A New Restaurant

Many managers have the distinct privilege of being put in charge as manager of a restaurant after a previous manager has done their best to kill the business.  They drove away customers, and left the restaurant with a poor reputation and a dwindling customer base.  So what can you, as the new manager do to breathe life back into the business?

The first thing is to realize that you will not be able to revive the business overnight.  (more…)

One of the warnings that new restaurant owners hear when they talk about opening their own restaurant is that it will require long hours in order to earn the mount of money you would earn in a 9 to 5 job.  Sadly, for many restaurant owners, that is very true.  Everything they own is tied up in their restaurant, and it consumes nearly all of their time.  You can see this in almost any community with independent restaurants.  They are surviving, but are they are not what you would consider restaurant success stories.
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For most restaurants, your year is really affected by the different seasons.  It’s how well you take advantage of the different seasons that determine whether your restaurant will be a success or a failure.  Restaurant owners that are successful realize that the money they earn at Christmas will have to get them through the remaining winter months.  Restaurant owners that fail to plan for the slower periods run out of cash, and end up with cash flow problems that could cost them their business.

While the seasonal slowdown is not good for the financial health of your restaurant, it does not have to be wasted time.  One of the big complaints in the restaurant business is that there isn’t enough time to do all of the things that need to be done.  during the sower season you can be doing things that you don’t have time to do when it’s busy that can contribute to your restaurants success. (more…)

There is a Mexican restaurant in our town that my family loves.  We go there frequently because of the good food and very reasonable prices.  Most of the time the service is very good, but there have been a couple of small gliches in our experience.

One of the items on the menu is “White Salsa.”  It is a spiced white sauce, and is one of the items on the menu (more…)

A big part of building your brand is consistency.  If there are things that you do well, and you know your customers enjoy, then you had better provide those things for your customers the next time they visit your restaurant.  It doesn’t necessarily matter what part of the experience the customer most enjoyed, if they liked that well enough to come back, they will be very disappointed if they don’t get it the second (or third) time they return.  Running a successful restaurant depends on your ability to get customers returning time and again, so if they do come back, you need to do whatever it takes to make sure they continue to do so.

This goes back to knowing what you do well.  If you don’t know, you better figure it out quickly.  (more…)

With all of the talk about how bad things are, and no clear sign of when it’s all going to end, it’s easy to lose sight of a very important point: it’s still very possible to be profitable in the restaurant business.

Case in point: Buffalo Wild Wings.

When BWW released their earning for the 3rd quarter, they reported that they were in fact making a profit.  Despite the constant barage of news about how bad things are across the board.  Buffalo Wild Wings showed that it is still possible to make a profit during tough times.  Economic experts credit the companies “differentiated brand.”

What does that mean?  It means BWW does not try to be like other restaurants.  They are different, and their customers recognize that difference.  More important than recognizing the difference, they see value in that difference, and are willing to continue to spend their money there.

It proves what I have been saying; you have to dare to be different.  You cannot afford to be like your competition.  You need to be different, and you need to do waht you do better.

This doesn’t necessarily mean there cannot be any similarities, but it does mean your customers need to be able to recognize that you are different.  This can be in menu offerings, price and portion, service, or any combination of these things.

Be different, and learn to turn that difference into profits.

Be honest.  How often do you walk into a restaurant and notice that there is no dust built up in the corners, or that there aren’t any streaks on the display cases.  If you’re like me, you probably don’t notice these things.  Why?  Because they’re not supposed to be there.

The majority of your cleaning efforts will go unnoticed by your customers, and that’s as it should be.  They don’t care how often you clean the glass or scrub the corners.  All they care about is that your restaurant is clean.

If you are staying on top of the cleaning, you customers will notice, even if they don’t conciously see it.  They may not be able to say why they like the feel of your restaurant.  All they know is that it feels right to them.

On the other hand, if you are not staying on top of the cleaning, your customers will definitely notice.  They expect your restaurant to be clean, so anything that is unexpected, like dirt and streaked glass, will stand out.  Suddenly they begin to question what else isn’t up to standards.  Soon, their opinion of the atmosphere, the food, and the service are called into question.

The solution, make sure your staff is doing their cleaning sidework.  Because what the customer doesn’t see is vitally important.

Papa Johns is trying to avert a marketing disaster in NE Ohio.

A little background info: In the first round of the NBA playoffs the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Washington Wizards.  The Cavs have bumped the Wizards from the playoffs the past couple of years, and the Wizards didn’t want that to happen again.  Their game plan was to aggressively foul LeBron James every time he went to the basket.  Some of theose fouls were very aggressive,a nd as the series went on James did a bit of complaining.

Papa Johns pizza franchises in the Washington area used this as a marketing tool by giving away free t-shirts with the Papa John logo.  The t-shirts were emblazoned with the word “CRYBABY” and the number 23 (James’ jersey number).

While it may have been good in the Washington market, it destroyed Papa Johns in the Cleveland market (and with Cavs fans nationwide).  Like him or not, LeBron James is becoming a basketball icon with a fan base the reaches worldwide.

In order to win back fans in NE Ohio, Papa Johns is offereing a large, 1-topping pizza for 23-cents.  No I don’t know how much it costs to make a Papa John’s pizza, but my guess is that it’s more than $0.23.  Papa John’s is predicting a 900% increase in pizza sales for this one-day sale.

This ends up being a pretty expensive way to try and repair damage for a dumb marketing ploy that backfired.

Mother’s Day is May 11th in the US.  Are you getting ready

Mother’s Day can either be a huge profit day, or it can be a major disaster.  The choice is yours.  If you are ready for it, you will have a dining room full of happy families spending time together, and giving mom a day off from the kitchen.  If you’re not ready for the day, it can be an afternoon of long lines, impatient customers, and a frustrated staff that has spent the day being yelled at by their customers.

Learn From the Past

There are a few things you can do to make sure you’re ready for the day.  First, look at last year.  Too often we tend to get through a day and then put it behind us without making note of any lessons learned.  (more…)

I was reminded the other day how important a good server is to the success of your restaurant. I went to a local franchise for dinner on Saturday, and the server did a great job of making our meal a very pleasant time.

One of the people that was joining us for dinner made a wrong turn, and they were late arriving. The server came to take our drink order, and when she found out that we were going to be waiting for the missing person before ordering, made a few great appetizer suggestions.

When the person we were waiting for arrived, the server was watching, and quickly came by to take the persons drink order. Then after an appropriate amount of time, came back to take our dinner order. She checked back with us a few times during the meal, but she didn’t hover over our table. She did, however, make herself available if we needed her.

At the end of the meal we were in a bit of a rush, so she quickly got us check out and out the door.

There were a few things about the experience that struck me, and as a restaurant owner or manager you need to pay attention to with your servers if you want to be successful.

Suggestive Selling

Our server did a great job of mentioning a few specific appetizers on the menu, and told us why she was recommending them to us: “This always gets great compliments” or “There is enough food with this app for the table to share.”

To often the server comes by the table and asks, “Would you like to order an appetizer?” There’s no suggestions, and no reason to say yes. Sometimes guests are undecided about whether or not to get an appetizer or dessert, and many of them are just looking for an excuse to say yes. By making specific suggestions, you increase the chances that they will order something extra from the menu. It’s those extra items that increase check averages, and increases the restaurants profits. Higher check averages also increase the servers tips, which will give them a reason not to leave to work for your competitor.

Be Present, but Don’t Hover

Our server did a nice job of being available when we needed her, but without intruding on our time together. It was much better than having a server that makes you feel like your being rushed, or a server that drops off the food, then disappears for long stretches of time.

I know that servers will go into the back to take care of their side work, but they need to remember that their priority has to be customer service. After all, that is why they are on your staff in the first place

I can forgive a bad experience with a server, but if it happens consistently I will find a new restaurant to frequent.

It Comes Down To Training

One bad server experience can be written off as just a bad server, but multiple bad experiences has to be blamed on management. You must have a training program in place for your servers when you first hire them, and then do periodic training sessions after that. And training does not mean having them follow behind one of the veterans for a few days. It means teaching them to do things the way you want them done.

Your servers are the front line of customer service. They can make or break you restaurant operation. Make sure your servers are properly trained, then watch how they interact with the customers. Don’t be afraid to pull them aside to make suggestions on how they can do their job better.