ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - May 28, 1999

GOOD NEWS TUESDAY
In the words of the song, "Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day . . ."

What if you just declared to yourself that every Tuesday was Good News Day? What if every Tuesday you made a conscious effort to thank the people in your life for their contributions or comment on something about them or their work that particularly pleases you? What if you took time every Tuesday to acknowledge the things in your own life that were going well? What if you chose not to dwell on anything negative for at least that one day a week? I can make a case for doing this every day, but what if -- just for awhile -- you made it a point to try it just on Tuesdays? You would still have six other days to worry, notice problems and correct shortcomings. Try it and see what happens.

A note from the Doc:
What if you discovered that Tuesday became your most productive day of the week?

WOW
Thanks to everyone who responded to the questions posed by a couple of our readers last week -- so many suggestions, in fact, that I had to summarize them elsewhere. If you would like to see what people had to say about handling the day's cash, go to www.restaurantdoctor.com/ehc/stowcash.html. You can find ideas on how to keep the tables clear for a popular evening event at www.restaurantdoctor.com/ehc/karaoke.html.

IT WORKS!
Awhile ago, Jerry Mistretta asked about gift certificates. He recently wrote:

"I just wanted to thank you and everyone who responded to me when I recently asked for some help on gift certificates. I was delighted by the dozen or so responses I received. I am very happy that people are so helpful and dedicated to the restaurant business. We truly are a unique and lucky group to be in this wonderful industry. Since hearing from all of you, I have put together a blend of all your suggestions and now have a very effective gift certificate program. Thank you again."

A note from the Doc:
Our job is not to have the answers, only to be able to find them. If only you will ask, there is tremendous wisdom available "out there" . . . and not only from your peers. What did you learn from your staff today?

QUESTION OF THE WEEK
This week's query comes from Atlantic Canada. Greg and Trudy Fong <gfong@fox.nstn.ca> write:

"Every week we get a few customers complaining about the takeout food. The preference is for the customers to bring the food back for replacement. Sometimes they can't provide the food because they have eaten all of it or they insist that we send them a replacement at our expense. Other times they are content with a credit. I would like to know from the readership what is common practice. I have heard that some companies will only send out gift certificates by mail. What is your take on that? Any suggestions will be appreciated."

A note from the Doc:
As always, please respond directly to them with a copy to me. I will add your suggestions to the archives for future reference. In fact, I am thinking I should have a section on my website for such collected wisdom. What do you think?

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