All Blog Posts Tagged 'building' (17)

What do guys…

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Understanding 10 Key Points that are at the core of the New Dynamics of Business in America is critical and nowhere are these 10 Keys more important than in the Restaurant and Hospitality industries:

1. It’s all in the Numbers!
2. For the first time, four generations are working side-by-side in America. So what?
   
   
3. Millennial or Gen Y represents a New Paradigm in Generational Thinking.
4. History…

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If you lead a company, a property, a kitchen, or a team of any size, you do not have the luxury of being “non-confrontational.”  If you are working toward a goal, that means you and your team are being stretched to perform at higher levels.  That will produce stress and expose weaknesses.  As the leader you cannot allow such stresses to keep you from achievement, and therefore you will have to…ahem…confront them.

Confrontation does not have to be a combat.  It shouldn’t be.  You can…

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What is the profit per dollar in a restaurant? Most owners and managers can't even answer this question right. And they wonder why staff isn't more careful with the business. If everyone understands this in your restaurant you will have a much different operation.

MAKE SURE THEY DO!

Whether you are a restaurant, a distributor, or a tabletop manufacturer, have you ever noticed how there’s a lot of attention focused on selling stuff – whether it’s a steak off from a menu or dinnerware from a catalog. All the attention is focused on how to get to a higher level of sales…..and, ideally, profitability. In today’s economic environment, selling stuff is hard….often very hard….to do. Many times, when the sales effort gets as intense as it is now, what gets…

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This is Part 3 in a series.  We will look at the traditional sales cycle as it relates to restaurant marketing and examine a full-scale plan to fill all the points on the cycle.  In this part we talk more

about Need Recognition and Formulating Solutions.

Need recognition and Formulating Solutions

In parts one and two of this series, we looked at the traditional sales cycle and how it relates to restaurant marketing.  My premise here…

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During my time in college I had the opportunity to work for an organization on campus called The Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy (ICDD). ICDD was created in light of the lack of civility and intolerance that takes place so often in public discourse. Working with this organization gave me a strong foundation in the belief that everyone has something to say and to offer.



People are often engaged in discussions about the issues that affect them, but sometimes they need… Continue

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?…

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What is a great work environment? Most people would mention a good relationship with supervisors and coworkers. Others would say working in a place where they look forward to starting their shift. While these things are important to the hospitality employee, their answer may be more industry specific than for other workers in different career tracks.



The hospitality industry is heavily based in a strong dedication to a pleasant environment and friendly interaction with others.… Continue

I got a call from an operator the other day in regard to his menu. He had it well under way and wanted engineering tips from me. Since that's what I do for living, I was excited at the prospect. HotOperator has been in the menu development business since the early '90's and in that time I have not ever received matrix information without a fight. In this case, the operator wanted my advice but wasn't willing to get the critical information necessary to make that happen correctly. But rather… Continue

Most of us are familiar with the 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Effect, as it is most commonly known. The 80/20 rule has been represented in business discussion as 80 percent of production comes from 20 percent of the producers for many years. More broadly the 80/20 rule has been applied to every imaginable situation in business with amazing accuracy. Reading this complex information is fairly heady stuff, not known for light content, however a little struggling makes it more understandable.… Continue

We all work in teams. Generally I’ve had great experiences with them. Everyone has unique skills and experiences that they bring to the table, thus making the outcome of all the collective efforts just grand.



However, sometimes our teams encounter ruts. I know I’m not alone here. What do we need to do to bring back that special spark? (Cue the romantic music.)



As I’ve said… Continue

The Ultimate Career Lifestyle is having a team that accepts you… blue hair and all.



Sitting at my favorite salon I decided to dye my hair blue. (Nothing permanent. Temporary. Two weeks max.) Not twitter blue, but a sexy, dark, ‘barely noticeable’ blue.



The color’s not taking. Should I take this as a sign?



Against my better judgment, I tell the stylist, “let’s try again.”

(Check ‘blue hair’ off of my bucket list. Remember, two weeks!)



Ok, so much… Continue

From district managers to dishwashers and bartenders to bussers, an open discussion of the business in Oklahoma City and surronding towns. Networking, carear building, receipe exchange or just a good story are all encouraged. Let's have some fun!

Do you remember the Christmas fiasco with the handicapped Ladies' Restroom?



You may recall that a close relative of mine, let’s call her Flo, had a terrible experience with a major downtown hotel on Christmas Day. She was not able to use the ladies’ handicapped stall; her wheelchair would not go through the doors, nor could she use the facilities without her daughter and daughter-in-law standing guard. The front desk clerk of the hotel was no help. He acted like a robot, caring… Continue

Everyone in the restaurant business is well aware of the current push for more environmentally friendly buildings, concepts, products and services. There are many instances were towns are beginning to ban future growth of drive-thrus and even the Canadian government is considering passing legislation to ban any further building of drive-thru restaurants. While everyone will agree green is good, is it affordable and convenient? How many of us in the restaurant segment are making a push to become… Continue

In yesterday's blog we discussed the importance of having a comprehensive marketing plan for your restaurant and ended by saying if you haven’t already done so, take the first step and start building a database of your customers.

Today I want to share with you how to avoid, the…

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