ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - July 14, 2006

Where is the time going? Suddenly it is mid-July ... effectively halfway through the summer. I don't start traveling again for another week ... but this is hardly leisure time.

September's Super Summit will be here before we know it and there are lots of details to sort out. The CEO Project Coaching Program starts up in a couple of weeks. I have to put the details together on an intern program for those who want to get a head start on next year's Foundations Program. And somewhere in there I have to get my taxes done!

Don't get me wrong -- I wouldn't change any of this. At a time in life when many of my contemporaries are starting to slow down, I feel like I am just hitting my stride!

DELEGATE YOUR READING
Unless something has changed radically out there, I suspect that every day you receive promotional offers, trade magazines, information from the restaurant association and other material that you do not have time to read, let alone study. I always put it in a reading pile that built up until I gave up, tossed the whole thing and started again.

If knowledge is power, you can lose a lot of power this way. Instead of taking on the reading as a personal project, toss these items to appropriate members of your staff. They will spend more time with the material than you will and can tell if there is something of value that you need to see.

For example, when I was at the Olympic Training Center, I got all my supervisors their own subscriptions to the various (free) trade magazines. I barely had time to skim the headlines, but they would take them home, read all the articles (and all the ads!) and highlight the items that we might be able to use. They broadened their knowledge of the industry and we did not miss any potential resource.

STAMP OUT EXCUSES
Apologizing or making excuses for the food, service or policies of the restaurant make you seem like an amateur. If you are not proud of it, don't serve it. If you don't agree with a policy, get it changed. If something is wrong, fix it. If you can't fix it, do something to make it right with the guest.

Telling guests why you cannot give them good service does not somehow magically make everything OK. For example, explaining why food is slow coming out of the kitchen does not put the guest at ease. If the kitchen is backed up, inform the table, apologize for the delay and offer to do something (round of drinks, free appetizer, free dessert) to compensate them for your lapse.

Might this cost you some money? You bet! But it is all good news. If you have to comp $2000 worth of food one month because things are slow coming out of the kitchen, I bet you will figure out where the backup is and fix it. If you don't pay out the money, food is still slow coming out, it is still costing you money in guests that never return ... but you just don't know it. Relish every opportunity to pay off because it puts a dollar value on your shortcomings.

A successful restaurant sets high standards, creates systems that can deliver to those standards and brings its staff up to meet them. When you hear your crew make excuses to your guests, it may mean that your systems are dysfunctional ... or your staff has higher standards than you do.

100,000 MILE TUNE-UP
Just as your car needs a major tune-up from time to time, your restaurant periodically needs some detailed diagnostic attention to continue to perform to its full potential.

When a concept has enjoyed success in the market over time, it is easy to start taking it for granted. The concept gradually - almost invisibly - gets stale. With the quantity and quality of the dining choices that consumers have, stale concepts can't survive for long.

Super Summit 2006 will provide you with specific skills, ideas and plans to make your operation more competitive and allow you to appeal to newer, larger, (younger?) markets. If your primary customer base is graying -- and many are -- your future success depends on your ability to diversify.

Respected food consultant Phyllis Ann Marshall will be joining me for this two-and-a half day, hands-on event that will rekindle your passion for your work and reposition your restaurant for long term success. In over 45 years in the industry, I have never heard of a program like this one!

If you have 100,000 miles on your present operation ... and would like it to run smoothly for another 100,000 ... you definitely want to look into Super Summit 2006. For a sneak preview of what we have in mind for a select group of operators next September in Charleston, South Carolina, click on the link below.

Don't Miss This!

The first (and largest) early registration scholarship expires on July 21. That's just a week away. Why not save $500 while you can? The true entrepreneur does not hesitate when opportunity presents itself.

See the preview of Super Summit 2006.

THE JULY SURVEY
We are halfway through the year -- time to check in and see what's on your mind. I know that time is tight this month, so let's use the July survey as a way to pause and take stock of where we are and where you want to go.

This month I am interested in knowing the issues you would like to see addressed in future surveys, how you think I could improve the EHC and anything else you care to pass along. I promise to give careful consideration to all ideas submitted.

Everyone who takes the time to share their thoughts will receive a copy of my forthcoming e-book, "Building Sales Without Selling." Unfortunately I did not have a spot to enter your address when I first put the survey up. If you were one of the first nine responders last week, please give me your e-mail address so I know where to send your e-book.

I will close this survey at the end of next week to allow enough time to reflect on your comments before I put together the August survey.

You can download copies of all past EHC surveys including the massive WOW Ideas collection.

Please let me know what's on your mind.

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

I asked one of our top servers what I could use as reward for some of the servers ... baseball tickets, concert tickets, movie passes, free meals, etc. That conversation evolved into "Why did you punish us by moving us from five table sections to four table sections?"

After a long heart to heart, I learned that the service staff wanted to be "rewarded" by knowing that I believed in them. They were excited to learn that I did not intend to "punish" them by taking away sales opportunity, but was more interested in their ability to increase sales (and tips) by allowing them less stress and more time at the table.

I learned that I need to communicate my intent as well as the goals or else it could cause an issue with morale and self worth. -- Ken Henson, Pelican Pub & Brewery, Pacific City, OR

The number two thing that people want from their jobs in to be "in" on things -- to be part of those decisions that affect their lives. (Number one is appreciation for the work they do.) That is why it is important that you open up a dialogue with your staff as you engage in decision-making processes that will impact their work.

This is not the same as letting the inmates run the asylum or engaging in management by committee. The manager still gets to make the call. But the more you can learn about what is important to your crew, the better decisions you will make. The more they can understand about your motives, the less resistance you will encounter as you implement changes.

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!)

NOTE:
Enhancing your listening ability is just one of the skills you will develop at the annual Foundations Program of the CEO Project. We are accepting applications for the 2007 program, scheduled for June 11-13. Mark your calendar.

We are also offering a no-cost year-long intern program to those who sign up early ... along with the ability to lock in tuition at the 2006 level and spread the payments over ten months. Those options will go away as the months pass.

Get the whole story on the CEO Project.

What did YOU learn from YOUR staff today?

© 2006 Restaurant Doctor