ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 21, 2003

I am in Anaheim through the weekend attending a conference. Monday it is off to Las Vegas for Pizza Expo, then to Vancouver for Rory Fatt's Restaurant Marketing Boot Camp ... all assuming that the airline schedules are not disrupted.

Since the events in Iraq dominate the news (and most conversations) at the moment, that will be my focus this week as well. I have a lot of interesting restaurant-related insights to share ... but they can wait another week.

NOW WHAT?
I suppose it remains to be seen how the public will latch on to events in Iraq. If the television "show" is compelling, you can expect them to be cocooned at home watching CNN for awhile. This could mean a boost in business for those operators with a takeout or delivery program and a good database to market it to. What we don't know yet is how many people will hole up at home because of the war and how many will just curtail their dining out because of personal economic or safety concerns.

If it looks like the factor keeping them from packing your tables is concerns about the cost, then perhaps some sort of price incentive would help. But please do not start discounting your basic products or you undermine their value. Instead, look at a special meal bundle at a lower price point that still has an acceptable margin for you.

If the reason they are staying home is the war, there is little to be gained by discounting. Instead, offer them a break from the depressing scenes on television. A party atmosphere probably won't be appropriate, but a special meal might be enough to get them into your dining room. This can be a depressing time, particularly if the conflict drags on and the casualties start mounting. In times of stress, people need to be together, something that can easily be accomplished over a good meal.

It seems that everything is getting political. Feelings about our involvement in Iraq, both pro and con, run strong. If you want to make a political statement, choose the proper forum but that forum is most likely not your place of business. Do your best to keep things positive, politically neutral and rigorously even-handed at the restaurant. People will want a refuge from politics, at least long enough to eat and decompress.

SO HOW SHOULD YOU LOOK AT THINGS?
At this point nobody knows what the future will hold or what the impact of current actions will be. Your staff (and to some extent, your guests) will be looking to you for leadership, encouragement, reassurance and compassion.  Spend some time with your crew to assess their level of anxiety. They may be fine ... and they may need reassurance that we can all get through this. You can do that without having to argue any particular ideology. You wanted to be a leader. It is time to lead.

I think the safest way to look at things is to hold the hope of a positive outcome from these events ... whatever a positive outcome may mean for you. I am quite sure that bringing peace in the world starts with finding peace within ourselves despite outside circumstances. If you find yourself angry at anything ... or anybody ... just recognize that you are not contributing to peace at the moment, take a deep breath and get back in balance.

There will surely be more challenging times ahead but we can survive and even prosper in the long run if we can remember that we are all in this together ... and I truly mean all of us on the planet.

THE PERPETUAL QUESTION

What did you learn from your staff today?

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