March 2009 Blog Posts (114)

R&I Magazine surveys foodservice industry on Purchasing Trends.

Occasionally, I come across an article that leaves me confused, angry and annoyed.

I came across one such article today in Restaurants and Institutions

Foodservice Purchasing Power is the title and you can read the entire article here:

http://www.rimag.com/article/CA6641696.html

What really got my blood boiling was this section, called

10 Ways Purchasing Habits are Changing

Three-quarters of operators say business concerns such as increasing… Continue

Added by Steve Paterson on March 31, 2009 at 8:31pm — 6 Comments

Yelp defamation lawsuit given OK to continue ( I thought this would be good to share)

I was browsing some articles and ran across this one about Yelp & the Lawsuit its facing.

What do my fellow Foh Bohist think ?

Two months after a high-profile lawsuit against a commenter on the popular consumer rating website Yelp was settled out of court, another case against a user who left an unsavory comment about a business owner is being allowed to continue.

The case concerns a dentist in Foster City, California, which two parents, Tia Jing and… Continue

Added by Darius Goins on March 31, 2009 at 1:48pm — 4 Comments

Historic Clifton Mill

My son had never been to Clifton Mill, and looking for cheap things to do over Spring Break, I decided to take him there for breakfast. We had a great table overlooking the gorge and grist mill. We were one of two tables in the restaurant.

I ordered a Reuben with a cup of Vegetable Soup, and Michael ordered the Banana Walnut Pancakes. My soup was slow in coming, and rest came very soon after, too soon. The soup was not good. It was V-8 juice and frozen mixed veggies. They need to… Continue

Added by Shelly Van Kirk on March 31, 2009 at 12:19pm — 2 Comments

Are you Incentivizing?

Beneficial investments that can be made, should be made. For instance, if an ad will bring in revenue that more than pays for itself – and it can be done – it should be done. Because it’s a net positive investment. That's what business is all about.

The same applies to staff. As a business owner, right now I can say, “Supply and demand are on my side, when it comes to hiring.” But if employees only have a negative incentive, i.e. they get to keep their jobs if they work hard, the… Continue

Added by Erle Dardick on March 31, 2009 at 10:27am — 2 Comments

Non-Operator The Break Up...An Introduction

Like millions of other Americans, I recently had the pleasure of breaking up with my employer. Some call it being laid off, a reduction in force, trimming the fat, whatever you choose, it feels like the time my first girlfriend broke up with me after a whopping 3 weeks of dating.

I made a commitment, honored that commitment to it’s fullest and still, my partner, my company felt they had to “let me go”.

Now, I don’t want to sound like a jilted ex, but this is the first time… Continue

Added by Matt Smith on March 31, 2009 at 10:24am — 1 Comment

Guest Post: The Break Up

Instead of posting one of my own blogs today, I'm sharing with you one of the best blog series I've read. Matt Smith, President of The A-Game, has written "The Break Up Blog Series" and this is Part One of that series (which will soon be appearing on Talent Revolution). I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

The Break Up

Like… Continue

Added by Amanda Hite on March 31, 2009 at 6:40am — 7 Comments

Share Our Strength's 2nd Annual Great American Dine Out - Sept 20 - 26, 2009

Share Our Strength's 2nd Annual Great American Dine Out - September 20 - 26, 2009 provides flexibility for operators to participate and help end childhood hunger in America. Restaurants can create their own marketing promotion to encourage sales of specific menu items or categories and donate a percentage of sales of these items to Share Our Strength. Or you can sell apple donation cards to raise money from customers and / or create bounce back coupon offers to drive sales and donate the… Continue

Added by Sheila Bennett on March 31, 2009 at 3:05am — No Comments

FohBoh is a Social Media Hub

Social media is more than a grass-roots strategy for your business. There are tides and there are waves. Social media is definitely a big wave that you want to catch.

There are a lot of social media tools out there, to be sure. These emerging technologies may or may not be relevant for you and your business. But one thing is certain; there has never been a better time to test word of mouth advertising and customer engagement than today. It’s called joining the conversation. This is… Continue

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on March 30, 2009 at 5:29pm — 3 Comments

A Tale of Two Ovens

Well, it's been too many months since I landed in San Diego, and I'm still unemployed. Thirty years in the hospitality business is apparently too many, as I've "over-qualified" for several dozen positions during my search for a new and interesting opportunity. So I've started doing a little writing. My latest post concerns two bakeries that are going strong, despite the "R" word. I thought I'd share my musings with the gang at FOHBOH.

We’ve all heard… Continue

Added by Doug Porter on March 30, 2009 at 1:32pm — No Comments

Non-Operator Motivating the frontline $25.00 or less

Would you spend $25.00 or less to make someone feel important? If the answer is yes. Than give you frontline employees and your managers business cards. You can order a couple of hundred of them for $25.00 or less from most printers or get them on line. If you want to spend a lot less money and have a colored printer all you need to do is buy the card stock forms at the office supply store and print out a couple of sheets of cards every time you get a new employee or promote someone. (Tell them… Continue

Added by Mel Kleiman on March 30, 2009 at 1:12pm — 7 Comments

From My Window: How Would You Fix the Economy?

This was an article from a leading newspaper on Sunday. The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?" This guy came up with a cool idea...

Dear President Obama,

Patriotic retirement:

There's about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.

Pay them $1 million apiece severance with stipulations:

1) They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings -

Unemployment fixed.

2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars… Continue

Added by Michael Albert on March 30, 2009 at 11:42am — 7 Comments

Global Warming or Global Marketing?

I saw this on NRN this morning.

The World Wildlife Fund is asking individuals,…

Continue

Added by Jeff Schacher on March 30, 2009 at 8:24am — 2 Comments

Non-Operator Tweetup at NW Food Show - Portland, OR Monday 3/30/09

Tweetup at NW Food Show - Paul Paz @WaitersWorld Booth #1027 - Free prize and photo posted at FOHBOH.com!! FUN http://nwfoodserviceshow.com

Added by Paul Paz on March 30, 2009 at 5:02am — No Comments

Organic wine & food matching: Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau Vouvray and artisanal cheeses

Randy Caparoso is an award winning wine professional and journalist, living in Denver, Colorado. For a free subscription to Randy's Organic Wine Match of the Day, visit the… Continue

Added by Randy Caparoso on March 29, 2009 at 10:05pm — No Comments

3 Great and Inexpensive Ways of Finding Catering Event Business

All the restaurant Sales Event Managers I meet always ask me the same question; “how are other restaurants finding catering and private dining business?”

The real answer to that questions is that there is no silver bullet but there are ways restaurants can find leads for their event business. Here are some suggestions:

1. Put your website to work-You spent thousands of dollars for your website it is time to start getting some return for that investment. Search Engine… Continue

Added by Jonathan Morse on March 29, 2009 at 2:42pm — 3 Comments

Non-Operator The Most Powerful Weapon in the Marketing Arsenal

Now’s the time to hunker down! I’m not exactly sure what that means but I think it’s military terminology for hold on to your BVD’s or something like that. When I think of “hunker down” in the marketing world I think it’s about focusing on what you can control and not being preoccupied with what you can’t. That brings me to the most powerful tool in the marketing arsenal – Customer Service.

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to understand that it’s much more cost effective to bring a… Continue

Added by Bill Campion on March 29, 2009 at 2:11pm — 12 Comments

T. R.E. - the Preferred Tool of the Pros

As restaurant managers and owners,

everything we say or do will inevitably bond together to determine our success or failure.

This is the beginning of what I and others have referred to as, T.R.E.

"The Ripple Effect."

This mass of information can best be likened to a smooth stone clenched inside my hand. Now imagine that I purposely tossed into the water. The ripples transcend in every direction, now… Continue

Added by Bill Baumgartner on March 29, 2009 at 12:42pm — 7 Comments

Advertise For What?

Are you spending your hard-earned money on advertising to grow your business in this difficult economy? Do you expect results? Are you getting results? Is the result of your advertising increased sales and a positive attitude toward your product? It should be!

The biggest waste of money is to advertise and not be able to turn the leads into a sale. Let me give you a couple of examples that happened to me recently. I needed a dentist for an emergency. (My regular dentist was not… Continue

Added by Howard Appell on March 29, 2009 at 7:39am — 4 Comments

Create Something From Nothing

I am a Chef, but try to think like a Sales and Marketing pro. I realize the concept that “all associates must be a salesman for their company” is not new, but is it happening at your property?

Chefs are hot; they are an important component of the daily flow of mainstream media. You should be taking advantage of any opportunity to help get the word out about your restaurant.

There are many ways to create a buzz about your Hotel, Restaurant or Organization that will… Continue

Added by Chef Len Elias CEC on March 27, 2009 at 4:36pm — 2 Comments

Top Events to Attend in 2009?

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering what everyone thinks the best tradeshow and conferences are to attend from a networking standpoint for the upcoming year.

Thanks so much,
Karolyn

Added by Karolyn Hart on March 27, 2009 at 10:43am — 2 Comments