In 1965, sales exceeded those of McDonalds, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken combined. Once numbering more than 1,000 locations, the number has dwindled to a mere four.

What went wrong at Howard Johnson’s restaurants?

“For a long time, customers and service were key issues. By the mid-seventies, they had a lot of stockholders to please. The big emphasis was on increased quarterly earnings. They began squeezing the payroll, squeezing the customer. All of a sudden, we were not to serve water unless requested and not to use place mats. You’d be crazy to open a Howard Johnson’s today.”
Ron Butler, Howard Johnson’s owner for 39 years.

“They became cost-conscious instead of customer-oriented. They lost their focus of being passionate about serving the customer.”
William Rosenberg, founder of Dunkin Donuts.

“We ran a very tight operation. We kept our expenses low. We wanted to have earnings improvement. We were on top of the numbers daily.”
Howard B. Johnson who assumed the role of company president in 1959. Quoted from a 1985 interview in Forbes magazine.

Lesson: If all you focus on is results, you won’t achieve them long term.

Proof that relationships with your employees and customers are the key to long-term, sustainable sales growth.

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