Featured Blog Posts – January 2012 Archive (33)

Consumers love you, love your place and love your food - but why are they going to share their contact information to join your loyalty program?  Statistics suggest that many of your customers would join a program, if it were available (50-80% in other industries) but online loyalty programs I think are…

by Celeste Edman, Marketing Expert

Atmosphere has a huge impact on how we experience our meal when dining out. Many believe that there are certain colors that help us relax and encourage us to eat more and stay longer. There has been a significant amount of study done to determine if music and more precisely, certain tempos, will change how and what we buy. All these elements play a role in our overall dining experience. Yet, has our attention to them become so…

There are many differing opinions on whether sites developed in HTML5 can display content on mobile devices as eloquently as they do in the desktop and tablet world. Before we examine the pros and cons of each, here is a little background on the two technologies.

HTML5

HTML5 will be the new standard for Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), according to W3C. ("The World Wide Web Consortium is an international community where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the…

    As a soon to be college grad, I feel that I should pass my extensive knowledge about college kitchens and cooking onto all the incoming and future students. Let me preface this article by say that all college kitchens are small. Once again, ALL COLLEGE KITCHENS ARE SMALL. Do not think big and extravagant. Just because you are out of the dorms and have a kitchen does not mean that you should cram it full of gadgets or multiples of anything. You won’t have any space for the important…

(or, Sink Like a Stone)

You are a restaurant owner sitting in your office.  Every day it’s becoming more apparent that you will need to get deeper involved in more aspects of social media.  Those newspaper, radio and Yellow Pages ads just aren’t bringing in new faces anymore. 

You leave the office and are walking through the…

It’s been four years since we entered The Great Recession. Now, at long last, optimism about economic growth in Leisure & Hospitality and Food & Beverage is taking root.

For operators this means finding leaders who have the skills and proficiency to do the job will become harder and harder. Sourcing values and character matches will be a monumental challenge.  Operators will need to step up benefits and retention strategies, and salaries will begin to rise…

On Jan. 18, several websites participated in a blackout to protest the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R. 3261. Wikipedia reported 162 million people viewing its blackout page, seven million people signed Google's petition and Twitter saw over four million SOPA related tweets.

Two days later, SOPA was officially ‘killed’ — for the year. SOPA’s Senate doppelganger, PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), has also been tabled for the time being. Will similar…

Just read about the social marketing snafu with McDonalds and the high-j****** of the #McDStories hashtag by an audience that was, well, less than flattering to the brand image.  Over at BusinessInsider.com, Gus Lubin reported on it and discussed the response from Rick Wion, their social media director - here's my take on it.…

What message does your restaurant convey to your fans and prospects that are socially engaged?

Restaurants can no longer choose to use "planned or scripted" messages such as "We're the place to be", or "The ONLY place to watch sports".  They also cannot choose to simply ignore social media all…

by Celeste Edman, Marketing Expert

I've talked with many people in different industries, and it seems true for all-- if you sell lighting you notice lights everywhere you go— if you are a chef you are constantly critiquing food that others cook and so on. I was talking with a woman about this who has managed Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants as well as small niche hot spots about whether or not she's able to enjoy eating out. The woman laughed when I asked her…

Restaurant Owners Wearing Rose-Colored Glasses

I was watching one of the restaurant make-over shows the other night; either Restaurant Impossible with Robert Irvine or Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey.  I don’t even remember which one it was.  At the beginning of the show, the guru sits in the dining room and tries five or ten entrees.  Of course, they all suck, that’s what the show is about: going from being a totally suck restaurant to being…

Did you know it is National Soup Month?  Somewhere back in the passage of time (origin unknown), January became National Soup Month, a holiday celebrated annually in America.  Makes perfect sense since soup is a filling comfort food – a warm treat to take the chill out of the cold winter air.  In recognition of this special food holiday, my company, Custom Culinary has been working closely this past month with its operator partners to provide products and solutions.

This year, our…

The importance of inventory management for restaurant profitability cannot be stressed enough. Without being able to effectively manage the flow of foods and supplies in an effective manner, the chances of making any sort of significant profit from your food service shrink significantly.  But how does one effectively take control of their inventory?

What Constitutes an Inventory?

It may seem like a rather inane question, but the question of what constitutes an…

Woke up this morning to find Wimpy trending on Twitter, comments and pics on Facebook and even a couple of Foursquare check-ins. What had they done? Stolen someone’s Cinnamon Cola recipe, asked a lady and her guide dog to leave one of their stores, offended the ruling party in Zimbabwe, just invented a cure for cancer or “E” all of the above?

Turns out it was none of the above, all they had to do to get the stores full and…

If you talk to a restaurant owner about going mobile (assuming they understand how pressing it is that they get on the mobile bandwagon pronto!) often the question will arise, “Should I get a Mobile App or should I go with a Mobile Website.” Surprisingly, you will find some restaurant operators are not doing anything because they just don’t know which way to go. Let’s try to clear things up by first examining each one:…

Rewarding Feedback is unofficially officially declaring January 29th - February 4th "Understand Your Guest Week"!



Do you have what it takes to TRULY know and understand your guest?



In the week of January 22, we're going to ask some tough questions. If you or your resources don't know the answers, your guest may be a bigger mystery than you'd like to admit.



To participate, send us a note at IAcceptYourChallenge@rewardingfeedback.net…

I’ve had some interesting encounters recently with both existing operators and aspiring entrepreneurs armed with business plans.  Today, I’ll give a brief synopsis of several (with names and other distinguishing characteristics disguised); I welcome comments on which seem likely to be successful businesses, as well as debt and/or equity investments, and perhaps we’ll have followups on a few in the coming…

In 2012, Facebook is planning to add sponsored ads in news feed content meaning ads will mingle in with your friends and family updates.  It’s kind of like Twitter. The “sponsored tweets” in your Twitter feed.

However, there is a twist that may cause unhappy social media wrath of some Facebook subscribers.  The “sponsored stories” could include a picture of you or one of your friends.  Basically, if you LIKE something, like Zappos.com, or if you leave a comment on The Gap’s page, your…

This year, listen for how often you hear the word “feeling.”  Listen for how often you hear yourself or your colleagues say “I have a feeling…”

A feeling this manager is the right fit.  A feeling the opening will be a big hit.  A feeling this banquet will run without a hitch.  A feeling we’re on the wrong track.  A feeling (insert the most important objectives of your business here)…

The best leaders work in the truth, and the facts are infinitely closer to the truth than…

The appropriately-named Boners BBQ recently conducted a clinic on the worst possible way to handle social media as part of a bar or restaurant’s advertising/marketing efforts.

When owner Andrew Capron discovered customer Stephanie Stuck had left a…