SMALL BIZ
◆ BY MICHAEL GOSSIE
SOMEThING TO ShOUT ABOUT Dueling piano venue in Glendale sings a different financial tune after turnaround
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any businesses in the entertainment industry struggled through the recession. But what almost put The Shout! House in Glendale on ice was the NHL lockout, which kept teams off the ice and kept patrons away from Shout! House’s Westgate location at the start of the 20122013 season. The Shout! House almost had to close its doors in January, but menu and marketing changes quickly helped the business sing a happier tune. Az Business caught up with Emily Freeman, director of operations for The Shout! House to find out how she pulled off the amazing turnaround. az business: Describe The Shout! House for those who haven’t visited. emily freeman: Two piano players/singers perform face-to-face at grand pianos playing classic rock ’n’ roll hits to today’s popular music. It is a 21-and-over, nonstop, audience request driven show where the performers involve audience members in roasts and on-stage interaction. We are a destination place for all types of events, including bachelorette parties, birthdays and even corporate bonding retreats. ab: How did the NHL lockout impact The Shout! House? ef: We’re extremely fortunate that Westgate is home to a variety of events that provide a steady stream of locals and tourists to the area. That’s why the NHL lockout was such a scary obstacle for us. It decreased the amount of traffic coming to Westgate, which made business really tough for a while. After weighing our 10 AB | July-August 2013
options, we decided that we had to cut back in order to weather the storm. We were up front with our staff that there would be fewer hours and a lot of hard work. The team stuck together in a way that was really inspiring and it paid off in the long run. ab: What did you do to turn things around from a business perspective? ef: We tightened up on food and drink inventory, cut frivolous expenditures, scaled back on labor and initiated more grassroots marketing. A surprisingly quick fix for cutting costs was opening one hour later on the weekends. We also implemented a new policy that ended up having a big impact. We no longer charge a cover to those who make reservations. This gives our guests an incentive to plan ahead and show up early, and it helps The Shout! House better forecast for staffing and inventory. Plus, as our seats fill up with reservations, we become that hot spot that everyone is vying to get into. ab: What has been your biggest challenge? ef: Staffing. It has been difficult to find quality, trustworthy managers who care, servers who are invested in the company and piano players who want to live in the Valley and put in the work to create something special. When we first opened The Shout! House, we flew in a team of musicians from all over the United States. Everyone seemed very disconnected from one another, and it was difficult to form the camaraderie necessary for this type of environment. As a result, we didn’t have a team to really “sell the show.” Little by little, we have been able to cultivate a group of musicians that is willing to put in the work necessary to create a unique
Emily Freeman, director of operations
guest experience. That snowballs big time, and ultimately the operations staff is inspired to be better, to get more involved and to work harder as a team. ab: Who is your target market? ef: Because of The Shout! House’s location, we tend to attract a higher percentage of tourists during football, hockey and spring training season. However, because The Shout! House offers them a form of entertainment that is difficult to find elsewhere, those same tourists become our regulars each time they come to town. Every night, the piano players ask the audience, “How many people have ever been to The Shout! House before?” By the sound of enthusiastic screams, we are finding that our audience of regulars is growing rapidly. ab: The Shout! House prides itself as a business that operates like a family. What impact does that have on your bottom line? ef: In the customer service industry, we have two customers: our guests and our employees. As managers, we work for both of these groups of people. If our employees have a positive, memorable experience every time they come to work, then they will give everything they have, creating an amazing experience for our guests. This is something my boss taught me from day one: the valued, empowered employee will always give more than 100 percent. This philosophy didn’t yield a huge profit overnight, but it has created a tight-knit team with integrity – one who prospers personally and financially when our business thrives. That is what has created a strong backbone for this company, enabling us to weather any storm.