ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - June 11, 2004

I am finally home again after a very successful trip to Western New York. I managed to speak to the service staff of an independent restaurant, the local chapter of the state restaurant association and to 300 attendees at a regional distributor's food show -- three programs in three days!

I also got to spend a little time visiting with Margene's family. In France, her father would be called my beau pere (good father), a title that sounds a lot more pleasant than father-in-law. The French are SO smooth!

The Phnaomneall Pweor of the Hmuan Mnid
Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

This fascinating phenomenon suggests that you can read something (like the draft of your new menu) even with typos in the text ... but it doesn't excuse those typos. This suggests that you must have someone other than the author proof read final copy to be sure that you produce error-free material. Do the work.

If the Price is Right ...
According to a study prepared by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research, more than 75 percent of 367 patrons of a restaurant said they would be willing to dine during off-peak hours in exchange for discounted prices. Respondents completed questionnaires while queued up for dinner at a popular, casual dining restaurant which does not take reservations. Two-thirds of the respondents even said that they would be able and willing to change their dining time to earn such an incentive.

Alex Susskind, author of the study, says that the results suggest that restaurants that do not take reservations may want to consider using incentives to increase business during off-peak hours. He predicts that this is a strategy that could result in both increased revenue and a more satisfied customer base, one that no longer must endure long waits for a table.

A Note from the Doc:
Discounting prices is one option ... but I would prefer to see operators maintain the integrity of their menu prices. Rather than cutting standard prices, you might do as well (or better) by offering a value-added incentive for dining at off-peak hours. A complimentary glass of wine or dessert would provide an incentive while keeping your price structure intact.

At the least it suggests accepting reservations for off-peak hours but not during prime time (when you are sure to fill the seats with walk-ins anyway.) If an incentive can cause prime time diners to fill seats that would otherwise sit empty, you can seriously increase your occupancy percentage, a concept that I will talk about more next week.

Mark Your Calendar
Let me remind you again of some events in the works: Joel Cohen and I are planning two more restaurant marketing workshops in the fall, October 4 in Seattle and October 11 in Raleigh. Big Dave Ostrander, Kamron Karington and I are planning a Pizza Insight Operations Conference in Las Vegas on November 15-16.

Super Summit 2005 will be held in New Orleans on March 7-8. The theme is "Creating the Effortless Organization" and the event will featuring Robert Kausen. It I will have information soon on the application process.

Also in the planning stages: I was recently talking with a client who said, "I have to get my managers to a level of understanding where I can talk with them and have them grasp what I am getting at. It's just that I do not have the time or the inclination to do this myself."

Do you have a similar situation? I am thinking of developing an extended management development program to do exactly this sort of thing, but at this point I can only offer this to a small group of managers. Let me know if you might be interested in having your folks participate.

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

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