Saturday, July 21, 2007

Restaurant Marketing: You do what you have to do to make your guests happy. Especially take-out guests at the Raleigh/Briarcreek Uno’s Chicago Grill. Ordered a couple of pizzas to go...got them home, opened up the pizza boxes and emblazoned on the inside of the box were the Papa John’s logos.

Out of curiosity, I called Annie, the Uno’s store manager and she explained to me that they were shorted a supply of takeout pizza boxes and had a choice to make—not to sell takeout pizzas, and possibly turn away or turn off customers, or to make a deal with a local Papa John’s and buy their pizza boxes and turn them inside out.

Great idea, only I could have done without the surprise factor. It would have been nice if they told me about this when I picked the pizzas up. 

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Restaurant Marketing: I’m tired of going to a restaurant only to be greeted by some 17 year old nit-wit hostess behind a presidential podium, who can’t figure out where to seat my family ... when 50% of the dining room is empty.

I’m tired of being greeted by a nit-wit hostess whose only language they can speak is the “number language,” and greets me by the number of people in my family ... and then seats us next to the bathrooms ... when 50% of the dining room is empty.

I’m tired of being greeted by a nit-wit hostess who has no idea what hospitality is, who has no idea how to smile, who has no idea how important my business is (and any other guests’ for that matter) ... especially when 50% of the dining room is empty.

I’m tired of restaurant owners who can’t train their hostesses properly. But more importantly, I’m tired of restaurant owners who see the hostess job as the low point on the restaurant totem pole.

Why aren’t you out front and center greeting your guests? It’s your restaurant. It’s your banana boat. It’s your taco stand. Take care of it, nurture it and your business will grow. Ignore it and it will soon die a slow agonizing death. Do you know what’s going on at your hostess stand? Probably not!

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Sunday, July 15, 2007

Restaurant Marketing: As part of its third annual Cow Appreciation Day event, Chick-fil-A is offering a free breakfast, lunch or dinner combo meal to any customer who isn’t “too chicken” to visit any of the chain’s 1,300-plus restaurants fully dressed as a cow.

Last year’s Cow Appreciation Day celebration attracted over 4,000 customers nationwide dressed in cow-themed costumes, complete with black-and-white spots, furry ears, cow bells, and homemade sandwich boards.

What are you doing for your guest appreciation day?

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Thursday, July 12, 2007

GUEST TYPE #1— HIGH PROBABILITY OF THIS GUEST RETURNING
Those guests that walk out of your restaurant with a good feeling knowing that they’ve met the restaurant owner/gm and had a good relationship-building conversation with him/her.

GUEST TYPE #2—LOW PROBABILITY OF THIS GUEST RETURNING
Those guests that walk out of your restaurant not having met the owner/gm.

GUEST TYPE #3—ZERO PROBABILITY OF THIS GUEST RETURNING
Those guests that walk out of your restaurant and say, “You know, when the owner/gm came over to our table and quickly said, ‘Is everything okay, we should have told him/her the real truth--the food and service was lousy. We’ll never return and they’ll never know why.”

QUESTION:
So, which guest type do you choose? Obviously, you’ll say the guest type with the high probability of returning. If so, please convert your answer into action. Now, doesn’t this beat discounting and cutting into your food costs and profits?

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Monday, July 09, 2007

Restaurant Marketing: Your restaurant looked charming, so we decided to visit it. Upon entering, we were greeted as a number. Wasn’t asked if this was our first time here. We were seated next to the washroom doors, when other seating was available. Dining room smelled like raw sewage. The server said it was impossible for my Coke to be “flat.” Also said it was impossible that the Fish Tacos were bland. According to this restaurant, everything was perfect. Not! We left, and they’ll never know why we won’t be back. The restaurant? Ben’s Place in Raleigh, NC. Don’t go there.

This is how guests can slay a restaurant to it’s feet. Guests can talk about you, blog about you, and even write online reviews about you, as I did with the Yahoo dining review. So, if you want to treat your guests like they don’t know what they’re talking about, and if you won’t listen to your guests, who are trying to help you improve, maybe you’ll listen to them after they’ve written critical reviews about your restaurant that millions of people will see. Keep an eye over your shoulder. There’s someone watching you and ready to write about you.

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