ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - October 26, 2007

That sucking sensation you feel is the irresistible pull of the holiday season. Starting with the run-up to Halloween, the pace of life continues to increase. Then abruptly it is January and you wonder where everyone went!

If you haven't put your plans in place for your holiday promotions (and you WILL have holiday promotions ... won't you?), you will soon be too busy to set them up. I advise you to review your marketing calendar and get organized while you have the time. It would be a shame to miss out on a good money-making opportunity ... particularly with the January/February doldrums looming on the other side of the madness.

In addition to a written marketing plan, the other key thing you will need to profit from the holiday season is the staff to actually pull it off! Have you talked with your crew about their own holiday plans yet?

If you employ college students, particularly those whose families live in another state, the odds are that they won't be passing up the holidays with the family to stay in town and bus tables. You need to know NOW what you will have to work with THEN or you will just add to your own holiday stress as you scramble to fill shifts during a peak time of year.

I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!
Are You The Solution ... or The Problem?

Last weekend Margene and I attended a conference at a spectacular conference center in the San Francisco Bay area. The centerpiece of the property was an impressive converted mansion with the magnificent paneling, turn-of-the-century details -- and prices! -- that led us to expect a superb service experience.

There were probably 300 people attending the conference but on Friday night, the only food outlets open were the 60-seat high-end restaurant and a small 20-seat bar with a small menu of salads and sandwiches.

We weren't that hungry so we opted for the bar but since all the inside tables were taken, we grabbed an empty table on the adjacent patio. I asked Laura, one of the passing hotel staff, what the procedure was to get served. She responded, "Good luck. I just got off and they don't have anyone coming in to replace me." With that she left.

Those who have followed my rants for awhile know my belief that you should never tell guests what you CAN'T do for them, so you can imagine that I was a bit put off by this attitude. The note I made at the time was that you are "on" until you are off the property. Guests don't want to hear about your problems ... particularly when you make them the guests' problem.

On the Saturday lunch break we raced back to the bar, knowing that it would be jammed almost instantly. We were the first ones to arrive ... and I was not encouraged to see that Laura was the only person behind the bar. She was in the weeds before she even had anyone to serve! She immediately told me that she was on all alone, couldn't find the manager and that it would be at least 30 minutes before I could expect to see any food.

As more people came in, she did her best to talk them out of staying, including simply ignoring them. Everything was a chore for this girl. She made it clear to all of us that she was overloaded and not very pleased about it. It appeared to me that if she had used the time she spent complaining to try to create a positive experience for her guests, she would have accomplished a lot more, but all she managed to do was convince us that we wouldn't try eating in the hotel again.

Now the hotel management certainly has some responsibility for setting up a meltdown situation, but this girl -- pleasant as she was when she wasn't in the weeds -- was a loose cannon focused only on what she couldn't do.

In contrast, I recall the story of a restaurant that had several busses pull in at 3pm when there were only two waitresses on. They split the group in half, a waitress stood on a table and said, "OK, folks. Here's the way we're going to do this." She offered three menu choices that she knew the kitchen could live with, the guests all went along with it and everyone left happy.

Does your staff dwell on their problems ... or do they look for opportunities to rise above circumstances and deliver the results no matter what? Are you being a role model for that "can do" attitude?

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? - PART 2
Crafting Promotions That Work

Last week I talked about there not being a clear target market for this piece. Without knowing who they wanted to attract, it was impossible to craft a compelling headline and subhead to hook the reader's interest and pull them into the copy.

This week I will continue my dissection of this promo piece with three more observations on what is missing and how it might be improved. Use these points as a checklist to evaluate -- and hopefully improve -- your own promotions.

The Offer Must Be Clear
People must be able to understand your offer instantly because confused people do not respond. For example, half off is better than 50% off and a lot better than 35% or even 60% off. People have difficulty understanding percentages. Two for one is usually better than half off. In this case the offer is too obscure to be effective.

The Offer Must Be a Good Value
More than that, it has to be easily understood as a good value. That's why percentage off coupons doesn't usually work well. People get suspicious. They think as soon as they see I have coupons they'll just raise the price to recover the discount. Percentage off coupons work well where there are known published prices. Quick: is retail plus an unspecified corkage charge a good deal or not? Do you have an answer? No? I didn't think so.

There Should Be a Logical Reason For The Offer
If you discount or give something away without an explanation you create skepticism and suspicion. All their lives, people have been told that there's no such thing as a free lunch. You have to explain. We're doing this to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood as an introductory offer in celebration of opening our new store, as an anniversary sale, a clearance sale, customer appreciation week. Just about any explanation will do but there needs to be an explanation. So why this deal? Why now?

When we finally finish with the autopsy of this piece, I'll give you my suggestions on how I would re-write it to really kick butt! Oh yeah, and I'll also declare a winner in our little marketing contest.

THE LAST TWO SEATS ... ARE GONE!
Birthday Bash Registration is Closed

All 56 seats for the Birthday Bash have been claimed and registration is now officially closed. Joel and I will accept two names for the waiting list just in case a last-minute emergency requires someone to drop out but there are no guarantees. Contact me if you want to stand by.

My thanks to all those who registered as soon as they saw what we had in mind -- that inclination to fast action will make you a lot of money in the months ahead. If you thought about attending but didn't make the commitment because you weren't sure if you could get away, it brings up my second favorite question: "Who's running your business?"

LAST WEEK FOR THE OCTOBER SURVEY

Keeping Your Shifts Filled
Everything in life has its cycles and I am starting to sense that the labor shortage we lived through several years ago is coming back. This month let's take the pulse of the current labor market and see what smart operators are doing to keep their shifts filled ... with the right people.

As usual, I will send copies of the survey results to everyone who participates. In the meantime, you can download copies of all past EHC surveys -- including the massive WOW Ideas collections.

Add your thoughts to this month's survey.

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

Since it appears that once again nobody talked with their crew this week -- at least I can't prove it by the mail -- I am left to recycle a previous answer to my Perpetual Question:

I learned how to improve our vacation request form. Our restaurant managers were confused by the new form developed to make vacation scheduling easier. Well the form was developed by our office staff for their needs. (need I say more?) And of course the restaurant received a copy of the form before Operations could review it.

As the District Manager I was upset that one of the managers filled out a request and I was not informed of the start and finish dates. As it turns out the form did not include a vacation start date, an ending date, nor a return to work date.

The managers were promised that the form would be looked into, and when reviewed I quickly called the managers and apologized and issued in detail how to complete the "NEW" REVISED FORM. Unit managers were very appreciative of the apology.

Lesson learned: test all new forms and issue directions to the staff. Include input from other departments and be sure the forms have a logical purpose and procedure that can be simply explained. Ease of use is the key to success and KISS principles apply. -- Richard Ritter, Shakey's Pizza, Irwindale, CA

I often quote my favorite swamp philosopher, Pogo, who said, "We have met the enemy and he is us." Tales like Richard's are all too common and just point out the cost of rushing a project to completion without getting the input of the people who will be affected by it. In this case, not only did they waste much more time than necessary but they created ill will between the office staff and the operating units that will just deepen any distrust they may already feel.

Never doubt that the most important (and profitable!) skill you can develop is your ability -- and your willingness -- to truly listen.

What did you learn from YOUR staff today?

I will continue to collect your answers to this important question until they put me in the ground. Just click on the link above and contribute your insights for the common good ... and your own as well!

LIGHTEN UP!
The Noble Experiment Continues

Here is the weekly report on my personal project to lighten up:

Goal: -50 Last Week: -3 Total: -10

This feels more like it. Now if I can just avoid feeling invincible ...

A growing number of folks have joined me in this audacious venture. I applaud their courage in "going public." Do you have a goal regarding your weight? Do you have the guts to put yourself on record? We all seem to get better results when there is someone or something to hold us accountable.

Mary Jo Beniger -- Goal: -25 Last Week: -1 Total: -11
Cindy Casady – Goal: -30 Last Week: +3 Total: -9
Tom Combs -- Goal: -65 Last Week: +1 Total -12
Chris Corrigan -- Goal: -25 Last Week: -2 Total: -4 (no report)
Trice Micheals – Goal: -50 Last Week: 0 Total -5
Steve Ulrey -- Goal: -12 Last Week: +3 Total: -2
Bill Breslo – Goal: +5 Last Week: +1 Total: +2 (no report)

If you are interested in how it's going for us, scroll down to the bottom of the EHC each week and check out the progress. If you could care less, don't!


© 2007 Restaurant Doctor