ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - February 2, 2002

As I write this, I am in Tallahassee, Florida in a little 1930's cottage on a lake snuggled in amongst the cypress trees . . . the home of Karen Cooley and Eric Favier, owners of Chez Pierre Restaurant . . . and the sort of place you never want to leave! Leave I must, but not until Sunday when I head to Orlando for the roundtable. This has been a great trip . . . and I am ready for a few days at home!

COOL IDEA OF THE WEEK
Going up to Chez Pierre last night, chalked on the sidewalk in bright colors: Happy 45th Anniversary to the Shields. Happy Birthday Nelson and Larry. The guests love it, it costs nothing and washes off easily. The idea came from one of their greeters who got a nice little bonus for suggesting it. What did you learn from YOUR staff today?

COMP YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS?
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with the folks at McGuire's Irish Pub in Pensacola. I have done training seminars with their servers every couple of years for what seems like forever but I am always impressed at what they do and how they do it. One of the things I was reminded of this time around was that the restaurants I know that enjoy the highest volumes also seem to be the most willing -- even eager -- to comp a meal or take an item off the check at the slightest hint of a problem. In contrast, I know operators who are struggling whose attitude seems to be that if you ordered it, you are going to pay for it regardless of whether you are pleased with it or not.

Could there be a connection between the attitude and the sales? Is this about comping your way to success? I don't think so. In fact, one of the most dangerous things you can do is to make the comp an acceptable alternative to doing it right. "OK, we screwed up. Here is your free meal, now get out of here." You give away food and the guest leaves feeling unserved at best and insulted at worst.

Comping is not always appropriate -- often a fast substitution for an item that the guest didn't enjoy is better, but the punishment needs to fit the crime. If you are late with the soup, don't offer them free meals for the rest of their lives! Train your servers to watch faces as well as watching the condition of the table top and to be pro-active when they sense that the guest is displeased. Only one in 25 will tell you when things aren't right -- the rest just go away and most will not come back. Even if a manager needs to get involved to physically remove an item from the check, the responsibility rests with the server to do what is right at the table at the time and then, away from the table, get the manager to actually accomplish it.

When you take this stance, the guest senses is your commitment to making sure their experience is a pleasant one. If taking something off the bill will accomplish that, do it . . . but then figure out why you had to do it and fix it so you don't have to do it again. If you have to comp $2000 worth of food one month because things are slow coming out of the kitchen, I guarantee you will figure out why that is happening and you will fix it! If you don't comp the food, things are still slow coming out of the kitchen, it is still costing you money in lost guests, but you don't know it.

Even if there are no problems, comping should still be part of your marketing plan. Comp a couple of meals a night just for the fun of it. It will delight your guests and give them something to talk to their friends about . . . and it is a lot fun for you as well!

NO YOU CAN'T
From the contrarian side, often there is value in telling guests no. For example, McGuire's has a mug club with over 2000 members. It became unwieldy so they stopped taking new members. The demand is higher than ever and they could easily raise the price of membership because of it. Perhaps instead of trying to maximize everything, you should look at setting limits, making guests wait for their chance and increasing the exclusivity. People love to be able to do things that other people can't do. Your mug club is more prestigious if not everyone can belong. Your special dinners are more special if the seating is limited.

ALONG THIS LINE
We have decided to limit attendance at the Hospitality Masters Super Summit on April 29-30 to 99 people. The last of the details are falling into place now and I will have more information for you shortly.

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