Restaurant Marketing Blog

Friday, March 21, 2008

A lot has been said about Starbucks closing all of their units for a few hours in the evening to re-train their baristas. It was a statement to the world that, despite their other challenges, Starbucks is highly committed to achieving true excellence in serving their guests.

They understand that it’s not the economy or the excuse de jour that’s going to make or break them; it’s how their guests are treated.

But think about this; with “poor service” being the number one complaint that guests have about restaurants, why haven’t other restaurants made a similar commitment—getting their staff together at one time for a training session, or better yet, a WOW Session?

With the destiny of your restaurant in the hands of your servers and how they connect (or don’t connect) with your guests, what steps are you taking to enhance your levels of service and guest connections?

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008

A $5 pizza tastes lousy compared to the great tasting pizza you get at your local indy pizza restaurant. Even though it costs twice or three times as much, it’s worth it. Imagine what you’re digesting when you eat a $5 pizza. Low grade cheese. Low quality pepperoni.

If you want to eat low quality, that’s the way to go ... and you’ll hate it. And regret it the morning after. From a business point of view, there’s only one way a pizza chain can make a decent profit on a $5 pizza and that’s to top it with inexpensive, low-quality ingredients.

As the Domino’s store manager told me, “Because of the recession environment we’re in, our sales are down by about $1500 a week and we’re just trying to attract more customers by promoting a $5 pizza.”

Actually, they’re just shooting themselves in the foot because customers, like me will give it a try, only to realize it tastes lousy ... and never, no matter how convenient it is, have a Domino’s pizza again.

Warning: You’ll never make it by cutting the quality of your ingredients. Domino’s should quit all of their advertising, put those dollars into better ingredients and start connecting with their guests.

But of course the hundreds of indy neighborhood pizza restaurants that subscribe to my WOW already know this.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Restaurant Marketing: USA Today just did a huge article on restaurant chains falling on hard times. “Same-store sales are sliding. Commodity prices are climbing. Units are closing. Customers are dwindling. Some of the top names in all ends of dining are in pain, from Starbucks (SBUX) to Applebee’s to The Cheesecake Factory (CAKE).” Read here for more. You’ll be fascinated

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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