This is a common occurence at many restaurants: They start out strong, and then somewhere along the line they drop the ball and don’t see it out the door. It is important that if restaurants want to succeed, they figure this out and finish the job. So many times I have eaten out, had a wonderful time,…
Category: Portland Restaurants
A Good Restaurant
Even though I am often accused of being too critical of my dining experiences, I do have fun eating out. In fact, just about my only requirement for having a good time eating out is friendly service without any attitude. Come to think of it, it is impossible to have friendly service if there is…
Take Care of your Staff
It’s an old saying, but take care of your employees and they will take care of you. You want to get customers in and coming back? Make an effort to make your staff a happy one. It starts with you. You can be that boss who stays in the office, never engages the employees, OR you…
The Budget
I can’t tell you how important it is to have a budget if you want to run a successful restaurant—or any other business for that matter. Now, having said that, you would be amazed at the number of restaurants that don’t. I have had clients ask me to help them with their restaurant, and the first…
Coupons and Gift Certificates
A few weeks ago, I was out of town with my wife, staying at a friend’s house. I thought it was very nice of this friend to allow us to stay there–I have a reputation for being a difficult house guest–and wanted to take her out to dinner as a thank you for her hospitality. Sometime before this…
A Fresh Look
There are many reasons why restaurants usually have what I call a shelf life. They, if they are successful, often outlive their usefulness. I think it would be unfair of me to say that they stopped caring. That really isn’t it. But, somewhere along the line, they stopped paying attention. They are so use to…
That’s Our Rule
I have the advantage of many years of experience in various capacities in the restaurant industry. From high-end Beverly Hills celebrity hangouts to fast food joints. From General Manager down to dishwasher, I have done almost all you can do in this business. However However, the real advantage I have gained has come from being out of…
Never Assume
One thing I have learned during my travels in this business, is that you can never make assumptions about a customer. You never know who out there has money to spend, and who might become a potentially life-long customer for you. I learned this for sure in Los Angeles, where often it is difficult to tell the difference…
Pay Attention!
I’m sure this has never happened to you: You go out to eat at one of your favorite places, you have been thinking about that juicy steak since about three that afternoon (if not in bed the night before, or whenever you found out where you would be eating), your mouth is watering, filled with anticipation of that…
The Inside of your Restaurant
I have written in the past about the importance of keeping the outside of your restaurant presentable. It does seem a bit obvious that this would also pertain to the inside of the place. You would, however, be shocked by how many restaurateurs ignore this. When the customer walks through your front door (and as…
One Minute Manager
One of the lectures in my Labor Costing class focuses on some thoughts by two men named Spencer Johnson and Ken Blanchard. They wrote a book called “The One Minute Manager.” In this book, (lookout, here comes my cliff notes version) the authors discuss the reasons managers are often ineffective, and how that ineffectiveness leads…
Tip Systems
Since I have worked in twelve different restaurants, and most of them as a server, I have had the pleasure of becoming quite familiar with a diverse set of tipping systems. Now, I am not talking about how the customer tips out the various waiters, bartenders, maître d’s who may have helped them, but rather how the…
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