ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - October 22, 2004

Maybe one of the reasons that getting away feels so good is because of the scramble that precedes it. Margene and I leave on Tuesday for Peru so there is all the packing considerations. Then there are several weeks worth of e-letters to get set up in case I cannot get Internet access in the Andes.

To top it off, today is the last day when you can register for the Las Vegas Birthday Bash at no charge, so there are changes to be made in the online material before I leave. It's a good thing I am still young and resilient!

The Peru Adventure
For the next ten days or so, Margene and I will be exploring Peru for our fall planning conference. After a day in Lima, we fly to Cuzco (11,000 feet) to acclimate to altitude, then take a train to Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca "City in the Clouds.”

This will be the first time either of us has been to South America ... and it happens to co-incide with my 60th birthday (yikes!) Now 60 is a significant number and I thought that Machu Picchu would be an appropriately spiritual place to spend it ... while researching Peruvian restaurants and doing some serious introspection on life after 60.

Besides, I figure if I stayed at home, one of two terrible things would happen. Either my friends would throw me some lame surprise party ... or they wouldn't! Not wanting to find out which way it was going to go, I decided to get out of Dodge.

A is my custom, I will attempt to post a daily diary of our travels but I am not sure what sort of Internet access I will be able to find in rural Peru. At the worst, I will post everything when we get back. If you want to follow along -- and assuming I can get online from time to time -- here is the link to the trip reports.

Click here to find The Doc's Trip Reports.

BYOB
On my recent trip to Buffalo, I once again stayed at the Roycroft Inn, a wonderfully-restored historic Craftsman lodge with an impressive history ... and an equally wonderful restaurant. One of F&B Manager Dan Garvey's newest and most successful promotions is BYO night.

On a typically slow night of the week (Monday or Tuesday), guests are permitted to bring their own bottles of wine and the restaurant waives its corkage charges. The result is a full dining room on nights when they might otherwise be half full. Sure, the wine sales take a hit ... but doubling food sales can still make for a healthier bottom line.

I notice that this month's Restaurant Business also has an article on this idea, so perhaps it is coming back into the mainstream. How can you use an idea like this?

Birthday Bash
As of last night, we had 124 people registered for the Bash. The hotel tells me that they can do a minor room shift and give us space for 150 ... but that is all.

By now you have been beaten senseless about the Bash, so I will not flog the issue again ... except to say that you can register and attend at no charge if you do it today, but as of tomorrow, it will cost you $100 ... and on November 5th, if there are any seats left, it will cost you $200.

This is still a fraction of what we should be charging ... but if you can attend for nothing by acting now, why wait?

Sign up today while we still have seats available ... and while the cost is still irresistible!

Click here to get the whole story on the Birthday Bash.

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

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