ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - January 19, 2007

It is strangely familiar to be back on the road again. My presentations for A&W went very well and now at least a bit of the corporate world is thinking in a more productive direction. I will fly back home to Gig Harbor tonight and won't have to head out again for a couple of weeks.

The best part of a trip to Nashville is always the chance to dine at a few of Randy Rayburn's restaurants. I did some training for his service staff when I was here in June and it felt good when so many of them remembered me when I walked in.

Randy and his crew are seriously in the hospitality business ... in addition to operating good restaurants. I make the distinction because the latter is about taking care of business while the former is about taking care of ME. The difference is important to realize.

BTW, the butterscotch habanero bread pudding at Sunset Grill is THE best!

TELL YOUR STORY
At dinner the other night, the restaurant (Italian) had a delightful infusion of crushed tomatoes, roasted garlic and olive oil that accompanied the hot foccacia bread they brought to the table. When the waiter delivered it, I suppose that he told me what it was. I say suppose because whatever he said was said so fast and the words were so run together that it was unintelligible.

In the same way that we tend to say something like "wassamada" when we mean to say "what's the matter," phrases that are used frequently and spoken hurriedly tend to morph into a single hybrid word that outsiders can barely understand. There are several reasons why you want to notice this and correct it when it happens:

First of all it is rude to speak to someone in a way they can't understand. It leaves the listener feeling deprived at best and inadequate at worst, neither of which will enhance their mood, the dining experience ... or the tip they are inclined to leave at the end of the meal.

The second reason is that there is no word-of-mouth without something to talk about. In this case the infusion (and I am sure the bread) had a story behind it that I might have told my friends ... if it had been explained to me in a way I could understand. This is a serious opportunity lost because messages on the "friends and family" channel carry far more weight than any commercial source.

In any communication with the guest, come to the table, stop, make eye contact if possible and say what you have to say clearly and at a pace the guest can follow. Tell me an interesting story about what makes you better or different and I am likely to repeat it to my friends. Human nature is that people like to know things that other people don't know because it makes them look good to others when they tell the tale.

As you move through your dining room or past the counter or pass by the drive-up window, listen to what your staff is saying and how they are saying it. Are they telling stories about your place that guests will want to repeat ... or will the story your patrons tell be about how they couldn't understand half of what the staff was saying?

OF COURSE WE CAN!
Same restaurant, same night. I was dining alone as the manager on duty made the rounds, speaking briefly with the diners. We chatted for a few minutes and then he asked what I was thinking about ordering for my entree. I said that nothing on the menu really captured my imagination since they were all more hearty dishes and I was rather full from the generously-portioned caprese appetizer I had just enjoyed.

"What sort of thing are you looking for?" he asked. I replied that a side order of pasta would be just the right size to fill me up. He smiled and said, "How about if I ask the chef to make up a small bowl of penne pasta with some asiago cream sauce?" I said that would be perfect ... and it was.

My point in all this is that the manager took the time to be AT the table when he was at the table. He listened to what I was (and wasn't) saying, drew the right conclusion and suggested the perfect solution. He sent his guest (me) home with a smile and a positive story and I suspect enjoyed the opportunity to do it. Hospitality lives in the person of Derek Sands at the Ristorante Volare in the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

What do you think would have happened if Derek had been told to "touch tables" and settled for a perfunctory "How's everything?"

(PS: I shared my story about the mumbled delivery with Derek. He actually listened, considered what I said, and replied, "Good point. I'll be sure the staff is aware of that. Thanks for telling me." Perfect again!)

LAST CHANCE
Long-time subscriber Carl Hixon from Pensacola, Florida dropped me a note over the holidays. His parting comment had this PS attached: "Will you have your tips for tips on sale again? My supply needs replenishing."

I am a sucker for begging ... and since I was ready to offer a deal to Carl, I figured I might as well open it up to everyone. These books are normally $5.95 each but during the sale you can get 20 for $70, over a 40% savings off the single copy price and $20 less than you would normally pay for 20 copies.

(Actually, I meant to offer you this deal in December so you could give them as gifts to your service staff ... but they probably wouldn't have had time to read them anyway!)

Carl has reloaded for another year and so this brief window to stock up will close on Sunday. If you want to take advantage of this savings, you only have a couple of days left.

If you are unfamiliar with 50 Tips to Improve Your Tips, click here to get more information.

Take me up on the 50 Tips Sale.

THE JANUARY SURVEY
Everybody is always looking for the next great idea to jump-start their sales, particularly during the first few months of the year. This month I would like to find out about the most unusual -- and unusually effective -- restaurant promotion you have run across.

It may be something that you came up with or something you saw in your travels, but it would be a promotion that made you stop and think, "Wow, I never thought about an idea like that."

As usual I will send a compilation of the responses to all who participate. I look forward to your comments and ideas. (Your radar IS always looking for these sorts of gems, isn't it?)

In the meantime, you can download copies of all past EHC surveys -- including the massive WOW Ideas collection.

Add your thoughts to the January survey.

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

The other night while we ate a quick supper before cleaning up for the night, I asked my 16-year old waitress what her mom did at the hospital. "She is a medic aid," she said. This waitress has two younger brothers, about 8 and 10 years old and her mom needs her home while mom works.

Her mom is expecting another baby, so she is needing to work a bit less or at least shorter shifts. She didn't say it, but I know that this means it's harder to make ends meet too. It sounded like quite a juggling trick to get everybody to work and school and have everyone taken care of. "Sounds kinda complicated," I said. She looked a little puzzled. She wanted to know what seemed complicated about it.

I guess what I learned is that the lives of my employees are complicated, but they don't think that's extraordinary. And maybe they're right. These days, just about everyone has a "complicated" life, including myself. She just does what she has to do to help out, both here and at home. -- Kathy, Nebraska

Learning to view your staff as real people and not just "employees" is the first step toward creating the sort of climate that causes your guests to return more often and your staff to stay around longer. As Renee Greff, owner of the Arbor Brewing Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan so nicely put it a few years ago ...

"My husband and I actually used to believe that our staff had no idea what kind of stress we were under owning this business. How much responsibility could they possibly have? They wait tables after all.

"Seeing our staff as people with real lives and real problems has made such a difference in the way we feel about them that we don't have to try hard to treat them differently. It flows naturally out of the respect we have for them ... and what a healthier view of the world that is."

To which I can only add, "Amen."

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?


© 2007 Restaurant Doctor