Electronic House Call - March 28, 2003

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 28, 2003

Whew! This is a travelin' time of year for yours truly. I just got back from Las Vegas and Vancouver. On Tuesday I leave for Salt Lake, Louisville, Albany and Sacramento! Good thing I am young and resilient!

I've been slow and I've been busy ... and busy is better! It does, however, mean that for the next couple of weeks, my response time may be a bit longer than usual if you place an order or want to reach me.

WHAT ARE YOU OFFERING?
I don't mean what you have on the menu for a daily special or your friendly, responsive service. (Good food and good service are the price of admission. They are not unique marketing advantages because every restaurant says they have good food and good service ... but I digress.)

Now that we have a week of War TV behind us, people are starting to crave a return to their normal routine. It won't truly be "normal" again, but right now I think you should be promoting dining out as a comfort activity. "The world may be in turmoil, but dinner at Chez Moi is still the pleasant break you remember."

DOING IT RIGHT
When I was in Anaheim last week, I had the pleasure of dinner at Napa Rose, an award-winning restaurant in Disney's new Grand Californian hotel. GM Michael Jordan and Chef Andrew Sutton created one of the finest dining experiences in my memory and a reminder of what it looks like when you really do it right.

Of course, sharing the table with Phyllis Ann Marshall -- long-time colleague and restaurant writer for Orange Coast magazine -- didn't hurt, but at Michael's suggestion we let the chef have his way. In the middle of a busy Saturday night, he created a five-course tasting menu that curled my toes! Michael tapped the restaurant's 600+ bottle wine list for the appropriate wines to accompany each course ... and the rest is history!

Dining at this level is not something I do very frequently but I recommend that all of you move far up the food chain at least once a year, just to stretch your thinking about what is possible. You will never look at your restaurant (or your taco stand or your pizzeria) the same way again.

We will be spending a lot of time at Napa Rose during the Super Summit in September as I think there are important lessons to be learned from what they are doing and how they are doing it. Also look for a Management Insight Series interview with GM Michael Jordan in the next few months.

SPEAKING OF THE SUPER SUMMIT...
Plans are underway for this year's Super Summit. The theme is "Re-inventing Your Business ... and Your Life" and it will be held on September 7-9 in Southern California ... where there are lots of new restaurant concepts to check out, including Napa Rose.

Building on the overwhelming success of the Seattle Super Summit last April, I will be assembling some of the brightest minds in the industry as presenters and facilitators. I promise two highly interactive days jam-packed with new ideas and insights. Mark your calendar ... and watch for more information as plans firm up.

SHARE OUR STRENGTH
Share Our Strength, 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.

Our Year of the Guest program is a fundraiser for SOS and their good work. For only a $12.00 donation, we will send you a tip a week for the next 50 weeks -- proven ideas you can use to increase connection with your guests, stand out from the crowd, improve your WOW factor and generally attract more business. Think of it as a year-long staff training program.

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

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