$20 Minimum Wage?!

Apryl H.:
"Hello Mrs. McGill."

Penny M. (chuckling):
"Oh, suga, call me Penny. You make me sound old. Mrs. McGill? Are you kidding me?"

Apryl H.:
"Yes. PENNY. Ha ha."

Penny M.:
"Hello there, how are you?"

Apryl H.:
"I'm great! The talk is buzzing. Everyone is talking about it. $20 minimum wage. That's unheard of in retail stores, and especially in restaurants. What was behind this decision, and what are BBQ '92's plans going forward? Is this temporary, or something you're considering long-term?"

Penny M.:
"I'm gonna ask you one thing, darling. If you had a job paying $20 an hour, would you quit?"

Apryl H.:
"umm, no? Most certainly not. In this economy?"

Penny M.:
"You see, I like to eat. Maybe you like to eat too. When you go to some of these places, especialy those paying $8 an hour, you get the worst customer service. Am I right, or wrong?"

Apryl H. (nodding head):
"You're right."

Penny M.:
"When I receive bad customer service somewhere, I don't go back. When someone treats you like garbage, trust them the first time. I don't do abusive relationships. Honey, you put your hands on me, that's the last time you put your hands on me. I grew up in Mildrock, North Carolina. That's not how we do."

Apryl H.:
"I hear that."

Penny M.:
"What I want BBQ '92 to do is give people the first impression they're looking for. And you're not gonna do that with unhappy employees. I want people who WANT to be there, not just people who HAVE to be there.  You're not gonna shit on my restaurant, excuse my language—"

Apryl H. (interrupting):
"You're fine."

Penny M.:
"You may have to edit that out, but you're not gonna crap on my restaurant just because you can go work at Burger The World, or Speckles Co., or Hammerhead Steakhouse, or wherever. Nobody's gonna crap on $20 an hour. And not only that, you will get a 50-cent raise for every 6 months you work with us at either of our two locations."

Apryl:
"Wait, what? What about the people who have been working there since the beginning?"

Penny M.:
"We boosted their pay in retro. Hun, we are millionaires. Taking care of the people who make us money won't hurt us a bit. In fact, as long as they're happy, our customers are happy. Guess who's gonna come back because their food is clean? Guess who's gonna come back because their food is fresh? Guess who's gonna come back because somebody spoke to them when they were having a bad day? Guess who's gonna come back because the restaurant is clean? Why will it be clean? Who doesn't clean when they're getting paid? Darling, money makes people happy. You give these people some money, and they're all over the place. You don't have to tell them to do anything. They're washing tables; they're making up stuff to do because they're happy. When you see them happy, you're happy. It's contagious.  And let me tell you something else. Nobody's gonna leave BBQ '92 a bad review about our customer service. You best believe that, suga."

Apryl H.:
"Wow... That... That is an amazing business concept. I went to BBQ '92 a few days ago, and everyone was happy to be there. And I admit, It made me want to go back, but I had already eaten. I didn't want to be greedy."

Penny M.:
"See there? That's exactly what I mean."

Apryl H.:
"Are you looking at expanding?"

Penny M.:
"We're considering Moolah City. And you won't believe this, but we were offered money to NOT expand to Moolah City. And that's exactly why we're going."

Apryl H.:
"If you pay more, you make more. I can't believe no one else has thought of this."

Penny M.:
"You don't need a fancy degree. Just apply, get trained, go to work, go home, look for that paycheck."

Apryl H.:
"Well, Penny, I don't want to take up too much of your time. I want to thank you for doing this interview with me. Any advice you want to give the people?"

Penny M.:
"Yes, it's a pleasure. And for you people at home, come to BBQ '92, grab you a bite to eat, apply for a job, and we'll hire you.  Stay motivated. You look out for us, we look out for you, at BBQ '92. Stay '90s."

Apryl H.:
"Thank you so much."

(Interview Ends)