Posted: Friday, 24 May 2019 @ 16:19
by Tim Shand, Business Development Director at Rivers Leasing
‘Razzle Dazzle ‘em, and they'll make you a star!’ trills Billy Flynn in the West End’s Chicago, as glitter rains from the ceiling. However, while the sparkle of the stage calls during the festive season and businesses clamour to squeeze the last penny from every eager customer with special offers, to what extent do short term gains herald long term losses?
Moving from one epicurean delight to another, food is a key feature of the season, and many restaurants use it as a prime opportunity to see business boom in the hope of speedy growth and perhaps a lucrative sale in the New Year.
Practically though, it’s amazing how often veering off a steady growth plan can leave businesses floundering under a rapid influx of business that leads to a loss of service, poor cashflow and a scale that stretches a team ill prepared for sudden growth.
While it’s all very well looking at it from a facts and figures side, we can see is on a personal note as well, as the unwitting clientele heading to favoured restaurants only to be met by a seasonal drop in standards.
As a case in point, my wife and her team went for their work Christmas lunch this week to a well known high street restaurant. Having ordered their starters and main courses two months ago everything ran smoothly until it came to the desserts. At this point many of the options were out of stock. When the team manager, who is vegan and lactose intolerant (as declared and acknowledged on booking) questioned her pudding the restaurant insisted it was dairy free and vegan, until she swelled up like a balloon, at which point they admitted they had made a mistake and it was neither vegan nor dairy free.
The point is not to name and shame that particular restaurant but to illustrate that cramming more business in with poorer quality menus and a drop in customer service is a real turn off for many, and can have a long term impact on the impression that potential regulars have of that particular business - no matter what sector it’s in.
I am aware that this could sound a touch ‘bah humbug’, however, a lifetime in finance and an ethos that has honed the success of Rivers Leasing under the watchful guidance of senior management tells me one thing; that kind of growth is just not sustainable and it’s not good for the brand, the customer or the staff.
Instead, at Rivers Leasing, we favour a slower and more organic approach that allows you to grow at a pace that you can control and manage without busting the business. Our aspiration has always been to provide an exemplary service, so we have managed our growth to make sure we can still deliver on noticeable quality, whatever our size.
After seven years, we started 2017 by being named in the 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe for 2017 in the FT1000, and have welcomed new members of the team with additions to all departments from finance to marketing.
As the team continues to grow in line with business developments and demand, we enjoy strong relationships with trusted brokers across the UK, building longstanding partnerships that are at the heart of what we do.
That foundation, built slowly and steadily has allowed us to grow without reducing the quality of our service, and as such we continue to be in a position to grow further, facilitated by our recent launch of a £3 million loan notes investment opportunity with Crowdstacker, offering investors the chance to earn a fixed 6.5% gross p.a. return over three years.
It might not be Flynn’s glitter in your eyes, but so far the future’s looking decidedly sparkly.
For more information visit https://www.crowdstacker.com/rivers
Crowdstacker Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (frn. 648742).