Food For Thought

Healthy Ideas for Profits

2010-04-06T13:48:00.000-05:00

“The wise adapt themselves to circumstances, as water moulds itself to the pitcher.” Chinese proverb

Good bye winter and hello construction season in Chicagoland. With the onset of construction season and its accompanying warmer weather, people are turning away from comfort foods and towards healthier, lighter fare. Are you poised to take advantage of this shift in the dining habits of your consumers? With the warmer weather people start thinking about swim suit season and everyone makes a mad dash for the gym and the health food aisles in the grocery stores. Why not be an extension of their healthy mindset and become a dining destination for the newly health conscious?

As people put their snow blowers into storage and start pulling out their bikes and other outdoor activity equipment, they start to think about shedding their winter weight. Now is the time to start offering low cal and healthier specials for your LTOs (limited time offers) to take advantage of their new found desire to trim up and get in shape. Salads, fish, half sandwiches, smaller portions, and smoothies are all great ideas to tap into as the seasons change and people start thinking about their waistlines.

Diners love to go out to eat for foods that are too difficult to create at home or are too labor intensive or that they don’t know how to create at home. With that fact in mind, now is the time to freshen up your salads with some different blends of salad greens. Why not try an artisan lettuce, or some mesculine mix to spice up your ordinary house salads. People are more likely to try a gourmet salad at a restaurant than they are going to try to create one at home. Salads are great margin opportunities for operators as well. Why not spice up your regular salad with some nuts or a new house dressing?

People love to go out for seafood and fish because they are too afraid to try cooking it at home. Fish is generally seen as a healthier protein option than red meat, so why not combine those two incentives to try to lure new diners in with a seafood special each week? Since people rarely muster up the courage to cook fish at home, you can always build in some extra margin into your seafood specials. Why not combine both of the aforementioned trends and offer a salad topped with a salmon filet or some tuna?

Now is the time to get out in front of the trends and provide some excitement to your menu with adapting specials and LTOs to the relevant seasons. Take advantage of shifts in taste and trend to add profits to your bottom line.

Who Is The New American Diner?

2010-03-11T10:42:00.002-06:00

I found this wonderful article in a trade publication and thought it worthy of sharing with everyone. From the article we can get some ideas on what consumers are looking for as well as some ideas for strategies to attack some of the changes consumers are making when they are dining out. One thing that jumps out at me from the article is diners' new found resistance to desserts, drinks and appetizers. To me, it seems like that is where we should start trying to break through consumer resistance with new and improved methods of marketing those segments to the diners that are already in our restaurants. People just need the reason to purchase those segments, and it is our job to find them a reason! Enough of what I think - here is the article.

Who is the New American Diner?
R&I's exclusive 2010 New American Diner Study shares insights into what today's diners really want from restaurant experiences and how the economy is affecting their dining-out habits.
By Kelly Smith Killian, Editor-in-Chief -- Restaurants & Institutions, January 1, 2010
Consumers generally have high regard for restaurants and what they deliver, but the economy continues to shape their views and behavior. About 70% see going out to eat as a treat or an indulgence, and as such, they value highly the quality of their overall experience (58.7% consider it as important as the food). And though most say restaurant visits are worth the expense, 65.4% acknowledge they’re looking for value. Additionally, regardless of whether they’re offered a deal, consumers are finding ways to shave dollars from check averages.

Diner Profile
According to R&I’s New American Diner Study, today’s diners …
… purchase a meal away from home 2.59 times a week on average.
… have higher expectations for the level of service in restaurants than in the past (53.5% say their standards are higher now).
… want choices—65% of diners want to be able to choose their own sauces, dressings or toppings; 68.7% like having options in portion size.
… put price before everything. Nearly 60% agree with the statement “In choosing a restaurant, price is usually my first consideration.” And diners across the board name lower prices as the top incentive at breakfast, lunch and dinner that would encourage them to eat at restaurants more often.
… say value is about more than price; 51% consider décor, music and furniture in determining whether a restaurant is a good value.

Word of Mouth Rules
Percent of diners who say they are drawn to restaurants by word of mouth. Recommendations from people they know well outweigh the word of strangers—only 17% say their choices are influenced by critics’ reviews, and just 12.9% are swayed by online consumer reviews. In addition, 45.3% say they choose restaurants because of coupons and specials; 26.3% are lured by television or radio commercials.

Dealing with the Downturn
More than seven in 10 consumers who say the economy has affected their dining-out habits say they’re choosing less-expensive restaurants; 87.2% say they’re dining out less. When they do go out, diners are adjusting their usual orders to cut costs. Nearly 69% say they’re cutting back on alcohol—up from 58% who last year said they were doing so. Among other changes diners are making:

79.9% don't order dessert
75.2% don't order an appetizer
68.7% don't order or limit alcoholic beverages
45.1% don't order sides
44.7% order smaller portions (i.e. lunch sizes)
44.6% don't order a beverage
44.4% share entrées

Opportunities for Operators

Give them something to talk about. Word of mouth matters: Operators should be leveraging the friend-to-friend power of social-networking sites such as Facebook by encouraging and incentivizing fan-site members to spread the word online about the brand.
Step up to the combo plate. It’s possible to nudge up check averages by offering full-meal deals: 58.3% of consumers say that if presented with the opportunity to order an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert for one set price, they would be likely to take it.
Consider coupons. More than half of consumers say they’re taking advantage of coupons or special deals as a result of the economy, and 45.3% choose restaurants based on the discounts they offer. Coupons and deals also are what people most want to get when they connect to a restaurant’s Facebook or Twitter account (63% said so).
Attack snacks. Snacks remain a golden opportunity for operators. More than half of consumers say they snack between meals at least once a day, and only 8.7% say they never snack. But 81% say they rarely or never stop at a restaurant to meet their noshing needs.

Feed Your Fish? Something Like That.

2010-02-24T12:35:00.001-06:00

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime." Chinese Proverb

Why are so many people resistant to training? Why when we are at work and the topic of training comes up do we immediately groan and bellyache about being pulled away from our normal jobs? What does all this have to do with restaurants – and servers in particular?

I have always found that compensation drives behavior. If it doesn’t make me money, then I have a hard time fitting things into my schedule. Can’t get anymore honest than that. I recently had occasion to sit through a 4 hour training class. I will be the first to admit that my ability to stay on task is seriously challenged when I am faced with a boring humdrum training exercise. This one was different. As I sat last night reflecting on my day, I couldn’t help but admit that it wasn’t so hard to pay attention in this one, and it got me to wondering why. The first thing that popped into my mind was that they were able to communicate with me in my language. They didn’t tell me what they thought I needed to learn or to get better at, instead they talked about how what they were going to show me today was going to help me make more money (my love language). They didn’t push their private agenda (unless their private agenda was to help me earn more money each year). They didn’t tell me why it was important to them. They didn’t stop at saying this is what we do, instead they went steps beyond and showed us why we are doing it, and how that is relevant to me.

Again you ask – “what does this have to do with restaurants?” Everything. The most successful restaurants have happy employees that generate big ticket averages. So, you say, I will hire happy people. That is a good start, but teaching them to stay happy is where most of us fall short. Servers making decent money in tips = happy employees. Happy employees = committed employees. Committed employees = a well run restaurant. Therefore servers making decent money in tips = a well run restaurant.

Whoa, wait, hold on……I hear you saying, it’s just not that easy. No it’s not easy, but it is simple. Want to grow your check averages? Teach your waitstaff how drinks, appetizers and desserts grow their tips. So now instead of making $5 off of a $30 check they can make $10 off a $55 check in the same amount of time and energy that it took to make that $5 tip. Teach the art of the suggestive sell. Bring dessert by before they order (so that they are mentally committing to a dessert before they even order). Suggest an appetizer to share. It is amazing how a good server can build check averages without the guests realizing that the server is crawling deeper into their pocket.

Do you know what else I have noticed? Servers that make money take pride in the work that they do. They take pride in their work area, and they take pride in their restaurant. They see things differently because they begin to realize that all of the subtle things help make them more money with each table. Again, if you teach and train the waitstaff why it is important TO THEM to have a clean station, make sure their tables have the right accoutrements and that you are there to help them make more money, then you will have a staff that cares, respects and wants to see you succeed.

We are all selfish people. The question burning in all of our minds is usually “What’s in it for me?” If we realize that at the core everyone is truly interested in what they can get out of something, then we can structure training and teaching in a manner that remains relevant to the audience. If we can make the mundane and the ordinary relevant, then we can achieve great things. Try it – when you meet with your staff next try to communicate what you want done in a language and form that is relevant to them and see what happens. If your employees begin to see and believe that they are doing things not just for your (the owner / manager) benefit, but rather they are doing it as an investment in their earnings, then you will see check averages, morale and the environment exceed your expectations.

Which Type of Twitter Account Should You Create?

2010-02-18T13:08:00.000-06:00

Which Type of Twitter Account Should You Create?
Social Media February 17, 2010 By Lisa Barone

There’s nothing difficult about heading to Twitter and creating an account to represent your business. What is difficult is knowing what kind of account you want to create and the voice you’ll be using with it. That takes some thinking about. There are many different types of Twitter accounts that you can create. You need to decide what’s going to be most effective for you.

Do you want to be strongly corporate and spend most of your time talking about the business? Do you want to create a personal account where you downplay what you do and focus more on relationships? Do you want to go totally left field and tweet as a syrup bottle? Don’t laugh. People are doing it! The type of Twitter account you create will depend on your goals for using it and, to some degree, your comfort level sharing information with your audience.

Below are some of the most common account types SMB owners are using on Twitter, along with some examples of each. Which ones do you identify with?

The Totally Corporate Account

There’s a difference between being a business owner on Twitter and being a business on Twitter. When you take The Totally Corporate Account it means that you’ve decided to tweet as the company itself. There’s no employee or real personality publicly tied to the account in any way. The focus is on promoting business news, blog posts, deals and to offer customer service. It’s not on building genuine relationships with customers. Everything that is done is done from the perspective of The Company.

For example, @JetBlue uses its account to tweet about flight deals, @Starbucks talks about offers on coffee, and we all recently saw @SouthwestAir use its account to do some reputation management when they got themselves into trouble. All three accounts take a 100 percent corporate approach to talking to Twitter users. We don’t know the face(s) behind the account or have any deeper understanding of the company’s voice because of them. The account is just there to keep us up-to-date on news and handle customer service complaints as they come up.

The Corporate-led Persona Account

The Corporate-led Persona allows the business to tweet as a Corporation, but to also include a bit of personality and insight behind the person publicly running the account. Customers will be able to tie a face and a name to the account to help build a community around it. All of the tweets coming out will still be able the corporation, with the exception of a few spice of life tweets to add some flair and personality. However, it will still be very clear that the person tweeting is doing so on behalf of the company and that’s their reason for being there. It is in no way seen as a personal Twitter account.

For example, we know that @ComcastCares is Frank Eliason, @Zappos is Tony Hsieh, and @DunkinDonuts is the cheerful Dunkin Dave. They’re corporate accounts but they include branded personas working to build a community around what’s going on. When we tweet at Zappos, we know that we’re talking to Tony. It provides an outward face to the company.

The Strictly Personal Account

A personal Twitter account is one with no obvious tie to any business or corporation. The person is tweeting as themselves, for themselves. They tweet about what they’re doing and where they’re going; they tweet after hours and on the weekends. The account is there to build relationships and to gain information. We know the person works for someone but that “who” doesn’t play into their daily activity.

Lots of people choose to keep personal Twitter accounts. For example, my little brother is on Twitter. He’s a college student and has no business reason to do be there. For him, Twitter is just another social network that he can use to talk to his friends, comment on his classes or to share links about his favorite TV shows or Apple products. There’s no corporate slant there. Just him communicating with his network.

The Business/Personal Hybrid Account

A hybrid Twitter account is what I see most small business owners creating. It’s an account that mixes both the personal and professional. You can tweet about what’s going on in your industry, what blogs you’re reading and any struggles you’re facing as a person in your field. But then you use the same account to tweet about taking your kids to the movies and what you’re making for dinner. You mix both worlds, even if that means alienating some who’d rather not know about the other. However, you don’t dilute your efforts trying to grow multiple accounts.

This is the approach that I use with @lisabarone, as do many other business Twitterers. Under the Hybrid approach, we share links during the day and talk about work, and then go home to tweet about what’s on TV and what we’re doing with our families. It’s a relationship-heavy approach that mixes both the professional and the spice of life tweets.

The Character Account

Character-based accounts have the tweeter posting from the voice, perspective and insight of an object/animal/plant/whatever. Everything is done through that character and the tweeter never breaks that character. It may sound silly, but we’re actually seeing a lot more businesses take this approach as they look for a way to stand out and connect with customers. If you do it right, it’s often ingenious. If you don’t, well, you just look silly.

Some of examples of this in action? There are plenty. Aflac tweets as a the @aflackduck, the National History Museum tweets as a whale with its @nathistorywhale account, @mrsbutterworths tweets as a syrup bottle, and @ColonelTribune is the voice of the Chicago Tribune and a totally made up figure.

There’s no right way to use Twitter, just like there’s no wrong way. However, there is the right way for you and that’s what you need to determine. You may even decide to adopt multiple account types. The question to ask yourself is, what’s going to help you get your message across? Built your strategy.

About the Author
Lisa Barone is Co-Founder and Chief Branding Officer at Outspoken Media, Inc., an Internet marketing company that specializes in providing clients with online reputation management, social media services, and other Internet services.

Everything I Know I Learned in the Restaurant Business

2010-02-15T12:48:00.002-06:00

I came across this list in my readings....don't know who wrote it, but I thought there were some nuggets of wisdom within the list, so I figured I would pass it along.

Everything I know I learned in the restaurant business

This, the second month of the new year, is a critical time of year to sharpen the saw, kick all the cylinders in and grab some traction, because if you're standing still, you're walking backwards. But don't get so busy that you overlook the lessons this great industry teaches every one of us each and every day. Here are 33 things I've learned, and hopefully they sound familiar to you, too.

1) All work is teamwork.
2) If you want to be bigger than everyone else, you'd better be better than everyone else, too.
3) Our business is run first for the enjoyment and pleasure of our customers, then for the convenience of the staff or owners.
4) The secret to winning is not to lose twice in a row.
5) The customer is not always right, but is always the customer, and it's all right for the customer to be wrong.
6) A pat on the back is just a few vertebrae up from a kick in the ass.
7) Challenge the process daily: Are we doing the right things, and are we doing the right things right?
8) Never practice on the customer. Training is your secret weapon.
9) Be tough on standards, easy on people. What you permit, you promote.
10) Be a blowtorch, not a candle. Leaders are never "energy-neutral." You're either giving people energy or draining it from them.
11) Customers will forgive mistakes in the kitchen more than mistakes in bad service.
12) The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
13) Over teach. Managers and employees both under learn and over forget.
14) Unoccupied time passes slower than occupied time. If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.
15) Employees are our first market. Never treat a customer better than you treat an employee.
16) You can have the best product in the world, but if you can't sell it, you still got it.
17) Good service means never having to ask for anything.
18) All behavior is the result of consequences: You get what you reward.
19) Never order Chicken on a Spit from a waiter who seems to get everything backwards.
20) Use the "Sullivan Nod": If servers smile and slowly nod their heads when suggesting a soda, beer, fries, appetizers or desserts, the customer almost always nods back and says, "Yes."
21) Of all the people who will never leave you, you're the only one.
22) If a customer tells you right off the bat to take good care of them because they're "big tippers," they're not.
23) The seafood is always fresh. Even in Wyoming.
24) Recruiting doesn't end when you hire someone. You recruit your employees daily. 25) It is more fun to eat in a bar than it is to drink in a restaurant.
26) If someone tells you it's the principle of the thing and not the money, it's the money.
27) In this business, you can always tell when it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
28) Tools left in the toolbox never built anything.
29) One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and over again and expect different results.
30) Q: What if we train our people to sell and they leave? A: What if we don't and they stay?
31) Life is short: Don't sweat the petty things … or pet the sweaty things.
32) High performers hate working with low performers. Groom 'em or broom 'em.
33) The restaurant business is a free circus. All you have to do is pay attention.

Takeout Your Share of the Profits

2010-01-26T13:35:00.000-06:00

Everywhere reports are indicating that the to-go category is booming for restauranteurs all over the country. As people look to dine cost consciously they are frequently turning towards takeout as a new way to save money (no tip – no beverages). Are you riding the wave of this new dimension of the food service industry?

If approached correctly, takeout dining could be a boon for those who capture the market and exploit the opportunity to make new profits through the takeout segment. No longer are people just ordering pizza or Chinese as takeout. The segment is booming to the point that grocery stores are trying to tap into the marketplace with their rotisserie chickens and fully prepared meals to go. Don’t get caught on the sideline watching your potential profits walk on by with their arms full of takeout packaging as they bring home their dinners. But remember, if you are going to get into the takeout business, you must do so with commitment and excellence in mind because it is next to impossible to fix your mistakes and insure that you will have a repeat customer.

What are the keys to a successful takeout program? To have a successful takeout program you need to focus on a few key areas. 1) Ease and accuracy of ordering (nothing worse than getting your meal home to find out that something wasn’t correctly prepared), 2) Does your food travel well? (figure it is at least a half hour from the time they leave your place and get to theirs), 3) Does your packaging hold up and do what it is supposed to do? (is it a mess when it gets home, and is the cold stuff cold and the hot stuff still hot?) 4) How are you positioning takeout in your operations? (who knows what you are offering and how are you getting word out about it?) Let’s take a minute to talk about each of these aspects of your takeout program.

Ease and accuracy of ordering…..This one is so simple and obvious, but in today’s market it is increasingly overlooked. We all want to get what we ordered, just the way we ordered it. Having an English speaking person manning the phones is the first step in insuring that the order is going to be correct when they get it home. Have someone double check the orders before they are boxed and bagged for pick up. One extra step to safeguard your business can pay huge dividends down the road. Many establishments are turning towards on line ordering….customers love it because they can build their meals just the way they like it, and they have an added measure of confidence that their order will be accurate because they created it.

Does your food travel well? Tailoring your takeout menu to items that travel best is something to keep in mind as you develop a takeout menu. Tweaking your existing menu items to travel better is always an option (offering sauces on the side, separating the hot and cold ingredients). Portion size is also something to consider as you develop your menu…sometimes offering the same item in multiple sizes (individual or family size), half portions or whole portions, the combinations are limitless. There is often times much more flexibility in putting a to-go menu together than there is in menus for dining in house.

Does your packaging hold up and do what it is supposed to do? For years cost effectiveness (price) has been the leading factor in deciding how restaurants are going to send you home with your food. It can’t be anymore as you fight for these elusive profit dollars. Packaging is every bit as important as what is in the package these days. It has to look appetizing when it gets home. It has to be hot (or cold) when it gets home. We all eat with our eyes first, and you want that first look (or bite) to be as good as your diner has imagined it would be. I said earlier that if you are going to do takeout, you must do it with a commitment to excellence and trying to save a few dollars by using cheap packaging is not the commitment that is necessary to build a viable takeout segment of your sales. Every penny invested in packaging is worth the extra investment. Presentable, appetizing food is imperative to a successful takeout operation, and more often than not, it doesn’t make it home in cheap packaging. The best meals lose their curb appeal when they aren’t presented correctly in your restaurant and presentation is equally important when they get it home.

How do you position your takeout segment within your operations? Is it on your menu? Is it on your advertising? Is it on a sign within your restaurant? Are you including to-go menus with every order? Is it on your website? Is it on your outgoing phone message or hold music? Do you have a separate counter for takeout? Do you offer curbside service for takeout? Committing to takeout can reward you with infinite profits, and you need to position it properly within your establishment.

Takeout is tricky. It is next to impossible to correct any mistakes because it is usually too late when the mistakes are discovered (can’t fix it with a free appetizer or dessert because they have already left the premises). Because mistakes are so difficult to overcome, it is imperative that you have the best practices in place to make sure that people are happy with what they brought home. Taking time to check the orders and packaging them in the right containers can go a long way towards earning you repeat takeout business. Getting word out to your existing customers that takeout (as well as catering) is an option for them is instrumental in putting together a successful takeout program. So go claim your share as America brings dinner back home.

Consistency Matters

2010-01-13T10:04:00.001-06:00

“My goal in sailing isn’t to be brilliant or flashy in individual races, just to be consistent over the long run.” Dennis Connor, “Mr. America’s Cup” captain of celebrated Stars and Stripes.

Chances are that if you are reading this, you get extra income based on the success of your establishment. Chances are that whoever is doing your cleaning, food prep, customer interacting and cooking gets paid by the hour. I don’t know about you, but I feel that is a stark contrast in motivating factors. We can’t always assume that what motivates us motivates everyone else the same way. How clearly are do you communicate expectations to your staff? How often do you remind them of your standards and what your expectations are? How often do you check to see if your SOP is being followed as precisely as you would do it?

I know that no one goes into management or ownership with a strong desire to babysit and check up on their employees. It isn’t the most glamorous aspect of the job, but it is an essential one. In today’s ultra competitive marketplace consistency, consistency, consistency, and consistency are uber important. Consumers are feeling the pinch in their wallets, and because of that they are more discerning and have raised their standards of what is an acceptable dining experience. I am fortunate to be surrounded by people that appear to have forgotten how to cook at home because they eat out so frequently. Being in the industry has made me tune in to their impromptu reviews and comments. I am amazed at how some of them who used to extend grace by saying “the cook had a bad night, it’s normally much better than that” are now crossing those restaurants off of their lists of dining options. They want to know what they are getting in exchange for their money, and you had better deliver.

What does all this have to do with expectations and standards? Everything. I recently had a partner in my business ask me to do some research on a particular product they were preparing. They were having consistency issues, and they wanted to find out if they changed a few things in their prep process how that would affect the finished product. I asked some questions and took some notes about his prep process, making sure to be diligent in recording the details. The next time I was in the restaurant, I began talking to his cooks about the issue, and it quickly became evident that what the owner thought was occurring wasn’t occurring quite the way he expected. The consistency issue resided in the inconsistent prep process. Everyone had their own take on how it should be done, and crazy as it may sound, the product was finishing without any consistency. Here is a perfect example of starting employees off with good training and then leaving them to find their own shortcuts and steps without checking back to see if the standards you set are still being lived up to.

In this instance the original standards were set so that a consistently quality product was served to the customer because that is what the owner thought would generate the greatest return on his investment. What happened was that hourly employees took over the process and began to perform the tasks with finishing in mind rather than having the finished product in mind. The difference is subtly significant, and happens all over the place. The key is creating a culture where excellence matters. It’s not easy and needs to be a focus for management. The key is in not assuming that what matters to you matters to everyone else that works with you or for you. If it’s important to you, make it important to them. Without clearly stated SOPs and expectations, you have no one to blame about the predicament but your self. No one wants to be perceived to have Gordon Ramsey like qualities, but if you want excellence, you have to demand it (even if you can demand it a little more tactfully than Gordon does).

How many of you have a written recipe book with clear, concise directions on how to prepare your meals? What happens when your cook takes a vacation? Does the replacement make it the same way? I remember going to a restaurant on a pretty regular basis and realizing that when a particular guy was working the line that I shouldn’t order eggs, but when the other cook was working the line the omelets came out fantastic. Does that happen at your place? With a clear training manual and recipe book with step by step directions that should never happen. You can’t afford to have that happen in this economy. In my town alone, that breakfast place now has 4 different competitors to choose from that might have a consistent omelet making it to the table.

Consistency matters. If you think it doesn’t you are fooling yourself. With some many dining options available to consumers, customers don’t speak up with their voices; they speak loudly with their dollars. Invest in your place by finding out from your customers what is working and what isn’t. Invest in your place by putting together a clear concise training manual with clearly defined expectations. Make consistency matter.

January Fun

2010-01-04T14:23:00.002-06:00

“To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future or indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.” John F. Kennedy 35th President of the United States.

Well, we made it. We made it through another holiday season intact. We survived the holiday insanity for this? A slow January?!! What is this God’s cruel joke on operators? Thanks for nothing! January isn’t always the best month for revenues. It can be a brutal month for customer counts and ticket averages too. January is cold. January is dreary. January is a lot of things and many of those things are unpleasant.

What can January mean to you? January is the perfect time to position oneself for even greater success in the coming year. Put this retail respite to work for you. This is a great time to look at your goals, best practices, your menu, your help, just about every aspect of your business. Why don’t you break it down weekly….1st week look at your help, 2nd week look at your menu, 3rd week look at your best practices and the 4th week look at what you are doing to drive more customers into your facility?

Start with an honest assessment of where you are today. What is your true labor cost? Do you even know? Are you allocating man hours to your greatest efficiency? Is there somewhere you can trim hours? Are there times when you can boost efficiency and productivity by adding hours to the schedule? Just because you have always done it a particular way doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it. Is there a growing day part that needs extra attention? Is there a day part that has been declining and that you might be able to get away with less? Now is the time to make those calls.

Week 2 – The MENU….start by asking yourself “who are you as a restaurant, what are you known for and why to people come to your establishment?” Answering those questions honestly will make the rest of your decisions so much easier to deal with….is this appetizer, entrée, dessert, side or extra reinforcing the answers to those questions or are they taking away from your identity? If they are detracting, why are they on your menu? If they are enhancing your identity, what other products are there that you can offer to extend that identity even further? Don’t get caught trying to serve too many masters. Find your identity and expand upon it organically. Become the best _____ that you can by building your brand through your menu. This is your big chance to drive new revenues with new ideas while reducing revenue suckers by alleviating the dogs. Talk about reshaping your bottom line! All of your items should be pulling in the same direction.

Week 3 – BEST PRACTICES….how do you do what you do? Is the way you’ve always done it, mean it’s the best way to do it? Often times not. We are all stuck in our familiar ways. They are easier and a lot less scary. Change is difficult. What if a new way of doing things saved labor but costs a little more on the invoice? Is it worth it to you? I can’t answer that but you can. Look around at many of the successful operations, and you will see that many of them are using value added items rather than commodity items in the early steps of their preparation. For example, many of the chains are using a premixed salad blend for their salads rather than tying up cooler space and man hours chopping and cleaning fresh vegetables and instead utilizing those man hours and space to find ways to make money and drive revenue rather than focusing on saving money one item at a time. Think about it….survey after survey shows that bathroom cleanliness is a leading factor for why customers will or will not return to a given establishment, but we all leave bathroom clean up for the end of the night when the chance to make the right impression has already passed us by, instead using those man hours to chop onions or lettuce or mushrooms……doesn’t make sense if you ask me. How locked down is your policy and procedure manual for the front of the house? Is it always done the same way? Is someone charged with checking accuracy and follow through? The opportunities for improvement are almost limitless here. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the way YOU want it done is being followed consistently.

Week 4 – MARKETING….what are you doing today to drive more people into your establishment next week, next month or next year? Social media (Twitter / Facebook / Chow Baby / Yelp) isn’t going away. In a world of growing connectedness people are becoming more and more dependant on their computers and smart phones for their information. What are you doing to control or influence the information that is available about you on the internet? How are you positioning your brand? What are you doing to boost your brand identity and recognition? How are you shaping your image within the community? Are you creating good will amongst the natives? Don’t take it for granted that word is getting out about you. One step further, don’t assume you know what they are saying about you. Google yourself. Surprised by the results? More or less than you expected? Better or worse feedback than you expected? Did your address and phone number come up? How about your menu? Shouldn’t they?

Nothing I have said in the previous paragraphs is anything new. And because they aren’t new ideas, they often get skipped over or overlooked. Don’t make that mistake in 2010. As the old saying goes….”when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”…..rewritten it means “When life gives you January, start planning to make the next 11 months great.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-16T13:20:00.001-06:00

I want to thank everyone for their support and friendship throughout the past year. I look forward to earning your business and your loyalty in 2010, and I wish you all the best over the holidays. Thanks for being a part of turning this job into something I love to do with you each and every day.

Blessings,

DJ

Am I Taking You Home?

2009-12-02T09:19:00.000-06:00

“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.” Napoleon Hill, author.

We all want our customers to say that we are their go to place. We want our customers to identify us as theirs. Not someplace they go to, but their place they go to. How do we do it? What are the steps necessary to build that kind of loyalty? What things can we be doing to position ourselves as THE place for them to be….that kind of loyalty in this economy is priceless. Developing a dedicated customer base can make all the difference for survival in this economy.

It is not nuclear physics – it is common sense. It is the simplest lesson that our parents tried drumming into our heads when we were little. “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” That’s it. It’s that simple. If we can instill the Golden Rule into our employees’ heads we will have the race won. I want you to think of the places that you call yours….be it a bar, a gym, a coffee shop, a bookstore, whatever it is….think about it – why are they YOURS? I go to a ton of coffee shops each month (a great place to get stuff done between appointments). Many of them look the same, smell the same, sound the same and sell the same things. But only a couple of them do I consider MY coffeehouse. What is the difference? The differences are subtle but extremely significant.

The biggest difference is that at MY coffeehouses, the employees don’t treat me like an interruption but rather as a welcomed guest. It is amazing to me the impact being looked in the eye has on my perception of service, warmth and quality. Learn my name or my drink and it goes one step further…..we all want to be recognized. It makes a huge difference in the perception of a place. At one of MY old coffeehouses I was Triple Tall Americano Guy for a year, and it made a total difference in how I felt about that coffee shop – I loved it….they knew who I was even if they didn’t know my name.

What does this mean to you? I am sure you are saying “great I am glad you felt special, but what is in this for me?” Do you have “regulars?” What are their names? What percentage of them can you tell me their names, jobs or marital status? Even better, what percentage can your staff identify by name? Every wonder why Norm always went to Cheers? Wouldn’t you love to go to a place that every time you walked in you were greeted with a chorus of hellos?

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.”

Its corny, and its probably stuck in your head now, but think about it. Those lyrics give us the simple directions on how to make our place your place.

Why do I want to have regulars? Why do I want my customers to identify my place as their place? Having regulars is like buying an annuity. You can bank on the returns they will provide. It may only be a cup of coffee or a cup of soup, but those dollars add up. The marketing value of having customers identify you as theirs is priceless as they tell their friends (and their wallets) about how great your place is.

Are your customers taking you home with them? Are you their go-to-place? A great place to start becoming their place is to begin by teaching your employees to look them in the eye and to learn their names. Sometimes it is the simplest things that make all the difference in how we are perceived.

Are You TWEET-Worthy?

2009-11-18T12:26:00.000-06:00

“I don’t want to be left behind. In fact, I want to be here before the action starts.” Kerry Packer, Australian media magnate.

I have to admit, I resisted the urge to join the Tweeting community. I just couldn’t see how anyone could be that interested in what someone else was thinking, saying or doing. I looked at it solely in terms of me. I mean what would I put out? Sold some great green beans today…..some foam containers too! I would have people abandoning Twitter immediately. What good could this latest innovation be?

When I started looking at it from a business perspective, I started to see how Twitter can be a very dynamic tool for marketing. How so? Let’s look at it for a bit.

Twitter is voluntary. The only people receiving your Twitter updates are receiving them because they want to. (Hint: an interested target audience) Therefore, Twitter is non-invasive and not unwelcomed. They are inviting you in for a visit.

Twitter is cheap. Damn near free. Imagine your ROI on that investment. You probably already have a computer. Signing up for Twitter is free. Posting something on Twitter is free. Did I mention that this is free and goes only to an interested target audience?

Twitter is easy. Type and send. You do it already – it’s called email, texting, or chatting. Even techno-dinosaurs can do it. Hmmm a free and easy to use medium that gets your name or message out in front of a relevant target audience? I can see why no one likes this tool.

Have I made a believer out of you yet? No? That is probably because you are saying “what could I possibly have to say that is worth tweeting about?” I can think of a zillion things that I think you should communicate to your most loyal and invested audiences. Todays Special. Today’s Entertainment. Today’s Deal. Today’s Soup. Today’s Featured Dessert. Today’s Featured Appetizer. Your Early Bird Special. Your Breakfast Special. Your Mission Statement. Positive Customer Comments. Testimonials. A Message From The Owner. It is limitless.

How about Tweeting about an hour before lunch what today’s sandwich of the day is? Plant the seed. The seed isn’t costing you anything. It is going to fans of your restaurant. It is a marketer’s dream tool. Why aren’t you on Twitter yet?

Turtles and Hares; Apples to Oranges

2009-10-28T11:10:00.001-05:00

“You compare the tortoise to the hare.” Ancient proverb

A disturbing trend that I am seeing in the industry is spread sheet buying. Big surprise hearing that a salesman thinks that trend is disturbing huh? Although I have my selfish reasons, the real reason I find this trend to be a bad one has more to do with your business than with mine. What? Saving money is a bad trend for business owners? I guess I better explain myself here.

For clarification purposes I would like to say that not all spread sheet buying is bad for business. Comparing prices on the same items is smart business. Comparing prices on Heinz ketchup bottles is not where I find the issues. Comparing prices on IBP choice ribeyes isn’t where I have the problem either. That is just smart shopping. We do it all the time in all facets of our lives. That is a wonderful function of living in a free market society. This kind of comparison and competition is what makes our economy great.

Where I run into issues with spread sheet buying is when consumers and vendors compromise quality for price. What is the real cost of the goods you are purchasing? Is it a good price or a good value? While the two categories are not mutually exclusive, the overlap is not as vast as one might think. Many consumers have the attitude that green beans are green beans. News flash – green beans are not always just green beans. This is the trap that many consumers fall into on a regular basis.

When an organization makes price the primary impetus behind purchasing, it consciously or unconsciously communicates a number of things to its vendors. The primary being that quality does not make a difference – all that matters is price. Think about what is wrapped up in that message. Cut a corner or compromise product integrity, I don’t care just get it in here at the cheapest price. What are the longer term ramifications of that attitude? Quality slips. Drastically. Attitude dips. Drastically. When quality and service (the byproduct of attitude) drop it isn’t long before customer counts drop too. Who wins in that scenario? It’s not you, that’s for sure. You may win in the short run, but we aren’t in business for the short run, we are in business for the long run – at least I’m not, are you?

Quality aside, what other reasons are there for variations in prices for similar items? This is another spot where the value equation comes into play. What else are you buying with that case? On time delivery? Order accuracy? Credit terms? Industry experience? Vendor support with recipe and menu ideas? A partner in your business or a transactional vendor? These intangibles are all part of the price that you pay when you make a value exchange with a vendor. You can’t forget that when you are making your buying decisions, often times there is a whole lot more than just the product being delivered involved in the prices you pay for your goods. What is important to you? What else are you giving up when you pay that price?

I love competition and I love the free market economy. I hate short sightedness. Let’s make an investment in your business together.

When life gives you lemons....

2009-10-14T10:23:00.001-05:00

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes.” Benjamin Disraeli, former British Prime Minister.

Believe it or not, this is a great time to be in business for yourself. I know that banks aren’t lending and that foot traffic is down, but I still believe that this is still a good time to be in business on your own. You probably think I am nuts, but let me at least tell you why I think so.

Big corporations have had their own way for the past 50 years or so, but everywhere we look those big companies are in trouble. Ford, GM, AIG, Bennigan’s, and many others are facing financial woes that put them at a distinct disadvantage. They are all in a defensive, self protecting mode of operations. They are all doing everything they can to protect their share price and to keep their investors happy right now. Rarely are they making decisions and positioning themselves for success in the future. This economic situation has created the greatest opportunity for small business in the past 100 years. You have the opportunity to topple, or at least outsell and outserve, the giant of your choice. While they’re busy cutting everything, guarding “shareholder value,” and their employees are guarding their desk and their job, NO ONE is guarding their customers (AKA: the lifeblood of their (and your) business). Is that cool, or what?

Now is the time to seize the opportunity and strike. Now is the time to take a time out and really assess your business. What can you be doing different today? How can you change your operational paradigm and focus on meeting and exceeding your customer’s needs and desires. All of the big companies and many of the small ones are figuring out how to do things with less staff, cheaper ingredients and poorer service. As an independent operator you have control over all of those things. Choose not to compromise your recipes by maintaining the quality and consistency of your ingredients. Spend time with your staff reinforcing the idea of customer service and going above and beyond. We would all like to cut costs, but the focus needs to be on driving people into your facility rather than on trying to get them in and out of your facility as cheaply as you can. If you focus on doing the things that keep people coming back and the things that bring new people in (think word of mouth from your existing customers), you have the recipe for success right in front of you.

Customers and foot traffic is the lifeblood of our industry. If we don’t have the people coming in the door, regardless of how cheaply we can do things, we won’t be in business for long. Instead of price, focus on value….not necessarily the value to you but the value to your customers. The difference in perspectives is subtle, but significant. Not putting your customers first is in essence putting them last and that attitude will trickle down to every employee and out to your customers. You don’t want to end up being the place everyone used to go to do you?

There is a sandwich place in the town I live in that had grown to be a local institution. They were known for great food and huge portions. They had a great 20 year run where there was a line out the door for lunch and dinner. It was a well oiled profit machine. I went to lunch there on Saturday at 12:15. There was no wait. AT ALL. WHOA things had slipped significantly. I looked around for reasons why. Here is what jumped out at me 1) lesser quality ingredients (downgraded his meats and cheeses) 2) reduced portion sizes – I used to ask for less meat and now I wonder where it went 3) they lost the personal touch…used to be that they all knew everyone’s name but this time I only heard 1 personal greeting.

What does that have to do with you? Everything. I am sure that he didn’t make his decisions thinking that someday I would take my vibrant business and turn it into a source of worry and sleepless nights. My guess is that in his pursuit to make his goose lie bigger golden eggs he wound up killing or seriously injuring his golden goose. Know your vision for your business. Stay true to that vision and serve your customers the way you want to be served and you will have a goose that keeps on laying those golden eggs for you.

Click here for part two of the story

2009-09-27T11:57:00.002-05:00

Yikes....not quite sure that the phrase "There is no such thing as bad press" is relevant here.

Click here for an interesting video on food safety

2009-09-27T11:52:00.003-05:00

Here are a couple of links to some NY news stories about food safety. Relevant in any market. Is price the most important part of your food buying decisions? If so, you could be the next star of a news segment. Imagine Dave Savini knocking on your door. Is it worth it?

Building a Better Mousetrap

2009-09-19T12:46:00.000-05:00

“The great thing about tomorrow? I can be better tomorrow than I am today.” Tiger Woods, professional golfer.

This economy has done some weird things to competition. Instead of competing to see who can make the most money, it seems as if the trend is heading toward competing to see who can stay open the longest regardless of profitability. Instead of being in a race to make the most, it seems like we are all racing to see who can lose the least. Not particularly a fun time to be a business owner (or a commissioned salesperson). How can we right the ship and get things back to normal? How do we be innovative and take a risk in a market that is shaped the way it is? How can we survive? More importantly, how can we flourish?

McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King and Taco Bell came out with their $1 menus, which work when you have their buying power. Subway came out with its maddening $5 footlong jingle and had some success wresting business away from their competition. Which worked until the competition came out with $4 torpedoes….what is next $3 half a footlongs and $2 bullets? Where does it end? How can we, the independents, stand up to this blood letting? How are we to position ourselves so that we can continue to survive and thrive in this marketplace?

We need to take advantage of what they are doing by capitalizing on their trend creations and marketing dollars while taking advantage of what they aren’t doing by providing that service and connection that you can only get from a local haunt. Chains are cutting staffs, cheapening their inventory and in many ways getting away from the things that made them successful. In their haste to create cheapness many of the chains are abandoning the fact that consumers still want value….they may have less to spend, but they still want to make an acceptable value exchange for their dollars.

What does this mean to you, Mr. or Mrs. Operator? This means that we need to be creative to find new ways to offer value for your customers’ dollars. The little things can’t be overlooked. It is the little things that are going to make you stand out from the competition. Recognizing your customers, knowing their names, clean bathrooms, quality napkins and disposables, clean tables, friendly staff, and quality food are what is going to drive your customers back to your establishment. People are still dining out. We are still spending money….let’s not forget that. We have to be better and different to keep earning the repeat customers and their dollars.

Each time you make a decision to save money, are you considering the value trade off? For example, I used have a neighbor that used to brag about buying the cheapest toilet paper….while I used to assume that was the reason his kids liked playing at our house. Who is the winner there? Is some facet of that happening at your establishment? When is the last time you looked around to see if it was? The phrase “jumping over dollars to save pennies” comes to mind when I think of some of the ways we come up with to save a little money. Who is your “Big Picture Policeman”? What stopgap measures do you have in place to make sure that you don’t win the battles to ultimately lose the war? Who can you rely on for this? Are your vendors helping you? Are your employees helping you? Is your family helping you? It has got to come from somewhere.

Let’s revisit value menus and their impact on the marketplace. It is very hard to be competitive without giving in to the value menu mentality. How can you get around it? One way that I have seen have success is by having multiple portion sizes at different price points. Think regular portions and a petite version….don’t compromise the quality or anything, just lower the portion size so that you present an option for the price conscious. The important thing is to keep your product integrity at all costs…..don’t bastardize your product to try to be competitive. You will soon become the restaurant that everyone used to go to….

Take a minute and look around at what the competition is doing. There are some great ideas out there that work. My parents about wet themselves when Maggiano’s came out with the take an entrée home with you deal. The best part was listening to my dad try to figure out if it was a deal to pay more for an entrée so that you could get a second entrée for free….Regardless of his conclusion, they have been back to do it again, and again, and again…..Why couldn’t you market something like that too? Morton’s Steakhouse is marketing a three course meal for two at $65. Not any meals, but the meals that they can construct to fit within that price profile. Why couldn’t you? You control the profitability and the menu. The perceived value gets people in the doors and gives them something to talk about the next day.

Today is not the day to say “we’ll just keep doing what we have always done.” Don’t abandon your brand or identity, but try asking yourself and your employees “what have you done today to earn a repeat customer?”

Do You Want A Smile With That?

2009-08-06T18:35:00.003-05:00

Michelle Joyce makes some great points in the following article that I am borrowing from one of the weekly newsletters that I receive. I thought it worth sharing.....enjoy.

Do You Want a Smile With That?
by: Michelle Joyce

The McDonald’s drive thru in Huntersville, North Carolina, has personal face-to-face service. (I actually put my car in reverse because I thought I had missed the intercom!) When I drove up to the window, the friendliest guy on the planet greeted me with an energetic, “Good Morning! How are you today?” I was stunned.

I am not a big fan of fast food – or their lack of customer service – but when I drove through this particular McDonald’s to get a cup of coffee on my way to work, my attitude changed. This smiling employee actually put me in a better mood.

He was happy and friendly. He greeted me and engaged me in conversation before he took my order. He then offered a variety of options that I didn’t know existed. A simple cup of coffee turned into a medium, sugar-free vanilla, non-fat latte. And when the transaction was over, he thanked me, wished me well, and told me to “drive safely” on my way to work.

I received better customer service in those 30 seconds, than I did when I bought a brand new car last year. And this guy didn’t even work on commission.

As I drove to work, I continued to think about the transaction. Salespeople often get into a routine of saying the same thing, in the same tone, and in the same sequence every day. But this worker’s positive attitude and desire to serve was inspiring. I didn’t expect this type of “VIP treatment” at a fast food joint, and I was blown away at the pride that this gentleman took in his job. The more I recalled the event, the more I realized… if this guy could evoke this much emotion from me over a medium, sugar-free vanilla, non-fat latte, then what kind of a difference could I make in the lives of my prospective customers today? I was up for the challenge.

The plan was simple. All I had to do was follow the three steps that made this transaction so memorable:

1. Start with a smile and engage your prospect in a friendly manner. Would you do business with someone you didn’t like? Well, neither would your prospect. This guy made me like him – immediately. And when he made that connection, the transaction became enjoyable. And it was all about me, not just my order.

2. Offer alternative solutions. People want choices. And just because you can recite all the bells and whistles of your products in your sleep, don’t assume that your customer is aware of them. Uncover their needs and help them make a choice. McDonald's already mastered the upsell technique with their famous line, “Do you want fries with that?” What kind of additional features and services can you upsell? Better asked, what kind of additional revenue are you leaving on the table at every sale?

3. End the transaction with something memorable. When is the last time that a fast food worker told you to “drive safely”? I am used to the generic lines of “thank you” and “have a nice day”; but this guy was genuinely concerned about my personal safety. (Or at least he made me feel that way.) What are you saying to your customers that make them remember you personally? What differentiates you from every other salesperson?

The plan is simple. But it’s not a matter of understanding these principles; it’s a matter of you actually practicing them every day. I am thankful that a friendly person reminded me of what it takes to be great in sales and service. I needed that kind of jolt to refocus my attention to the simple details that work – and away from the “doom” that everyone keeps talking about. The reality is that people are still buying products and services in this economy. The only question is will they buy them from you?

Focus on these three steps today.
Greet a new friend.
Upsell something.
And make them remember you.

Oh, and if you are ever in Huntersville, North Carolina, stop by the McDonalds on Statesville Road. Ask for Burg – he will take excellent care of you. (be careful of the upsell!)

Googlejuice

2009-06-11T14:47:00.000-05:00

“They lost their next generation of customers. They lost their destinies because they wanted to save their pasts. Protection is not a strategy for the future.” Taken from What Would Google Do? Written by Jeff Jarvis, American journalist.

In his book What Would Google Do? Jeff Jarvis describes the impact that the Google-fication of the world has had on the markets, the economy and our social structure. His compelling book drove me to look at our industry and how Google has impacted it in particular. Google has impacted our industry. If you or your business is not searchable, in many ways it doesn’t exist. The next generations of consumers are dependent on their PDAs, smartphones, and laptops, and those are the mediums through which they get their information. 99.9% of them utilize Google to help them find information like phone numbers, addresses and the like. What does that mean to you, the operator?

While the yellow pages are not obsolete, they are dangerously close to becoming so. More often than not, I turn to the internet for my information rather than a 2 inch thick book of addresses, names and numbers. I can get the info I need in a few keystrokes, and most of the time my laptop or my blackberry is handier than the yellow book. How many of us are still paying good money to advertise in the yellow pages? How cost effective is it? I am sure that there is one or two of you who are raising your hands saying “whoa, you don’t exist if you aren’t in the yellow pages!” That may have been so, but it isn’t anymore. The next generation goes to google.com and types in the name of your restaurant to get your phone number or address. Becoming searchable is far more important nowadays than being in the yellow pages.

What does being searchable mean? Simply put, it means that when I type your establishment’s name (or yours) in the search bar on Google, something pops up that will help you achieve your goal. If you can’t get found on Google, you need to figure out a cure for that and fast because opportunity is passing quickly. Consumers want things now. Google provides that information in under a second. You need to be a part of it.

Not only can potential customers get your vitals (phone / address) but they can get other information about your establishment just as quickly. Google has helped the world order its information, and that can help you more than you think. Chowbaby.com, Chowhound.com, yelp.com, mangia.com and urbanspoon.com are just a few websites that allow the public to go online and write a review about your establishment. Google takes all of those reviews and orders them so that when I type in your restaurant’s name in the search bar, they will all pop up almost instantaneously. Talk about a marketing opportunity. Talk about a tool to help you not only grow your business, but to refine what you are already doing.

I encourage all of you to get your customers to leave reviews on those web sites because those reviews can be the lifeblood to your restaurant’s success and growth. As an operator, you need to be checking out what those reviews are saying about you – you get firsthand information about what works and what doesn’t. FOR FREE. You will get excellent feedback on your menu – what is a home run and what is a dud. This is the type of feedback that can help you shape your menu and refine your business into exactly what the public wants from you. Also, the more reviews, the more searchable you become – the more of a web presence you gain and as a result, the more people are directed your way. Embrace these web services, if you use them properly, there is practically no downside to them. So what if someone says something unflattering – get on there and comment back, thanking them for sharing and telling them how you have corrected the problem. Turn the negative into a positive – you are more likely going to get a return visit from them, and you will show the public that they are being heard and that their opinions matter. Invaluable. That is how you turn a customer into a business partner – telling everyone all about their experience and how you responded differently than everyone else……the potential is limitless.

The world is changing, and with it so is the successful business model. These are tough times, and the business that adapt and respond to these changes are going to be the ones leading the charge into recovery. Be a part of it.

Flourish in THIS Economy? What are you nuts?

2009-05-20T08:53:00.002-05:00

"Don't be afraid of opposition (or competition). Remember, a kite rises against, not with the wind." Hamilton Wright Mabie, American writer.

NEWSFLASH – Not every business is hurting in this economy.

What are they doing that makes them different? Not every one of them are lowering their quality and reducing their prices to stay competitive. They are exploring the softer side of the value proposition that expands past the price and into service, quality and making sure to have clear points of difference to their customers.

What is the softer side of the value proposition? It could be anything that enhances the perceived value of what you are selling. The biggest one that comes to mind is service. We will all gladly pay a little more to KNOW that things are going to be done and done well. Cutting service is a very short term solution. When the marketplace as competitive as it is nowadays, customer service could be the thing that pulls you through these dark times. Naturally, we all want to cut costs, and cutting hours is a quick and easy way to do it. However, delivering your customers premium service could be the point of difference that draws customers into your establishment and not your neighbors.

Training your staff is more important than ever in this economy. We often have only one shot to earn customers’ repeat business. A bad experience is hard to overcome. Your first line of defense in this economy is your staff. Train them well, teach them to treat customers like honored guests, and you will earn your repeat business and make new customers regulars. Simple things like looking customers in the eye and adding a personal touch make customers begin to feel like your place is their place and strengthens that bond that draws them back.

Another way to survive in this economy is to create an air of a destination location at your restaurant. How can you make your place the place to be when a customer is making their spending decisions? I recently read about the McDonald’s in Olympia Fields that offers live entertainment in their restaurant. Apparently this place has become a destination location because of the much talked about karaoke nights, poetry slams, magic shows, and live music that local artists provide nightly. Who would have thought that someone would use the phrase destination location and McDonald’s in the same sentence? Being different brings people back and earns their business.

Today more than ever, businesses need to be innovative and thoughtful in how they operate to insure survival. What are the little things you can do in your restaurant to boost value and leave the profits in your business? I would love to hear about some of the things that you have found to help make yourselves successful. Drop me a note at dj.tryba@usfood.com.

Thanks for reading

Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It....

2009-04-16T08:32:00.002-05:00

"The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention." Roger Nash Baldwin, co-founder of the ACLU.

Ever wish life was like a giant etch-a-sketch (you remember the toy from our childhood) wherein we can call do over, shake things up and start from scratch again? I certainly have, and today I feel like with my recent change of employers, I have that chance to call do over. How exciting for me (at least I think so). Kinda scary, but exciting nonetheless.

Since I get this "clean slate," I want to make sure I implement the lessons I have learned from previous experiences and try to make an even better go of it this time. One lesson that keeps rolling around the forefront of my brain is that when I live without intention, I unintentionally fail. It is easy to look back over my life and see the failures that have resulted from not having a clearly defined purpose.

Clearly defining one's purpose is scary. It creates accountability. For many of us accountability is a yucky word. It doesn't have to be. Instead of viewing it as a limiting word (I can't do that now, because I am committed to doing this...) I have to force myself to see it as a word or process that can bring more freedom into my life. The freedom that comes from success and achievement.

Clearly defining my purpose helps give order to my world. It helps me keep perspective. It brings focus to my activities. You have heard the phrase "never confuse activity with accomplishment" - purpose brings accomplishment to my activites. When I am living without purpose, I often feel overwhelmed because I don't know what to do next. As a result, I feel like I am always chasing fun or joy, I get tastes of it, but never really get to revel in it because I always have this black cloud of overwhelming, undefined have-tos hanging over my head.

When I define my purpose and order my life, I no longer feel like I have to chase peace and joy because it is a more natural extension of having accomplished something. At the end of the day, I can look and see that I have accomplished my tasks, I am working toward a goal and can relax knowing that the work is done. What a better way to live.

What does this have to do with you? GREAT QUESTION! It is easy to get caught up in the minituae of everyday life. We all know that life throws us a million reasons to stay active, we have to discern which of those reasons to be active will actively move us closer to our goals. So what is your goal? Is it putting out fires, or is it preventing fires? What is the intention that you are going to live with today? Being better? Define better. Saving money? Making money? Serving customers? Our options are limitless. We just have to pick one and live it!

Thanks again for reading. Feel free to shoot me your feedback, thoughts or comments at djtryba@gmail.com.

Dorothy we aren't in Kansas anymore

2009-01-02T22:48:00.000-06:00

“It is so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to.” Annie Gottlier

As the calendar turned another year, it caused me to reflect on the past year and to do some vision casting for 2009. Last year was difficult. It looks like next year is going to be challenging as well. I would love to tell you otherwise, but I am guessing that it is going to be tough. I know what it is like to be a business owner in tough times. I experienced them myself after 9-11 and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun. I have spent some time reflecting on that time in my life and I think the biggest lesson I learned is about my attitude.

In challenging times it is difficult to get past the task right in front of you. It becomes all consuming. Whether it is wondering how to make the mortgage, payroll or insurance, it consumes you as a business owner. It isn’t fun. Many of you poke fun at my receding hairline or the “paunch” around my midsection, but that wasn’t the case before 9-11. 9-11 and the ensuing days changed my life. I don’t know if I could have done anything differently that would have led to holding on to my business, but I know that I could have done some things differently and that might have led to a less brutal demise and possibly a few more follicles left on my head.

The biggest thing that I lost through that time is my energy and enthusiasm for my job. I forgot that I chose to follow my dreams and open my own business. Instead of finding the joy in doing what I wanted to do all my life, I focused on the faltering economy and declining sales. I spent all day chasing and reacting rather than planning and acting with a purpose. It wasn’t long before I was just going through the motions. Working at a job rather than pursuing a career and a dream. The change it attitude didn’t happen overnight. It was a slow decay of my morale and world view. I never stopped to check myself. I just flowed from one thing to the next, I stopped living and working with intention. It made a tough time miserable, and it didn’t have to be so.

I challenge each and every one of you to ask yourself why you are doing what you are. Why did you become a chef, a small business owner, a caterer, a restauranteur, or a manager? What was it that compelled you to pursue this line of work? My guess it was because you had a passion to create, to serve, to conquer. Just because times are a little tough doesn’t mean that you have to give up that dream of creating, serving, and conquering. This is when it gets fun. This is when we need to remember why we got into this field and draw on the joy of living out that dream. It will lift your spirits and lift your mind. It will redefine our purposes each and every day. It will bring back the fire and the drive to succeed.

It is going to be a challenging year for us in food sales. My company didn’t lower their expectations for my success. I have some daunting numbers to achieve, and admittedly I had a few head scratching moments where I wondered what the heck I was going to do to succeed in 2009, but then I thought about why I got into sales. I love helping people achieve success. I love to problem solve, be a difference maker and to bring value. I am actually excited about 2009….this is what I was born to do. I know it. I believe that if you can rekindle that fire inside that drove you into your chosen field, you too will have that same shot of adrenaline that I have experienced. This is what we are supposed to be doing! It is going to be fun.

The last five or six years it has been relatively easy to be a success. Consumers were looking for new ways to spend their money, and at times it seemed as if all you had to do was open your doors and the people would come. It isn’t that way anymore, and it is quite shocking to all of us. But it doesn’t have to be the end of any of us. These are the times that separate the wheat from the chaff and it is our turn to join together and find success. It is going to take creativity, risk and hard work, but if you are pursuing what your dreams you will find yourself invigorated and energized by the challenge.

Find that spark inside and remember that life can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be miserable. We have a choice each and every day and it is up to us to work and live with enthusiasm and joy. It can be contagious. I was at the movie theater yesterday and I was in line to buy some popcorn and the manager of the concession stand was excited. Everyone around him knew it. “Happy New Year” he would yell out to each new customer. A compliment and a cheesy joke about some trivial thing accompanied everyone’s change. It was a little dorky (according to my 16 year old it was near fatal dorkiness), but I noticed everyone around him was smiling. The lines were long but people were still smiling because one guy remembered why he got into his career.

Take a little quiet time to sort your thoughts and relight that fire within you to drive your business and your success to great heights in 09!

Building Sales in a Slow Economy

2008-12-23T16:48:00.003-06:00

This issue we have another guest columnist, Bill Barker. Bill is a Commercial Segment Marketing Specialist with Gordon Food Service. He has excellent insight into the industry with tons of operations experience as well as 10+ years working for Gordon Food Service. Bill specializes in partnering with operators looking at their business model, engineering their menus and helping them establish best practices to optimize their efficiency and profitability.

If we could only count on Chef Ramsey to enter our facilities and save us from our own nightmares we would all be able to sleep a little better at night. As nice as that would be it probably won’t happen any time soon.

I promised myself I would not join the ranks of many gloom and doom stories about how bad the economy is and the devastation most of our Independent Food Service Operators are facing. I chose to offer some insight on issues and solutions that are real and of concern of the customers I consult with.

In this issue we will highlight the following topics:
Building sales in a slow economy
Quality versus price

“HOW DO WE BUILD SALES IN A SLOW ECONOMY?”
By far this has to be the number one question presented to me on almost a daily basis. The answer is not easy and requires a lot of thought and creativity. The easiest way I found to answer this is by watching what the national chains are doing and then adapting it to your style and brand. Remember these chains teams of people that research how to take market share (from you!)

I am sure some of those listed here will be all too familiar with you however; there is commonality here in what they are doing to gain that market share.

Mimi’s Café like several others have gone down the avenue of smaller portions with lower prices. They have spent very little of their marketing budget getting the word out through table tents, direct mailings and their web site.

Applebee’s has been blanketing the airwaves with their 2 meals for $20.00. The consumer gets to choose one sharable appetizer and choice of two entrees from a list of nine options.

Logan’s Roadhouse offers two meals for $12.99, on a recent visit to a Logan’s on a Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. they were on a 1.5 hour.

T.G.I. Friday’s has hired Guy Fierri to promote their version of the “Right Price, Right Portion” concept. Here again they are offering some of their popular entrees in smaller portions at a discounted price and at the same time not sacrificing food cost. According to Erik Blauberg, Chief Executive EKB Restaurant Consulting “The most popular menus right now are those $20.00 three course menus. They’re important because you can make money on them and they raise customer counts. These margins may not be where you would like them however; I would rather make 7 or 8 dollars on a menu item than nothing at all.”

Don’t think these casual restaurants are the only operators offering these specials as I ran across an advertisement for McCormick & Schmick’s offering a $29.99 steak and shrimp special. Can you imagine McCormick & Schmicks offering such a deal!

Remember you don’t have to be like the national chains; you can tweak their ideas and make them your own!

QUALITY VS. PRICE
One thing I hope you have noticed is that I never suggest cutting quality to make up for food cost and margins. An example of this would be if you are known for a quality steak house you may consider lower the grade of your steak. As Technomic’s Darren Tristano notes puts it “Consumers want to feel that their dinner experience is a good value regardless of the price point.” Changing your product quality is probably not the best avenue to go down.

There are several ways to control your food costs without changing your quality.

WASTE TALLIES: these sheets need to be posted in the kitchen area and need to be completed for any reason there is food being thrown away. By having this information documented you can react quicker to reducing the amounts being prepped or reevaluate storage procedures. These sheets also need to be tallied each month to determine what level of food cost percent was affected.

LIMITED TIME OFFERS: This is by far the easiest way to drive food cost down and drive profits up. Take advantage of seasonal pricing opportunities or hot pricing specials from your distributors. The cost of producing limited time offerings is far cheaper than redesigning your everyday menus.

STANDARIZED RECIPES: Be sure to have all your recipes documented and make sure the kitchen staff is following them as they are written to ensure no over prepping. This is also important in consistency from day to day. This is especially important in making scratch soups and sauces as this is always one of the areas that, inspires random creativity.

PRODUCT EVALUATIONS: Check in regularly with your GFS Customer Development Specialist to determine what like products are available without cutting quality. GFS has many private label products that meet or exceed the National brands and Government specifications.

EVALUATE PORTION SIZES: Most consumers are willing to sacrifice the larger portions (which they usually take home) for a lower price offering. If you see that your guests are taking almost as much home with them as they eat this may be the time for considering “Right portion, Right price”.

DESSERT MENU OFFERINGS: In economic times such as these many consumers are passing on dessert as a way to keep their dining budgets in line (not to mention all the diets that will be started after the new year). Smaller dessert offerings are a way to offer lower price desserts without giving up your profits. It also provides the perception that if it is small it can’t be that bad for my diet. GFS has the tools and resources to help you build your new dessert menus.

Return Engagements

2008-12-15T21:48:00.001-06:00

“The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post.” L. Thomas Holdcroft American Author.

Has anyone noticed a very popular concept that retailers are using this holiday season to help draw people into their establishments in January and February? I have three examples in my wallet right now, and I can’t believe that I haven’t passed this along sooner! Sometimes the answers lie right in front of us and it takes a while for us to recognize that it has been there all the time.

We all know that the key to success in our industry is repeat customers. In today’s economy it is even more important for us to seize the opportunities that lie before us and find a way to draw these same customers back again. How are you doing that? Are you improving your food quality? Your service profile? Or are you lowering your prices? Are you running loss leaders? All of these can be effective measures to draw customers back to your restaurant, but I think I came across a couple that are even better.

The first one I want to talk about is the one that I discovered while shopping for my daughters at American Eagle this weekend. It is kinda sneaky but it got me building my ticket size so that I could take advantage of it. I also want to talk about another variation of this same concept that I think adds some elements that will really speak to your customers.

Right now American Eagle is running the “for every $50 you spend you can get a $10 gift card for after January 1” promotion. This is effective because it gets customers (and me) finding that one more item that will propel them over that $50 increment so that they can take advantage of the next $10 gift card. It builds their check size and all but insures that I (or my kids) will be back in January to cash in my gift cards. Not a bad way to lock out the competition. American Eagle even imposed a minimum purchase in January for that gift card to be valid. I have to spend $50 more in order for that gift card(s) to be effective.

Buona Beef is running a similar promotion right now. They are offering a $5 gift certificate valid between January and March for every $25 gift card you purchase today. They are hoping to leverage that $5 gift certificate into a visit by you and a friend or two or three. Besides, who buys just $5 anywhere they go? Not a bad concept – they get cash now and give you a piece of paper that 25% or so of us will lose anyways. What a great way to convert today’s customers into customers in January and February, something we would all like to do.

My favorite variation of this concept is the “Secret Envelope” version. I think this one is a home run because it really does create good will and a talking point for word of mouth advertising when your customers leave. To implement the Secret Envelop tactic, all you need to do is create a wide range of prizes ranging from something as trivial as a cup of coffee all the way up to something as outrageous as a $500 gift card and stuff them into different envelopes. Here is the kicker, your customers can’t open the envelopes themselves (if they do, they forfeit the prize). They have to bring the envelopes back into the restaurant (during the designated time period [January – March]) to have a staff member open it to discover what their prize will be. What a great way to create a buzz and bring back that energy and enthusiasm to your customers.

Know Means No

2008-12-03T20:02:00.002-06:00

This week I am excited to announce that I have a guest writer, Ken Wasco. Ken is a member of the National Speakers Association and the GFS marketing team who's gained a wide reputation in the food service industry for presenting timely seminars and workshops on obtaining higher levels of personal effectiveness through an emphasis on communication skills. As a highly regarded and entertaining presenter Ken has conducted thousands of sessions and written many articles on accomplishing results through people.

When it comes to change, hearing “no” is a great positive start!!

Got anyone on your staff who gives you a hard time whenever you ask them to do something new? Welcome to the club - we all know people resist change. Or better said – fear change – when fear is removed positive change happens – how? Read on!

“Positive Change” is not a contradiction in terms! It’s doable. All it takes to achieve it are some basic skills on your part. How basic? Hey if you can listen, write and talk - you can do it!

Let’s start with the writing part. Take out a note pad and write down the names of the people you work with that you’d most like to improve the “change attitude” of – one name per line with three columns. Now let’s go to “people school” on why they act the way they do!

Understanding the people side of management involves harnessing the dynamics of “human nature” – those sides of our personality that we all hold in common. Smart leaders improve their business not through forcing change but by focusing on their people first - through using the power of human nature in positive ways to help their people be the best that they can be. What results is a better operation too. Here’s three parts of that human nature that I bet you’ve seen in action.

Human nature says - “people want to be in the know”
“people want to be better off tomorrow then they are today”
“to one degree or another all of us resist change”

The “in the know” stuff, that’s why we watch the news, gossip, and buy tabloids. The “better off” stuff – watch out here because there are all types of ways that people define “better off” – more friends, more respect, more money are just a few – to motivate anyone you need to know what they want more of and don’t assume anything it’s different for everyone. If you know an important goal of each individual – write it along side their name – if you don’t – find out.

Now think about each person on the list and what kind of comments they say when you ask them to do something new – write each person’s favorite “excuse” after their name.

Here are a few of my favorites… “That’s not the way we do things around here.” If ain’t broke why are you fixin’ it?” “That’s not my job.” “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” ‘That will never work.” “Why is it always me and not somebody else who has to do this stuff?”

All these excuses are really hiding a very little word that they won’t say directly because they know you hate hearing it – that word only has 2 letters. Ready for a “people shock”? I think those who complain the loudest when you ask them to do something new are actually the best assets you have toward accomplishing the change you want. Why? Because their not going behind your back and bellyaching, they are telling you what they don’t like to your face – they’re communicating with you even if you don’t like what they’re saying. With people we can always deal with what we know and as long as they are talking then you know how they feel.

As manager’s we hate hearing “no” because we all think in simple positives and negatives, debits and credits, good and bad – but people who resist change really aren’t disguising the word “NO” –they are disguising the word that sounds just like “NO” yet it’s spelled differently “KNOW”. People put their feet in concrete when they fear what “might” happen. They don’t know why they should do this - how it will make their lives better – in short, what’s in it for them? Your job – as a leader of people – is to take the time, however much time it takes, to make sure each of your people understand the positives that will result from new activity.

Now let’s really give you an option for success with your team. However before I do that I just have to ask you one question, how often do you hold team meetings? Let me tell you a little secret – that question is one I ask foodservice professionals all the time. Guess what I hear? “Meetings, I hold them as little as possible” “Only when I have to” “I never have anything new to talk about” “We used to hold them but were too busy now” and on and on and on…. Yet what amazes me is that the people who are telling me that are the very ones who asked me to come in and give them a few suggestions. Well here is one for you right now.

THERE IS AN EXACT CORELATION BETWEEN HOW SUCCESSFUL YOUR BUSISNESS IS AND HOW WELL TRAINED YOUR TEAM IS.

Trust me on this one – the organizations that leap into your brain when “great guest service” comes to mind are the very ones who hold employee meetings EVERYDAY. Yup, you heard me – E V E R Y D A Y ! And oh by the way, those meetings never last longer then 5 minutes and never mention anything negative. What they talk about is the one person who they noticed doing the “best” at something today. People love attention – they love to be singled out in front of their peers – and those who aren’t will move heaven and earth to get you to mention them next time. How will they do that? They learn what gets your positive attention every time you mention how someone got your attention by doing their job “extra special” today. Once they KNOW what works – they’ll do it for themselves – not because you ordered them to, but because they want to.

When it comes to change, replace hearing “no” when your team speaks with thinking “know”, it can be the best comment you’ll ever hear!

This mission, should you choose to accept it……..

2008-11-07T17:50:00.000-06:00

“In the end it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” Max Dupree, author and former CEO of Herman Miller.

This mission, should you choose to accept it……..

No, today’s economy is not Mission Impossible. It can be Mission Profitable if take this economic slowdown as an opportunity to improve your best practices and really take a look at things to see how they can be improved, revised and retooled. We have to do it, the business model that we all used last year will not work this year. It is a different environment entirely. Not hopeless, not worse, not doomsday, just different. It still is wrought with opportunity and profits. We all have to work a little harder and a little differently than we have in the past to achieve success and profitability.

Sometimes the answers can be simple. That doesn’t mean cheap, easy or quick. According to www.dictionary.com simple means:
1. Easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.
2. Not elaborate or artificial; plain.
3. Not ornate or luxurious; unadorned.
4. Unaffected; unassuming; modest.
5. Not complicated.
6. Not complex or compound; single.

As I travel throughout Chicagoland, I have the privilege of looking at different restaurants, caterers and banquet halls and seeing what is working and what isn’t. There are a wide variety of concepts that are finding success, but what interests me is not what the concept is, but rather what are the core, fundamental basics of what they are doing to find success in arguably the toughest economic times of the past 30 years. Invariably it all keeps coming back to the same thing. It doesn’t matter if it is a hot dog stand, a white table cloth restaurant, or something in between, the successful operations all have one thing in common at the root of their success. And it is simple. It is clear. It is easy to understand. It is not complex or complicated. It is simple.

When I was visiting family in North Carolina, my brother in law introduced me to a hamburger joint that he couldn’t stop gushing about from the minute we arrived. I was prepared to be disappointed – too much hype often leads to a tremendous let down. Instead, I walked out thoroughly impressed by the operation. I was so impressed that I grabbed a menu and jotted down their website so I could learn more about them. I checked out their website and was even more impressed with them – not because of all of the trappings of a well designed website, but by something much simpler and impactful. They had a clearly defined mission statement that they had obviously clearly communicated to every one of their employees because it was apparent in everything they did.

Their mission statement wasn’t wordy or grandiose. It was simple and clear. It wasn’t just a mantra that they throw up on their wall, it was a practical, applicable statement that was affecting everyone and everything in their organization. The restaurant is a chain operating out of Washington DC called Five Guys. Their mission statement is: We are in the business of selling burgers. Nothing more. Simply defined and easy to understand. It is what they do. Everything in their operation is geared toward selling burgers. Quality ingredients, simple menu (16 items of which 8 are burgers), and a clear vision has grown this chain from 1 store in 1986 to over 300 locations today. They aren’t the cheapest and they aren’t gimmicky. They are successful and they are simple. They know what they are and what they aren’t and they spend a lot of time and money trying to be the best at what they are. They are not worried about pleasing everyone, they are dedicated to pleasing burger lovers. It amazes me to see what they have done with such a simple vision and an even simpler menu.

They are singularly focused on selling burgers. They have found what they feel are the best ingredients and the best standard practices and never strayed from them. Because of their vision and mission, they have taken simplicity and made it a huge success. They sell burgers, hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches, and they charge a premium for them. How can they get away with that? They can pull it off because they know what they offer is a value, and they aren’t ashamed to ask the public to pay for value. The value is in their ingredients, their concept, their consistency and they aren’t worried about the place down the street or next door because they aren’t them! They worry about staying true to their mission and carrying out their mission to the best of their ability. Their business continues to thrive because of that value. The public continues to eat there despite the economy and despite the presence of cheaper options in the marketplace because the public knows what they are going to get from them each and every time they go for a burger. (check them out at www.fiveguys.com to see what I am talking about)

What does this all mean to us? Good question. How many of you have a mission statement for your business? How many of you communicate that mission to your manager, your chef or your servers? How many of you expect your staff to live out that mission? Does your staff even know what your mission is? If you have a mission statement in place, how long has it been since you looked at it and asked yourself if you are living it out? Mission statements are important, without one we won’t know where we are going or how to get there.

Imagine this, someone hands you the keys to a brand new Bentley Coupe (I can dream can’t I?) and tells you to start driving to Santa Fe, New Mexico. No maps - no mapquest - no GPS…..just start driving. How far do you get? How long until you find your self lost or headed in the wrong direction? You may eventually get there, but in all likelihood it takes you a heck of a lot longer to get there than if you had a map.

Having a mission statement is like getting a map. It gives us a baseline to keep coming back to for direction and guidance. It helps us keep our end game in mind and allows us to make every action we take bring us closer to that end game. If we don’t know where we are going, it is really hard to get there. Having a mission statement will help you decide what to keep on the menu and what to get off of it. Having a mission statement will help you make staffing decisions, help you decide what your hours of operation will be, it will help you decide what ingredients you are going to purchase. It will touch ever part of your operation. It will help you standardize your best practices. It will help you train your servers, your chefs, your bartenders and your bus people. It will give meaning to everything you do in your business. Without this guidepost we are left to whims and impulses that will drag us away from what we are here to do, and what we do best.

I encourage you to take advantage of the slower pace to be deliberate about what you are doing. It is in times like this that the cream begins to rise to the top. I want you to rise to the top. Take advantage of what life is throwing at you and set yourself up for success.

I GOT SOLD

2008-10-11T18:34:00.002-05:00

"The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit. " Milton Friedman, American Author, Economist, and Nobel Laureate.

It happened. I didn’t think it could, but someone outsold the salesman. I know the tricks, and I still got beat at my own game. I don’t know how many times I have sat in front of a salesperson and saw their next move, understood where they were heading and beat them to their spot and foiled their attempt to get me to buy more than I wanted. But I just got beat. And I mean beat bad. This salesperson was way ahead of me. I didn’t stand a chance. I never saw it coming. She hit me with an advanced move and I was powerless against it. She understood me, the customer, what makes me tick, how I think, and what my hot buttons are. I GOT SOLD.

Maybe a few of you are wondering what it was that I bought. How I got played. Maybe some of you aren’t really all that interested. You should be though. I bought dessert. I rarely ever do, but she nailed me, and I didn’t stand a chance. Here I am, an “industry insider,” I know her tricks. I was in my comfort zone ready for all her attempts to build my check average. I thought I was way ahead of her, but I didn’t stand a chance. She was one smooth operator that built her check average and nailed a bigger tip because of it. She understood me, the consumer. She knew how to whet my appetite and make me defenseless. I wasn’t ready for her moves because so few waiters ever try this one. I can’t understand why they don’t because it is an almost guaranteed close.

How did she get me to buy the taboo dessert? I mean I am frugal and am conscious about spending $20 extra bucks for something that I really don’t need - in this economy especially. That is 5 gallons of gas, it could go toward my heating bill (winter IS just around the corner), there are a million things that those $20 could have gone towards other than dessert, and yet, there I was powerless against her suggestion. How did she do it? She knew how I, and other consumers, buy. It starts with our eyes, moves to our nose and then hits our taste buds, and she smoothly moved through all three.

Dutch Apple Pie A La Mode.

As she was ushering us to our seats, she slyly mentioned how good the dessert looked at the table next to us. I couldn’t help but notice. My mouth watered just a bit. Then I took a deep breath and smelled the cinnamon and the apples melting together. I was lost already. (Think my brain stands a chance against my belly? That is one heck of a David v Goliath cage match if I have ever seen one) She must have seen my wife and I eyeballing the dessert at the next table because the next thing I knew, she was standing in front of us with 2 taster spoons full of that warm, gooey goodness. At that point I knew I was buying dessert, and I ordered accordingly. I had to leave room for dessert. It was as simple as that. It was a foregone conclusion that I was buying 2 slices of hot apple pie (with ice cream) and 2 flavored coffee desserts. $20 extra bucks on my ticket. Minimum $3 extra bucks on her tip. At the risk of using an already tired cliché, it was a win, win, win. I won – I got a great dessert, she won – she got a larger tip, and the restaurant won because I spent $20 more than I was planning on spending - 20 very profitable dollars for you, the restaurant owner/operator.

Training your waitstaff how to effectively grow their check averages is imperative in this economy. Customer counts are down everywhere and we need to take advantage of every opportunity that comes our way by growing check averages. Training your servers how to get your customers to buy more helps offset the impact of having less customers come through the front door. Selling desserts, flavored coffees, appetizers and drinks are all ways to help boost the check average. Not only do they boost your check size, but they significantly impact your bottom line profits because, as we all know, these are profit centers for you. These are the areas with smaller food costs and larger profits, and who doesn’t like that?

The best way to train your waitstaff is by dollarizing the impact of adding these menu options to the check on their tips. After all, compensation drives behavior for everyone. If they can clearly measure the benefit of adding 2 flavored coffees on their tips, then you will quickly gain converts. It only takes a few minutes to show them all how they will boost their pay. Now that you have made believers out of your staff, it is important to show them all HOW to sell these items. Teach them to paint a picture and cast a vision for their patrons. Plant the seed early in the meal – as they are ordering suggest that they leave room for dessert – our taste buds have some sort of mystical power over us, and you need to help them develop strategies for finding how to tap on that power. Sometimes offering a free taste nails it, sometimes it is just wheeling out a dessert cart, other times it is just having something that smells good on the burner throughout the meal that works. Find the right measures and implement them. It works! You can turn the biggest dessert naysayer into a satisfied customer in no time.

Have You Ever Been Experienced?

2008-08-31T14:16:00.001-05:00

I am fairly certain that Jimi posed that question in an entirely different way than I am, but I thought it lent itself nicely to the topic that I would like to cover today. When is the last time that you had a dining experience rather than just a meal? Are you selling meals or dining experiences? What is the difference? Why are dining experiences important in this economy? What are you training your staff to provide for your customers – meals or experiences? I am sure that many of you are saying that we aren’t necessarily set up to provide experiences – but you are! Because foot traffic is down, it is all the more important that we take advantage of every opportunity that walks through the door.

What is a dining experience? I have to admit that the first thing that jumps into my mind is white table cloth, candlelight, tuxedoed waiters and fancy schmanzy food. After I think about it for a few seconds more, I realize that a dining experience can take any number of forms. It only has to include food and something memorable or out of the ordinary to take it to the dining experience level. A dining experience is what compels your customers to tell their friends about their time in your establishment. It is what gives them the story to tell to have that ultra important word of mouth advertising. Creating a dining experience involves far more than the food you are serving. The experience often finds its roots in the servers, the plate presentation, the atmosphere and little something extra that you or your staff can provide.

To further illustrate what I mean by the experience stemming from somewhere outside of just the food, I would like to share a couple of experiences that I have either had or heard about from my friends (word of mouth advertising). Gene and Jude’s hot dogs – with 3 items on the menu, nowhere to sit and no ketchup to be found. Ed Debevic’s – servers dressed in 50s garb with a caustic edge to their interactions. Ann Sather’s – the owner / city alderman waiting tables on a Saturday afternoon. A hotel bar in Indiana where the server anticipated every one of my needs before I could articulate them. A server giving my toddler child a free dessert because she was so well behaved. My waiter playing Houdini every time I needed something. A manager stopping by to see how everything was going and actually meaning it!

These experiences can take on just about any form. As I said before, these experiences give your customers a story to tell – good and bad. They don’t take a menu retooling or a complete makeover of your establishment. Quite often all they take is hiring quality people and setting the appropriate expectations for them. The kind of service and effort that is required to provide experiences for your customers has to clearly communicated to your staff and modeled by you. Explaining the financial impact on the servers will go a long way towards getting them on board. A little salesmanship and suggestive selling builds check sizes and tip sizes. Illustrating to your staff how being committed to providing an experience to your customers will impact their pay will secure buy in on your servers’ part – after all, compensation drives behavior.

With the current state of the economy and people making more deliberate choices about where and how they spend their money, it is that much more important that each and every opportunity to create an added dimension of value and experience for your customer base be taken advantage of by you. This is an economic environment where the strong is going to survive, and this is one simple way for you to raise your game and exceed what every other operation on the street is doing. Create a memory. It could be as simple as giving everyone a free scoop of ice cream (and making it a point to tell them about it) or as simple as getting a commitment from your servers to treat each customer as an honored guest – the most important person in the room. The customer has chosen to spend their money with you – give them a reason to come back! It doesn’t have to take much, just leave them with a story to tell and you will keep traffic coming through your front door and profits in your account!

“Two roads diverged in the woods, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost, American Poet.

Savings Consistency

2008-07-24T17:47:00.001-05:00

“We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.” Lee Iacocca, American Industrialist.

The above quote by Lee Iacocca is extremely relevant in today’s marketplace. The economy is throwing many challenges at us, and if we field them correctly we can make a significant impact on our success and profitability today and in the future. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but people are still spending money – you still go out to dinner right? We are all still shopping, eating, driving, and buying….we are just using a different criteria than we have used for the past 10 years. It used to be that all you had to do was unlock the doors and customers came inside. Today, however, that isn’t the case anymore. We have to raise our games and bring things to a different level to succeed in this marketplace. You can do it! You all are too smart to let this opportunity slip through your fingers. Today’s business model will not provide you with the same success that you have enjoyed in the past. We are all being forced to change. Continuing to do things the way we have always done them will more often than not lead to a slow bleed out rather than continued sustainable success.

How can you stop the bleeding and right the ship? There are a number of things that you can do as an operator to position yourself for success. Controlling labor, product consistency, lowering your inventory dollars and maintaining food safety are 4 easy ways to improve and insure your profitability. Over the next couple of articles, I am going to explore each of these areas and how they can help you bring more money to your bottom line – I say bottom line because that is what we all got into business for – improving our profitability and making more for our bank accounts….we didn’t go into business to save money or to spend less, but to MAKE MORE MONEY TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE!

When sales dip and food, electric and gas bills increase we often find that the best place to look for savings is in labor costs. As it is, your food costs represent about 35% of your expenses and your labor is usually a little bit more than that number. You have to have food to sell, but how much staff do you need to keep things humming the way you would like them? That is a tough question – I have found some ways to minimize your labor costs AND improve your product consistency. Moving up the value chain from commodity items to a value added product. I know many of you are screaming – that costs more! You are right, when you look at the invoice, it DOES cost more. Don’t stop evaluating it at that level though, because as you walk through the pros and cons you will see that by using precut or pre-portioned items you will position your self for growing and sustainable success.

We all know that product consistency is one of the things that propel chains to great success. The burger from McDonalds tastes the same today as it did a year ago and will a year from now. Not everyone may like a McDonald’s hamburger, but they have sold how many billion of them? I bet we all wish we could sell just 10% of that number. They are on to something and it seems to be working. How does that translate to you? McDonalds doesn’t have someone chopping lettuce, onions, and pickles in their kitchens, they buy them all pre cut. As McDonalds has moved into fresh salads and other items, they have brought the same model along with them – they are buying pre cut salad mixes rather than paying someone or two or three to stand in the back and clean and chop lettuce. I know some of you are raising and waving the price flag again, and I can’t blame you – it is hard to wrap your head around spending more equating to making more, but it does. McDonald’s salads are less expensive than yours, but they seem to maintain profitability while buying a more expensive product and selling it for less. They wouldn’t be the giant they are today if they continued to dabble in losing ventures.

As operators, we have to take a broader view of the operation and evaluate the true costs of keeping help on staff when comparing it the values of using a pre cut item. Consistency can not be underestimated. Customers want to know what they are going to get from you each time they come into your restaurant. They want their salads, their steaks and their veggies to look and taste the same each time they visit. That is creating a positive perceived value which will serve to line your pockets even in the worst economic times. The public has proven again and again that they don’t have to get the best products (McDonald’s burgers again) in order for them to buy, buy and buy. They will trade quality for perceived consistent value just about everyday of the week. (by no means am I insinuating that buying pre cut items is going to sacrifice your quality – I am only trying to emphasize the value of consistency) Consequently when you save money by buying commodity meats, veggies and fruits and cut them yourself, you risk losing your repeat business because today’s steak looks different than last week’s or today’s salad was somehow different than yesterday’s. Only a small percentage of the consumers will say anything, more often than not, they just stop spending with you and move on to the place down the street. (How many of you have had a pizza delivered that wasn’t quite up to snuff and you didn’t call to complain – you called someone else next time you wanted pizza? It happens)

Aside from consistency, the other value that buying and using pre cut and pre portioned products brings to you is lowering your labor costs. Minimum wage has increased, workman’s comp insurance isn’t getting any cheaper and hiring good, quality people isn’t getting any easier. By transitioning into more pre cut items, you will eventually be able to trim a person or two from your labor pool. The savings generated from one or two less people on your payroll is significant. This doesn’t even bring in to account the costs associated with an employee cutting themselves or having to miss work days because of an accident in the kitchen. Nobody intends for or expects things like that to happen which is why they are called accidents. The hidden costs of issues like this can quickly get out of hand if you have someone who wants to milk the system or has less than perfect integrity.

As an operator you are challenged with many things that make running a sustainably profitable business difficult. One of the ways that you can help position yourself for long term success is by controlling both your labor and product consistency by using pre cut and pre portioned products. The chains are using them, maybe you should be too!

I would love to hear from you regarding things that you have found are helping you survive and flourish in today’s marketplace. Drop me a line at dj.tryba@gfs.com.

Thanks as always for reading!

How To Survive in This Economy

2008-06-19T17:23:00.002-05:00

I was reading one of my weekly newsletters and came across this article that I thought relevant enough to share with everyone. While it has a sales orientation, the message is quite poignant. It reinforces all that I have been hammering you on about brand identity (they say the true test of a man's intellect is how much he agrees with you - this guy is BRILLIANT!). He uses a restaurant for his example which only serves to reinforce the value of understanding your brand and insuring that all that you do works to augment who and what you are. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

HIGHER GROUNDS
A Simple Recipe: Crafting Your Brand's Reputation
by: Brian Parsley

Do certain childhood memories evoke a cozy feeling within you? It's actually branding in disguise.

Some of my favorite memories were the visits to a down-home restaurant called The Farm Table in West Virginia. It was Southern food done right in nothing more than a small family-owned space. The home-cooked meals and "everyone is family" aura had people lined up out the door seven days a week. I've never forgotten their amazing food, made with love, that was often delivered with a hug. At The Farm Table, there was always a smile and acknowledgement that made you feel like you just got home.

Now, as a business professional, I reflect on how they built their brand and reputation. From what I can remember, they didn't advertise. There were no coupons or weekly specials. The decor and architecture was "hole-in-the wall" meets "backwoods." And the restaurant's location was not prime. It got me thinking that maybe a business doesn't need fancy campaigns to build a solid brand. Simplicity, quality, and a genuine interest in customers are the foundation of a company's reputation. It builds their brand.

The Farm Table didn't have to advertise to get new customers; their consistent delicious food, fair prices, and excellent service did it for them. These are the ingredients that created their recipe for brand success. It boils down to the daily interactions you have with customers -- those interactions will determine whether your reputation will be positive or negative.

Let me give you a perfect example of how service levels can create or destroy the brand cornerstone of a company's reputation. A few months ago, I had my oil changed and the technician advised me that I had a nail in my tire. He offered to fix it for free. After he finished, the manager approached me and said, "Sir, I just want you to know that we will NOT guarantee that your tire won't leak. He should have never helped you with that." That single interaction of just a few seconds put that brand's positive reputation in the dumps for me.

Your reputation yields your business outcome. Your revenues, number of customers, and bottom-line profitability are the result of how well you have been able to build a reputation around what customers value the most. Your sales are a direct result of your ability to generate repeat business and attract new fans. Yes, advertising does create awareness for your business, but it is not the whole strategy. Taken alone, advertising can often cost more than it's worth, especially if you give bad service when someone responds to your ad.

While some companies may be using the economy slowdown as an excuse for negative impact on their business, the truth is that people are still building, buying, and eating out. If business is
down, start asking your customers about how they define your reputation. With that information, you can create a recipe for a reputation that delivers quality and builds brand equity.

Let's go back to the manager at the oil change business. Maybe he should have asked me what I loved about my experience rather than tell me his employee did wrong by serving me. He could have discovered that the technician's extra effort would have made the difference between my returning or not.

Your brand and your reputation are dependent upon your level of sincerity, your willingness to serve your customer, and doing it from the heart. My father told me The Farm Table is still in business and going strong after 25 years. No web page, no voicemail, and no fancy gimmicks. Their brand and positive reputation developed over a period of time based on friendly service and the best home cooking. When you put effort into your reputation, you build a brand that will sustain your business through any economy.

Here are some great ways to build a positive reputation:

* Never answer the phone or greet a customer with "Can I help you?" Just say, "Good Morning" or "Welcome." People will tell you what they need.

* Offer to fix something that's NOT included because you care.

* Send your customers handwritten thank you notes.

* Build your business on quality, not lowest pricing.

* Thank your customers for coming to you when it's obvious they have several
other choices. Customers will remember your efforts, and that goes a long way to building a reputation that creates substantial brand equity.

* Get more involved with your local community so your name and your brand become known.

* Honor your word. If you commit to something, do it! Even if you lose money, time, or energy. Your reputation is built upon your actions.

And if you ever happen to be at The Farm Table, please make sure you order chicken and dumplings in my honor.

Who Are You Anyway?

2008-06-08T10:14:00.002-05:00

"The world stands aside to let anyone pass who knows where he is going." David Staff Jordan, ornithologist.

Just a few short weeks ago, my wife and I were treated to a wonderful steak dinner out at a local steakhouse – Wildwood in Geneva. I have to mention that I have eaten here about 10 times now, and the experience has always been the same – extraordinary! The place was packed. We arrived at 6:30 and stayed until after 10, and hardly a table sat vacant for more than 5 minutes. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Here I am an “industry insider” familiar with the many tales of woe from operators complaining that they can’t get people into their restaurants, and I struggled to wrap my head around the fact that the restaurant with its $40 average entrees is enjoying a packed house on a Friday night. Don’t let my wife know, but I tuned out of most of the conversation as I wrestled with the age old question of WHY?! A number of things sprung to mind about their success in this allegedly down market, and I would like to share a few of my realizations with you.

The first, and I believe the most important, thing is that they understood who they are. They had a clearly defined image of who they are and who they are trying to be. Without talking to anyone there, it was easy for me to recognize that they want to be the best steakhouse on the map. Someone told me once that if I don’t know where I am going, chances are that I won’t get there. Do I really have to explain how true that simple statement is in business, in the car or in life? We have to have a clearly outlined purpose for who we want to be as operators. In my position, I get to interact with a whole bunch of operators. Remarkably, very few have an identity and a goal that they are striving to achieve outside of running a profitable business. In my opinion, too many operators stray from their identity to try to appease every potential diner even if it compromises their vision. Wildwood doesn’t throw dishes on to their menu haphazardly to try to lure that one diner away from the place next door, they stick to their guns and put new items that fall in line with their identity and present them without compromising quality or image. They know who they are and figure that if the put options on the menu that make sense and stay true to their goals, they will continue to win new customers.

The second thing that struck me was that they were uncompromising on quality. This attitude reinforces their desire to be the best steakhouse on the map. They don’t cut corners or look for items that are merely passable. They provide the best for their customers. They have faith in their product and sacrifice nothing to try to provide the best dining experience for their patrons, and they aren’t afraid to charge them for it. They appear to be interested in making money at the front door rather than saving money at the back door. As a result, each time I have eaten here, the food has been consistent. The snap of the veggies, the quality of their meats, and their desserts….it has a quality that never wavers. They know that if they put an excellent meal on the table, their patrons will be willing to pay for it.

The third and final thing that I couldn’t help but notice was the room and the quality of the staff. The room was fantastic – clean, updated and taken care of….just like the rest of the experience, their focus was on providing the best atmosphere for their patrons. The wait staff was fantastic. They were pleasant looking and ready to do whatever they could to insure that we – the diners – had a dining experience that was top rate from start to finish. The management team at Wildwood had done and excellent job of communicating their vision to their employees. The employees have embraced it and made it their own as well. The staff was going the extra step to keep the place neat, the customers happy and to make each experience a memorable one. Consequently, the bathrooms were clean, the service was quick, the servers were pleasant and from top to bottom it was an excellent experience.

While it may be just a little slower out there, people are still spending money in this economy, they are just being choosier about where they spend it. My experience proved it, and I want you to share in the same success that Wildwood is having. They have positioned themselves as a destination restaurant by first understanding who they are and where they want to go. Next they are uncompromising on quality and serve nothing but the best in food. Finally they hire smart and keep the facility looking fantastic. By keeping those three simple ideas in mind, you too can keep your house full each and every night of the week.

Change Your Focus, Grow Your Business

2008-05-04T14:27:00.003-05:00

This week I have a guest columnist, Dave Tebussek. Dave is a 35 year veteran of the restaurant industry. He has primarily worked on the operations side of the industry, and wants to share a bit of the wisdom his experiences have brought him.

Change Your Focus Grow Your Business
David Tebussek
Gordon Food Serivce

During my 35 year career in the restaurant industry, both in retail and sales, I have witnessed many tough economic times. Many of you have witnessed this and some of you have not. There have been 2 constants during the tough times. Only the strong survive and these economic times eventually turn around. I am tired of the negative talk the media continues to dish out on a daily basis, this type of mind numbing reporting only puts you in a state of mind that causes apathy. The first thing we can all change is our attitude, be positive. This is an area we can all control. After you have decided to change your focus you will realize there is still no magic bullet to success in any industry, if there was everyone would use it and everyone would succeed.
I have worked for two successful operators who have taught me to take a hard look at what you are doing during times like these to be sure you are the best. Quality, service, and cleanliness still work. You must also take a hard look at your business model to determine what is producing and reducing your profit. If you are willing to invest time in your business and roll up your sleeves I believe you will come out of this stronger on the back side because I have experienced this myself. I will give you some points to ponder.

QUALITY
Are your products made with the best raw materials that make them worth the money?
Would you pay your asking price for everything you sell?
Do you have signature products that are hard to get anywhere else? Are they marketed as such? (You can charge more for these items)
Does your quality carve out a niche for you?
Are your people passionate about quality? (Level of passion is demonstrated when the boss is gone)
Are there any current trends in food you can incorporate in your business? (There are scores of on line food publications)
What do your customers want to see in your business? (You need to ask)

SERVICE
Do you look at your service through the eyes of a customer? (Watch and listen to transactions, sit down in the dining area and pretend you are doing something else)
Can you invite anyone to experience your business as a secret shopper? (These people can’t be known by your staff and must be willing to provide candid feedback. Pay for the meal and charge it to marketing, it’s the cheapest marketing ever.)
Does your service include hospitality and name recognition? (Make it a game. Who can know the most names? How can we turn this place into “Cheers”?)
How would you rate business as it relates to hospitality? (Service must never be mechanical, it must be personal.)
How can we deliver efficient service every time? (Take a hard look at every system.)
Hire only people with a great personality, these people will attract others like themselves, and are capable of delivering hospitality. Sadly those who are not like this can’t deliver hospitality and you can’t teach them. The technical side of our business is easy to teach.

CLEANLINESS
Is everything neat, spotless, and organized? (Now you know it is not.) This one is easy you just need to have the proper tools and build a program that works. I always relate this one to people coming to the house when I was growing up. We used to sweep the garage and no one ever went in there, but they might.
Could you take someone into every corner and be proud?

PROFIT
Why are you selling what you are selling? (Does each item produce a profit margin equal to the labor and cost to produce it? You must look at each item and make the call, then label each item, keep, eliminate, or retool.)
Is all this labor necessary? (You may think this is cold but the reality is there are many ready to use products in the market designed to help eliminate labor. If you are loyal to your people to a fault these products can be introduced through attrition of your current staff. Have a plan in place to revise prep procedures as people quit.)
Are my people on board with controlling costs? Do I have a plan in place? Am I tracking costs? Do I know what my food cost is? Do I have any silent partners?
Can I renegotiate my lease? (Everything is open for negotiation.)

These are just a few suggestions to focus your energies in the right direction. You are all entrepreneurs with a passion for success. You could probably think of many more questions to ask yourself and I hope you do. You believed in your concept enough to get it off the ground, and for all of you reading this you are still in the game. I have never met or read about anyone who had success without hard work. All of this will take hard work and extra effort. The practices you put in place today to strengthen your operation will pay huge dividends both now and in the future. Sharpening your business through tough analysis is never a bad investment.
Oh by the way it is alright to steal an idea or two along the way.

Commitment

2008-04-24T23:45:00.000-05:00

“No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port.” Michel De Montaigne, French Renaissance Essayist and Philosopher.

It seems like I am having the same conversation four or five times a week these days. You know the one that goes “How is it out there? I am dying here. My numbers just keep dwindling. I can’t figure out why the when I drive by the chains, their parking lots are still full. I serve better food than they do. What is going on? What do they have that I don’t?” Those are some loaded questions.

I think I could write for hours on some of my opinions of why the chains have full parking lots and some of the independent operators are struggling to bring people in – there are many things that the chains do very well that the independents should take note of and try their best to implement some variation of.

How is it out there? I think my fictional operator answers it pretty well, my numbers are getting smaller and the chains still have comparatively full parking lots. People are still dining out. Maybe not as often, but they are still doing it. Simply put, they are more judicious about where they are spending their money, but they are still spending. It has become less about the quality of the food, and more about the perceived value, the dining experience and the consistency.

As I think about why chains are holding up better than independents one thing jumps out at me, the chains have done an effective job of creating a destination atmosphere in their restaurants. There is no one magical ambience that we should all work to replicate, but rather there are commonalities between the successful operations’ atmospheres that we can all draw from and implement into our own vision. As I try to narrow down the most important component of setting the atmosphere and ambience the word that keeps coming to mind is COMMITMENT. It doesn’t have to be fancy, loud, quiet, white tablecloth, sporty, clubby, clubhousey, upscale, retro or any of the other decorative options – it just has to be committed to the vision. Without that commitment, great ideas become muddled, misguided and ineffective. Pick a direction and commit to it. With commitment crazy ideas work – Ed Debevic’s jumps to mind – kitschy décor with snotty servers dressed in a pseudo 50’s style, and they have flourished for over 20 years. How about ChuckECheese? Loud, game filled, anxiety inducing rooms filled with animated creatures fake singing to taped music, and they hung around for years? I know you can think of one or two places around you that leave you scratching your head when you try to figure out how that idea works. They all have one thing in common – commitment to their vision and a willingness to carry it through.

Coupled with their commitment and their vision chains have a clearly defined brand. They are keeping their menu fresh without overwhelming it with options – in fact, studies show that 80% of the national chains have reduced their menu sizes over the last 4 years. They have decided who they are and have worked to preserve and build upon that self image. They are not trying to have everybody’s favorite childhood meal on their menus, but rather they are limiting the selections and perfecting them. They track their sales and dump their dogs in favor of new ideas that have a greater potential for generating sales. Limiting the selection also limits their inventory dollars, increasing the velocity of their inventory dollars and thereby increasing the ROI of their inventory dollars. Tying up your money on inventory for menu dogs doesn’t do you any favors. In fact menu dogs are a double negative – they cost you money and muddle your successful image by lingering on the menu. To me, the message a reduced menu sends to consumers is one of confidence. It says “Here I am, this is what I do best, and you are going to like it!” It is not pandering to everyone’s secret desire to have to choose between an open faced roast beef sandwich, liver and onions, and a filet. It is incongruous to have those items on the same menu – what are you communicating to your customers by having them all on the same menu – that I can’t figure out who I am, so I will make sure that I turn over every stone and put it on my menu lest the 1% of my customers who want that obscure entrée leaves unfulfilled? Define your brand and stick to it. You and your customers won’t be disappointed.
The last part I want to address is consistency and perceived value. I have been out with friends and listened to the discussion about where we are going to eat. Frequently a chain will win out because each of us knows what to expect when we get there. We know 80% of the menu without looking at it. We know roughly where it is going to be priced. We are confident that while we may not always get the best food, we will get food that tastes exactly like it did the last couple of times we ate there. The consistency and the brand identification of the restaurant created perceived value. It may not be the “most valuable” meal, but the risk/reward relationship has been defined – I will go there to find ___ on the menu priced at ___ and I know what it will taste like, and I find that to be acceptable. Many independents haven’t defined their brand and worked through having a clearly outlined step by step menu prep manual that creates consistency regardless of who is doing the cooking tonight.

The characteristics that have made many of the chains successful ARE transferable and can be implemented to help you, the independent operator, achieve similar success even in down economic times. You CAN do it with a vision, a commitment and consistency.

Adaptation

2008-03-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” Hannah Moore author and philosopher.

I attended a food show yesterday and spent some time discussing the current state of the industry marketplace with many industry experts, vendors, brokers and successful operators. The most common insight I received from them was that this “down season” was going to end, and that it was important that operators emerge from it in as strong a position as possible. Now is the time to explore how to bring more profit to the bottom line. How they suggested accomplishing this took many forms, some of which I would like to share with you today.

I think that the most important advice of all that I received yesterday was to preserve or improve product integrity. This means that saving money to improve profitability should not start by cheapening the products that you are bringing in the back door. This is a short cut and will eventually lead to bad things for your establishment. Trying to squeeze an extra buck out of your menu by downgrading your ingredients is readily apparent to your regulars and is not putting your best foot forward with your new customers. In this economic environment consumers are still spending, it is just that they are being more judicious about how and where they are spending. The quickest way to alienate your core business and not earn new repeat customers is by sacrificing your food quality in an effort to save a buck. Keep your product integrity and consistency and you will survive.

Another significant piece of advice that I picked up was that we should all be working toward finding new things to offer your customers without departing from your already successful brand. New flavors, new toppings, a new side or a seasonal offering will go a long way towards keeping your customers interested. Don’t necessarily expand your menu, but rather bring in an item or two as a special or offer a variation of an existing menu item as an alternative on your specials (keep the chicken sandwich, but now offer a Chipotle chicken sandwich as a special) – it keeps your inventory dollars under control and adds to your establishment’s allure.

One more that I thought was pretty good was to focus on expanding salads, fish and pork as menu options. Due to the high demand and consequent high costs of wheat and corn, livestock that feed on corn in particular will continue to escalate in price (feed prices increase and are passed on to the market). As it warms up, people will shift their focus to lighter menus and offering salads and fish in particular will strike a chord with consumers. As a result, you will be offering a seasonally popular meal that has less cost volatility for you. You can’t ask for a much better combination in this market!

Last but not least is menu pricing. It is not the same market as it was a year ago….shortening, eggs, flour, milk, cheese, meat, and chicken in particular are priced significantly higher today than they were a year ago. Consumers are being bombarded with news reports that things are more expensive. They expect it. They can’t expect you to try to save the economy by holding your prices steady. You WILL catch flak about raising your prices. The customers will get over it if you continue to provide value for their dollars. Consumers are still spending - they are just being more discerning about where they are spending their money. They will come back if you continue to serve GOOD food at a fair price. If your product is consistent, quality and fairly priced in the market, they will return – you are familiar, they have a relationship with you, and your food is good.

We can no longer afford to sit back and react to movements in the marketplace. We need to be proactive and in front of what is happening out there. To sit back and try and ride it out while doing what you have always done is not a good choice. The market is changing. You must be too!

Your Customers, they’re at 7 and counting...or Sweatin' the small stuff

2008-03-05T20:00:00.003-06:00

Here’s a news flash - people love food! They love every thing about it - they love to make it - they love to serve it - they talk, read and think about it - but mostly people love to eat it. Food’s basic to life - necessary - timeless - yet it always somehow seems new - and it’s always exciting. It has to be the ultimate disposable! Because people always seem to be looking for it. What a great business to be in.

Here’s another news flash. Food’s a people business. Can you imagine a conversation about food that didn’t include a reference to people? People are what food is all about - it’s purpose for existing. The idea of people and food are inseparable - they go to together - like a burger and fries, ham and eggs, salad and dressing - I’m getting hungry - let’s eat!

In the food business we love recipes, menus and concepts - they’re are a lot of great ones out there - but when you take off your operator hat and put on your consumer one it becomes obvious that the best food experiences always have a great people element attached. When the food is right and the service is too the experience moves to memorable and the impression is set. That’s why at Gordon Food Service we are proud to offer this new dimension of RSVP because we know that when you mix great new ideas with great people you earn yourself great success. After all, basically “Foodservice… it’s about people.”

So let’s get going. You already know that when it comes to dealing with people there is no one “sure” method that works for everybody - despite what the marketers of books and tapes tell you - you’ve learned that there is no “one size fits all” magic approach that produces great results every time. In food service there is no short cut to effectiveness. To work foodservice magic in the kitchen you need a great recipe, quality ingredients and the willingness of someone to devote the time it takes to do it well. It’s not that much different with people. Accomplishing results with people is just doing a lot of little things well - little things that along the way add up to big thing things. Things that impress people.

Impressions happen all the time, and it is human nature to be continually forming them. But first impressions - now they’re unique. They happen fast. So fast in fact that by now you’ve already decided whether this new feature of RSVP will be worth your time. And whether you will read again next month. First impressions happen quickly - they lead to action and their effect is long lasting. In today’s world people will give you only seven seconds before they form that first impression - that’s it, that’s all you’ve got - and in those seven seconds you have to win a customer, keep a customer, and keep a customer coming back.

First impressions are created before a customer ever walks in the door. And that first impression can happen anywhere before they do. A newspaper, internet or telephone book advertisement may create it - a drive by and glance at your parking lot may do it - how clean and inviting the look of your entrance is may be it. Every impression reinforces the next action but you have to be aware that the first impression starts it all out. For most of us that happens when we hear about something from someone else. Your menu has to be creative and the food great but what makes the experience memorable and what gets others talking - is always the people.

So here’s the secret to finding out the first people impression your place creates - become your customer - walk out the back door and walk in the front. What is the first people experience you encounter in the first seven seconds? Whatever you see and smell will be the same for your guests, but what you hear combined with that will be the key. Who is the first person you saw - how’s the greeting - did the person smile - did they walk toward you - did they look you in the eye - did they invite you in - what did they say? Now pick up the phone - give your operation a call - how did they answer - could you sense that the person was smiling and inviting you over?

Remember, in the fast paced world of today you’ve only got seven seconds to create a great first impression - make ‘em count.

Carpe Diem

2008-02-17T15:38:00.001-06:00

“The trouble with opportunity is that it’s always more recognizable going than coming.” Author unknown.

I am hearing it everywhere – on TV, Radio, Internet, in the office, at work, at church….just about anywhere. The economy is not where any of us would like it to be. Sales are down. Customer counts are down. Profits are down. Everyone is getting a little nervous. Are you? What are you doing? How are you going to insure that you are going to come out of this better than your competition? Have you even thought of how to take advantage of this economic slowdown?

When faced with situations like this there are three primary options – 1) DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT. 2) Doing nothing about it. 3) Complaining about it. Which category do you fall into? I hope the 1st! Now is the time to act – to reinvest, to retool, and to reinvent. Don’t put it off - holding on to what you have always done is not taking advantage of this opportunity. Take a look at your best practices and see if they can be improved.

The major areas to look at are your menu, your labor, and your marketing. Let’s take them one at a time. Your menu – when is the last time you took the time to cost it out? Are your prices set profitably? Food costs have risen significantly, have you adapted your margins? Over the past 5 years national chains have reduced their menu options by 20% - why? To make sure that what they had on their menu sold….no sense in tying up inventory dollars on items that don’t turn. Do your menu selections reinforce your reputation and brand? If they don’t why are they on there? These are just some of the things we need to be looking at while the market is slow. Now is the time to do the leg work and put in the investment for more profitable and busier times.

Your labor – are you over staffed? Are their labor saving opportunities available in the marketplace that may cost a little more on the invoice that could result in long term financial savings. I know – none of us likes to let someone go, but is carrying too much staffing worth running your profits into the ground? Slow times like this are the perfect times to review your best practices models. Is there some retraining that could be done? Is there an opportunity to stream line your business model so that in busier times you can be more profitable and turn more tables? How about in the back of the house? Is your line set as efficiently as it could be? I know that everyone is resistant to change, but if nothing changes, then nothing changes!

Your marketing – are you reaching the right people with the right information and messages? I know I harp on this one a lot, but I believe that strong marketing ideas can drive sales exponentially. What are you doing to draw people into your establishment? There are lots of options available to the consumers. What are you doing to earn your slice of the pie? There is business out there to be had – the question is what are you going to do to grab it? Limited time offers, prizes, community groups, monthly themes, and daily specials – just about anything goes when you are trying to draw customers into your restaurant. When consumers are watching their pennies, we need to raise our games to get our share of them, and slow times provide a great opportunity to explore some new ideas.

Believe me, I see what is happening in the marketplace and it frightens me a little too. How much longer will it last? Who knows! What I do know is that there is no time like the present to put into action those steps necessary to create bigger, more pronounced points of difference between you and your competition. Consumers haven’t stopped spending, they have just changed how, when and where they are spending, and the challenge lies before us to raise our games to go out and grab our market share. I know that you – the people reading this – can do it and have done it in the past. I believe in you and your businesses and I want to be a part of your success!

Perspective

2008-01-31T20:49:00.002-06:00

"Don't find fault. Find a remedy." Henry Ford, inventor and industrialist

It seems like everywhere we turn these days, economic doom and gloom is the topic of conversation - whether it is on the news, at the water cooler, or at the dinner table. It almost seems hopeless. I don’t know about you, but it after a while it can’t help but get to you. I read something this week that helped me put the current economic conditions into perspective, and I thought I would share a portion of it with you.

“Even in a recession, more than 90 percent of workers who want to work will be employed. Even in a recession, most businesses will make a profit. Even in a recession in this era, more than 10 million men and women will need cars and trucks. Many millions will need new homes. Tens of millions will need retirement investment products and life insurance. In the United States, even in a recession, there are plenty of people with money to spend….There's another key truth about recessions: They always end, and the economy always goes on to a new plateau. It may take a while, but the economy always moves on to a new high.” Ben Stein actor, comedian, lawyer, professor, White House speechwriter and game show host.

He is right. People are still spending money. People still consume and have wants and desires. Lives are still busy and people still desire convenience and ease. We still want to eat out. It is just how and where we spend our money that is going to change. I am sure that you have altered your spending as well. But you haven’t stopped spending have you?

The trick is going to be trying to avoid focusing on saving money and focus on making money. We all need to raise our games. Find innovative menu ideas. Become more efficient. Find labor saving steps. Improve service standards.

You are a smart consumer. You make good decisions with your money. What are the things that inspire you to spend? How do you decide where you are going to dinner? What is special about that place? The answers to those questions can be a great guide to what you can do to become the business that not only survives the down economic times but the business that thrives.

Save 10% Now

2008-01-31T20:49:00.001-06:00

“Lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every walk of life.” Napoleon Hill, author Think and Grow Rich

This is a reproduction of an article published in the February 16, 2006 edition of restaurantowner.com. I may be a little biased here, but I am convinced that there is value in what Mr. Marvin writes.

The Easiest Way to Cut Your Food Cost 10%
by Bill Marvin, The Restaurant Doctor
While there are few absolutes in this business this is one - "Engaging in ongoing competitive bidding practices to get the lowest prices actually leads to higher food costs, not lower."
That's right. Contrary to what most of us, who have grown up in this business have been taught, having an ongoing purchasing process that revolves around using lots of vendors, comparing bids, price shopping and buying from the lowest bidder NOT only doesn't save you any money but ends up costing you in several ways.
To prove my point, how many professionally managed, large chain operators employ ongoing competitive bidding practices? ZERO, NONE, NADA! Every large chain uses one primary purveyor to supply 80% - 100% of it's food products. How many independent operators do this? Probably less than 10%, easily less than 20%.
And who makes more money at the restaurant level, the typical chain or independent restaurant? According to industry averages published by NRA the average independent nets about a nickel or 5% of sales before federal and state income taxes. Having worked with several chain operators and from perusing the annual reports and 10-Ks of many publicly held chains, the average restaurant level net income before corporate overhead and income taxes is around 12% - 15% of net sales.
The fact that chain restaurants are 2 to 3 times more profitable than independent operations may not be entirely due to purchasing practices but I'm sure it's a factor, possibly a big one.
Distraction from High-Return Activities
Another factor to consider is the amount of time it takes to constantly evaluate bids, deal with lots of vendors and put away lots of deliveries, lots of small deliveries, that is. Using a prime vendor frees up management time that can be better spent on high return activities like taking better care of your customers and developing your people. In my mind, trying to save 25 cents on a case of green beans is hardly a high return activity worthy of much owner or management time.
What Determines Supplier Prices?
There are four basic elements that go into the pricing formula of most suppliers.

Product Costs: What it costs the vendor to purchase the products from their suppliers such as manufacturers, growers and other wholesalers. The more they buy, the lower their costs are so there's a built-in incentive for suppliers to move lots of product.
Administrative & Selling Costs: Includes the cost of servicing the account and processing the orders. Factors that can affect these costs include order processing time, lead time, order frequency, number of invoices processed, specialty products needed and credit terms. Another point is that these costs are basically fixed and suppliers want to spread these costs over as many sales dollars as possible.
Delivery & Handling Costs: This boils down to cost per drop. The drop cost to deliver 1 case to your back door is about the same as it costs to deliver 100 cases. To a supplier, bigger orders mean less delivery cost per dollar of product delivered. Number of deliveries per week and the time of the day you will accept deliveries can also affect these costs.
Profit on the Account: This is the percentage mark-up or gross profit in dollars the supplier needs to make an account profitable after considering all the factors discussed above and the potential volume on the account.
The key point is that if you find ways to lower the vendor's cost of servicing your account and give them the opportunity to make more profit "dollars", they are usually willing to work on a lower "mark-up." As a result, you get lower overall prices and other important benefits too, which I'll discuss further below.
Give Suppliers the Opportunity to Make More Money on Your Account
Yes, you read that right. It's in everyone's best interest to position a supplier to make more money on your account in return for something . . . LOWER PRICES! Here's how it works . . .
Smart suppliers don't just look at the percentage mark-up on an account. What's more important is the potential total gross profit in dollars they can make. For example . .
Assume you buy around $600,000 of food a year. You currently spread your purchases around to 2 or 3 broadline distributors and several specialty suppliers. You spend about $100,000 a year with Distributor A and Distributor A is adding a 20% markup to everything they sell you (Case 1). Do you think Distributor A might be willing to work on a smaller margin percent if they could get more, a lot more of your business?

As you see, it makes economic sense for Distributor A to work on a smaller margin % IF it means converting you from a $100,000 account into a $500,000 account. You can see in Case 2, Distributor A has the opportunity to more than double their gross profit dollars on the account even though they gave up a large slice of their average markup % to get more of your business.
A Case In Point
When I took over as the Food & Beverage Director of the U.S. Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs they were using lots of suppliers. As many as 15 to 20 vendors a week.
Sensing the need to do something different, I invited the major vendors in the area to submit a proposal if they were interested in being considered as a prime vendor. In short, the program would be a year-long, non-contractual agreement whereby the OTC would agree to purchase a major portion of its total food purchases (50% to 70%) from one supplier in exchange for a fixed "mark-up" (not price) on their products.
In a notice to the prime vendor candidates, I included a quote sheet (called the Prime Vendor Quote Sheet below) outlining the products and specification of the OTC's principle products and the quantities purchased in a typical week. Each vendor was asked to quote their current prices on those products and how they would determine their mark-up on each product (cost plus a percentage or cost plus a fixed amount per unit) over the term of the prime vendor program, which in this case was 1 year.
Results
We noticed these benefits as a result of going on the prime vendor program:
1. Reduction in food cost: Immediately after implementing the prime vendor program, the OTC's food cost per meal dropped 10% while maintaining the same menu using the same ingredients.
2. Fewer vendors and invoices to deal with. Instead of dealing with nearly 20 vendors and lots of deliveries and invoices, the number of vendors dropped to 5 or 6. Fewer people and paperwork to deal with.
3. Less purchasing activities: Prior to the prime vendor program, the OTC had a full time purchasing clerk. That position was no longer needed and was phased out.
4. Better vendor service. The prime vendor became much more responsive to special requests and to situations that required immediate action.
5. Improved product consistency. Food was now coming from one source, not the low-bidder of the week. This meant better food quality and consistency.
6. Closer vendor relationship. There was now the incentive for the sales rep to provide more attention, and to maintain a good working relationship.
"Yeah, But . . . "
One common response to a prime vendor arrangement is that the vendor will ratchet the prices up once they know you're not watching them like a hawk. Sure that's possible, but now we're talking about being a sizeable account which the supplier knows will be put out to bid again within a year. If they do play games with the pricing, chances are you'll find out sooner or later.
There is an element of trust involved in a prime vendor relationship. The question you need to answer is, "will a supplier intentionally inflate prices if it puts them in jeopardy of losing a big customer?" Sure it's possible but it's hardly a smart business move on the part of any supplier who wants you as a customer over the long term.
Speaking of trust, in this type of arrangement trust goes both ways. You'll always have another supplier come to you with a better price on a case of tomato sauce today or box of ribs tomorrow, but the point is sticking with the prime vendor as much as possible to get the lowest "overall" prices day after day (and spend your time in more productive activities). Once you start cherry-picking the best deals out there product by product you defeat the purpose of a having prime vendor and it probably won't work.
Does Prime Vendor Make Sense For Your Restaurant?
There's really only one way to find out, try it! While not a panacea, virtually every operator I've met who has tried prime vendor, say they'd never go back to competitive bidding again.
RestaurantOwner.com members can download the following forms and templates to make the prime vendor evaluation process faster, easier and enhance your changes of getting the best possible deal:
Cover Letter Template - Use this to describe, to each prime vendor candidate, the prime vendor program your are proposing, how they can submit a proposal to you, and the basis you're going to use to select your prime vendor.
Prime Vendor Spec Sheet - To get the best deal, you need to be aware of all the important factors to consider in structuring your prime vendor arrangement. Includes delivery frequency and time, order lead time, method of ordering, credit terms and other key factors you can negotiate on to improve your bargaining position and lower your prices.
Prime Vendor Quote Sheet - Here's where you list the product specifications and average weekly usage of your principal products. The vendor candidates use this to fill in their current price quote for each product and the formula used to determine each product's price (the vendor's cost plus a percentage or the vendor's cost plus a fixed amount per unit).
Prime Vendor Summary Sheet - This is a summary sheet to collect and summarize all the candidates' quotes and pricing formulas. Makes it easy to compare each candidate's bid in total and product by product.
Bill Marvin, The Restaurant DoctorTM is an advisor to service-oriented organizations around the world. For more information, visit Bill's website at www.RestaurantDoctor.com or email him at bill@RestaurantDoctor.com.

The Keys to Success

2008-01-31T20:48:00.000-06:00

“The trouble with opportunity is that it’s always more recognizable going than coming.” Author unknown

I would like to share with you another marketing approach that has worked wonders for a restaurant in Bartlett. There is nothing “in the box” about this thinking, but it has WORKED! I am sure many of you have seen this type of set up at fund raisers and the like, but I am sure that few of you have seen it implemented at a restaurant. I realize that this might not match the business profile for everyone on this mailing list, but I am sure that some of you can put this, or something like it, to work to your advantage.

It gets a little complicated, but bear with me. What this operator has done is purchase 2 Harley Davidson Motorcycles and offers them up as a prize for whoever buys the lucky keys to the cycles. The first time I heard it, I was like, whoa….that doesn’t seem like such a good idea – giving away 2 motorcycles? But as I was walked through the strategy, it began to make a whole lot of sense.

How do you buy a key to the cycle? You get the opportunity to put a key in the cycles by purchasing a $100 gift card for the restaurant. The gift cards can be used in the bar (ideally) and in the restaurant (still a good thing). Let’s figure that his food cost is 30%.....so each time he sells the chance to be a winner, he puts $70 into his pocket. If he spent $21,000 combined on the bikes, then all he needs to do is sell 300 of the gift cards to recoup his initial investment. Imagine the positive energy and excitement centered on the opportunity to win the motorcycles.

Fast forward 2 months and March Madness is upon us. It is noon on Friday of the opening weekend and your bar is filled to capacity. 4 guys are seated at a bar table, settled in for the duration of afternoon. They are staring down lunch, appetizers and an afternoon of drinks. It is not hard to imagine that they will each spend close to $100. Your server suggests that they purchase a key. Don’t you think they will go home and tell their friends about the chance they have to win a Harley (or whatever you want – home entertainment center, a car, a motorcycle, a vacation, a cruise, snowmobiles, anything)? Talk about a buzz being generated. Think about gift giving holidays or occasions (graduations, weddings, Christmas, Father’s Day) wherein a customer could buy the gift card as a gift and get the chance to win the prize. I am sure the purchaser is going to spend more than just the $100 for the gift card – they are in your restaurant after all. Then the recipient arrives at your place with a gift card burning a hole in their pocket. A night like that (what the heck it isn’t costing me anything) probably will result in all the stops being pulled out. Are they really going to stay below a hundred dollars? Doubtfully.

The opportunities to use this marketing scheme are limitless. Contact your local car dealer and tell him you want to advertise one of his cars for 90 days in your restaurant. You offer to get the dealership involved – their name in lights, signage, an insert in the menus or on the tables. You have to believe that they would work something out with you on the cost of the car. They would love the good publicity and word of mouth that your promotion would generate for them. Talk to a travel agent, a furniture store owner or an electronics store owner and get them involved. You don’t even have to do just one grand prize, you could have 2, 3, 4 prizes – heck as many as you would like! There is no end to what kind of positive energy, excitement, buzz, talk and reputation you can generate with a promotion like this.

Then, when it is time to do the drawing, or starting of the car/jet ski/motorcycle – you have a great excuse to get people BACK to your restaurant or bar, spend more money, during the “final festivities” event party weekend! This can be a great type of event – part of the proceeds can go to a charity if you would like. Think big, what about winning a house or condo!?!? A builder may want to get in on something like this – you never know until you start working it.

Bottom line – this is something that sets you apart from your competition. This generates excitement and leads to fun energy. What a great way to reinforce your reputation as THE PLACE TO BE!!!

Putting Coupons to Work for You

2008-01-31T20:47:00.000-06:00

“Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.” Thomas Alva Edison

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. With all of the chaos over the holidays, I elected to take a little time off from writing. So now that the insanity is over, I figured I would jump back in where I left off in November. At that time we were discussing the value of offering coupons and other incentives to your customers.

As I mentioned in my earlier ramblings, one of my favorite types of buyer incentive programs is the spend $50 get $5 off your next purchase variety. I like this because it insures that your customers are spending before you discount your products. It is a win / win for everyone. Ironically, since I last posted, I signed up for one of these programs at a local eatery. I was really impressed with their program and I would like to share with you a few of the details.

Let me begin with the presentation of the program. I thought this was masterful on their end because I didn’t feel like I was getting sold anything. They left it out there for me to discover. It wasn’t pushy. It was effective. The waitress dropped off the check in the check presenter folder and opposite the bill was an invitation to join the Frequent Diner Program. It was easy to fill out (took less than 2 minutes) and it assured me that my info would be kept confidential. I filled it out, paid my bill and went on my way.

Less than 2 weeks later (outstanding response time) I received my frequent diner card and the details of the program (spend $350 and get a $25 gift card). The part that I liked most was a 2 paragraph note that was included (hand signed by the manager) that welcomed me to the club and gave a brief synopsis of who they are and what they do. Impressive. Simple. Effective.

I loved it - primarily because instead of cheapening their products and services, they raised my expectations. That is a fantastic marketing idea. That is putting coupons and incentives to good use.

I would love to hear your feedback on what has and hasn’t worked at your establishment.

Don't Discount Coupons

2008-01-31T20:46:00.002-06:00

"A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." Proverbs 27:12

Today’s economy is looking pretty brutal, and all signs indicate that it is not going to clear up anytime soon. A looming election, a drawn out war, rising home foreclosures and climbing oil prices all paint a pretty ominous picture for the near future in the economy. What are you doing to prepare yourself for weathering the storm? What are you doing different today to make sure that when this economy snaps out of its doldrums, you will not only still be open, but you will be poised to flourish? Are you convinced that what you have always done will pull you through?

Now, I am not calling for radical remodels or a wholesale departure from what has brought you success in the past, but rather a quick self examination to see if there are small things that you could be doing to strengthen your position. As the holidays arrive amidst this troubled economy and the public has less to spend and more to spend it on, what are you doing to make sure that you get your share of those disposable dollars? Have you thought of any ways to draw consumers to you, or to find ways to streamline your operations so that you can find some extra profit dollars in your existing business model?

I was reading the newspaper this morning and 2 coupons fell out of it. Ironically, they were both for restaurants. It set me to thinking about coupons and their effectiveness for operators. I am normally not a big fan of coupons for restaurants….I feel that a restaurant should stand on its own merits and should not have to sacrifice profit in order to keep people coming through the door, but in this economy, I have begun to rethink the value of coupons. We are all dependant on people spending money with our businesses, the cash flow is imperative to sustain business. We need to keep people coming back to us. In a tightening economy coupons can be an effective measure to draw people into your establishment. A number of national chains are obviously starting to implement coupons in their marketing schemes (the 2 coupons were issued by chains), and from what I have read, they forecast continuing to use them until the economy recovers.

What kind of coupons should you use? I would love to hear some feedback from you all about what has and hasn’t worked in the past. I am not a big fan of the $5 off your next purchase coupons. I think they just end up cheapening your product. Instead, I like the give / get type of coupons….the I win and you win variety. I think the spend $25 and get $5 off coupons are the most effective (insert your own dollar values). It insures that the consumers aren’t necessarily cherry picking you and using the coupon to your greatest disadvantage. It gets them spending a decent amount of money before they get to use their coupon, and if they are willing to spend that kind of money to take advantage of the coupon, more often than not they will order an extra course “to take advantage” of the coupon. The whole “what the heck, it is basically free, so let’s order dessert” mentality exists. You get additional sales all around.

Another successful coupon tactic is the frequent buyer card. I, for one, will almost always do whatever it takes to take advantage of a frequent buyer situation. (I frequently laugh at myself for some of the decisions I make to try to capitalize on these opportunities – like driving 15 minutes out of my way to fill up with gas) I know I am not alone in that mentality, I see it all over the place. What awesome drawing power this could be for your establishment. People will return again and again if they see that they can get a future benefit for doing so. Give them a new reason to come back. Let’s say you offered $10 off after the purchase of 5 entrees….don’t you think that you have made enough to cover that $10 coupon without to severely denting your profitability model? How bout $25 off a catering after the purchasing of 3 $200 caterings? Think that might lock up some additional corporate sales?

In order for a coupon to be truly effective for an operator it must provide the consumer with incentives to spend MORE money at your establishment. When you can create volume spending, you have more room to make up the loss in profitability that a coupon can represent. The idea is to lure them into your business, and draw them back again in the future. If you can do that without giving away the farm, you have provided yourself with an effective tool to weather this economy.

Thanks for reading and have a great Thanksgiving!

Grease Is The Word

2008-01-31T20:46:00.001-06:00

Anyone remember how much shortening was last October? Are you sitting down? Do you really want to know how much more it costs per case this year than it did last year? Answer: $13.75/case. Yep, that’s right, $5 a case more than last year’s price. If you use 10 cases of shortening a week, that is a difference on your bottom line of over $2600 on one ingredient alone! Most economists do not see an end to the rising costs of oil. Most pop culture watchers do not see an end to America’s insatiable hunger for fried foods. Sounds like an ominous forecast for operators.

What can we do about it? I know we would like to control the price of shortening, but unfortunately we can’t. What we can do is influence the amount of oil that we are using. Wait, you say, “you just said that Americans crave fried foods more than ever” how can I use less? There are a couple of ways to reduce the amount of oil that you are using, and I would like to explore them with you.

I know that most of us think that oil is oil is oil is oil, that there is no difference in any of the shortenings. NEWS FLASH – There is a difference between oils. On the surface it is a little hard to believe, but if you think about it for just a minute, you will see that there are differences. Shortening is a valuable commodity. Millions of restaurants use it all across the country. Millions of pounds of shortening are sold each day. It is the highest volume item in the foodservice industry. The manufacturers want that business. They want ALL of the business. In a lot of ways, shortening is the grease that keeps all of the parts of the foodservice economy moving. It is important. When anything is important and people stand to make or lose a lot of money on it, money is spent on researching and developing ways to make it better, to differentiate their products from the competition. The manufacturers want to earn and keep your business. The manufacturers have spent millions of dollars on scientists to find a way to make better performing shortening to earn your business and loyalty. It is not an urban legend; there is a difference between economy and premium oils.

Okay, I can’t say that they spent all this money on R & D without mentioning a few of the scientific things that they have come up with to create a better product. 1) They have engineered a better quality soybean (high oleic) that creates more stable vegetable oil. 2) The processing is far more involved on the premium oils – the oil now lasts longer and is more stable. 3) They have invented new and improved methods for hydrogenating the oil, which again makes it last longer and increases its stability.

Alright, enough of the scientific stuff, let’s get back to regular stuff. As I did a little investigating about shortening one major fact jumped out at me. The major players in the industry do NOT use CHEAP shortening. Those organizations with the resources to study their usage and analyze the cost/benefit relationship have squarely sided with premium oils. Why? They have moved to premium oils for 3 primary reasons. 1) Less absorption – fried foods come out dry and not greasy (kind of important). 2) Less flavor transfer – they want their customers to enjoy the flavor of the food they are frying rather than the taste of the shortening (important). Why would you want to take shrimp at $13 a pound and deep fry it in the cheapest oil available? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. 3) Longer oil life – while the oil may cost more on the invoice, they found that they spend less on oil per year when they use higher grade oils (very important). McDonald’s has even reported that they average 14 days of usage with their oil. That is a lot of frying! Think about it. With the economy shortening, 3 full days of frying is a stretch – 14 days – amazing! I think they might be on to something.

Not convinced yet? Still think that shortening is shortening is shortening? There is still hope for you to influence how much oil you are using. Here are a couple of helpful hints about fryer maintenance that if followed will help increase the life of your shortening:

Fryer Management
Heat: Fryer temp at 350 or lower. Turn it down when you are slow.
Air: Oxygen breaks down oil. Cover fryer at night and when it’s slow.
Moisture: Water kills fat. Fill baskets away from fryer.
Metals: No copper or brass and avoid cleaning with steel wool.
Salt: Avoid salting/seasoning food over the fryer to prevent breakdown of the oil.

Oil prices are high, and there is no end in sight for the elevated prices. Americans love fried food and there doesn’t seem to be an end to that either. Consequently, oil and shortening is an important expenditure for operators. Oil is a major ingredient, not just a cooking medium, and just like the rest of your ingredients, you should want the best. Premium oils will provide you many benefits. You will buy fewer cases and spend less money over the course of year. You will spend less on labor because you will have to change it less frequently. You will have better tasting, better looking fried foods. That sounds like a winning combination to me.

Takeout - The Competition

2008-01-31T20:45:00.000-06:00

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin

A recent survey from Technomics revealed that while in home dining is increasing, 42% of those meals are not prepared in the home. Apparently, gone are the days of genuine home cooked meals. Where are consumers getting these “faux home cooked meals?” A growing number of them are turning toward to-go options at their favorite restaurants. They aren’t just getting pizza or Chinese food delivered anymore, they are turning to fully prepared meals from local grocery stores, fast casual restaurants and a growing number of prepared meals to go enterprises like “Dinner by Design” and their ilk.

What does this mean to the average operator? It means adapt or get left behind. In my town alone there are 2 establishments that do not have a dine in option but offer fully prepared meals (that you can assemble yourself or purchase fully assembled) and a Whole Foods that offer heat and serve top of the line entrees for the whole family. They have to be putting a dent in the local restaurants’ bottom line. This doesn’t seem to be a trend that is going away. There are too many double income homes that can’t afford the time to prepare their own meals while not wanting to sacrifice a family meal in their own home. They are turning away from the traditional pizza, Chinese and fast food options and turning toward meals that reflect a more traditional home cooked meal.

How can we stay relevant to these diners (and their dollars)? We need to jump on board the train before it leaves town! Meeting this demand may require rethinking the menu and making adjustments to preparation and packaging methods. The growth in takeout business has forced many chefs, even those at upscale independent restaurants, to change preparation techniques to preserve food quality during transit. For example, Chef Carlos Gayton of Chicago’s Bistrot Margot serves pommes frites with sirloin butt steak laced with garlic butter. To preserve the crispness of the fried potatoes, he wraps them loosely in butcher paper that encourages air circulation and minimizes condensation. To-go vegetables are blanched, slightly reheated and immediately sealed in a container, which allows them to cook a little more on the way home without becoming limp. Proteins are cooked only to rare or medium rare, and all sauces are served on the side. These are just some of the adaptations operators are implementing to stay in the game.

Another thing that needs to be addressed is to-go packaging. Manufacturers are developing new packaging options that will allow diners to transport their meals home without compromising the integrity of the meals. Venting, improved stability and durability and a more upscale presentation are some of the options now available on the market. Increased packaging costs are offset by the savings on staffing (wait staff, bus staff, dishwashers) and on wear and tear on your china, glassware, and flatware. It is imperative to send the meal home in packaging that will not compromise the integrity of the meal because the consumers’ top priorities are centered on being able to duplicate at-the-restaurant quality in the comfort of their home. If you are going to venture into this arena, I strongly encourage you to put your best foot forward right out of the gate because you might not get a second chance at earning their business.

Consumers now have more sophisticated tastes, but even less time to cook. In all foodservice segments, takeout offerings that give them convenience without compromising quality will be able to capture substantial incremental sales.

I have included this link to a story from www.QSR.com that explores even further the takeout phenomena. http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/features/107/curbside-1.phtml

One More Time

2008-01-31T20:44:00.000-06:00

“When you are through changing, you’re through.” – Bruce Barton, advertiser and creator of Betty Crocker.

If I promise not to write about raising your menu prices again next time, will you please bear with me for one more column about raising your prices while offering your customers a value proposition in exchange for the increased price?

I stumbled across the results of a survey conducted by RBC Capital Markets that said that “food quality far outpaced price and convenience as the most-cited driver of restaurant choice, 55% to 12%.” I also came across two other studies’ results that said that “by 2010, natural and organic food sales are expected to increase by 63%,” and that “41.7% of the 25,446 new food products introduced since mid 2004
have [sic] been in the ’all natural or organic’ category.”

So what does that mean? Let’s start with the obvious, how the food tastes is the most important determinant of where diners are going to spend their money. Next, price and convenience take a back seat to quality. Finally, the organic and all natural product categories are here to stay. Combine them all together and it makes sense to upgrade your meats to All Natural or Organic selections and improve your profitability.

How does upgrading your meats make you more profitable? First of all, you are responding to the consumer trends, which will insure that more people are coming through your front door and spending money in your restaurant. Second, because you are offering your customers a perceived (and real) value by changing your meats, you can build in more profit margin for the greater value you are offering. Those two factors work together to help insure you improve your profitability.

Okay, I hear you saying “Enough already! I get the point.” So I will wrap it up there with only one last thought – “It is not a sin to be profitable.”

Profits, Naturally

2008-01-31T20:43:00.000-06:00

“We get paid for bringing value to the marketplace.” Jim Rohn, author and speaker.

Last issue I explored a couple of different methods for raising your menu prices to adapt to the changing economic conditions (higher fuel costs and increased food costs) by offsetting the price with a value proposition for your customers. From the response I got, I think it is a topic that I should continue to expand upon. I have stumbled upon another value proposition that can add dollars to your bottom line while further developing your restaurants’ reputations as a destination location. It also will provide you with a cutting edge image and create a substantial point of differentiation from your competitors.

Consumers (just like you and me) are bombarded by messages and images that we need to be more health conscious. You can’t watch TV or read a magazine or newspaper without encountering some news story aimed at increasing our awareness of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. In my eyes, that means a heck of a lot of people are doing the marketing for you, if you are willing to step out and do something different from your competition.

We have heard all about the value of switching to zero trans fat oils for our frying (if you haven’t – it is time to move out of the cave). I don’t think this is a fad, I believe that it is here to stay. You can capitalize on that trend by switching to all zero trans fat oils AND noting it on your menu. Don’t be afraid to move the price up a little for the added benefit of knowing that your deep fried cheese sticks are a little bit healthier because they were fried in a healthier oil! It is not a crime to provide an added service and charge for it.

Along that same vein is getting out in front of the industry trend toward organics and natural products. Consumers are more educated today than they ever have been. Whole Foods continues to expand their presence in the market (and serving meals to go) and consumers are willing to spend more on items they perceive to be healthier alternatives (see the aforementioned Whole Foods). In the 2007 Consumer Attitudes about Nutrition survey they found that 60% of consumers are willing to pay extra for healthier foods. Why not take advantage of all of the publicity that this trend is receiving in the media and rework your menu to include some healthier – more natural / organic – options?

In a recent issue of Food Navigator (an online industry newsletter) they cite a study conducted by the USB that “respondents insinuated they would like the products they already enjoy to be made healthier.” This rings true in my life – I have been one of those people paying exorbitant prices for organic meats at Whole Foods. I, like many other consumers, am willing to pay more for something that I perceive is bringing added value to my life or dining experience. I have seen a number of successful restaurants jump on this trend and switch their meats to All Natural selections and raise their prices because of the added value they are providing their customers. Not only did they provide a healthier alternative to their patrons, but they created a significant point of difference from their competition. That is the kind of point of difference that will lead to word of mouth advertising, which invariably leads to sales and profit growth for the operator (YOU).

A tighter economic climate does not have to lead to leaner times for restaurant operators. In fact, it could mean newer, increased profits for operators IF they are willing to think outside the box and creatively add value and difference to their customer’s dining experiences. REMEMBER, YOUR COMPETITION ISN’T JUST INCREASING, IT IS IMPROVING TOO.

Price Raising Strategies

2008-01-31T20:41:00.000-06:00

“Success often comes to those who have the aptitude to see way down the road.” Laing Burns Jr., author.

I want to revisit a topic that I covered in an earlier edition – raising menu prices. I know that previously I shared why it is important to raise prices in light of the current supply markets, but I didn’t really explore any suggestions on how to do this effectively without alienating your customer base. I would like to take a little time to discuss some strategies for raising menu pricing.

In a recent issue of R&I magazine, they interviewed a number of successful operators about this topic, and I found a couple of ideas that made a lot of sense that I thought worthy of sharing with you. A couple that jumped out at me were “pick two combos” and “the value added concept.” These two in particular seem to have found a way to raise prices while disguising them with menu changes to cover up what they were truly doing - raising prices.

“Pick Two Combos,” in this concept the operator gives the patron the opportunity to pick two (duh) items and pair them together for a value added meal. The operators shrunk portion sizes and allowed customers to feel that they had control over their pairing and left them feeling like they received a better value for their dollars. By pairing low cost menu options in smaller portions, the customer gets to pick two items from a specified menu and receive a perceived higher value for their expenditure. Pairing a half sandwich and a bowl of soup or a small salad allows consumers to walk away full and satisfied while leaving profits in the portions for the operators. This is an easy way to disguise profitable menu ideas as value added options for consumers.

“The Value Added Concept” will allow operators to upgrade their menu selections and split the difference in cost with the consumer. One example that I particularly liked is upgrading a hamburger from regular ground beef with Angus beef. The cost of an 8z burger will climb from $0.72 to $1.20, but with Angus on the menu, you can charge more than the $0.48 increase in the cost of the raw materials. You could take your burger from $5.99 to $6.99 and no one would bat an eye because of the perceived increase in value of the item. In this example the consumer sees (and tastes) an upgrade in the quality of the meat, and the operator raises the price more than the minimum to offset the rise in cost of the raw materials. This results in greater profitability for the operator, while leaving the consumer feeling like they received an added value for their meal dollars. Another example of this could be executed by upgrading your fish selections on the menu. Consumers want value in exchange for their dollars, and offering a better quality fish on the menu allows you to charge more for the entrée, thereby disguising a menu price increase as a value upgrade.

The “value added concept” is in stark contrast to a maneuver that I have seen many businesses make that will eventually lead to their failure. This is what I call the “Shoot Yourself in the Foot Method.” In this method, operators either hold or raise their prices while lowering the quality of the food they are bringing in the back door. This may lead to an immediate lift in profitability, but it will eventually lead to an empty restaurant as diners begin to refer to the business as the “place I used to go to get a good meal.” Consumers are smarter than you may think, you might be able to fool them once or twice, but they eventually catch on to this move and will move on to other establishments.

The key to successfully raising your menu prices is to offer your patrons a better perceived value for their money. If you can effectively execute that, then you can alleviate any worries you might have that your consumers think that you are taking advantage of them. Your patrons stay happy, and your bank account stays full!

You Want Me to Charge How Much?

2008-01-31T20:40:00.000-06:00

I don’t know about you, but I am feeling the squeeze. Gas prices are up. That accounts for an extra $30 drain on my budget per week. That comes directly out of the disposable income that I normally use for eating out and other things. I know it is affecting you. I see it in sales. I hear it from you. In talking with many of you, I have sensed a common thread to our conversations as it relates to the state of the economy, and that thread kind of scares me. Almost no one is willing to raise their menu prices. Almost everyone is afraid of losing customers due to price increases. I want to caution you not to try to win the battle at the expense of losing the war. I want to take a minute to share some of my experiences so that perhaps you all won’t have to go through some of the challenges I did.

I had my business humming. I had grown the business to about $4 million in sales. I was living fat and sassy. Things were good, 4 trucks on the road, and a staff of 7. Not bad at all. Then the unthinkable occurred – reshaping the economy. September 11th. The gravy train came to a screeching halt. Everyone’s disposable income shrunk. Drastically. Sales quickly dropped. I panicked. How would I keep this thing afloat? Boy did I learn a very painful lesson. I reacted the wrong way – a way very similar to the tacks that I see many of you taking. I tried to bear the brunt of the impact rather than passing it on to my customers. Looking back, I see that I (in my role of consumer) accepted that things began to cost more. I understood why. Groceries, gas, insurance, essentially everything rose in cost. I (in my role as business owner) refused to believe that my customers would recognize that my products had to increase in price as well. I held my price – in fact I lowered my margins. I thought that I could ease the burden for everyone else. Boy was I WRONG. I thought that I could keep it afloat by being a lower cost option for my customers. I might have been able to weather the storm if consumers had money to spend, but they didn’t. And I didn’t either. Since consumers didn’t have as much money to spend on my products, I was selling less. My overhead didn’t decrease – it went up just like everyone else’s. The route I took resulted in fewer sales, and less profit per item….a deadly combination for a small business owner. I won’t bore you with the gory details, but I will tell you this. I no longer sell trading cards and collectibles for myself; I sell food for a company owned by someone else. It came to an end because I didn’t react appropriately to the changing market conditions.

I don’t want you to learn the same lesson the same way. I want you to succeed. I want you to succeed for a couple of reasons. 1) Failing sucks – there is no other way to put it. 2) I like you and care about you and your success.

We are all afraid of losing customers because we have raised our prices. I understand completely. But I caution you not to lose the war because you tried to win this battle. It is a slow bleed out filled with sleepless nights and hair loss! Your customers (like me) expect to pay more. They pay more for gas, they pay more at the grocery store and they pay more for almost everything. It is not unreasonable for them to pay more for your goods and services. Sales will slow down. They are going to anyway because of the drains on disposable income. Don’t couple that slow down with a decrease in your profitability because it will be disastrous. Don’t ignore this because it costs too much to reprint your menus or because you are afraid that people will go somewhere else because you have raised your prices by a dollar. I have seen the movie and I know how it ends!

I found this in a recent USA Today, and I thought it was pertinent enough to share with everyone:

By Barbara Hagenbaugh USA TODAY
Food and beverage costs rose 3.9% in May from a year earlier, outpacing the overall inflation rate by more than a full percentage point and is the biggest increase in three years, the Labor Department said Friday. Costs for a variety of goods, including meat, milk, soft drinks and fresh fruit all rose from April. Higher prices are being seen not only at grocery stores, but also at restaurants. The cost of dining out has risen 3.3% in the last year. A combination of forces, including bad weather, heightened demand for corn to produce ethanol, strong buying from consumers and higher energy costs, is boosting prices. "I don't see the current commodity pricing in agriculture … turning around and dropping quickly," says Michael Swanson, agricultural economist at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis.
Companies are continuing to raise prices in June. General Mills later this month is reducing the sizes of boxes of many types of cereal, such as Cheerios, Wheaties and Cocoa Puffs. Although the company will sell the boxes for less than it's been charging for the bigger sizes, the change will increase the price per ounce. "This will help offset rising input costs," including higher energy and grain prices, General Mills spokesman Tom Forsythe says.
Prices rising across the board Joe Hall, owner of J.W. Hall's Steak and Seafood Inn in Aliquippa, Pa., recently raised prices for a number of items on his menu, including the prime rib dinner, which went from $19.50 to $21.50. He said his costs for beef, seafood, butter, coffee, even condiments such as ketchup, have risen substantially in recent months. "I just had no choice," says Hall, who says he has rarely seen prices go up this much, this fast, in his 26 years of business. "Prices are going up across the board. I waited a long time to react. I was hoping they would level off a little bit. But it doesn't seem like that's happening."
Behind the increases: Weather. Bad weather has been plaguing farmers for the past year, leading to delayed planting, damaged crops and shrunken harvests. A freeze in California in January caused $1.4 billion in agricultural losses, with severe damage to a number of crops, such as oranges, avocados and broccoli, according to the state's agriculture department. More than one-third of the continental USA is now in a drought, including crop-rich Florida. And recently in the Midwest, the nation's bread basket, "it rained where it didn't need rain, and it didn't rain where it needed rain," says Tom Jackson, agricultural economist at consulting firm Global Insight.
Ethanol.
The food price increase "has a lot to do with corn, and it has a lot to do with ethanol," Wells Fargo's Swanson says. U.S. farmers are estimated to have planted the largest corn crop in decades this year in response to strong demand for corn to make ethanol, a fuel alternative that is blended with gasoline and, in the USA, is most often made by fermenting corn. But even with greater corn supplies, the ethanol surge has led to higher prices for corn. And because farmers are switching acreage from soybeans, rice and other crops to cash in on the corn frenzy, prices for those crops have also risen. Corn and soybeans are used to feed chickens, pigs, cattle and other animals. Higher feed costs have led to increased meat and dairy prices. Corn is also used to make a sweetener, so soft-drink prices have risen.
Demand.
Strength in economies around the globe has led to increased demand for all types of food. That has helped boost prices. In the USA, "We still have got very good income numbers, we have low unemployment, so the demand side remains strong," American Farm Bureau Federation senior economist Terry Francl says.
Energy.
Farming is an energy-intensive business, whether it's fueling tractors, paying to refrigerate trucks to keep food fresh or buying fertilizer, which is derived from natural gas. Even food packaging is typically petroleum-based. Rising energy prices have boosted the cost of producing food, and those costs are being passed on to consumers.

Bigger concern than gasoline
Because food is an item that people cannot do without, higher food costs mean consumers have less money to spend in other parts of the economy. And because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity, reduced spending in non-food segments of the economy could lead to slower growth in those areas. Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, N.Y., calls higher food prices "one of the three or four biggest potential risks to our forecast," arguing food prices could have a far more detrimental impact on the economy than higher gasoline costs. U.S. consumers on average spend 15% of their budgets on food and beverages, vs. 4% on gasoline.

Are You Pouring Profits Down the Drain? - by Steve Bostler

2008-01-31T20:38:00.002-06:00

First impressions make lasting impressions. Being in this business, I have entered a lot of kitchens, some were impressive, some were dated but the ones that leave me with a lasting impression are the clean extremes. The clean extremes are “Wow, this kitchen is very clean, I would eat here!” and “Wow, I hope they don’t offer me food because I don’t want to eat something from this kitchen!”

You can tell what the owner thinks of his business and his clientele by checking the cleanliness of 2 rooms; the kitchen and the bathroom. I feel that the kitchen shows how the owner feels about his or her business. Are they there to cash a check and go through the motions or are they actively engaged in the business, striving to make their product noticed by the customer. This is about pride in workmanship, in keeping the area where the creation happens clean – it shows a respect for the customer. I believe that this sets the average dining experience apart from the extraordinary.

It’s in the details.

Cleaning and maintaining cleanliness is hard work. Most often it is not done by the people that care the most – they are just pushing a mop around to get their job completed, they don’t feel that they are accomplishing anything important. There may be ways to incent people to do their job better, to your satisfaction.

How about giving the employee a bonus for cleaning the area well? Maybe after they clean the area well a certain number of times, they earn an award and a reward. It doesn’t have to be much. It can be money, gift certificates to a movie, Best Buy, I-tunes or a free day off. You can post their name on a board as the outstanding employee of the week – give them the choice parking spot – whatever, just be creative and make it mean something to you. If you make it important and meaningful to you, it will be important and meaningful to them.
Make it be a team bonus or accomplishment so that everyone gets involved. The better the restaurant looks, the better the customers will feel about eating there, they tell people about the experience and your business grows – everyone benefits. This also sets up for positive peer pressure, for them to push each other to get their job done correctly.
Give them goals to accomplish and hold them accountable for them. Reward them when they reach them and work with them to achieve those goals. If you do that, they will take pride in what they are doing – no matter if they are serving meals or sweeping the parking lot. Everyone likes to feel important, that their job matters, and that they have accomplished something.

You may be asking yourself, why would I want to spend more money to pay people to do their jobs? Great point. First and foremost, I will argue that a team that doesn’t have a lot of experience but has great morale, will outperform an experienced team with poor morale everyday of the week. Morale may be the single most important ingredient to your team. If they feel good about coming to work and doing a good job, you have a motivated employee. Motivated employees are easier to manage and do better work.

Secondly, how are you spending your money on chemicals? How do your people measure the amount of soap and cleaning solutions they use? If you are using the “Glug Glug” method, which is pour it until it “looks good” – you might as well be pouring money down the drain. More soap or solution doesn’t automatically mean better cleaning. It can also mean that harsh chemicals will shorten the life of what you are cleaning – costing you even more money in the long AND short run.

The solutions are simple and will save you money by using the appropriate amount of product;
1. Buy Ready to Use chemicals. Use these chemicals right out of the bottle, no dilution is necessary and thus you will not use 4 ounces of product when only 1 ounce is needed.
2. Get a measuring cup and make sure the people use it – you could tie it into the rewards program – if they are seen just pouring into the bucket, they lose points off of their bonus. This isn’t difficult, you probably already have a measuring cup somewhere that isn’t being used.
3. Incorporate a wall mounted chemical dispenser that mixes the appropriate amount of solution every time into the bottle or mop bucket. These are installed free of charge and help keep the area neat, clean and organized. The best kind of dispenser has the product metering device sealed inside the container of product – not allowing anyone to tamper or remove it so that you end up using more chemicals than are necessary. The correct amount is mixed every time, saving you hundreds or even thousands per year.

When not measured, we have seen people spend up to four times more on their cleaning supplies! By incorporating portion control on this often overlooked aspect of your business, you may be able to increase the money your profits. The chains usually have this area controlled. Having control of this area can help fund a program that rewards the behavior you are looking for in your employees. These suggestions will save you money, improve your restaurant, and increase your chances to grow your business, all at the same time.

Now for the bathroom, let’s get it out in the open. NOBODY REALLY LIKES TO CLEAN THEIR OWN BATHROOM LET ALONE A PUBLIC BATHROOM! It is definitely the most unglamorous job in existence. They have made a TV show about jobs like this – I think it is called “Dirty Work.” It is brutal. However, it is an important part of your restaurant. A dirty bathroom leaves an indelible memory for your patrons about your restaurant. It speaks volumes about how you feel about the details. It doesn’t reflect well on anything – I will often equate the bathroom with the kitchen – I don’t know why, but I do. If the bathroom isn’t sanitary, I immediately wonder about the sanitary state of the kitchen. It is just where my mind jumps to immediately.

Now, how to you get your employees to develop a sense of responsibility for the bathroom? Not an easy question to answer. I think that many of the strategies outlined above could easily be incorporated for the bathrooms too. Some restaurants schedule hourly bathroom checks. If you keep your bathroom clean, visitors will automatically keep it cleaner than when it is already messy. Patrons usually have a “one more paper towel on the floor won’t really matter” attitude when it is left in disarray. Take steps to insure that its cleanliness is maintained, and your patrons will partner with you subconsciously purely out of respect for the work that is going into maintaining the bathroom. I recently read an article about the impact a bathroom attendant had on the public’s perception of the establishment. Maybe consider adding an attendant during the busy hours – let them work for tips and see what happens. Another tip – if your bathroom consistently smells – it may be the ceiling! When a toilet is flushed, with the lid up, the water (or anything else in there) can be sprayed up to 15 feet. This means that an enzyme based, odor counteractant sprayed on the ceiling a few times per week will do the trick and keep your bathroom smelling fresh.

These are just a few ideas to help keep your image up, and your profits where they should be – in your pocket rather than going down the drain.

Can I Get That to Go?

2008-01-31T20:37:00.000-06:00

The other day I was driving past a McDonald’s that they had knocked down and are rebuilding. It took me a minute, but I figured out what was different. They had reduced their seating area substantially. That is weird. I thought that the object was to get people in to their restaurant. I mean, isn’t that what it is all about? A couple of days later, I read an article in the NRA’s newsletter about the industry trending towards to go service at all levels of restaurants. I drove by that same McDonald’s and saw that instead of additional seating, they had constructed a 2nd drive thru lane. Interesting.

According to the article “Well over half of the meals purchased at the nation's estimated 935,000 restaurants are gobbled up at home, back at the office or in the car. Twenty-five years ago, far more people ate restaurant food in eateries than took it out. By 2006, the typical American ate 81 meals inside restaurants but ordered 127 to go, reports researcher NPD Group.” Those are some statistics that can’t be ignored. It appears to be a trend that would be foolish to ignore. Aside from all of the “normal” drive thru venues such as McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King and the like, other national chains are attempting to get out in front of this trend by offering curbside pickup and the like. Chili’s, Outback, and Applebee’s are already doing it. I read somewhere that Outback dedicates at least 3 employees per shift just to address the pick up and to go customers’ needs. At the risk of beating a dead horse, those companies employ lots of people and spend even more money on marketing research to find out what we, the consumer, likes. Take advantage of their efforts and put those ideas to work for you.

How does this affect you? Well, the studies show that if you are not currently doing a to-go menu, you might be missing out on some sales. I am guessing that some of you are shaking your heads saying “it would never work here.” You might be right. And I guarantee you that if you don’t ever offer it, it will NEVER work there! I would recommend trying it out for a little while to see if you are in fact missing some opportunities. The start up costs is minimal, and it truly is an extension of your existing operation. Who knows what it will bring to your bottom line.

I do recommend that you consider a couple of things, however.

1) This is a service. This is something special. It is okay to charge a premium for it. Don’t be afraid to be profitable.
2) Assess your commitment level to this and make your decisions accordingly. When a customer dines in your restaurant, you will go to great lengths to assure that everything is as it should be for them. This might even be more important for your to-go customers. I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of arriving at home only to find out that they left the onions on your wife’s sandwich (OUCH). I think I have invented about 20 new expletives on my way back to pick up a new sandwich.
3) To go containers matter. In my mind they are the equivalent to a clean bathroom. In my mind DIRTY BATHROOM = I AM NOT IMPORTANT. Likewise CHEAP TO GO CONTAINERS = I AM NOT IMPORTANT. For a few cents more per serving you can upgrade your to-go-ware and insure that your customers remember this experience for the right reasons.
4) Have competent people answer the phone for the order. It has happened to me a whole lot, and it drives me nuts. I call to place my order, and the person on the other end isn’t paying attention, doesn’t understand me, or isn’t really invested in our conversation, and my order gets messed up. Again, not the memory that you want to create for your patrons.

For the generations that preceded us, dining was an event. For some of us it still is. However, in the US, eating is becoming more and more something we do while we are doing something else. Don’t miss out on that market segment by ignoring the trend or your customers will be eating as they are doing something else – driving by your restaurant.

Effective Marketing Idea

2008-01-31T20:36:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July celebration. I know that in our industry that the 4th is frequently a slow business week and I have had lots of conversations with many of you regarding new ideas to bring in more people to your establishment. I have stumbled upon an idea that I would like to share with you to get more people into your restaurant and to help position your place as an important part of the community.

The idea that I have is one that will reach a specific audience, make your restaurant the place to be and enhance your image as a concerned partner in the community - all of which are important impressions to create and develop to improve your standing in town.

In my hometown of Wheaton, the PTA is an influential group in the community. The PTA at my daughter’s school came up with a great idea that I would like to share with you. They have instituted a “Cook’s Night Off” once a month wherein they have contacted local restaurants to offer a special night for their school. What they do is ask the restaurant to donate 10% of the sales to the PTA. In exchange for the 10%, they send out 2 mailings to the entire school body during the month stating that on that particular night Your Restaurant is sponsoring the “Cook’s Night Off.” Now that might not seem like much, but I have to tell you what a powerful marketing force a group of 5 – 11 year olds can be. Not many parents stand a chance against an 8 year old demanding that they be part of this event. Try telling your kid that you aren’t going…..you will soon find out that you are a mean, grumpy parent and that your decisions aren’t fair! What a great marketing scheme to tap into. As a dad, I have struggled to come up with pliable reasons not to attend. Short of feigning illness, I have yet to come up with an excuse that doesn’t land me in my kids’ dog house. It is quite a racket that the PTA and the local restaurants have created.

Now many of you are probably screaming “Why the heck would I want a restaurant full of kids?” Good question. I will tell you what it has created for those restauranteurs brave enough to give it a spin. It gets you a captive audience to tap into. 2 free mailings to a relevant demographic. It gets you a full house on a night that is typically a slow night for sales. Good will in the community – you are helping the KIDS after all. That good will goes a long way with the parents when they looking to spend their dining dollars the next time they go out for a meal.

Some things to keep in mind when you consider taking this on for a night: 1) Limit your menu – you should get a pretty good turnout, and you may want to limit the diners’ choices. 2) Encourage people to phone ahead with their orders. I have seen a sandwich shop in town have people waiting 45 minutes for a cold cut sandwich. The next time they did it, they asked people to submit their orders ahead of time and it turned a potentially negative experience into an extremely positive one (imagine waiting 45 minutes to get your food in a room full of 200 kids – enough said!) 3) Be adequately staffed….a room full of kids can create a lot of service headaches. Cleaning up can be a bit of a challenge. 4) Remember it is for the kids, and with the kids come the parents – who are the ones spending money tonight and in the future. 5) Make your restaurant as kid friendly as you can. Many families have more than one child, and there will be younger ones in tow too.

So, in review, contacting your local PTA to try to set up a “Cook’s Night Off” can be a great way to position your restaurant as a concerned partner in community, provide you with effective marketing to a specific demographic, provide you with a tax write off (10% is going to a school charity), and get people who might otherwise never come to your establishment in the door. Sounds like a win, win, win, win to me.

The Place To Be

2008-01-31T20:34:00.000-06:00

I know that many of you must be getting sick of discussing branding, but I can’t lay the issue to rest without addressing one important aspect of developing your restaurant’s brand reputation. The last two weeks we have discussed why branding your restaurant is important and some of the ways you can help develop your brand. Let’s wrap up this issue of branding with a discussion of how great service and the right environment helps reinforce your brand.

Why do many diners choose the restaurants that they do? A lot of the reason lies with the feeling that it is THE PLACE TO BE. What exactly is the place to be? What are the common characteristics? Think about it. What attracts you to a certain restaurant? Why do you eat where you do? With the escalating cost of gas and the other drains on personal economies coupled with the influx of chains and other competition in the marketplace, it is imperative that you create a destination atmosphere at your restaurant. You have to create a space and a dining experience that draws both your existing clients and other new diners to your establishment.

Imagine that you have out of town guests visiting and you have to pick the place to eat. It is your money, your reputation and you don’t want to blow it. What do you choose? What are the characteristics of that place? It doesn’t have to be a dinner, it could be a breakfast or a lunch too…just imagine. What pops into your mind? Is it your restaurant? Is it another place (it’s ok if it is)? Why that place? What is special about it? Why did you choose it? How does your place stack up to that image?

In my little fantasy the places I tend to pick have the right room, the right kind of atmosphere, great service and of course a good meal. Let’s look at the room and the atmosphere. First of all it is clean. Cleanliness is a must have. No one likes to eat at a place that looks unclean. The floors, the walls, the tables, the dishes, the bathroom, the servers, what I can see of the kitchen….everything has to be clean. Thinking about this underscores in my mind what a tough task you have in keeping things up to snuff.

The room does not have to be brand spanking new, it can be dated and lacking all of the latest accoutrements. It just has to be kept up and have a cared for appearance. Some of the best places don’t have all the razzle dazzle of cutting edge fashions and trends. At the core though, it has to be clean and neat. This is the foundation for the right dining atmosphere. The atmosphere is important. Nobody wants to go somewhere that people aren’t smiling or having fun…it is very much a part of the dining experience. How many times have you walked away from the meal saying that the food was great but the person serving darn near ruined your meal with their attitude? It is an integral part of the meal. I have often eaten a very so-so meal that was served to me by someone who “got it” and I left saying that I would definitely go back for another meal. The public is not made up of professional food critics, it is made up of humans who want to feel a connection to the place and people where they dine and live.

Getting to the people part of the dining experience is opening a whole other can of worms. We all know the challenges in hiring the backbone of your crew. It’s not easy to hire great servers and bus boys – it isn’t the most glamorous job out there by any stretch. But it is very important to hire the right kind of people. It is an integral part of the dining experience. It helps create a destination atmosphere for your restaurant. Last weekend we were out at a wedding, enjoying a little time with friends before the reception. We stopped at a place for a quick drink and some appetizers. Our server looked to be a real dud at first glance. But was I surprised when she anticipated our needs, and exceeded our expectations – making overpriced appetizers more appealing at each turn (it was a hotel bar afterall). She made the difference. She knew the menu, she grasped the situation and turned what could have been a very mundane experience a memorable one.

Training your waitstaff on how to serve properly is key to a successful dining experience. Wearing my “industry insider” hat, I recognized how she added to our ticket, increased her tip and made the transaction more profitable for the restaurant. She did all this while enhancing our experience so that paying more and buying more was not an issue at all for us. At the risk of sounding very cliché – it was a win win win for us, her and the restaurant. I walked away without dwelling on the price of the food, but rather the pleasantness of the experience – THAT created the branding aspect for this dining encounter.

So to wrap up branding we must keep a few things in mind. 1) Consistency and predictability in the quality and presentation of the food is tantamount to creating a successful brand for your restaurant. 2) The atmosphere and environment of your restaurant needs to breed the reputation as a destination location. You can overcome a lot with the right atmosphere. 3) Hiring quality people can create a difference for your diners that will outlive in memory the meal and the rest of experience. When you combine all of these factors, you can create that “perfect storm” feeling that can turn your restaurant into an unrivaled success story like the ones we discussed in previous weeks where all of these aspects combine into a powerful dining experience for your patrons that makes your place – THE PLACE TO BE!

Improving Your Brand Recognition

2008-01-31T20:33:00.000-06:00

So what is the first thought that pops into your customers’ minds when they think of your restaurant? Do you want to improve upon that branding? Have you thought about what other successful restaurants are doing to improve their brand recognition? Here are just a few things that can help facilitate consistency and predictability for your menu items.

What is one of the worst things that could happen when a group sits down at one of your tables for dinner? Two of the guests order the same meal and they look nothing alike. That is brutal. What happens if one of their steaks is bigger than the other? What is the impression that the customer walks away with? Ever had anyone say to you that this meal tasted completely different from the same meal I ordered here last week? How do you recover from that? More importantly, how do you avoid getting into that predicament in the first place?

One of the ways to avoid this situation is to use portion steaks and meats. I know many of you are throwing your hands up saying things like “we have always cut our own meats” or “I use all of the meat. We use it for our soups, stews and our meat sauce” or even “it is cheaper to buy the commodity meats.” I am not going to argue with you – you are right on many levels…that is how you have always done it, that trimmings and waste can be used for that, and it may be cheaper to buy the commodities. IF YOU ARE ONLY LOOKING AT THE SHORT RUN!

Let’s take each of these responses individually.

“We have always cut our own steaks.”
I like the feeling of nostalgia that sentence engenders. It really brings a sense of down home and the way things were. If that is the business model that you are pursuing, then by all means, cut away. Steak cutting is an art. To do it right, you need a skilled craftsman and a lot of raw material. To get 20 consistently sized 8z Filet Mignons, you have to clean approximately 6 to 7 PSMO’s. My guess, though, is that you want a more efficient process. You want to adapt and stay ahead of the game. I bet you want to be in business in another 10 years. The industry has changed. Many of the big steak houses in and around Chicago are using portion steaks. Why? Because they want to make sure that the steak you order today looks and tastes exactly like the one you ordered last month. They are working at reinforcing the good experiences you had and are trying to turn them into their brand. They would rather pay a little more up front to insure that you have a repetitive dining experience – the first step towards brand recognition for their restaurant. That way they can reap the rewards and profits of your repeat business.

“I use all of the meat. We use it for our soups and our meat sauce.”
That is great. That seems to be efficient and economical. I thought that ultimately we were in this business to make a profit. I often hear many of you saying that you aren’t making enough. I have a hard time wrapping my head around how using psmo trimmings at about $10 a pound to put into your soup, sauce or pepper steak makes sense when you can pay a heck of a lot less for other meats that are better suited for those purposes. It doesn’t add up.

“It is cheaper to buy the commodity meats.”
Up front, in the short run, you are absolutely, undeniably correct. However, if you do not cut them correctly, excessive waste and poor yields will turn your short term savings into a long term loss. When is the last time you did a yield test and weighed the commodity case of meat before trimming, weighed the waste, steaks and usable trimmings to figure your TRUE COST of the product on your plate? It may sound funny but by spending “more” up front, you may be able to save money on the back end. If you want to MAKE money, you need to concentrate on service and the dining experience in your restaurant - YOUR BRAND. One of the keys to creating your own brand image is consistency. One of the best ways to insure consistency is to use portion steaks. You WILL pay more for them on your invoice. You WILL reap the rewards and increased profits for paying a little more on the invoice by giving your diners a repetitive dining experience. As an added benefit, you have better inventory control as you know exactly how many steaks you have in your building, at all times. You are never sure how many steaks are cut from a case of commodity product. Fresh cut steaks are 100% usable product.

These are just some of the reasons why successful restaurants are using portion steaks as an effective way to build their brand recognition by providing diners a consistent, predictable dining experience. We haven’t even discussed the benefits of inventory control, food cost management, decreased labor costs and decreased injury risk / healthcare bills. All of this needs to get factored into “potential savings” of buying commodity beef.

I know there are many examples of successful restaurants that haven’t embraced portion steaks that leap to mind, but the number is dwindling as competition increases and consumers have more and more choices available to them. The skilled labor that it takes to cut steaks correctly is reaching the age of retirement, the remaining people will command top dollar to cut custom steaks in a kitchen. You don’t need a skilled craftsmen and their higher wages to open a package containing a perfectly cut steak.

YOUR COMPETITION ISN’T JUST INCREASING, IT IS GETTING BETTER.

We all need to adapt to the changing industry environment so that we can stay afloat in these challenging times.

Check back next week as we will continue to explore other methods to help cultivate your brand recognition.

Thanks for stopping by!

Word Association

2008-01-31T20:32:00.000-06:00

Let’s play word association for a minute. When I say your establishment’s name, what is the first thing that pops into your head? When your customers hear your name, what is the first thing that pops into their head? Is it a menu item? It is service? Is it food quality? Is it something negative? What is your brand recognition? Do your word associations match what your customers’ are? What goes into a brand development?

Let’s think of different brand successes and failures. People wait for over a half hour night in and night out at the Outback Steakhouse located in my town. Thousands of people stand in line for 15 minutes to buy an expensive fast food lunch from Portillo’s 7 days a week. I had my first Gene and Jude’s experience recently and I was floored when I realized that at 2:30 in the afternoon I stood in line 20 minutes to have a tiny hot dog served to me standing up with only 3 condiments to choose from. BMW comes out with a new car, and we automatically associate it with quality. Why do tourists from all over the world come to Chicago and eat at Ed Debevic’s just to get insulted? The Cubs (this kills me) sign someone new and we automatically assume that they will take a turn for the worse. Why? Why are these brand associations so ingrained in our minds? How did they get there? What did the brand owners do to bring about this reputation? How do these associations get started? What can you do to capitalize on this kind of marketing?

What are the qualities associated with the successful brands I mentioned earlier? What do they all have in common? Consistency and predictability. Time after time the customer is going to walk away from their meal with the same feelings about their dining experience. They don’t want a surprise. They want to know what they are getting for their money. The experience is repeated and eventually it becomes an expectation, once it becomes an expectation, it becomes branded. Once branded, the task turns to reinforcing the expectation and then it takes on a life of its own.

I was talking with a friend that travels a ton for work, and I asked him where he eats when he is out of town and why he eats there (hardly a scientific study – but I think there is still value here). He said that he eats at national chains about 75% of the time. Why? He said it exactly like this: “My steak in Palm Beach will taste exactly the same as my steak in Palm Springs.” He just wants to know that he is going to walk away from his $40 meal with the same relative dining experience that he had previously. McDonald’s Restaurants are all over the world. Why? Because wherever we are, we want to know what we are going to get. Think of your own dining habits – let’s say some old friends are in from out of town, where do you take them for dinner? Why? What is it about that place that draws you back? Is it because it is the cheapest? The closest? The biggest? Probably some combination of all of those qualities and more – but more likely because you feel confident that you are going to get a meal like the last one you enjoyed there.

Outback Steakhouse doesn’t serve Prime beef, they don’t even claim to sell all Choice cuts…..they have carved out their niche selling Select and No Roll. However, there is a line to get in every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Doesn’t make sense does it? What do they do to perpetuate their success?

Gene and Jude’s doesn’t sell the biggest hot dog. They only have like 3 food items on their menu. They don’t give you a place to sit. They don’t even offer ketchup! Yet at 2:30pm I waited 20 minutes to get my meal. Doesn’t make sense does it? How did they take such a simple concept and turn it into a Chicago institution?

Portillo’s sells fast food hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, brats and French fries just like every other fast food establishment. Yet they charge a couple bucks more than the others and have us all standing in line for 20 minutes. Doesn’t make sense does it? How did they evolve from a small hot dog cart to such an impressive success story?

What does this tell us? The consumer is interested in perceived value. Period. What is the perceived value? Their brand name recognition. These establishments found the right combination of quality food, quality service, the right atmosphere and consistency. You too can have that kind of brand recognition. It is within your grasp.

Check in next week to see how to develop the kind of consistency and predictability that will set you apart from your competition.

The $75,000 question

2008-01-31T20:30:00.000-06:00

$75,000 – Who wants it?
$75,000 – Who has it to spare?

The headlines over the past week have been filled with discussion of food safety. Pet food, spinach, peanut butter and olives have all had national recalls because of food safety issues. Food safety is something we all take for granted until the worst occurs. Then all hell breaks loose. On the average the going rate for legal settlements in food poisoning law suits against foodservice operators is right around $75,000. Now that makes buying fresh meats and produce from distributors that can’t guarantee their cold chain or can’t tell you what plant a product came from look like a shortsighted cost saving measure. Not so much of a bargain, huh?

Ok, I bet many of you are thinking that it will never get to the point of a lawsuit. It may not. BUT IT MIGHT! If it does, it is devastating. To your business. To you personally. To those you employ. It is just about over for about 90% of the independent restaurant owners if something like that happens.

So the lawsuit doesn’t happen. Let’s take into consideration the hidden costs associated with someone getting sick in your restaurant. How many people will they tell they had a bad meal at your place? How many people will those people tell? How many diners will not choose your restaurant when they hear that story? All of a sudden, cheap produce delivered in the August heat in an unrefrigerated truck doesn’t look so appealing regardless of the price. Produce that can’t be traced back to the fields that it was grown in isn’t reassuring to your customer when a spinach recall occurs. A salmonella outbreak occurs and you can’t say with certainty that the food you are serving wasn’t tainted during production can have negative repercussions even if someone doesn’t get sick in your place.

What can you do to keep yourself and your customers safe? What measures can you take to make sure that nothing like that happens to you?

1) Buy your fresh produce from companies that provide 100% trace back ability. With 100% trace back capacity, you can know with absolute certainty whether or not your produce was manufactured in a tainted field.
2) Buy your fresh produce from companies that can provide a cold chain guarantee. It doesn’t take long for bacteria to grow when the food temperature doesn’t stay in the safe zone.
3) Buy your meats and poultry from purveyors that can tell you what plant the product was processed in and when it was manufactured.
4) Buy your meats and poultry from distributors that can provide cold chain integrity. Summer heat provides a fertile environment for bacteria growth.

These are just a few of the steps that you can take to help insure the safety of your customers and your business. With the temperatures reaching into the mid 80s today, I couldn’t help but think of some of the delivery vehicles I saw out on the streets and the potential hidden costs associated with using them.

Find out more about food safety by visiting www.gfs.com > resources > food safety awareness.

Setting Your Compass

2008-01-31T20:28:00.000-06:00

“Progress always involves risk; you can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” - Fredrick Wilcox, author.

There are a lot of extraneous forces that are currently affecting business – crude oil is at an all time high and the foreclosure rate on real estate has never been higher. All these elements combine to tighten up the mass’s disposable income. Consequently, things seem to be a little slow out in the food service market, and it strikes me as a great time to take a step back and do some evaluating. Are you achieving your goals? Do you have any goals for that matter? How do you set your goals? Is “MORE” a reasonable goal? More what? Profit? Sales? Customers? What are you using as a measuring stick for your own performance? Without clearly defining your goals, it is extremely difficult to set the course for action.

I have found that the highest obstacle to my achieving success is poor goal setting for myself. If I don’t know where I am going, I sure as heck won’t ever get there. I won’t know who to turn to for help, and I surely won’t achieve much. The old saying “don’t confuse activity with accomplishment” leaps to mind for me when I think of living or working without a goal in mind.
What keeps me from setting goals? Fear. Fear of failure. Unfortunately, if I don’t live my life with intention, I will unintentionally fail. I am bringing this up because I have had a number of conversations with people regarding their business and what they are trying to achieve. Without the proper goals, we will all slowly bleed out….bleed out our profits and our sales. Not a good situation to be in for any of us.

Why should we set goals? Setting goals gives us a target to shoot for as we evaluate our current state of affairs. With a clearly defined target, decision making becomes much easier. Let’s say we pick a goal of operating more profitably. This goal gives us a new pair of glasses through which we can evaluate our menu, our purveyors, and our operations paradigm. We can then look for ways to increase our tickets and decrease both our inventory and our operations costs. Let’s say we pick a goal of operating more efficiently – getting the food out to our customers quicker or under a specified time. From this perspective we can look at our operational profile – are our cooks efficient? Is our waitstaff taking additional time-wasting steps? How can we improve? What can we tweak to make things hum a little smoother? Remember, better service equals higher tickets and more customers. More customers equal more money for everyone – the waitstaff and the owners!

With goals like that in mind, it becomes a lot easier to set the course of action. You know what questions to ask your customers, your staff, and your vendors about how they can help you achieve your goals. Without a goal like that in mind, you get mired in the “just getting by” mentality that will eventually lead to the demise of your restaurant. Remember, the competition isn’t just increasing, it is getting better, and if we don’t, we will get left behind.

Using the Chains to Your Advantage

2008-01-31T20:22:00.000-06:00

Finding it hard to keep up with the ever changing tastes and desires of your customer base? Ever wish they would stop changing their minds? Do you wonder if you can fit another item on your menu? When will it stop? Just when you think you have your diners figured out, they go and change their minds! Let’s take a look at a strategy for staying ahead of the game.

Using Limited Time Offers (LTOs) is one way you can keep pace with your customers’ evolving tastes. They also offer an opportunity for you to try new flavor trends without having to redefine your whole image. Many operators look at LTOs as an audition for their menu, this way they can gauge customer response without making a wholesale commitment to a new menu item. Another underrated advantage to introducing LTOs to your menu is that they can breathe new life into a menu. LTOs help keep things new, fresh and updated.

LTOs sound simple enough – find some new recipe, make up some table tents, just throw them out there and let the diners find them. Not so fast. There has to be a little method to your madness. First, let’s remember why we are doing these – 1) TO MAKE MORE MONEY 2) TO PLEASE YOUR CUSTOMERS and 3) TO AUDITION AN ITEM TO POTENTIALLY REPLACE A MENU DOG. In order for the LTO to work (working = to ideally meet all 3 of the goals, but 2 [the first 2] will work as well), some strategic planning needs to occur.

1) Launch LTOs Strategically – holiday or seasonal themes that parallel the relevant seasons and holidays (obviously).
2) Keep LTOs Consistent With Your Brand – expand on what you do best – a new flavor twist or a different combo - don’t abandon what is working!
3) Educate Your Servers – make sure they know how long the Limited Time Offer is going to last and make sure they know what it tastes like. Then encourage them to sell the LTOs – suggestive selling has an amazing power tableside.
4) Price To Increase Profits – remember, these are special limited time offers – don’t be afraid to charge for it!
5) Gather Customer Comments – Find out what works and what doesn’t. You might just have a new permanent menu item. You might have something you should never offer again. You won’t know unless you ask!

These are just some of the major things you need to consider when you start to address the implementation of LTOs as part of your business model.

LTOs are a great way to use chains to your best advantage. The chains spend millions of dollars on both their advertising department and their research and development department. Why not use them to educate your customers on new trends and flavors that have worked well in their focus groups? They are not going to risk millions on advertising if they don’t have a certain acceptance score in their testing. So, if they are pushing a “bourbon style sauce” for a steak, why wouldn’t you use their R & D dollars AND their advertising dollars to your advantage by developing your own twist on that flavor profile? Use the chains for your benefit – don’t go to the bathroom or get a sandwich during the commercials – this is your time to do market research! This is a great opportunity to bring in an LTO that capitalizes on the money they spent doing your hard work for you.

Remember, LTOs provide operators with many benefits. They give you new profit opportunities without having to redefine your whole menu, they help you keep pace with what the chains are doing, they allow you to spice up your menu with something different and they help you bring in new customers and retain your existing diners with a new twist on what you already excel at doing.

A Mouthful

2008-01-31T20:17:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone,
I have a couple of questions to ask you. It will only take a minute.

Do you want to grow your business?
Are you satisfied with your earnings?

I am sure that everyone wants to make more money. In order to do so, we must all constantly be looking at our existing business model trying to find ways to add more to the bottom line. I want to talk a little about an oldie but goodie - word of mouth referrals.

I got to thinking about this because today I read in Chicago Magazine about one of the restaurants I serve - Blue Max Coffee in Forest Park, IL. There was a small blurb about them in the section naming the new great places to eat in and around Chicago. What a great endorsement. I know that just from being mentioned they Will increase their business exponentially. In all likelihood it didn't cost them a dime. They didn't pay Chicago Magazine to get mentioned. Instead they put together a great idea, a great room, a great products and great service day in and day out, and voila - they have enough people saying great things about their place and they land a word of mouth referral in a publication that is widely respected! Congrats Liz and Lou!!!

Advertising is great. Word of mouth referrals are better. A satisfied customer who is willing to tell someone else about it is an invaluable asset. Think about all the goods and services that we purchase based on the strenght of a referral from a friend. Insurance, cars, painters, decorators, brokers, lawn maintenance...list is endless. Your business is no different than any of those other things. The impact of high praise from a satisfied customer is almost indefinable.

I have a number of friends that get stuck in "restaurant ruts," they will call me for referrals, and they will always say, "I hate going someplace new and blowing $50 on a bad meal - HELP ME!" I ask them to describe to me what constitutes a "good meal" or what makes it a "bad meal." They will almost always answer with some variation of the following answer, "I want a good tasting meal, with good service at a fair price. I want value." They want a good dining experience. It isn't just about the meal anymore, whether it is take out, delivery, fast casual, a family restaurant or a white tablecloth place - it is always about the whole dining experience. They want the whole enchilada - great food for the price, a great atmosphere and even better service. With that in mind I am always able to steer them iinthe right direction (one of your restaurants of course!). It is amazing to hear their responses about their dining experiences. I will frequently hear "That was awesome, I told Steve and Jeannie about it and they are going to check it out this week. Thanks, I can't wait to go back." That is the best kind of advertising.

I have even had some friends go to a restaurant (at my suggestion) and have a bad experience - YIKES!!! An amazing thing happened. They had a complaint, shared it with their server and had things straightened out immediately and properly. The rresaurant didn't stop there, they even comped them a free dessert. You would think that after trying a restaurant for the first time and the order getting messed up, that they would not go back. Well, wrong again! Not only have they added this restaurant to their repertoire of eateries, they told all their friends about how great of service they received at the place. Again, another priceless endorsementhandedoutut to a number of potential new diners. restauranteurur on their toes can turn almost any negative into a positive that their customer will never forget.

At the risk of overstating the obvious - remember, consumers want value. Not just the cheapest. Not just the biggest. Just the best food and dining experience for their dollar value. When they get it - they are likely to do the best advertising money can buy for you - praise your restaurant to all of their friends and neighbors.