When one first enters Bon Bons of Cape, the smell of freshly baked brownies, cakes piled high in many layers, and handcrafted macarons wafts through the nose. The décor is light and cozy, and friendly employees invite you in—almost like arriving at grandma’s house.

Based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, this full-service bakery provides not only all kinds of baked goods but also lunches and dinners as well. The menu boasts burgers, fish tacos, salads, omelets, and more. Founded by Stephenie Gardiner, the business started in 2011 from a small-batch bakery to a food truck. “The food truck,” said Gardiner, “is where our business really took off. That’s how we became so wellknown in the area.” After selling her tasty treats in the food truck for several years, she sold the truck and used the proceeds to start the brick-and-mortar store known as Bon Bons of Cape.

“The food truck showed us that we could get bigger,”

Gardiner said. The store consists of a dining room, a counter to display her baked goods, and a kitchen with numerous mixers, prep tables, refrigeration, fryers, grills, and ovens.

It may be small compared to larger national bakery chains;

however, it helps Gardiner keep up with the constantly expanding demand for her products. By growing the business, she faced the new challenge of hiring staff. “We’re now up to six part-time employees—one of which works just over 30 hours, so she’s almost full time.” Of course, hiring new people means training.

“Training is very important in my business,” she said. “Fluidity is the word I use to describe what the bakery business is like when we’re busy.” Employees must be able to quickly move from baking a cinnamon roll to cooking a chicken quesadilla to refilling a guest’s coffee to cleaning up—all within seconds of the last task. “There’s a dance that occurs in a commercial kitchen,” she said. “Once you know the dance, it’s a lot easier to keep things moving.” The dance she refers to is the ability of one worker to anticipate where another worker is going next so you’re not constantly in one another’s way. If an order comes in for fries and you’re in front of the fryer, you step to one side to allow the person who makes the fries to get there quickly without having to ask you to move. “You have to be prepared to work in a fastpaced environment, but you also have to focus on quality,”

she added.

Gardiner’s training of staff is very hands-on. “First,” she said, “I assess how experienced they are with baking or in a commercial kitchen.” She watches them carefully as they are trying new tasks. “I need to know where their skills are lacking—whether it’s how to properly separate yolks or their ability to handle a knife.”

Once she observes how much and what kind of training her staff requires, she models the right kind of behavior. “I noticed long ago that employees mirror their manager’s behavior.

If I chitchat too long with a guest, then employees begin to feel it’s ok if they also talk for long periods of time rather than focusing on their work. If I cut corners on something, then they’ll start cutting corners.” Therefore, she needs to model the behavior she expects from employees. She does this through following the procedures she has established for the kitchen and for the dining area. “Also, when they do something well, I make sure to tell them. When they do something incorrectly, I let them know that as well—the important thing for me is to do it right away so they know the behaviors I want them to repeat and which ones should not occur again.”.....

Questions 1. Why is training so important to Stephenie Gardiner of Bon Bons of Cape?
2. Using the training process illustrated in the chapter, describe how Gardiner moves through each of the five steps.
3. How does Gardiner assess the training needs of new employees? How effective is her method?
4. D iscuss Gardiner’s method of delivery of training.
5. Thinking about the five steps in the training process, what recommendations would you have for Gardiner to improve her training?