Electronic House Call - April 11, 2003

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - April 11, 2003

One more week to go on the April merry-go-round. Last week I waxed poetic about spring, written on a lusciously warm day in the Pacific Northwest earlier in the week. I may have been carried away, because two days later I was in an ice storm in Albany, it snowed on me in Connecticut earlier this week and it is still downright nippy in Cleveland tonight. Next week I talk to the Retail Store Maintenance folks in Las Vegas, offer three programs at a distributor trade show in Jackson, Mississippi and address the GM conference for RARE Hospitality in Orlando -- I think I should be safe!

If you need something from me that involves more than e-mail, it will probably be the week of the 20th before I can get to it. That is when I finally come to a stop ... at least for a week or so.

THE BEST OF TIMES
The world is in turmoil, the economy is still depressed, the stock market is skittish and there are strange diseases working their way around the planet ... what makes these the best of times? Precisely the things I just mentioned.

The only time you can really increase market share is when times are tough. That is when the timid operators curl up in a fetal position under their desks and hope that all their problems will just go away. The only thing that will go away is their business ... and it will go to the operators who aggressively earn it.

What are you doing to actively expand your sources of revenue, reach out to new uests, develop new markets, bring in new diners (and give them such a great time that they will be loyal forever)? If you are not already doing it, then somebody is probably doing it to you!

A great way to re-vitalize your operation is to support the Year of the Guest program. For a modest donation to Share Our Strength, you will get a year's worth of tested, business-building ideas. You don't have to be bad to get better.

A FRIEND IN NEED
Jack Welch, co-owner of Growth Restaurants in New Jersey is an old friend and long-time colleague. He has a question that you may be able to help with. He used to use a program from American Scheduling that would give him weekly schedules by department, a daily staffing sheet and a fast employee record form. That is all he needs. American Scheduling has vanished. Does anyone know of a program that will do what he needs?

Normally I would have just posted this on the bulletin board, but I owe Jack a few favors ... and besides, I would also be interested to hear how any of you are creatively handling scheduling these days.

A POINT TO PONDER
My friend W.C. Wells, The Guy in Charge of the Tommy Bahama restaurant operations (that's his real job title!) send along the following observation:

"You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the US of arrogance, and Germany doesn't want to go to war."

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

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