Wednesday, March 07, 2007

A GUEST BILL OF RIGHTS—POST THIS IN YOUR LOBBY TOMORROW!

** Our restaurant promises to deliver you the following:

=> A sparkling clean restaurant inside and out.

=> Great tasting food, freshly prepared that exhibits an overwhelming value.

=> A great staff to serve you—passionate about what they do, friendly and knowledgeable about what they serve you.

=> A few surprises you’d never expect that will WOW you.

=> An interest in our community that we share.

=> A smile; a place you can feel at home—and be treated like royalty.

=> An interest in recycling in order to better our community that we live in.

=> An interest in supporting our troops, fighting abroad to protect our country, and those who serve and risk their lives to protect us locally—police and firemen.

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Friday, February 23, 2007

** There are 4 key issues going on in the USA/Canada right now...well actually there are more than that...but I’ll stick with the more domestic and peaceful ones...that ones that your guests are really concerned about. 

** If you can connect the dots...that is make an emotional connection between your restaurant and your guests on any of these 4 key issues, and demonstrate that you are on the same wavelength as them, then you’ve Wow’d your guests in a subtle way...and thus, you’ve connected with them.

** Here are the 4 issues that your guests are taking an either light or heavy interest in, or at least are cognizant of:

1.  Issue #1 Customer Bill of Rights (made “famous” by Jet Blue)
2.  Issue #2 Trans Fat
3.  Issue #3 Education
4.  Issue #4 Eco-Green/Global Warming

** So, I ask you these questions and in the same breath, I’ll tell you what to do. And remember, I’m not saying that you’ve got to get knee-deep in involvement in these issues, but all you’ve got to do is communicate what stand you’re taking on any of these 4 issues. That means communication via a lobby poster, your email communique, or any strategic point within your four walls.

** Marketing is all about story-telling—remark-eting makes you remark-able.

** Got you thinking about these issues and connecting the dots? Do something about it now. If you communicate it to your guests...then you’ll emotionally Wow them over. Together, you’ll have established a subliminal relationship because your restaurant thinks like your guests.

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Friday, February 09, 2007

Make your mark by getting rid of trans fats and telling your community about it. It differentiates you from the others, and will make you the restaurant of choice.

Important Reading From The Philadelphia Inquirer --

It took five years for Philadelphia City Council to agree on a smoking ban, but today - mere weeks after the idea was first proposed - Council unanimously approved a bill banning trans fats from most dishes served by city restaurants.

In recent years, nutritionists have vilified trans fats as a largely artificial, artery-clogging fat with no dietary benefits. Think Crisco or margarine: inexpensive, semi-solid fats with long shelf-lives.

Philadelphia’s ban on the use of such products begins to take effect on Sept. 1, when restaurateurs will no longer be permitted to fry foods in trans fats or serve trans fat-based spreads. By Sept. 1, 2008, trans fats will be banned in all other types of food prepared in Philadelphia eateries. The ban will not apply to pre-packaged foods - such as a Tastykake Krimpet - sold in city stores and eateries.

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Thursday, February 08, 2007

1. Take the ordinary and make it Xtra-ordinary.

2. Take the plain old, boring vanilla look and turn it into a Ben & Jerry’s flavor.

3. Do the opposite, or do better than what the competition is doing.

4. Break conventional wisdom and think about “what if.”

5. Take the largest and make it the smallest; take the smallest and make it the largest; take the lowest and make it the highest; and the shortest, the longest.

6. Take what’s straight and even, and see what it looks like slanted and twisted. Take what’s center and look at it off-center.

7. Take everything that’s “just okay” and make it “the best.”

8. Go outside to look at your restaurant inside.

9. Break the rules and dream about how to make it better and more fun for your guests ... and then just do it.

10. Be remarkable—give your guests a snippet, a story about your restaurant ... something that they can remark about to their friends.

11. Go from behind your desk, or out of the kitchen and be the “mayor” in your community, making an impact and giving back.

12. Find your ‘place’ or your niche and be famous for it.

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Saturday, February 03, 2007

Always nice to feel like you made the right decision as noted in a previous post, I’ve always believed that McDonald’s coffee tasted better than Starbuck’s.  Consumer Reports now confirms it, rating McD’s coffee ahead of Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King, when it comes to taste.

MSNBC reports that Starbucks may be the world’s largest coffee shop chain in the world, but what they serve isn’t as good as what McDonald’s brews, Consumer Reports says.

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