ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - June 20, 2003

I am running around New England for the next week, first with a day of consulting then with a return to my "roots" -- training programs for the hourly service staff. I used to do a lot more of these in the early years and it is fun to stay in touch with the crew. They are really where the hospitality resides.

PAY ATTENTION
At lunch on Cape Cod today, I noticed that the restaurant had a "Low Carb Special." I haven't seen this too frequently but I think it is a pretty good idea given a) that so many people are favoring a low carb eating pattern and b) the continual hype in the press equating obesity to restaurant meals. The fact of the matter is that people may talk low fat but when they go out, they still tend to order the high fat selections. That will probably not change any time soon, but by making it clear that you accommodate special diets, you make yourself part of the solution no matter what they order. Who knows? Something as simple as a low carb special may help deflect charges that your restaurant is somehow single-handedly responsible for every overweight adult and child in your area!

If you watch the news and keep your mind open, you will see dozens of marketing opportunities in the daily paper -- this is one of those.

DOG FOOD OR STEAK?
The current issue of Restaurant Hospitality has some excellent articles on catering to families ... and more specifically, to children. In one article, famed chef Jasper White was quoted as saying something like, "You feed dog food to your pooch because he will eat it. But if you put down dog food and a steak, the dog will go for the steak every time. It is the same with children." His point was that most kids' menus have the same predictable (read that as "boring") items ... because the kids will eat them.

Perhaps they will, but if you give them more interesting choices, they will select them with greater frequency than you might imagine ... and pay the extra price to get the variety or higher quality. Chicken fingers will still be the #1 seller with children, but that doesn't mean you can't upgrade the options on your kids' menu. Offer them more and they may just take you up on it. At the least, you will separate yourself from your competitors who are not willing to do the work.

DON'T BE A DRIP
We are into warm weather for the next few months ... which means condensation on the sides of glasses of iced drinks. The inevitable result, particularly if you have hard surface tables, is guests dripping water all over the table, the food and themselves as they try to take a drink ... unless you provide something to soak up the drips. Cocktail napkins are just barely better than nothing and often turn back into wood pulp when they get saturated.

My personal favorite is fiberboard coasters -- they do the job, they can be re-used, the cost is surprisingly reasonable and you can imprint them with any sort of graphic or merchandising message you want. I think they have more sales-building potential than table tents because guests will look at them every time they pick up and set down a glass. They also do not clutter up the table top.

In case you want to explore this idea but don't know where to start, the largest coaster maker in the US is American Coaster (www.american-coaster.com). Take a look at their website. I think you will be as surprised as I was by what they can do ... and the price they can do it for.

SUPER SUMMIT AT LAST!
There are still lots of details to be sorted out on the Super Summit at Disneyland on September 8-9, but I suspect that we will be tweaking it right up to the time we start the opening session. Rather than delay any longer, I have tried to capsulize the event in a way that should give you a good idea of whether this is an appropriate opportunity for you ... and whether you are ready for something this intense or not. Click here to find the most current info. Check it out now!

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

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