It's the Little Things That Count...

We all love to go out to eat at fast food spots and restaurants, but that process can get boring, and soon becomes an unexciting part of everyday life. Johnny Rockets is a restaurant that proves to be family friendly, entertaining, and innovative. How does it do this? This restaurant attains its level of success by adding a fun, musical, and interactive aspect to the everyday restaurant experience.

BlueDelicious decided that Johnny Rockets would be a great work site to visit for our assigned excursion. Not only did Johnny Rockets seem like a place that offers a wonderful eating experience, but we believed that it also values and exemplifies some of the attributes and standards  that we as the New Student Orientation team also deem essential.

Before this experience, I have never eaten at Johnny Rockets, but have heard of the great experience that it offers. As soon the waitress approached our table, I knew from her positive persona and smile that I was not eating at any diner, but one that truly values the customer. After ordering, we all received a small bowl with a smile made of ketchup inside of it (as shown to the left). This very small addition to the dining experience can help the customer to feel welcome and also appreciated. This was relevant to me because it confirmed for me that during the summer, I should do everything I can to make the first year students to feel welcome and included in the Rutgers experience.

Not only does Johnny Rockets help the customer to feel welcome, but it energizes them by providing entertainment while they eat. How do they do this? Simple, they choreographed various little "jigs" that are family friendly to add a special touch to your meal. Although we were not able to experience this during our excursion, Johnny Rockets is notorious for its many "jigs." These dances may seem as if they are only a random and wacky way to gain customer approval, however, the implementation of these dances are a display of the great leadership that Johnny Rockets portrays. This restaurant was created to serve a family-friendly crowd, they instill this value into their employees, and their employees, in turn, allow themselves to become the tool that delivers Johnny Rockets' purpose to its customers. As a result, Johnny Rockets becomes an enjoyable experience for the customer and the employee because all understand and a common belief. That is, the dining experience should be entertaining and enjoyable for customers of all ages. This is attained through the use of music and dance.

As discussed in class many times, we as orientation leaders must identify the common goal of NSO and strive to achieve it by all things necessary. Like Johnny Rockets, we should be innovative and effective our quest to achieve our goal. The biggest lesson that I learned from the excursion is that the little things count. Just as the smiley made of ketchup made me feel more welcome, a smile given to a first year student on a bad day can completely change his mindset of Rutgers University.