Ensuring people are high on food is what drives Prosenjit Roy Choudhury, the CEO of Barbeque Nation. Much like the perfect kebabs his restaurants serve, this hospitality streak has helped Choudhury grill up a restaurant business flavoured with profits. Choudhury opened the first outlet of Barbeque Nation in Mumbai’s Pali Hill in 2006. It wasn’t just another eatery opening though. It introduced the concept of a live grill on the table. Today, nearly 30 lakh foodies dine at these restaurants. The Miele Guide has also listed it in the Top 100 Restaurants of Asia. 

I don’t believe a people’s business needs to be vigorously process-driven. I like to give our people flexibility and independence."

My childhood dream was to follow my father’s footsteps, and become a pilot. Alas, things turned out differently because I couldn’t clear the medical exam. After my school, I joined the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology in Bhopal. Even here, things didn’t go as planned. During campus placements in my final year in 1995, I fell ill with Hepatitis B. I couldn’t appear for interviews with the big brands that came to campus. Fortunately, a few companies came late, and I sat for all those interviews. They all offered me a job. And I ended up joining Sayaji Hotel, a new four-star hotel in Indore as a management trainee.

Looking back, joining a new hotel was a great idea. It helped me become the jack of all trades and in seven years, I was heading the Indore property.Because I was interested in F&B services, I made that a priority for the hotel. It was also a necessary tool to expand new avenues of business. In 1999, we started Kebabs Ville, a pool-side restaurant. Here, we introduced the concept of a live grill on the table which was an instant hit. Later in 2005, we changed its name to Barbeque Nation to do justice to the wide array of cuisines this format offered. Needless to say, the format was a huge hit for our property. But eventually, the excitement of having done this died, and work became monotonous. I wanted more.

Sajid Dhanani, MD of Sayaji Hotels, who has been my mentor and guiding force, suggested I explore the retail side of the F&B industry. So, I moved to Mumbai to study the market and look for prospective business opportunities. The first five months there—researching, planning and setting up Barbeque Nation’s first outlet in January 2006 in Pali Hill taught me what 10 years of my hoteliering experience could not. That first restaurant was set up with an investment of `2 crore from Sayaji Group.In the first year, I kept an eagle eye on the business’ operations and customer feedback. The restaurant was getting a good response and people started patronising the brand. Confident, we opened three outlets in Bangalore in 2007, and 12 more in different cities across India the next year. Thing were going great. But, I wasn’t prepared for what was coming next.

First, business was hit in 2008 because of the economic downturn. Plus, I did not have the expertise of running a chain of restaurants across multiple locations. Learning remote management was a game of patience and persistence. I ensured that all guns were firing at the same time, and in the same spirit. Things began to improve by mid-2009 and we have been growing at a CAGR of 27 per cent for the past three years. We are adding 24 more outlets this fiscal year so there will be a total of 46 outlets in India by 2013. None of this could have been possible without our guests. I think of them as our mentors. More than 30 lakh people eat at our restaurants each year. We have honed getting customer feedback into an art—it’s the key to our growth. 

 Learning remote management was a game of patience and persistence. I ensured that all guns were firing at the same time, and in the same spirit.

We have established an R&D cell to regularly collect feedback from our customers. Our methodology for this is unique to India. Our tele-caller teams call 20 per cent of our customers from each of our outlets to rate their experience on the food, restaurant ambience, hygiene, ease of booking and responsiveness of service. This Guest Satisfaction Index helps us to ascertain where we stand from a customer’s point of view, and gives us a clear picture of how each outlet is faring. It also enables us to take immediate corrective measures.  The restaurant business is relentless, and it’s a people’s business. There is no way you can have happy customers if you don’t have a robust and engaged team.

I don’t believe a people’s business needs to be vigorously process-driven. I like to give our people flexibility and independence. Innovation comes only when you trust your people and give them the space to act and lead. F&B is a touchy-feely business. I am like that myself. In our business, logic isn’t always paramount. Sometimes, customers aren’t right logically. But, for us, they are. Today, we have 1,600 people working for us and I am proud that in an attrition-afflicted industry like food, we have been successful in keeping our attrition manageable. At 37 per cent last year, our attrition was half of that of chains like McDonalds and KFC that have attrition rates as high as 75 per cent.