Featured Blog Posts – August 2010 Archive (45)

Operator Marketing Meltdown: The Week That Wasn’t

There comes a time, particularly towards the end of the summer, when you just don’t care anymore. I’m not saying that in a bad way or in a “goodbye cruel world” tone but, rather an “it’s the end of the summer, no one is around/it’s about to get really busy/I need to step back and recharge” kind of way.

Not such a bad thing really.

It’s one of those weeks where the weather was gorgeous yet I was stuck indoors, at a…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on August 31, 2010 at 8:30pm — 6 Comments

Fear Not the Tweetup

Imagine a crowd of antsy, tech-hungry customers pouring into your restaurant. Imagine check-ins happening one right after another, tweets bouncing around like ping pong balls, and texts being volleyed back and forth mercilessly. This crowd is starved for human affection, interaction, and are just happy to see the light of day...

Okay, hold on, take a deep breath. Fear not -- Tweetups are your friend.

I laughed at this definition…

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Added by Josh Hersh on August 30, 2010 at 10:00pm — 2 Comments

Remembering Katrina

It's hard to believe it's been five years. I trend to mark the calendar each year, and have since my wife Kim and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in a Mash-style restaurant build as part of the relief effort at Pass Christian. It was like being in a war zone. Boats and cars in trees. Houses blocks from where their foundations were. A bank vault alone, without a bank. It was a life changing experience. This was a 10 days reality check and we all changed. One can't go through… Continue

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on August 30, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments

DAWG Talk: Prideful Negotiation

It’s back to school time in our household. This is the time of year when we focus on a fresh start - new learning, new friends, new teachers, and, of course, new clothes. I could never imagine how fast kids grow. The marks on the wall behind their doors show my kids have grown 2 full inches taller, each, in the last 4 months. While they are 2 years apart in age, they are within 5 pounds of one another.

So, last week, we prepared ourselves for what was in store. First, we… Continue

Added by David Rose on August 29, 2010 at 1:22pm — 2 Comments

Non-Operator I Guess They Didn’t Get the Memo or Did They?

My 17 year old thinks I’m a bit over the top when I’m evaluating customer service and he’s probably right. However in these two situations I’m about to describe you tell me if my perspective is in line or out of whack.…

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Added by Bill Campion on August 28, 2010 at 6:00am — 7 Comments

Non-Operator Case Studies – How Real Businesses are Benefiting from Nutrition Facts

There have been a few studies that have looked at the affects of menu labeling/nutrition information disclosure in restaurants. Most of them, not surprisingly have had very modest results. But I have been reading about some restaurants that have seen some pretty impressive changes in sales and diner ordering habits. I thought I’d share some with you:

Le Pain Quotidien…

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Added by Alyson Mar, RD on August 25, 2010 at 7:00pm — 3 Comments

Non-Operator You Gotta Be a Dork Before You Can Be Cool

You know how there are just certain “rules” in life? Like you can’t have 20”1 biceps unless you workout or you can’t control the weather? There’s no denying that you can’t be cool unless you are a dork first. I know the ladies might disagree but George Clooney was a dork at some point in his life. Nobody is exempt from this…

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Added by Bill Campion on August 25, 2010 at 3:06am — 10 Comments

Does your gift card program break the new federal law implemented as the CARD Act?

On Sunday, August 22^nd, the new federal gift card law (often referred to as the "CARD Act")went into effect. If you know about this at all, you are in the minority. A simple web search will turn up short outlines for how the law affects consumers or holders of gift cards, but almost nothing to help independent restaurants without their own general counsel,…

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Added by Seth Gardenswartz on August 24, 2010 at 10:03am — No Comments

Operator - Chef Top 10 Reasons to Support Organic in the 21st Century

1. Reduce The Toxic Load: Keep Chemicals Out of the Air, Water, Soil and our Bodies

Buying organic food promotes a less toxic environment for all living things. With only 0.5 percent of crop and pasture land in organic, according to USDA that leaves 99.5 percent of farm acres in the U.S. at risk of exposure to noxious agricultural chemicals.

Our bodies are the environment so supporting organic agriculture doesn’t just benefit your family, it helps… Continue

Added by Marcus Guiliano on August 23, 2010 at 11:00am — No Comments

Non-Operator Taking Back Our Power!

On July 4, 1776 the founders of our country signed their names to the Declaration of Independence. This document became the foundation for uniting the many states of America. Our forefathers had the insight to write a very powerful document. The second paragraph clearly states: ” We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among them these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of… Continue

Added by Kathleen Wood on August 23, 2010 at 1:00am — 4 Comments

Refined Foodie/Pop Culture Foodie...And Everything in Between

For awhile I had been reluctant to call myself a foodie. I'm not sure where this came from, but I always thought of a foodie as someone with a "refined taste" for "fancy" food. You know -- those upscale restaurant-goers and abrasive critics.

It sort of reminds me of the question you were asked in literature class in high school or college: Are you more into high culture (literature and classics) or pop culture (Twilight, anyone?). It all speaks of that created…

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Added by Josh Hersh on August 20, 2010 at 9:30am — 6 Comments

Attention All Servers - Do You Give Your Guests the Service They Really Want?

Here's a newsflash for servers. Your job is to do more than make drinks and take orders. You are here to "serve" your guests. They don't just come to your restaurant to eat - they come for the experience.…

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Added by Amanda Brandon on August 20, 2010 at 7:40am — 4 Comments

Operator - Chef The Best Shrimp | The Worst Shrimp

Here is a followup video to my last video titled How to Buy Sustainable Seafood | Bycatch and Trawling method of Fishing. If you like shrimp then this is a must watch video. Shrimp is one of the worst when it comes to bycatch and habitat destruction. But there are better choices if you want to eat… Continue

Added by Marcus Guiliano on August 19, 2010 at 7:00pm — No Comments

Rubber Floor Mats are a Toxic Problem For The Environment!

Have you ever seen a rubber tire dump? Well it isn't pretty! The same goes for rubber floor mats only worse! Once you put the mats into a dishwasher to be cleaned ( If they fit?) the mats fall apart. They also are a mess to clean outside. Zahler Enterprises L.L.C. has come out with a new kitchen and bar floor mat made to be washed in a janitor sink or dishwasher. Will not brake down in a dishwasher! Which also makes the new mats not break down in land fills. Guiding all the grease…

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Added by Todd Zahler on August 19, 2010 at 11:26am — No Comments

Non-Operator Short term action could mean long term results

One area that everyone will be familiar with here on FohBoh is of course the platform of this website, social media tools. I have been working very closely with many independent restaurants recently and I am finding that nearly all of these companies are underutilizing the social tools that are available to them. As much as I tell them that they need to try and get involved with these technologies I dont believe they realize that this is not going to yield results immediately,…

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Added by Joel Lazeski on August 18, 2010 at 11:47am — 1 Comment

Commitment

It's what we all want. It's what we all need. It's what drives achievement and connects the dots to success. Commitment is dedication and in business, without it, you are dead in the water. Three years ago this October, I committed my full time and a fair amount of resources to create FohBoh. My goal was and still is, to connect all industry stakeholders so we can be a stronger, more successful industry. Shared experiences, collaborative thinking, collective intelligence. Powerful stuff.…

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Added by Michael L. Atkinson on August 18, 2010 at 8:39am — 3 Comments

Operator Random Acts of Awesomeness! Leveraging Your WOW Factor in the Eyes of Your Guests

When you wake up in the morning do you ever have the urge to just step out into the community and do something good? You know something along the lines of delivering sandwiches to those in need or running around and giving hugs to store employees who put in a solid days work?

Well if you have, then you are one step ahead of your competition in amplifying your community “WOW Factor”! A lot of restaurants want to get out there and do “stuff” that make them look like they “get it” but… Continue

Added by Ty Sullivan on August 17, 2010 at 9:00pm — 6 Comments

Tweet Button: Help Your Customers Become Advocates

With over 500 million users, Facebook is the Goliath of social media networks. We're now accustomed to being able to share and "like" articles via Facebook on websites all across the Interwebs. Although Twitter is smaller, it's growing rapidly and jumped onto the bandwagon of integrating itself to make sharing easier.

If your restaurant is on Twitter,…

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Added by Josh Hersh on August 17, 2010 at 8:14am — No Comments

Operator - Chef How to Buy Sustainable Seafood | Bycatch and Trawling method of Fishing

All fish are not created equal. For example the price difference of $3 a lb for Mahi Mahi is well justified if it is handline caught. The catch method can make a big difference in the over catch. If I have learned one thing over my career as a professional chef it is that you need to pay more. When you pay less you will end up paying more in the long run. This is so true for seafood. Good seafood will cost… Continue

Added by Marcus Guiliano on August 15, 2010 at 7:00pm — No Comments

DAWG Talk: The Ebb and Flow of Recruiting

Over the years, recruiters have done some pretty wild and crazy (and smart) things to identify talent. Market conditions have factored into the recruitment channel used, as well as the number of resources dedicated to each channel.

When talent is scarce, recruiters identify candidates through a variety of recruitment channels and campaigns. Open houses, traditional and social media, billboards, airplane banners, community and diversity networks, and referral programs are… Continue

Added by David Rose on August 15, 2010 at 3:12pm — No Comments