ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - June 14, 2002

I am finally back at home, but only for the weekend. Monday I head to Atlanta for a day of consulting with a local brew pub, then to Raleigh for the Odd Couple Seminar with Joel Cohen next Thursday.

LESSONS FROM THE ROAD
After three weeks in Central Europe, I was reflecting on what I learned about our industry after such an extended immersion into other cultures. I am not sure that I have all of it sorted out, but here in no particular order are the things that leap to mind.

There is a pull created by personal recognition. People love to be recognized and will tend to return to the places where it happens. At its best, recognition includes knowing their name and their likes and dislikes. At the least, it involves a smile that says, "Hey, you're back. Nice to see you again." Work with your staff on this one. It is a biggie.

The same things that make restaurants work in the US make restaurants work everywhere. I am talking about smiles, personal connection, a sense of caring, consistent quality (not necessarily high quality), cleanliness and good value. This is the attitude that says, "It matters to me what happens to you in my restaurant" as distinguished from the attitude that just says, "Next." This could also be a great topic for a staff meeting, particularly if instead of giving a lecture, you raise the question and let the staff address it.

Different cultures -- and therefore different people -- have different service expectations. In the US, we tend to want the check quickly once the meal is done, which usually works well since operators are usually anxious to turn the table. In Europe, it is rude to bring the check until it is requested and they would never think of trying to get you off the table before you are ready to leave. The lesson here is to serve people in the manner in which they want to be served -- fast when they want it fast and slowly when they want it slowly. The question for the staff is how can you tell how they want it.

In the US, we have a long way to go to be truly guest-friendly in an international sense. All over Europe we found menus in several different languages and usually somebody on the staff spoke enough English to facilitate basic communication, even well off the tourist track. How many languages is your menu available in? Do you know what languages the people on your staff can speak or understand? There are more foreign visitors out there than you imagine. Some of them may be permanent residents in your town!

When you run into difficulties with language, you are presented with the perfect opportunity to go above and beyond in service. Obviously you have someone who is out of their normal element and is probably feeling uncomfortable and uncertain. If your reaction is irritation and impatience, you not only create an unpleasant experience all around, you guarantee that you will lose the customer forever . . . and all the friends they might have referred to you. (Think it doesn't happen? Ask Rufus Pritchard at the Dunes Restaurant in Nags Head, NC how many people from England have come in over the years because they were referred by a vacationing friend.) On the other hand, if you empathize and take the extra time to help guests get what they want and feel good about it, you make everybody's day . . . and isn't that what it is really all about?

That is going to do it for me today. I have a huge pile to dig out from under and lots to do before I hit the road on Monday. Have a great weekend.

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