All Blog Posts Tagged 'restaurants' (201)

Strolling along a country path with a meditative mind, I observed how many different colors canvassed the landscape I tread upon.  As I listened to the sounds of the earth and watched the falcon soaring trough the winds strategically above me, I stumbled upon a young pensive man sitting on the pier ahead.

With his feet dangling from the worn fishing pier, his toes simply…

John Wanamaker said it to illustrate how difficult it is to reach potential customers using traditional advertising: "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half." 

What I think he was looking for was Closed-Loop Marketing, but the idea was not presented…

The following is an actual transcript of a cassette tape that was discovered in the basement of a warehouse to a long gone company called K-Tel Records that produced “greatest hit” compilations from the 70’s through the late 80’s.

The date on the tape is labeled 1989 and the handwritten black marker…

Facebook is rolling out a ton of new stuff and what it'll mean to you is pretty well lined out in a post by Jesse Stanchuk at SmartBriefs. (let me know if you need the link - FohBoh has told me that they do not allow posting links - how social is that?)

In the post Jesse says -

• This will happen again.
• This is an opportunity.
• This kind of user outrage happens every time.
• This will happen to you, too.

It's a good perspective that…

I believe that everyone should work as a waiter at one point in their life.

Not because the money is pretty darn good or because you get one shift drink that can turn into two or three if you are good chums with the bartender. Rather, they should become a waiter to learn the true value of great customer service and its rewards.

It worked for me and I can say, with no…

A show of hands if you are happy swimsuit season is just about over. You're not the only one!

As the restaurant daily deal sphere drones on, I can't help but compare them to a "get skinny fast" method that people use to drop a few pounds before hitting the beach. Sure, you can probably shed a pound or two by drinking a strange, green liquid and starving yourself for 72 hours. By the third day, you'll be running toward a bakery fast than Kirstie Alley can say "Jenny…

I’m going to mention four sitcoms and I want you to close your eyes and try to remember each ones theme song. It doesn’t matter if you remember just the tune or some of the lyrics. Just see how you do:

Cheers…

Steakhouse Conundrum: Improved Sales v. Higher Costs

We are impressed that many steak centric related restaurant concepts same store sales trends have outperformed other chain restaurant concept same store sales trends lately. But beef costs have also risen from 2009/2010 levels. This is reverse of the position in 2009 when sales were plunging and protein costs also fell from the then historic 2007/2008 highs. However, after declines in 2007 through the…

Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And…

I come from an Italian family.  Those of you familiar with Italian tradition, know sharing a meal tops the list.  Growing up, no matter what aunt, uncle or cousin we’d visit there always seemed to be an excuse to eat.  Didn’t matter the time of day, whether you had just finished a meal elsewhere or if you didn’t like what was being served you always had to “mange” which of course is Italian for eat.  I was always relatively skinny as a kid so my aunts…

I think it’s safe to say that we can all remember what it was like seeing Star Wars for the very first time. The image of the opening credits cascading at the opening, the Imperial ship coming from the corner of screen then stepping into the Cantina Bar to a world of far out aliens and a groovy jazz beat.

But can I share with you one of the oddest things that stuck with me about that film…

I believe that everyone should work as a waiter at one point in their life.

Not because the money is pretty darn good or because you get one shift drink that can turn into two or three if you are good chums with the bartender. Rather, they should become a waiter to learn the true value of great customer service and its rewards.

It worked for me and I can say, with no ego but…

Remember when “shifting paradigms” was the buzz phrase back in the 90’s?  It became “marketing speak” and just like any great phrase it got used and abused and eventually lost its meaning.  I’m bringing it back for this blog because quite honestly I can’t think of a better way to communicate my point. 

Shifting a paradigm is described by Wikipedia as follows:

 …

I often ask myself, why are you obsessed with Chick-Fil-A? Maybe it’s their waffle fries, or tasty breakfast options? Maybe the incredible customer service is to blame. Maybe it’s that the nearest location to me is hours away, and we all know absence makes the heart grow fonder. In the end I tend to blame it on the Polynesian sauce.   …

YUM’s announcement last week of the acquisition of the 415 unit Little Sheep hot pot chain was not a surprise. YUM had invested via a minority stake earlier, and its earnings model more and more depends on China feeding its China operations.

 The YUM acquisition is estimated at $585M (US$), or about 8.5X 2011 projected EBITDA. Little Sheep had doubled its EBITDA since 2008.

 Little Sheep went public on the Hong Kong Exchange in June 2008 and we now have some…

Last year California passed a law (SB 602) that several other states already have: the requirement of all restaurant employees to obtain a California Food Handler Card. The law is designed to ensure that restaurant employees receive a reasonable level of training in food safety practices to reduce the potential for food borne illness.

While not much has been publicized about the passing of this law, the deadline for employees to obtain these cards is coming upon us quickly.…

Love, LOVE, love - (or at least strongly like) coming across data like that posted in the 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Review from the really smart people at Social Media Examiner. 

In it they cover so many things that online marketers should know.  We've highlighted about 9 of…

Social media is a force of change that is evolving how we work in the marketing suite. When I founded FohBoh 40 months ago as a restaurant social network, social media was a foreign language. Now, it is almost a language in it of itself with "experts and everything.” As with any profession, there are those more skilled than others, disparate philosophies, even early best practices based on varying levels of experience. I don’t believe any one possesses the dominant view,…

Recently I was having a conversation with my son who just happens to be a server.  He’s been serving for 3 or 4 years and has experienced decent success (enough to live on his own, pay his bills and enjoy a few beers with his friends now and then).  Because I have a passion for customer service and for my son’s success, I was interested in…