Featured Blog Posts – November 2009 Archive (58)

Non-Operator The 10 Keys to Great Hospitality Service

Your establishment, whether it is a restaurant, bar or a hotel, is made of bricks and mortar and this gives the customer an initial impression of what your establishment is like. But it happens too often that staff are rude, pretentious or simply not up to the task at hand. Needless to say; you won’t return!

The biggest reason for customers not returning to an establishment is due to a staff member’s attitude or… Continue

Added by Barry Chandler on November 27, 2009 at 6:00pm — 3 Comments

Non-Operator Reasons To Be Thankful

Of course, we each have many reasons to be thankful, even though you’re probably like me and don’t reflect often enough on them all. In this brief column, I only want to focus on some industry-related reasons to be thankful ... some for operators, some for consumers, and perhaps even some for investors and lenders.

Be Thankful you’re not some other industry. Yes, it’s been a tough year (or two), but -- unlike some other industries I can think of -- your customers don’t really… Continue

Added by Rod Guinn on November 27, 2009 at 3:00am — 2 Comments

Non-Operator Take the Thanksgiving Day Calorie Quiz

I hope that everyone is enjoying a nice relaxing day off and enjoying some good traditional Thanksgiving Day fare. In the spirit of Thanksgiving (and days off) I am going to take a break from business (yes, again for any of you who caught my Top 10 list a couple weeks ago) and have some fun.

Below, I have listed the descriptions of eight different Thanksgiving Day must haves, some home-made from… Continue

Added by Alyson Mar, RD on November 26, 2009 at 7:00am — No Comments

Non-Operator Consistency In A World Gone Mad

A few years ago, Beamish Irish Stout had a slogan on their advertisements that read: “Consistency In A World Gone Mad”.

The idea being that you would always get what you expected with Beamish. You knew what was coming! I was reminded of this slogan this morning as I had my breakfast. A couple of times a week I grab my breakfast at a local breakfast diner, one of a mid size… Continue

Added by Barry Chandler on November 25, 2009 at 8:14pm — 1 Comment

Happy Thanksgiving from FohBoh | Let's create some jobs

Image by ~MVI~ via Flickr

Has it really been a year since I gathered with my family and friends for a day of dining and relaxation? Amazing. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Seemingly easy… Continue

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on November 25, 2009 at 10:37am — No Comments

Operator How to Pick a Sales Rep

Do you pick your sales rep? If you’re like most people, you just take whichever salesman walks through the door when your looking for a vendor. Seems OK, right? Well, let me ask you this, would you place a help wanted ad in the paper and then just hire who ever walked in your door from the ad? Of course you wouldn't!

Your sales rep makes his living off commissions from your purchases, so in essence, he works for you and you should pick a rep just as you would an… Continue

Added by beingthechef on November 25, 2009 at 9:57am — 1 Comment

Non-Operator Simplify Your Life: Reduce Your Restaurant Menu Items

In these times of economic uncertainty, it is easy to get lost in trying to do many things all at once. A good example is restaurateurs trying to manage their inventories, their staff, their operations, their books, their sales, their marketing, and so on.

Do you know anybody like that? I thought so.

This is the first of a series of blogs covering simplification. You need to simplify your life and focus on just a few basic core competences to make your… Continue

Added by Jose L Riesco on November 25, 2009 at 4:00am — 1 Comment

One thing to be thankful for this week - not getting arrested!

You never know what's going to happen next when you go looking for a good story. Take my interview today with the owner of a small, growing pizza chain in Boston.

I arrived at the restaurant, in a food court, and began looking for the unit. Found it and whipped out my digital camera and took a shot. Almost immediately I was approached by a security guard who told me I was not allowed to take pictures in the building without "management permission." I could only take pictures if they… Continue

Added by susan holaday on November 24, 2009 at 1:54pm — 20 Comments

Build a TEAM to build your Restaurant

So you’ve finally made the decision to build/remodel your restaurant. What comes next?

I know you’re thinking all you need to do is hire an architect or a designer and that’s it, right? Well, it’s not quite so simple. You need to build a TEAM to build your restaurant. By spending the time and energy in the beginning to build the right team you can save a lot of time and money in the end. We all want to save money, don’t we?…

Continue

Added by Christine van Rooy on November 24, 2009 at 5:30am — 2 Comments

Non-Operator Change.......

Recently an industry analyst at Goldman Sachs by the name of Steven Kron estimated that the restaurant industry especially casual dining was so over built that in order to for the laws of supply and demand to regain equilibrium that roughly 8% of the current restaurants now open need to close. That equates to 12,000! 12,000. That almost takes your breath away.

If you look at the restaurant industry and what is going on you will see that the main stream casual dining segment is… Continue

Added by Jerry A. Heilpern, CFBE, FMP on November 23, 2009 at 8:09am — 5 Comments

Non-Operator How Sweet It Is

“Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good?” Brown Sugar The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971)

Loathe as I am to prognosticate on such matters, (I prefer to leave such things to the experts like Nostradamus and Miss Cleo – besides if I really was good at it, I would be picking winning lottery numbers), I believe I have foreseen the next micro trend in food service. Call it “Culinary Intuition”. Its so cutting edge, so micro, a search of… Continue

Added by Mathew Mandeltort on November 23, 2009 at 3:00am — No Comments

Non-Operator "Students Arrested for Not Paying Tip" - Automatic Gratuties

Is this going too far?

Check the article below about customers refusing to pay an autmatic gratuity (posted on the menu) because the service was unsatisfactory.

If I set a mandatory gratuity of 18% then I cap my potential of 25% or more that I can earn with extraordinary service.

The mandatory gratuity/seervice charge is nothing more than a formal statement of entitlement!

What do you think?

Paul

Students Arrested… Continue

Added by Paul Paz on November 22, 2009 at 1:02pm — 5 Comments

Non-Operator I Am Your Guest. Don’t Forget That

This Guest Charter is worth reading and remembering. As business owners and managers we need to remember the reason for being in business: The Guest

You often accuse me of carrying a chip on my shoulder, but I suspect this is because you do not entirely understand me. Isn’t it normal to expect satisfaction for one’s money spent? Ignore my wants and I will no longer appear in your restaurant. Satisfy those wants and I will become… Continue

Added by Barry Chandler on November 19, 2009 at 11:19pm — 1 Comment

What is a Guest?

WHAT IS A GUEST?

Never underestimate his/her importance!!! A GUEST:

Is the most important person at our place of business.

Is not dependant on us...we are dependent on him.

Is not an interruption of our work...he is the purpose of it.

Favors us with his presence...we are not doing him a favor by serving him.

Is the essential part of our business...without him we do not exist.

Comes to us with their needs... and we must provide and anticipate their… Continue

Added by Food on Film on November 19, 2009 at 9:06pm — No Comments

From My Window: Seafood that's good for You and good for the OCEAN

If you are preparing seafood, this brief post is well worth reading.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_health.aspx

Monterey Bay Aquarium lists 14 Fish & other Seafood "Super Foods".

Added by Michael Albert on November 18, 2009 at 9:24am — 9 Comments

You say you want a ReFOHlution?

I am a professional food server who wants to shake things up in this industry. I want to light a fire inside each and every person who wears a service apron. I want to connect with other servers and feel supported by a vibrant community.

I crave a network that reflects my values, and I know I'm not alone.

I want to meet other servers who are serious about their craft, and are willing to participate in a network of empowered professionals. I want to lift the… Continue

Added by Michael Biesemeyer on November 18, 2009 at 12:30am — 5 Comments

Non-Operator I Thought Restaurant Chains Understood Cost Control

Burger King franchisees, who are suing their franchisor over a $1 double cheeseburger promotion, say they are losing 10 cents or more per sandwich and are challenging the parent company’s ability to set prices.

The chain’s National Franchisee Association in Atlanta, Ga., which represents about 80 percent, or 5,200 locations, of Burger King’s U.S. franchise base, filed a suit this week in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of… Continue

Added by Barry Chandler on November 17, 2009 at 11:11pm — 1 Comment

Re-engaging Old Customers

Four hundred and twenty-eight. That’s how many pages of members FohBoh has as of today. Every once in a while I float though the older pages checking in on some of those early adopters that found FohBoh when we had 10 blogs, 3 photos, a video and 5 discussions, and not much else. I poke them, say hi and encourage them to wonder back once in a while to take a look, meet new members and join the conversation, again. It’s good to do that. Poke people who were once a regular, now not so… Continue

Added by Michael L. Atkinson on November 17, 2009 at 6:08pm — 2 Comments

Non-Operator Attracting New Guests...One of Those "Gotta Do's"

The necessity of attracting new guests into a restaurant is usually one of those things taken as a given...you just gotta do it.

That's true...you gotta do it...but sometimes it's worth thinking about both the upside and the downside of new guest attraction.

Here's the upside: Each new guest that happens to walk into your location has a real "future potential" dollar value. If you can convince them to come back multiple times into the future, then the "future potential"… Continue

Added by Rod Brant on November 17, 2009 at 1:26pm — 7 Comments

Finding A Job: Advice From a 7-Year Old with First Hand Experience.

In the past year, Conner, age 7, has found both of his parents laid off and looking for jobs. In this video, he lays down some advice of his own for job seekers. While there are a lot of so-called "Career Experts" on the market, I bet none of them are offering this simple perspective from an optimistic kid whose personal UCL and passion are hanging out with his puppy Samson...

Have you been laid off and had to talk to your kids about it?

What did you… Continue

Added by Amanda Hite on November 17, 2009 at 6:54am — No Comments