ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - November 11, 2005

Margene and I are flying to Boston for lunch today ... then my total focus will be on the Birthday Bash in Las Vegas on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

Joel Cohen and I are really excited about what we have in mind for this program. I suspect it will signal a shift in what you see from both of us in the future.

ANOTHER LESSON IN LEADERSHIP
In response to my article in the EHC of October 28 about leadership ("Lt. Dye is not a bad officer because he makes BAD decisions. He is a bad officer because he makes NO decisions."), Vincent Lloyd owner of The Original Tiki Bar & Restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida sent me this note:

Following up on your lesson in leadership, here is a great quote. I may have even seen it in your newsletter. In any case, Colin Powell once said "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence in you or concluded that you do not care. Either way indicates you are failing as a leader"

I have that quote taped to my desk blotter. Thanks for the great newsletter. People really do read it and learn from it.

A SLICE OF LIFE
Since today seems to be letter day, here is one from Bill McGlamery in Phoenix, Arizona, an old high school buddy of mine. (Come to think of it, ALL my high school buddies are old!) He is retired now and has nothing to do with the restaurant business other than occasionally dropping in -- and apparently also dropping out -- as a guest. He wrote:

I will be interested to see the responses to your survey on body piercings, etc. I recently had the experience of picking up a Papa John's pizza to take home. The young lady who handed me the pizza and took my money had an UPPER LIP PIERCING!!! It must have been fairly fresh, or maybe just infected! I almost lost everything I had eaten for the past week!

I thought that by the time I got home, I would forget about it, but I couldn't. The pizza went into the garbage and I have never gone back to ANY Papa John's again. What I should have done, but didn't, was to let the manager know why I wasn't coming back. However, for all I know, the young lady might have BEEN the manager. Maybe good help is hard to find ... but so are good customers.

A Note from the Doc:
You have the right to run your business any way you want. Just be aware that all your actions ... and inactions ... have consequences.

50 TIPS
Many of you are familiar with my little book for servers called 50 Tips to Improve Your Tips. The good news is that I have sold over 10,000 copies of this little gem at prices of up to $5.95

The bad news is that I am down to my last box and it is time to reprint. The only difficulty with being in this situation is one of cash flow. The print run will cost around $3000 and I would prefer not to have to advance that much money right before the holidays.

So I am making a limited time offer: you can purchase advance copies of the new print run -- in bundles of 20 books -- at the special pre-publication price of only $2.50 each or $50 for the bundle. That is even lower than the regular price if you bought a full box (180 copies).

Because this offer is strictly a creative financing ploy, it is limited to a total of only sixty bundles, half of which are already claimed.

PS #1: If you have servers who are not worth a $2.50 investment, fire them! If they ARE any good and you are not willing to invest $2.50 in them, they should quit!

PS #2: In case you are not familiar with the idea of the book, here is Tip #19 - Reinforce the Guests' Decisions:

Nobody likes to make a mistake, so people can feel particularly vulnerable whenever they have to make a decision. As an extreme example, imagine how you would feel if you ordered something in a restaurant and the waiter rolled his eyes and laughed!

A few encouraging comments from you can reassure your guests that they are making wise choices. The better they feel about their decisions, the more likely they will be to order additional items and try new things.

Even if what they choose is not your favorite, you can still reinforce the decision. You can say “That’s one of our most popular items,” or “Jack, one of our waiters, just raves about that!” or “You are really going to like that!” You get the idea.

Click here to learn more about the book and take the deal.

BASH IN A BOX
Bill and Joel's Most Excellent Restaurant Marketing Birthday Bash happens Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas. It will be an in-depth, hands-on sales-building clinic quite unlike anything that either of us have ever done outside of private consulting clients. So the bad news is that you most likely missed it.

The good news is that we are having the entire two- and-a-half days professionally recorded, so you can get the "Bash in a Box" on audio CD including copies of all the auxiliary material and have it for permanent reference and future staff training. I will have more information on this product once we actually get the finished package together. In the meantime, you can save $100 by pre-ordering the set now.

PS: My 100% You-Gotta-Love-It guarantee applies to the Bash in a Box, so you can order without risk. Click here to order an advance copy of the Bash in a Box.

THE NOVEMBER SURVEY
This month we are looking at the good, the bad and the ugly about price increases.

Restaurateurs are perpetually engaged in the struggle to manage prices. (This generally means figuring out how and when to raise them!)

From my own experience, I believe that operators are more reluctant to raise prices than their guests are to accept the higher numbers. Still, there is trauma involved ... particularly when the price hikes are not done properly.

As usual, I will provide a compilation of all the responses to everyone who contributes to this project. Click here to add your thoughts to the November survey.

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

Today when I was absolutely overloaded with "things" I had to get accomplished outside of the workplace I discovered one of my best employees, and I do mean best. She is a charm and has far more knowledge of how to cook and prepare food than I previously knew.

Getting to know people who often are "quiet" definitely can help out. I am now able to leave my cooking/management duties in Sarah's hands because of what I learned today. -- Barbara Lippert, Jean's Deli, Sequim, WA

As I am fond of saying, all the great pilot training in the world will not make anyone a great pilot. At some point, they have to solo.

If you never give your staff the opportunity to solo -- usually because of a micro-managing style -- you (and they) never find out how good they are. Don't turn people loose until they have been thoroughly coached, but with good training, encouragement and the willingness to let them operate without a net (that means without you hovering about), you will be surprised at the talent you will suddenly "discover" in your organization.

Learning to listen respectfully to your staff -- and being intensely interested in what you hear -- will deepen the respect you have for each other. That will show up in the form of increased productivity, lower turnover, a more positive working climate and fewer on-the-job "emergencies."

Never doubt that the most critical management skill you can develop is your ability to truly listen.

I will continue to collect your answers to this important question ... and you can add comments as often as you want. Just click on the link below and contribute your insights for the common good (and your own as well!)

What did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?

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