Paging Gordon Ramsay!

With what is unfolding in Columbus and Shreveport, recently in Jacksonville and the disconnect that exists between so many orchestras and their communities, I wonder if there is someone or some group that would have the respect, the clout and the cojones to come in and shake things up so that we can focus on becoming relevant to our communities or at the very least to our audiences!….

Gordonramsey At home our favorite show on TV right now is Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares which is on BBC America.  He visits a struggling restaurant and literally tears the place apart from top to bottom to try and save it.  Now this guy is abrupt, and every second word is bleeped out, but there’s a consistency with his approach and his purpose and that is: work with what you have to make it better, fix problems and engage the public in such a way that they will always want to come back.   Also, do it with the best food you can find locally. He completely understands the concept of not airing one’s dirty laundry in public, and no matter how viral he becomes to get his point across in the kitchen, he’s like a church mouse and even the definition of charm in the dining room.  For instance, when he’s eating the food for the first time to judge its quality, he whispers so that other diners can’t hear him.  He also solicits opinions about the restaurants from the surrounding community not just from patrons (customers).  He is most concerned with the reputation of the restaurant because he understands word of mouth is key.

He uses his demeanor and over the top manner to help achieve success and viability for the establishment, by creating a great experience for the customer through staff satisfaction in the workplace.  He starts by working on the relationships between the owners, the chefs and the staff even going as far as to have them engage in team building exercises.  Nothing is left untouched including the decor, and he will at times take to the streets to woo the customers back with the product, and bring in experts for the different areas that need working on.

It’s great television but it’s also real and realistic, not every place he visits survives, although most do. Sometimes it’s too late to save the business despite his best efforts.  If above I replaced the word Restaurant with Orchestra, it’s the same “recipe” needed for Orchestras that are struggling.

A patron who doesn’t renew their season ticket for reasons other than those that are personal, is the equivalent of someone sending their food back to the kitchen.  An orchestra in a vitriolic out in the public labor dispute is symptomatic of a lack of team building and communication.

I would like to order a serve of Gordon Ramsay “to go” for everyone who wants to be or is a manager in our business!  Seriously though, I think watching this show should become a part of every arts admin course, and I’m going to recommend it at Drury where I teach.

1 thought on “Paging Gordon Ramsay!”

  1. THIS is a great idea, and could be really entertaining to watch on TV as well! Could be a mixture of “Flip this Hall”, to “Symphonic Disasters”, to “Orchestra Stadium” or even “Symphony Swap” (like Fox’s Wife Swap). But realistically, it seems that so many of these orchestras have wonderful ideas coming in from non conventional places and people, they consistently shut them out. How sad they keep resorting to the same garbage and always ending up in the predictable situations. Loved your article!

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