thrilled to present our Mediterranean Sampler platter, which features our Olga salad, red pepper hummus, house-pickled cucumbers and red onions, Kalamata olives, grape tomatoes and pepperoncinis, all served with our delicious freshly cooked Snackers. There are a lot of flavors going on here and a *lot* of different ways to dig into it. The sampler also makes a great appetizer to share with your friends or family.
All of these salads are vegetarian as presented. For those of us looking for some protein we are offering grilled chicken or crispy shrimp which can be added to the salads for only $0.99.
I’m absolutely chuffed about the arrival of spring, my first here in Michigan. I hope you enjoy the new salads and as always invite you to drop me a line and let me know your thoughts!

Yours in the bread,

Chef Quinn

Giving Back

Chad — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:19:37 +0000

Here at Olga’s Kitchen we consider giving back to our communities to be a very important part our business. We have been a Michigan based company for 40 years and we recognize that in order to remain successful the communities we do business in also need to remain successful.

While I could list the many ways we have given back currently and in the past I would just like to talk about our current Raise More Gain More Fundraiser Program. Our Raise More Gain More Fundraiser Program was introduced just about a year ago and the results get better every month! In this first year we have donated over $25,000 from our program.

The program is simple! We set up a date and create a flyer. The group or organization distributes the flyer to as many people as they can. On the day of the fundraiser we add up all the receipts from patrons that came in with the flyer and we cut a check to that group/organization for 15% - 25% of the total.

We have hosted fundraisers for just about every type of group in our communities. For example: the majority of the local Schools, many local Churches and some of the local Girl/Boy Scout Chapters. Then there has been the American Cancer Society, St. Jude Research Hospital, Red Cross and the Humane Society. There is also the local sports teams; Middle School, High School, College and Community Leagues. The list continues with local day cares, mission trips, S.A.D.D. groups, VFW Posts and many more!

I can’t begin to express how happy I am to be a part of the team that makes these events happen! If you are associated with any type of group or organization that is in need of raising money let them know Olga’s Kitchen is here to help!

Kelly Wasmund
Marketing Coordinator
Olga’s Kitchen, Inc.
kelly.wasmund@olgaskitchen.com

* We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. – Winston Churchill*

New Olga’s Kitchen Promotion starts today!

Quinn — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:14:59 +0000

Great news, Olgaholics! Starting today, Tuesday, March 9th we are rolling out three new Olga sandwiches! It is particularly exciting for me as these were the first products I’ve developed since joining the company in January. I looked at our historical menus, identified what we have and haven’t done before and put together some cool and interesting flavor profiles, texture contrasts as well as complementary ingredients that excite the senses and entice the taste buds. The new items are a great representation of our new ‘culture of food’ and are indicative of things to come in the next few months. Without further ado, I’m proud to present our three new Premium Olgas!

1) The Turkey and Artichoke: Lean and tasty warm Turkey pastrami, creamy pesto spread, crisp smoky bacon, zesty bruschetta tomatoes and cool artichoke hearts wrapped in freshly grilled Olga bread.
.
I definitely reached back to our geographic roots for some of these flavor profiles, such as the pesto, the bruschetta tomato relish (which is freshly diced tomatoes tossed in olive oil, garlic and fresh basil) and the artichoke hearts. There is a TON of flavor packed into layers and I think you’ll love how the spice of the turkey pastrami plays off the creaminess of the pesto/herbed cheese spread, tang of the tomatoes and fresh basil - I’m getting hungry just typing about this….

2) The BBQ Chicken Club: BBQ seasoned grilled chicken breast, spicy pepper jack cheese, ‘kiss of cayenne’ caramelized onions, crisp bacon, tangy Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ ® sauce with lettuce and tomato in our Olga bread.

This bad boy features our EXCLUSIVE BBQ seasoning (try it…you’ll love it!) made just for us. And while I did mean for this to have some spice level to it, I promise it isn’t over-the-top fiery. If I had to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, with one being the spice level of our Original, I’d give this a solid 5. The cool thing is that the heat doesn’t really come on until the second or third bite, and it stays at a pretty consistent level. Lots of flavor, a touch of sweetness balanced by the smokiness of the seasoning - Great stuff!

3) The Mediterranean: Features our sliced Beef and lamb meat, roasted red pepper hummus, lettuce, a zesty tomato-olive-cucumber relish and a sprinkle of feta cheese wrapped in soft, warm, made-to-order Olga bread.

This is the one I’m most proud of, friends. Something truly special in the blend of flavors, textures and even colors happens in this tribute to our Founder, Olga Loizon. This is one that eats just as good as it looks…. ?

The Premium Olgas are available for a limited time so be sure to head over and try one. I’m dying to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Yours in the Bread,

Chef Quinn

10,000 Strong and Counting!

Chad — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:23:16 +0000

Wow your passion for our food never ceases to amaze me! Thanks to loyal Olga lovers just like you we now have over 10,000 Facebook fans. It is hard to believe that only a few short months ago we were celebrating 5,000 fans.

I know what your thinking…where is the Free Orange Cream Cooler like last time we hit a milestone? Here is the deal. I think everyone of our Facebook fans really does deserve a taste of their Olga’s Kitchen favorite but this time I am going to make you work for it. Don’t worry I am not asking you to stop by and clean some dishes or grill some fresh Olga bread. I just want you to help me spread the word about Olga’s Facebook page. If we can get to 15,000 fans by the end of April 2010 I will guarantee you an awesome surprise even better than the Free Orange Cream Cooler we gave out last time. For now I think I will leave you hanging a bit … but if you have any suggestions on what you think a good prize might be I am all ears!

So Olga lovers…unite and spread the word about www.facebook.com/olgaskitchen and I promise we will make it worth your while! Stay tuned for more information about this promotion and much more.

The Best Things in Life Are Free…

Chad — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:22:03 +0000

Many of you might this find this hard to believe but I am by nature a real romantic. That is why I am excited to let you all know about a fun little promotion Olga’s Kitchen is running for Valentines Day! All you have to do is print this voucher and bring your sweetheart in now through Valentine’s Day February 14, 2010 and we will give you FREE dessert!

So take a second to show your sweetie how sweet they really are by treating them to there favorite Olga and don’t forget to save room for dessert…it’s on us! Find out more at our Facebook page here.

Super Savings for Super Sunday!

Chad — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:27:27 +0000

No matter whom you’re rooting for this Super Sunday, we got you covered at Olga’s Kitchen! How about 20% off all “Good to Go Orders” all day long on Sunday February 7th?

You can call in your order, order online, or if you are somehow stuck at work (boo!) fax us your order! Then bring in your registered Olga’s Reward card and this voucher and we will knock 20% off your total bill! We even have “Curb Side to Go” at select locations so you can simply pull up and pay without leaving the comfort (and warmth) of your own vehicle. Visit here to find the Olga’s nearest you!

Don’t have a Rewards Card yet? Request one today so you can start cashing in on more great deals like this. We even give you $5 just for registering! I hope you all have a super weekend and see you Sunday for this super deal!