ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - August 30, 2002

Since we are coasting into a long holiday weekend in the US, let me use today's EHC to clean up a few messages in the in-box concerning our discussion over the past couple of weeks about folks bringing food in from another restaurant.

From Michael Jensen:
When I ran restaurants in Oregon, we had no choice (Health Department) but to ask the guests not to consume food or drink from another establishment on our property. Rarely would they be upset. Here in Nevada I have not had a problem with the Health Department and regulations, but I always approach the guests with my plates and cutlery and very unobtrusively switch the food onto our dishes. Normally I will squat down beside the table so as not to make a scene, and either allow them to assist me in the switch or just take care of it myself all the while asking them about what they prefer about the competitors products and what they don't like about mine.

I have also offered to fix them the same items that they brought with them. If they hold off eating until they can taste mine -- and if they prefer mine -- I will buy the meal for them if they agree to throw out the competitors food. This has worked several times in the past 3 months and I have now got new customers for life. The entire way that the situation is handled is crucial to retaining the guests for the evening as well as for return visits. Polite and Quiet are the main ingredients in making the guests feel as comfortable possible while still solving the "dilemma".

From Fanny Farkas, New York City:
The best lesson in how to handle this situation was taught to me in Istanbul last year by a young manager. I was in Turkey on the shores of the Bosphorus in search of a grilled mackerel sandwich which I had read about. There are street vendors who sell them and it is truly street food. The sandwich is quite large the vendor was next door to a restaurant with outdoor seating. The restaurant manager sees me with the sandwich and invites me to sit at a table. Then he brings a plate and silverware so that I can better enjoy my sandwich. Needless to say I ordered some wine and a dessert, two items that would not have been sold if he had not invited me to sit. He also got a large tip but that is beside the point. It ended up being a very memorable evening in many ways not the least of the people I met in the restaurant.

We also have "the problem" of people bringing in food from another restaurant nearby which has a very loud logo on their packaging. I transfer it to one of our plates and thank this young manager silently each time it happens, It was a very powerful lesson for me in hospitality.

From Van Glaman, Lombardi's, Salisbury, MD:
(Editor's note: in the original piece, I had mentioned how the tone or feeling in the restaurant is damaged when the manager gets upset.)

It's important that operators encourage employees to leave their personal problems outside the establishment before entering, thus insulating the customer/guest further from outside influences adversely affecting their experience. As managers/owners we need to set policies that help to limit this possible intrusion.

Another term for "tone" is "secondary service," a term used at a seminar I took when I was involved in university conference services. An example of secondary service suffering would be when the manager harshly criticizes a cook's performance, and then that same cook takes an attitude with a server who is in turn abrupt with a demanding customer. Secondary service was the original exchange between manager and cook as well as the subsequent exchange between cook and server which in turn negatively affected the guests' experience.

From Jerry Goodwin, Willy Nick's, Katonah, NY:
Being a novice in the restaurant business, but not in the life business, I always welcome new angles and ideas. My initial reaction to the "outside food" seemed rather juvenile compared to the reaction of others. More of a defensive reaction than actually required! I was inspired by the number of ways to turn a potential negative into a positive. Thanks, once again, for providing a forum to exchange truly useful ideas.

As I remind my staff nearly on a daily basis, "We are not performing open heart surgery here! We're trying to let people have a good time!"

To which the Doc says "Amen."

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