The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 8, 2002

I have actually been home for almost a week, half of which was spent catching up on the pile that accumulated during the last trip . . . and half spent getting ready for a state sales tax audit! In my book, dealing with the bureaucracy is right up there with root canals!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Marv Hunt, head of my Hospitality Operations Group is just finishing up a month of on-site work to help a client implement some important operational changes. He sends along this observation

Your guests' first impression sets the tone for the entire meal, so what do they see when they first enter your restaurant -- a "Please Wait" sign or a smiling, real person? Is it easy for them to know what to do next or are they shuffling their feet and glancing around trying to figure out where they are supposed to go and what they are supposed to do next? When people feel uncertain they can be extremely uncomfortable -- probably not the sort of feelings you want patrons to associate with your operation. The first moments the first impression are critical . . . so what sort of first impression are you creating? Are your greeters in evidence? Are they hiding behind a barrier or moving toward arriving guests with a smile? What is their body language? It may be time to approach your main "point of contact" as if you were a first-timer and see if the first impession would make you want to return.

THE WOW IS WHERE YOU MAKE IT
This from Troy Brackett's latest RestaurantNews.com newsletterCity Café Diner owner Jimmy Tselios tells his managers to worry more about top-line revenue than bottom-line profit. Waiting guests are served hot hors d'oeuvres, an added touch that drives up Tselios' food cost, but keeps customers happy. "I don't have stockholders to report to. I have me," Tselios said. "I'm not looking to make 30 percent or 40 percent [profit]; I'm happy with 10 percent."

A note from the Doc:
I know a lot of people who would be very happy with 10 percent . . . but that is not my point. The message here is that there is no word-of-mouth without something to talk about. If you want people to say wonderful things about you, you've got to prime the pump. What are you doing to create some buzz? What are you giving them besides the meal?

(This is the official end of the EHC for today. Those who are easily put off should call it quits here, but those with a healthy interest in improving their lot in life might want to read on.)

WHAT'S SO SUPER ABOUT THE SUMMIT?
I assume that you are receiving the Electronic House Call because you are looking for new ideas that will result in significant growth for your business . . . and growth is the focus of the first Hospitality Masters Super Summit. We have assembled nine of the leading minds in the hospitality industry. We will be presenting all new material -- trade secrets and insights that we have never presented to a general audience before. The program promises to be controversial, confrontational, even contrarian -- truly a unique event for our industry.

In addition to myself, you will learn from . . . and be challenged by . . . Aussie marketing guru Max Hitchins, operations consultant Bill Main, Phyllis Ann "It's about the food, stupid" Marshall of FoodPower, Internet marketing whiz Joel Cohen, Susan Clarke on service and attitude, Molly Hancock, former COO of Consolidated Restaurants, menu wizard Banger Smith and marketing maven Rory Fatt. You will never find all nine of these folks on one program at any industry conference -- ever! You certainly would never have the opportunity to go one-on-one with them in any other industry forum. But at the Super Summit you will. Only at the Super Summit.

By now you may know about the Super Summit will be held at the Washington Athletic Club in Seattle on April 29-30. You know that it will feature nine of the most unconventional thinkers in the business all on the same program -- something that has never happened before and likely will never happen again. You know that the theme of the Summit is growth -- how to grow your sales and your company. You know that this is an "insiders only" event and that you are one of the insiders. You may even know that there are (were) only 99 seats available and that the early registration deadline is only a week away.

What you may not know is that we believe that you will find the program so valuable that we are willing to put our money where our mouth is. Your investment to attend, while not insignificant (did you expect it would be?) is unconditionally guaranteed. If you do not feel that you have received ideas that can return you many times your investment to attend, we will not only refund your full registration fee, but will pay for your hotel room besides!

No other event in our industry has the courage to offer such an amazing guarantee . . . but that is not my point.

My point is that the Super Summit is clearly not an event for everyone . . . but if you are truly ready to "step outside the box" and explore ideas and insights that can propel your business to new levels of sales and profitability, you cannot afford to miss this event.

Better yet, if you register before March 15, you qualify for $50 off the regular registration fee. (Hey, if you are planning to go anyway, why throw away fifty bucks?) You may even be able to qualify for even deeper discounts . . . but you have to take some action while it is on your mind. While you are thinking about it, go to the Super Summit website and take a look at the details of what we have in mind. Just remember that there will only be 99 seats available for the Super Summit. Register now while we still have space, because when the 99 seats are gone . . .

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