And you though managing a restaurant was a little like herding kittens. I got an ear-full from a mall manager at a recent real estate gathering that might just bump your restaurant management problems into second place. He told of the short lived excitement of being named the general manager of a very large mall in a very large market. He explained that the first few days were spent, with head high and chest out, introducing himself to the staff, tenants, neighbors, etc. He went on to note that after that novelty wears off, the GM finds that part of the day is spent answering queries from customers about why the mall doesn't have a certain retailer, why the item that was recently purchased in one of the mall's stores doesn't fit anymore, what time does the mall open and what time does it close and why did this customer have to stand in line in the bank for over 20 minutes. Then there are the irate customers who had an accident in the parking lot because the stop sign was knocked over. Naturally they felt that they no longer were required to stop for on-coming traffic. Of course, they also want to know if the mall's insurance is going to pay for the repairs on their car. Then another part of the day is spent mediating minor disputes between tenants and countering the almost daily rumors and gossip that run through a mall. And of course, there are also the questions from the mall's senior citizen groups about when the landlord is going to put in more comfortable seating in the common area and in the food court. All this is interspersed with walks through the mall to move tenants' displays back behind their lease line, endless requests for last month's rent cheques as well as last month's sales figures. And, in case that's not enough, there are all those reports that the head office wants 'yesterday'. Those are then same reports that the head office sends off to their lender or REIT that nobody reads. But, hey, you're the general manager. It says so on your door but don’t' despair. If it doesn't work out, you're perfectly suited to be a daycare provider. And this is also why you will often find the mall manager in mid-afternoon sitting quietly in the back corner booth in your restaurant talking to himself..............and all this time you thought he was on the phone...............WP
