Taste of Chicago is an immense enterprise in the City of Chicago, and its long running history is proof of how important residents of the city find it to be. Part of what makes Taste so successful every year is the management staff that runs each booth. In order to be an effective manager one must have a keen understanding and awareness of their own product, and of their audience; management that understands their product, also is able to increase their profits, by communicating to their customers a direct message and advertisement about their varying food items.
Because Taste of Chicago is centered on food, it is imperative that a manager knows proper temperatures, food preparation, and how to handle items that have been pre-made. Food preparation for booths at a festival, is greatly different than food preparation in a restaurant. A successful booth manager is one that understands the difference between working in a high volume restaurant and outside at a festival, and is someone that can translate the work inside a restaurant to outside. For example, when working outside all day in a booth, food temperatures can become essential to the customers experience. Also, proper packaging for items is important to the comfort level of each guest. Knowing they will be walking around all day with packages in their hand is something that a manager needs to consider. If a manager communicates well with his or her staff, then they will be able to provide great service to their customers, while empowering their staff to do the same.
In business, one must know how to steadily increase the marketing of their brand; in a struggling economy it is essential to know how communicate an effective message to your customers, and it is important to have one, clear and coherent directive about their product. One way a manager will be successful at Taste is by aggressively advertising what their food is about, and what their style of food language is. A customer intuitively recognizes when a manager cares about their product, and understands if the manager is committed to promoting their own brand.
A strong manager is not only able to promote their product well, and to train their staff effectively, but is also able to understand how to promote their establishment and how to be detail oriented in a fast paced and challenging environment. Were one to miss important details, such as rental fees, food prices, and inventory, they would not find success as a booth manager at Taste of Chicago.