Create Fans

Restaurant Systems

My sons girlfriend works at a fast food Italian restaurant (do I need to say which concept this is) She is a long

Restaurant Training Systems

time employee that means over 6 months in the industry. She has actually worked there for over 18 months. I will call KT, now KT you would think should be considered a valuable employee She is the number 1 employee. Well She is being treated like number 2 (shit). Have you ever had a manager let another employee change the schedule without contacting both employees. Well this dip shit allowed this exact scenario to happen and put KT into a closing shift. Now KT is a Senior in High School Runs Cross Country, Track and works to pay for her own expenses, clothes etc. The result was a closing shift, tons of homework and an upcoming race in 2 days. The guilty employee received no performance counseling and the stupid manager reply, oh uh sorry?

If you work for a spineless manager quit. He/she does not deserve the number 1 employees in the industry, find the employer of choice!!!!

Restaurant Employees

KT is putting in her two weeks notice unfortunately not until after she finds another job.Chain management realty the reality for restaurant chains is they tell the restaurant managers to promote within, they tell the managers to reduce turnover, they tell managers this builds guest loyalty, creates Raving Fans, they tell managers that long term employees are good business, they help build repeat businesses. Makes sense doesn”t it?

Is it true? yes it is.
So then why do the chain restaurant compensation systems penalize the restaurant managers bonus by having vacation pay and employee benefits reducing their take home bonus? Good question Ask your managers how does your benefits affect there bonus. You will now know the companies true philosophy. Do not be afraid to GTFO and better your self you are number 1 only work for people that agree..

REVERVICE

Applaud Revolutionary Restaurant Service Ideas

They don’t give a ding-dang if water is by request only, as long as nobody is wasting the valuable time they could be spending on bitching about how little they’re making to anyone who’ll listen.  These are the very same knuckleheads that will be the first to complain about how the guests are getting so cheap about tipping next month.  The boss is betting that the savings will translate into about $21.57 in additional bonus for himself too.

Stupid Management

Who do they think they are – members of congress?

Those that aren’t so short-sighted, the better restaurant owners,  servers and managers, will recognize that they’ve lost opportunities to convince the guest that there indeed is restaurant service at all, and another chance to show an “exceed the guest’s expectations” mentality resides in their place of business. The guest is smarter than you think (I know, hard to believe, isn’t it?).

Oh, by The Way, Nice Numbers Last Month.

1. -Review any policies that have been changed over the past year that resulted in a reduction of service and reverse them.  What have the guests complained about that they miss?  Re-instituting them will make you a HERO!
2. -Go on offense!  Barring any unaffordable added expenses, field suggestions to improve or upgrade the perceived service in your establishment.  Make as big of a deal as you can.  Drawing attention to say, for example, “ Umbrella escorts to your car on rainy days!”, when everyone else is sending the extra cashier/seater/greeter home early will cement your business as one that really cares about their guests, even AFTER you’ve taken their money.
3. -If you’ve ever considered adding Valet Service or a Coat Check, NOW is the time to do it!
4. -On slower days, have the crew polish the silver or glassware, even if it’s not common for your style of restaurant to do so.
5. -Place an increased effort on cleanliness, especially in the restrooms.  This is where you will stand out against the competition.  Their labor savings will show up there first.  Inspect the work that you have done in there, and DEMAND perfection.  Initially, it will take them more labor dollars to get it done right, but believe me – they won’t want to spend any more time in there than they have to, and will find a way to git ‘r done in the same amount of time as before.
6. -Don’t skimp on birthday or anniversary cakes or singing.  This would KILL you special occasion business.
7. -If you have linen napkins, research and implement a more intricate fold.  Impressive!
8. -Water service – if you automatically serve it, continue to do so.  If it is by request only, have your servers do the requesting for the guest by graciously offering it.  “May I bring water for everyone?” increases the perceived amount of service by drawing attention to the effort! Don’t make them ask for it – it’s a HUGE difference.
9. -Do not cut back on the tablewares that you set your tables with.  What would not setting that extra fork, spoon or wine glass really save you?  Bringing it only when it is needed is cheesy, and takes away from the WOW factor of your tabletop.  A wine glass on your table actually increases sales – try it.

Creating Raving Fans

“A Raving Fan, Means That Your Business Owns That Customer”…

..that customer will not buy from any of your competitors. This book like other Ken Blanchard classics is written in a story form Mr. Blanchard also uses several real businesses examples that have actually created real raving fans. If these companies have created raving fans then it must be possible right? In 22 years working the restaurant industry sometimes it seemed it was all I could do to manage the ranting fans let alone feeling that any effort applied to the corporate management program of the month would be successful. I was confident that it surely would be forgotten within the next couple of months. Then we could just get back to business as usual. I’ll admit ranting is sometimes much more fun then raving, however how much nicer would your work environment be if we all heard a few more raves throughout the day from our employees and customers?

Employees well honestly this truly was the reason that drew me to building e-commerce businesses. The fact that you are in total control, you decide how you operate your business, who you do business with and what you get in return from your customers.

The main point that Mr. Blanchard makes in the creation of Raving Fans

“…That customer satisfaction is not enough, actual service is so bad in our society that people expect mediocrity.”

For instance in my former industry guests have come to expect a non-attentive hostess, a sign that says please wait to be seated, food that is served warm and bathrooms that are dirty. Sounds like your favorite restaurant? What would you change if you owned your favorite restaurant? What kind of experience do you want to create for your customers that visit your web site? Yes you are in control

When you own your own business you control your thoughts and behaviors, you do not need to work with employees that may have negative attitudes, attitudes such as these I am to busy, that is not my job, that is not my section. Mr. Blanchard expands upon this concept when he wrote this customers only comeback because their expectations are so low, not because they are satisfied with your product or service.” We assume they are satisfied because they do not complain. Most people hate confrontation, they will just not come back. These theories have been preached for years from all of the gurus, yet the level of service continues on its steady decline. No, I do not have studies of customer satisfaction I have my own over observant self to notice these trends.

Creating a raving fan is a multi-step process…

Creating raving fans requires 3 steps.

1. First you have to identify what you want to create and

2. then model your vision for your business

3. Then implement your vision in 1% increments

Yes that means you need to set goals for your business, then and only then can you create the business of your dreams. The second secret is to create a vision of perfection centered on the customer. Sounds like a no-brainer however finding out what each and every customer needs and wants is not so easy, once identified then begin to deliver that raving fan service. Third is the rule of 1%. That means you improve 1% at a time until you create raving fan service. Then go 1% beyond that service.

All successful businesses offline and online have three things in common

1. .systems,

2. accountabilities,

3. 3.training/continuous education.

The systems are the guidelines for the basic required service standard that is acceptable to create raving fan service. The accountabilities are how you inspect what you expect, the training is just that, relevant focused, targeted. It is necessary to apply the other two requirements.

Ken Blanchard also identifies two very important barriers to creating Raving Fans. These barriers I have witnesses not only in a corporate environment but also surprisingly in small mom and pop business. They are relevant to your ecommerce business, if you have employees, and act as a great reminder for managing the growth of your business.

The first barrier is described in this quote from Ken Blanchard

“most customer service hopes have been wrecked on the rigid shoes of immobile bureaucratic minds with in the corporate structure.”

This means the new CFO, COO, Vice President, or who ever the company just hired has to justify his high rate of pay. Thus 86ing most start up efforts based upon short term maximum bottom line improvement. Yes the customer gets shorted for the sake of the investor/owner. This sounds logical and is normal management philosophy right. I myself have been there done that. I applied the same justification and strategy to fixing broken restaurants. Yes this philosophy does create a conflict between doing what is necessary to create raving fans and the short term return on investment for the share holder. Again making the case for beginning and running your own ecommerce business eliminates the levels of managers that would kill you ideas. By eliminating these barriers you will have more opportunity to find and create more raving fans. However if you decide to contiue on with the crazy life of restaurant owner then remember this advice. Successful restaurants implemt the three step restaurant training program.

Train From the Start

Train Often

Train Always

The movie Ratatouille was just released and as always My wife had to run out and buy it asap. No, I do not mind, these new Disney/Pixar movies are great to occupy my children’’s attention for sometimes days. Ok this got my attention also. I do recommend the movie it reminds us why we gravitated to the industry to

cheers factor Restaurant marketing

begin with. The story went through the regular I am an oddball of my clan scenario, (we know, this story line, we are all cut from this cloth). I don”t want to analyse the socio-economic position of the characters but lets just say they are close to the bottom of the food chain. Sound familiar? The movie does a nice job revealing the snobbery and stupidity of the so called up and coming elites in the business. This include the negative bullshit tossed around by these so-called critics. Just like sports writers that have never played the sports they criticize. The Hospitality Industry has seemingly gone to far from its roots. It seems it is no longer about the food, it is about the marketing, customer loyalty, butt’’s in seats, repeat visits, check averages, add-ons, up-selling, bounce back coupons, larger portions, unlimited refills of flavored sugar, overpriced water, and deserts the size of Rhode Island, ticket times, cross-utilization, answer the phone on the third ring or talk to the guests, table touches, guest visits, screwing managers on their bonuses, work harder do more! (sorry, corporate food came up on me again). Chain food serves a purpose and serves a market that is necessary. But the true foodies that ones that work in the industry for the love of wowing people with their artistic creations is hopefully growing. I at this time only remember a few of them they seem tireless, motivated and some how they keep getting better. They will never have an article written about them in Gourmet, Food & Wine or Food & Art magazine. These select few work in a “secondary market” That is chain speak for fewer people. It seems that I have gotten off of the topic of Ratatouille, the wonderful movie from Pixar Studios. With the number of operating food service outlets topping 900,000 it seems the growth is not stopping. So why is this a bad thing? Many of us started in the industry in a Mom and Pop restaurant that amplified the so called “Cheers Factor”. They were small homey quaint environments where all of the customers become a kind of family, a simple concept but hard to create. Ratatouille pulled off the feeling. The stress, pressure and cost of conceptualizing, building and designing the next Olive Garden concepts drives thousands of entrepreneurs into the industry annually. Yet they always seem to forget one thing. It is about the food and beverage, not the franchise deal. “Gusteau’’s” ( the restaurant in the movie) survives the onslaught of corporatization from a talentless chef that once worked for the famed Chef Gusteau. The genius behind the cookbook entitled “Anyone can Cook”. I have seen amazing creations from the most unsuspecting sources proving Chef Gusteau’’s theory. The restaurant industry has become to complex it is no longer about the food. I hope you keep searching I know I will, let us know when you find your “la Ratatouille” in your town.