Thursday, April 24, 2008

Just got back from a strategy session that turned into a vendor presentation for a hotel in Chicago. Why is it so difficult to understand that:
1. You don’t market hotel roooms the same way you market a chain of restaurants
2. You must start off with a goal then develop the goal into a plan

Nevertheless, for a great family experience, visit Key Lime Cove Hotel in the northern suburbs of Chicago. It’s a true blast. It’s like going to a tropical island without having to fly there. A great 48 hour escape.

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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Monday, April 07, 2008

Great post from Simplenomics—

I went to pick up our lunches and the hostess was, how shall we put this …. stupid ? An idiot ? Worthless ? I asked her if I could pick up a couple of sandwiches to go and she said she would try to find someone to take my order, but ” … they all are real good at hiding out in their places and I have trouble finding them, but when I hide, they find me. “

About 15 minutes into my ordeal, a mother and son came in. The boy looked to be 14 to 16. The hostess with the leastess says to the young man, ” Why ain’t you in school ? “ Not Hi, not welcome to XXX, not anything that you’d expect from a hostess.

The young man said, ” I’m homeschooled. ”

So The Brain says, ” Oh, that means you get to play hooky and eat lunch. “

I myself went to a public school and ate lunch every day, so I don’t know where she went or if she actually went.

So here’s the questions I have:

Will that mother and son ever eat there again ?
Will the management ever find out that she’s a complete and finely tuned utter fool ?
Can she and will she affect the repeat business ?

Posted by jcohen in • Restaurant Marketing
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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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