The Samovar Tea Lounge: It's All About Tea and Service (2/2)

-Employee benefits do NOT necessarily mean spending a lot of money on them--of which our business type is often short of--It does mean being creative with interesting ideas, including listening to them for ideas on what THEY would like to see (such as Field trips to competitors, Outdoor activities (rock climbing, surfing, hiking...) -Business exchanges with local businesses are little financial cost to us, and allow other businesses to benefit from our offering, and for our employees to benefit from theirs at little or no cost: Some things we offer our employees are: free yoga at local yoga studios, free massage and acupuncture with a local health clinic -health insurance, 1 year coming soon, and looking into offering a 401k plan. About the Art of Listening -Our primary tool we use for all aspects of our business, from the management to the dishwashers, from vendors to banks, and from customer to customer: Ears -Listening is the most important element for all Samovar employees at all levels--because if everyone is listening, and everyone understands our Vision, everyone can be intelligent in doing whatever is necessary to carry out the Mission--this pertains to everything from customer interaction, to awareness of the facility. -The ability to listen is a number one priority for all roles at Samovar, for the managers to listen to employees (as well as customers), and for employees to listen to customers, and for everyone to listen to the environment around us. -Management must lead by example--too many jobs where we feel unimportant and useless, like a cog--if we are listened to, we feel better about our efforts, and perform better. -If managers REALLY are listening, to employees, they can provide a better place for their staff to work -- and if they staff are happy they will do their jobs well, and create ecstatic customers, which will help the business achieve its goal --However, it is important to note that listening to the employees does NOT mean satisfying their every request--that would be plain stupid—listening to them means opening your awareness to really understand what is going on--and to react intelligently to the situation. And that is not easy! -Listening is not just listening to sounds--it is using awareness to see,hear, and feel all around. This skill takes a lifetime of hard work and isnot at all easy - We don't always succeed! The result: -Our staff turnover is unheard of--We have lost two out of 15 people since we opened 2 years ago--and they left to travel the world. QUICK FACTS Samovar Tea Lounge 498 Sanchez Street San Francisco, CA 94114 Phone: 415.626.4700 www.samovartea.com Media Contact: Leslie Keller leslie@allisonpr.com