Electronic House Call - March 14, 2003

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 14, 2003

This is the last week at home before the travel starts again in earnest. Next week it is Memphis and Southern California. After that, I am pretty much a blur until the end of April ... and in early May we go back to Italy for three weeks!

Now it is true that the travel concentrates in the spring and fall and that it is only due to frequent flyer miles that we can make the annual trek to Europe and such. As wearing as it may be at times, I would never give it up completely -- it is a great way to meet new people, get new ideas and expand the network. Still, my goal is to develop more programs that will allow me to better set my own schedule. This is why I remind you of things like Pizza Insight, my Coaching Program and the Management Insight Series -- all great sources of new ideas.

BRING THE BAD NEWS FAST
One of General Norman Schwarzkopf's standing orders during Operation Desert Storm 12 years ago was "Bring me the bad news fast." The idea was that, unlike fine wine, bad news only gets worse with age. The faster he knew about the bad stuff, the sooner he could get started on correcting it. In essence, he relished the bad news and made his staff feel good when they brought it to him.

How do you regard bad news? Do you ignore it? Pretend it isn't there? Do you get angry at people who tell you what you do not want to hear? If so, you can guarantee that you will never hear about the ugly stuff until it is too late to do anything about it ... or until it has done deep damage to your operation.

The news is only the news. What makes it good or bad is the way you think about it. For my money, any information about a weakness in the armor is good to have. My suggestion is that times are too perilous to let any bleeding go unattended. Ask for the bad news fast. Insist on it ... and reward the folks who bring it to you. Only when you have the whole story in real time can you truly become the captain of your fate.

ASK FOR THE BUSINESS
Jack Welch, co-owner of Growth Restaurants in New Jersey, sent this along. I love the thinking behind it and may expand it into a tip for our Year of the Guest program. He writes ...

While we were in London two weeks ago we were wandering around the Theatre District looking for a restaurant for dinner before going to the show. We were on the sidewalk looking at a menu in the window of a Middle Eastern restaurant. This fellow pops out the door with a bottle of wine and five glasses (there were 5 in our group). He poured each of us a small taste and asked if we had any questions on the menu. Needless to say he got our dinner business. It was a delightful meal and a cuisine with which I had very little experience.

A note from the Doc:
My guess is that without the personal intervention, Jack and his party would have passed the restaurant by. After all, it was an unfamiliar cuisine in an unfamiliar city. But the personal touch saved the day for the restaurant ... and gave Jack and his crew a wonderful memory of London.

"If we build it they will come" only works in the movies. What are you doing to actively earn the patronage of YOUR guests?

LAST CHANCE FOR VANCOUVER
Rory Fatt's Restaurant Marketing Boot Camp is coming up on April 27-28 in Vancouver, BC. When I talked with him yesterday there were only 13 spots left open, so time is running out. (If you think that doesn't leave you enough time to respond, get thisSomeone in Australia heard about the Boot Camp from Max Hitchins' e-letter on Tuesday, made some fast plane reservations and will be in Vancouver with us!)

I will be the kick-off presenter for two days that promise to show you new ways to grow your sales (you already know all the old ways.) The best defense is a good offense. In light of the economic outlook, doesn't it make sense to add some powerful new tools to your marketing tool belt?

Click here to download information on the Boot Camp.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM YOUR STAFF TODAY?
From Florian Beckmann in Germany: The main thing I learned from our staff today is not to pile up too many projects at the same time. Focus on activities that bring you closer to your main targets. A simple matrix of "important - unimportant" + "urgent - not urgent" will quite often do."

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