The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - September 28, 2001

As things get back to normal . . . they are anything but normal.

HELP THE CAUSE, HELP YOUR TRAFFIC
The damage already being caused by the slowing economy has been accelerated by the tragic events of September 11, leaving the industry between a rock and a hard place. The first job we have is to get people back into the habit of dining out and get them traveling again. The latter will be the toughest.

A good first step is the series of Dine Out events supported by various state restaurant associations. Dine for America is getting media play in Washington and Oregon. Colorado is promoting Dine Out to Help Out and I am sure there are others. These events support The Red Cross, the NY Restaurant Employees Disaster Fund and other good works. If you have not already been approached to participate, contact your state restaurant association and sign on. It is a politically-correct way to promote business and support disaster relief efforts at the same time.

WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS
In EHC #188, I talked about how to get pro-active and effectively make your own economy. Right after that, I received this note from Howard Black, owner of Bright Star Grill in North Carolina. His approach should give everyone some ideas to ponder.

"I was glad to read you last newsletter where you talked about keeping a good positive attitude in these tougher economic times. It's refreshing to hear someone speak in an up-beat manner. Times are only as tough as you lead yourself to believe.

Recently, we have had two major reductions in our area. This did effect our sales. Instead of dipping into the pity well, I decided to take a pro-active solution to the problem. I increased our advertising budget, made our specials a little sharper and tried fervently to boost employee morale and confidence. And you know what...its working. Our sales are increasing slightly over last year, our profits are down some, but overall we are keeping our present customers coming in more often, and we are getting new customers everyday. I think it is a positive solution to a negative problem. But one of the important lessons that I learned during all of this.

When things slow down is a great time to promote even more. Customers are more receptive to advertisements because they are looking for GOOD bargains, and there is less competition in the newspapers and on the radio because other companies are cutting back. My message reaches more people that are now more receptive.

The economy will pick back up, and I believe this pro-active solution will further increase my sales. The positive attitude attracts positive employees and positive customers!"

I couldn't agree with Howard more. The current slowdown is going to destroy some operators . . . but it may be the best thing that ever happened to others. Where will you fit in? If you would like some ideas on what you can do to improve your odds, read on. If not, that does it for this week's EHC.

Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor

HOW TO PROSPER IN TOUGH TIMES
We are going to look at this issue in detail on Tuesday, October 2 in the first of my new series of tele-seminars. In this two-hour session, I will give you my best ideas on how to prosper when times get tough

Among other things, you will learn
+ three things you need to be doing right away to protect your profits
+ two simple programs that can help keep your sales volume up
+ menu adjustments that will increase traffic
+ how to lower your average check and increase profitability
+ how to use the current economic slowdown to make you stronger
+ where to focus your marketing efforts . . . and what sort of marketing you should be doing
+ how to keep your sanity while you ride out the storm

As the format implies, this seminar will be conducted over the telephone so you can participate from your home or office. The cost is only $28 ($21 for members of the Coaching Program and $14 for members of the Gold Group.) If you cannot be on the phone on the 2nd but would still like the information, audio tapes of the program will be available.

The session will be held from 3:30pm to 5:30pm EDT (12:30pm to 2:30pm PDT) and space is limited, so sign up today. You can register for this program right here on the website or call me at (800) 767-1055. The website link is also the place to order tapes or CDs of the program.

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