The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 26, 1999

HAPPY99 REVISITED
Thanks for putting up with my weekend barrage on Happy99 but I think we have an obligation to warn each other of things like that . . . and an obligation to check out the reports before sending them on. You all have been sent the fix for this worm, so I am done. I will leave you with one more note I received: "You are not going to believe it but I was sent Happy99.exe! I was warned, so I deleted it immediately but the person who sent it to me opened it. It made a pattern on the screen like fireworks, sent itself to everyone in his email address book, then disabled his email account so bad that he had to start over." 'Nuff said.

A note from the Doc:
If you should get an e-mail with Happy99.exe attached, immediately notify the sender. As you can tell from the report above, it is likely that they don't even know their computer is infected.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR STAFF TODAY?
I received the following note from John Sharpe, CEO of West Coast Promotions in Orange County, CA. Earlier this month, he attended my program, "There's GOT to Be an Easier Way to Run a Restaurant," sponsored by the California Restaurant Association. He writes, "All of my staff enjoyed your presentation and we are reading through your books. I have taken many things and implemented them, the most notable of which has been learning from the staff. We had our big meeting two weeks ago and it was amazing the replies I received from them. It helped boost the morale and also many of them remarked afterwards that they were impressed with how I handled the meeting. Wow! I did play it very modestly and I think you would have been proud of your new student."

A note from the Doc:
It is amazing how much can be accomplished so effortlessly when we are willing to learn from our staff. Do not confuse this with management by committee -- the ultimate call still rests with management -- but when you tap the innate intelligence of your crew, morale improves, problems disappear . . . and you learn a lot!

HELP WANTED
I receive calls for help from operators around the country in areas that are not my expertise. Here are two. If you can help, please reply directly to them and copy me so I can pass it along.

From Jerry Mistretta of Jerry's Cajun Cafe & Market in Pensacola, FL <jerry@gulf.net>
Do you have any recommendations on how to set up a gift certificate system that will help to reduce counterfeiting? We are revamping our old system and are looking for some tips.

From Mary Ann Logan of Nicolino's in Niles, OH <nikizpub@aol.com>
Can you help me get information on computer systems for restaurants? We are currently trying to find a system to replace the Micros 2700 we have been using for the last 5 years. It is slow and not very user-friendly. We need information on systems other independents are using.

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