ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - September 26, 2003

I hope that your late September weather has been as delightful as ours. I have been taking advantage of Indian Summer in Seattle with long daily walks in the 1000 acres of woods near the house -- good for the heart and very good for the head!

I finally get back on the road next week with a quick stop in Disneyland to finalize the details for the Super Summit in January, then to San Diego for a presentation on Tuesday.

Nickels and Dimes Revisited
Over the past month or so, we have discussed the danger of "nickel and diming" your guests with little add-on charges. Subscriber Matt Starobin sends along this little slice of life to reinforce the problem. He writes:

"I went out to lunch with my friend to a nice Italian bistro near my office. I had the frittata ($11.95) and coffee ($2.00). The waiter asked if I'd like more coffee, and twice I said yes."

"The bill came back: Fritttata - $11.95, Coffee (3) - $6.00. Well, they won the battle and lost the war. Lunch was on my friend who put a question mark next to the $6.00 and tipped 10%. Neither of us will ever go in there again. My advice to operators: don't treat your customers like ATM machines. What would they have done if I asked him to top off my half filled cup? Charged $1.00?"

A Note from the Doc:
Some people are never going to get it ... but the operators who don't catch on will soon be driven out of business by savvy restaurateurs who are not afraid to charge what they need to on the front end to avoid irritating their guests with unexpected extra charges.

Win Some ... Win Some
As you may know, I offer a Coaching Program where I provide subscribers with a flow of information designed to help them reach a new level of understanding of how people work. The result is that running a restaurant becomes a lot easier ... and a lot more profitable.

However, people do not stay forever. I just got a cancelation request from Jerry Pinder, a long-time subscriber from Queensland, Australia. I thought you might find his comments interesting. His e-mail starts, "Please cancel my subscription to your Coaching Program as I have just sold my last restaurant (I did have five.)"

"I would also like to thank you for all the great material you have provided me with over the last couple of years. It has directly contributed to the success of the last restaurant which has: 1) doubled sales in one year, 2) sold with $250,000 in advance function bookings -- complete with deposits, 3) set up a great customer loyalty system, 4) set up two databases of customers (one business and one household), 5) increased net profits by a little over $200,000 in one year, and 6) made a great profit when sold!!"

I can accept that as a reason to cancel! Jerry's results show the power of good ideas properly implemented and attest to what is possible, even in a sluggish economy. If this sounds like your idea of a good time, click on the link below to get more information on what the program has to offer. (Coaching Program members also get enough of a discount on the Super Summit to pay their annual subscription!)

Click here for information on the Coaching Program.

High Energy 2003
Reservations are coming in for High Energy 2003 ... and you really should be there. Most of you know about our Year of the Guest program -- 50 weekly tips for a modest donation to charity. Well, Joel Cohen and I are offering a one day conference jam-packed with great sales-building ideas -- proven programs that we just could not condense into a weekly tip. The first is on October 27 in Raleigh, North Carolina -- only a month away. The second session is on November 10 in Seattle, Washington.

We know that time is precious and money is tight. If you are already receiving the weekly YOGA Exercises, you may wonder why you should even consider attending a live workshop. Rather than give you our reasons, we thought you would rather hear from someone who is not only giving up the time and making the investment, but is bringing his wife along as well! Click on the link below to hear a first-hand testimonial.

Click here to hear why Jim Dietz won't miss this program.

The Perpetual Question
What did you learn from your staff today?

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