ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - April 7, 2006

I am headed to Southern California on Monday and Tuesday to update my staff training program, "What Every Service Pro Should Know About People." It will be coming out on DVD rather than VHS and I wanted it to contain my most current thinking. If time permits, I will also shoot a second version for operations that do not deal in tips.

If you asked to be notified about training resources, watch for a special pre-publication deal on the DVDs this Monday. You can always add yourself to that list by clicking on the Update link at the bottom of the page.

PROCRASTINATION MARKETING
If you are at all like me, events always seem to be moving too fast, particularly when it comes to marketing opportunities. The big events like Mothers Day, St. Patrick's Day and even Cinco de Mayo are easy enough to remember and pencil in on the marketing calendar.

You might even remember major sporting events like the Final Four, World Series or Super Bowl. But I was recently reminded that Spring Break could have provided a great opportunity for a promotion if I had only remembered that it was coming in time to put something together. (That's what happens when you don't have kids in school!)

To be sure you don't miss a great excuse to invite guests to patronize you, I suggest that you keep a notebook of potential marketing opportunities as the year unfolds.

What is a marketing opportunity? Anything that will get high visibility in the media ... particularly when that visibility is being funded by somebody else! Just pay attention to what is making news and write it down. The events could be local, regional, national or even international.

You will probably miss out on exploiting these events this year, but you will have your notebook for reference as you create next year's marketing calendar.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
If you have tipped employees and had taxable income last year, be certain your accountant has or plans on attaching IRS Form 8846 to your business tax return. Failure to do so could mean paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars more in federal income taxes than you should.

Generally, the IRS allows a tax credit, not a deduction, but a dollar for dollar reduction of your federal income tax liability for those Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on tips that exceed the federal or, if higher, your state's minimum wage requirement.

For example, an employee worked 40 hours and received $200 in tips. The worker received $150 in wages (excluding tips) at the rate of $3.75 an hour. With a Federal minimum wage rate of $5.15 an hour, the employee would have received wages, excluding tips, of $206 had the employee been paid at the Federal minimum wage rate.

Therefore only $56 (minimum wage of $206 less $150 wages) of the employee's tips are subject to Social Security & Medicare Taxes and the balance of the tip wages, $144, can be taken into account for this credit.

In the above example, the Social Security and Medicare tax credit would be $11.02 ($144 times 7.65%). Multiply this by 26 plus pay periods and several tipped employees and this could add up to a sizable amount.

Ask your accountant today, to make sure you're not missing out on this tax credit. Click here to download IRS Form 8846.

A Note From the Doc:
This gem of wisdom came from my friend Jim Laube, the visionary behind RestaurantOwner.com. It is just one in a series of weekly Profit Tips that Jim sends to his subscribers. If you are not already familiar with what Jim offers on his site, you will be glad you checked it out.

CREATING THE EFFORTLESS ORGANIZATION
If you missed the Super Summit programs last year, you are about to get another chance. The program is now called "Leadership From the Inside Out" or LIO Program for short. It will be offered only once this year -- in Nashville, Tennessee on June 12-13. But rather than give you a long sales pitch, I will let one of last year's attendees tell you how it affected her.

"This program has challenged me to recognize that my thoughts determine my state of mind ... and my state of mind effects my entire company. I see that I need to delegate more. When I go into the business in a hectic frenzied state of mind it creates havoc in the organization and filters down.

Perhaps most meaningful for me have been the “aha” moments where I realized certain things I’m doing that I need to change. I gained focus on how I’m going to direct my management development group. We are going to have a course change. I’m going to teach them how our attitudes effect the rest of the staff. -- Lorraine Salazar, Sal’s Mexican Restaurants, Fresno, CA

Note: Lorraine attended the first Super Summit in April and brought one of her key managers. She saw the need to establish a strong foundation before she moved ahead with expanding the company.

This June, 36 operators will uncover their own secrets to creating an effortless organization and regaining control of their lives. Will you be among them?

The LIO Program is not at all like school ... or any other conference you have attended. The learning comes from your own insights rather than a canned curriculum. As your thinking starts to shift and your understanding deepens, you will become aware of more and more exciting new possibilities.

There are more comments from past attendees on the CEO (Creating the Effortless Organization) Project website.

You certainly want to find out more about this unique program.

PS: The list of applicants now includes operators from Ghana, Ireland and Canada in addition to the US. It will be worth the tuition just to rub minds with this group! Click here to get the whole story on the LIO Program.

THE APRIL SURVEY
Somebody once observed that if you hooked up average independent operators to a lie detector, they would all confess that the only thing they are really interested in is building sales. Whether that is a fair assessment or not, my experience is that operators will always show up for a spirited discussion about marketing. Obviously it is a top of mind issue.

This month the EHC Survey looks at marketing best practices -- what is working for you, what isn't ... and what you are doing about it. I expect a LOT of great ideas.

As usual, I will provide a compilation of all the responses to everyone who contributes to this project. Just click on the link below to participate in the April survey.

By the way, the March survey on incentives and staff motivation has been sent to the 93 operators from all over the world who shared their ideas of what is (and is not) working for them. If you did not contribute but would like a copy of the results, click here to download a copy. This is also where you can download copies of all past EHC surveys including the massive WOW Ideas collection.

Click here to add your thoughts to the April survey.

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

I learned that staff members will help achieve the company goals if they know what those goals are. I also learned people want to be on the winning team, so we set very attainable goals.

Lets say we start a new focus on something about the P&L that we need better performance in, we will set a goal that staff can get to with a little effort in less than a month. Then we raise expections each month until we have that part of the P&L in shape and move on to something else.

I have also learned that managing is not a one time cure for problems. We always need to keep the group focused -- not hounding them, just focused. If we start with a good group of indivduals, then making that group a team is that much easier. -- Paul Thornton, Pauli's Bar & Grill, Madison, AL

Paul makes another case for the power of improving communication in an organization ... creating a two- way flow of information where the staff learns from the management and the managers learn from the staff.

In my experience, the staff will listen to the managers in direct proportion to how well the management listens to THEM. What they see is what you will get.

Never doubt that the most critical -- and perhaps profitable -- 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?
Let us know at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=27753923815

WHERE’S WALDO?
Since people often ask, here are some upcoming public events where you can attend a seminar or an event with the Doc:
* May 6-7, SYSCO Maryland, Baltimore & Virginia
* May 22, NRA Show, Chicago, IL
* June 12-13, Leadership From the Inside Out, Nashville, TN
* June 20-22, Pizza Insight SuperConference, Las Vegas, NV
* Sept 13-14, Northeast Pizza Expo, Atlantic City, NJ
* Sept 20-21, Maryland Restaurant Expo, Baltimore, MD
* Sept 25-26, Super Summit 2006, Charleston, SC
* October 17, New Hampshire Hospitality Expo, Manchester, NH

Contact me for more details.

© 2006 Restaurant Doctor