The 5 Whys

The 5 Whys is a powerful method of getting to the root cause(s) of a problem. Ask "why" as many times as necessary to get to the true cause(s) of a problem. It usually takes 5 whys or less.

This excerpt was taken from the book: Mastering Critical Thinking

Here is an example:

Customers aren’t satisfied with the service at a local restaurant. The restaurant owner wants to determine the root causes of the problem. He carefully reads all the restaurant reviews from the past year. There were consistent compliments about the food quality.

However, there were many negative comments about the service. This significantly pulled down the overall rating of the restaurant. Since the food is highly rated, the owner doesn’t focus on observing its quality or the cooks, except for how long it takes to prepare the meals and whether they take too many breaks. Instead, the owner invests significant time observing and interacting with his employees and customers over the next few weeks.

The ownder asks friendly but probing questions to understand the root cause of the bad reviews. He records his observations and interactions with copious notes. While observing and questioning employees and customers, the owner uses the following Whys. This helped him determine the root causes and make well-thought-out changes.

Why #1 (Why are customers giving bad reviews?)

• The front greeting stand is frequently empty when customers arrive. Many customers have to wait several minutes to be seated.
• Several waiters and waitresses are slow to attend to and serve customers.
• Some servers are not engaging the customers in friendly conversation.
• Various servers, cooks, and other employees hang out in the break area when they aren’t on a break. They spend too much time talking, smoking, vaping, and on their phones.
• In summary, the service was bad overall, and the customers were upset.

Why #2 (Why is the service bad?)

Many servers, cooks, and other employees aren't doing the job they are paid for.

Why #3 (Why are some employees not doing their job?)

Some employees are either poorly trained, uncaring, or both.

The Solution - The owner determined the service was poor due to poor training and weak employees. He implemented a mandatory training program to ensure the customer gets excellent service. The owner also released employees who weren’t willing or able to do a good job. After two months of focused training, restaurant ratings started improving. Within six months, ratings were averaging 4.8/5.0 per month.

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Do you want to unlock the power of critical thinking and create an amazing future? If so, click the link and get your copy of Mastering Critical Thinking today!

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