The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - December 14, 2001

Home for the holidays. (I think I'm starting to miss the airport!)

GET OVER IT
I was taken to task last week by a reader who didn't feel that #201 contained anything of value. He is not the first to think that of one of my offerings. I suspect most folks who feel that way just ask to be removed, but for the record, here is where I stand on that sort of thing.

Value is relative. One man's waste of time is another's life-changing insight and one size does not -- and cannot -- fit all, particularly in an industry as diverse as ours. I make no promises with EHC other than that it will reflect where my head is on any given Thursday night (or today, on Friday morning.) Sometimes I am feeling philosophical, sometimes it gets pretty basic. No matter which way I go, some people like it and some don't, so I've stopped worrying about it. (Besides, if I got too invested, it wouldn't be fun any more and as long as I am doing it for free, it had better be fun!) I can't hit a home run for everyone every week . . . and I can't be lame forever. If a particular issue doesn't do anything for you, take the long view and play the averages.

THE PROBLEM OF ONE
A recent note from colleague Dan Kennedy reminded me that ONE is a very dangerous number. Any time you are dependent on one thing you are headed for trouble -- it's not an "if," it's a "when." If your business is in any way one-dimensional, it sits on thin ice (and you've heard the warnings about global warming!)

What happens if you are too dependent on one market?
Operators who counted on the convention business learned this lesson big time after September 11th. When you become attractive to several market segments - and attractive for several different reasons -- you start to become insulated from the ups and downs of the economy.

What if you are too dependent on one particular product?
If the price of beef suddenly went through the roof, would you be out of business? If there was a safety scare over fish, could it close you down? This is not to suggest that signature items and restaurant themes are not appropriate, just that you hedge your bets a little and become famous for more than one kind of food.

What if you are dependent on one form of marketing?
If that information channel dries up or becomes too expensive, how will you get the word out? Personally, I think that marketing dollars should be spent on the people who are already patronizing you, but if you count on broad-based advertising to keep the seats full, better have several different channels and several different media involved.

What if you are too dependent on one key employee?
Accidents happen. People leave. People die. Don't sell out your peace of mind by having your financial success hang on the talents of any one person -- INCLUDING YOURSELF! Cross-train. Write down your recipes (and keep a second set in your safe!) Have good control systems and make sure people take vacations.

In short, you need to carefully dissect your business to find any place where you may be one-dimensional. Wherever the number one appears, it must be erased and replaced with a better number . . . and the sooner, the better.

ROUNDTABLES
I thought I would have dates and locations pinned down by now, but it's getting harder to track people down as the holiday season intensifies. All this may mean is that the dates will be pushed back a bit, but that seems to happen every year. Stay tuned.

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