All Blog Posts Tagged 'services' (12)

As the saying goes, "Everything in moderation", is the best rule of thumb to live by.  Believe it or not, the same holds true for your restaurant's marketing efforts as well. Although, it's not for the exact same reasons you would imagine.

Running a restaurant can be grueling, to say the least.  Whether you are a manager, marketing manager, owner, or…

Continue

Just read about the social marketing snafu with McDonalds and the high-j****** of the #McDStories hashtag by an audience that was, well, less than flattering to the brand image.  Over at BusinessInsider.com, Gus Lubin reported on it and discussed the response from Rick Wion, their social media director - here's my take on it.…

Continue

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…

Continue

Copyright 2011 by Jim Sullivan

I recently had lunch with Tim Kirkland, the best-selling author of The Renegade Server (2009, Indian Creek Press, $19.95). If you haven’t read the book—a 21st Century treatise on how to motivate, inspire and direct iPod Generation waitstaff to better serve and sell—I highly recommend it.

Our conversation centered not on servers, but on the current state of—and frustrating lack of progress in—foodservice training. We…

Continue

Catching up on topics from past blogs and recent news ...

 

UCLA Restaurant Conference: I mentioned some weeks ago that I had served on the planning committee for this conference,…

Continue

Have you noticed today's mobile phone is less about phone calls and more about apps, tools and the “experience”. Take for example the restaurant and hospitality industry. Today’s mobile phone is now a restaurant coaster pager, a mobile coupon generator, restaurant review portal, and a geo-locating

device that provides guests directions right to your restaurant.

I was walking down Broadway in NYC last Wednesday and couldn’t get over how…

Continue

There is an unbelievable amount of activity in the bagel shop recently. We’ve had several break downs of equipment so I haven’t made the time to sit and write. I’ve been out and about big time, from the roof to inside the oven. No joke. I wish I took a picture from the roof. I do not want to go back up:)



Steve, from…

Continue

I received an alarming call last week; the message left informed me that my business “must not be doing very well.” Wow, that might have been a scary message except for the fact that things are going great.



So who left this message for me? My bank, a disgruntled business that was not happy with my service, or a competitor who was trying to ruffle my feathers? The answer is; none of the above. Instead, I was shocked to find out it was a vendor whom I hadn’t spoken with in a few… Continue

Interchange & Access Fee changes are coming and restaurants with small ticket sales will experience a greater impact from these changes.



While minor adjustments have been made to the Interchange fees that issuing banks earn; the real story this spring are changes to fees earned by MasterCard and Visa. Beginning in April 2009, MasterCard will increase its Acquirer Access Fee for processing by 270% by raising this per transaction fee from $0.005 to $0.0185. In June 2009, Visa will… Continue

I’ve posted a new photo. That’s me at Keeneland’s thoroughbred racetrack in Lexington, KY enjoying the spring meet. I’ve really grown fond of handicapping the races. It is interesting to watch the “market” at work with the odds changing on the large digital display right up to post time based on the number of last minute bets coming in on a particular horse.



Inspired by the market dynamics at play in handicapping a horserace and the growth of niche social sites like FohBoh, I’ve… Continue

I'm getting into this Fohboh thing and jumping in with 2 feet today by making the bold play of starting a new group. Hopefully you old timers won't object to a newbie like me mixing it up in here!



My company gives restaurants the tools they need to build and maintain their own website. Hopefully this is a winning business strategy, but we've just started and are hopeful to learn a lot from other Fohboh'ers. That's why I created a new group to discuss restaurant websites- so we can… Continue

What Goes On When You’re Not at Work?

Workforce Performance…

Continue