ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - December 13, 2002

I am finally off the road for the next month or so. That doesn't mean that I get to lay back and do nothing (although I am definitely going to spend less time in the office.) There are more projects on the plate now than at any point in my career -- a new subscription series for the pizza industry, several new books, new outlets for books and materials ... and the list goes on.

I just returned from the east coast loaded down with extra tapes and CDs from the Management Insight Series. These are interviews with people in the industry who impress me with what they are doing or the way that they think. Look for a special offer on this eye-opening material soon, along with a few other inventory-clearing offers you can't refuse. (Add that to the project list!)

TREASURES IN THE TRASH?
I received this note recently from my colleague, human relations consultant Robert Kausen:

While eating in a number of restaurants in Southern California last week, something occurred to me that may be old hat to all of you in the food industry. I had taken spinach from a salad bar in a very well known mid-scale national family restaurant chain. A number of pieces were wilted and had turned dark and mushy. I did not make a fuss, I just segregated the bad stuff out and left it on my plate. After all, it was not a big enough deal to verbally complain.

Then it occurred to me that watching what is left on people's plates when the table is cleared could provide some excellent feedback. Did the chef who had grossly oversalted the beans in that national Mexican chain ever realize what had happened? The untouched bowls could have raised someone's curiosity -- especially if more than one table left them. When we left the hashbrowns was it because we were on the Atkins diet (some places make a point of offering a cottage cheese alternative), because the portion was too large, or (as was the case) because they were greasy and soggy? People in the food industry may already use this observation to gain feedback, but most of the time I see the leftovers shoveled into the trash without a glance.

My response: In truth, the dishroom is one of the greatest opportunities we have for guest feedback, for exactly the reasons you mention. Good operators monitor it closely. The rest ignore it at their own peril. If you are checking the trash only for the purpose of looking for discarded flatware, you are missing the biggest treasure of all -- meaningful guest feedback.

DO THE WORK!
I am sick and tired of watching restaurants cut corners, pull their punches and take the path of least resistance. This is not to suggest that I believe we should do any more work than necessary to get the job done ... but that assumes that we are doing the job in the first place!

So what sets me off? Servers who make no attempt to engage the guest, make a connection and actually EARN their tips ... uninspired vegetable medleys that obviously came out of the freezer ... "can opener" cuisine that most guests could easily prepare at home ... managers who are more comfortable in the office than on the floor ... supervisors who are too occupied with "important stuff" to take the time to train ... and the list goes on.

If you are in the restaurant business, then do the work that is required to really be IN the restaurant business. If you profess to be a place of hospitality, then do the work that it takes to BE hospitable! Sure it will take a little more effort ... but you know that your competitors are not willing to do it. Do the work and you will own the market. Fail to do the work, and somebody else will own you.

Happy Holidays!

SHARE OUR STRENGTH
Share Our Strength ( www.strength.org ), one of the nation's leading anti-hunger, anti-poverty organizations, began in 1984 in the basement of a row house on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. In the beginning, they organized a handful of chefs to cook for fundraisers. Today they mobilize thousands of individuals in the culinary industry to organize events, host dinners, teach cooking and nutrition classes to low-income families and serve as anti-hunger advocates.

Their mission of ending hunger and homelessness is a natural fit for those in the hospitality industry. The Restaurant Doctor tithes to Share Our Strength and we urge you to support their programs in a way that works for you. Remember, tithing is a money multiplier, not a subtracter. The more you give, the more you get.

THE PERPETUAL QUESTION
What did you learn from your staff today?

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