I just returned from the east coast a few days ago, and had a wonderful time. It doesn’t hurt that I get to be accompanied by the best traveling companion in the world. I never lose sight of the fact that it is always good to get out of ones comfort zone. Remind yourself that…
Category: Restaurants
What Am I to Do?
No, this is not a rhetorical question. I really do need to know. What am I to do when I have a bad experience in a restaurant? Food is bad, service is worse, and there doesn’t seem to be any management presence to bring my concerns to (which, let’s face it, is why the…
Check Average
There are two ways to up revenue in your restaurant: 1) Get more people to come in. 2) Get those coming in to spend more money. I have spoken before on Marketing. https://tabletalkpdx.com/2013/07/09 Yes, you could come up with strategies to figure out how to get more customers through that front door. In fact, you…
Cell Phones
What to do…. This is a Pandora’s box that I don’t even want to open, but it is out there and needs to be dealt with. A friend of mine recently shared this link with me on Facebook, and I have to admit, I am at a loss on this one: We are a popular…
Represent
This happens so often: An employee receives a gift certificate to another restaurant from the boss for a job well done, or as a Christmas bonus, or a birthday present. They go out to the other place and have a good time. Too good of a time. Maybe they drank a bit too much. Maybe…
Choosing a Restaurant is Like Choosing a Movie
Whenever we decide to eat out, we go through the usual routine: “What do you feel like eating?” “I don’t know, what do you feel like eating?” “What’s a new place that we haven’t yet tried?” And so on… It is very much like trying to decide on a movie. When you are thinking about…
Jager and Red Bull?
My wife often has to remind me when we go out that we are not the target market of many of these places. It can be difficult to keep that in mind when I watch someone saddle up to the bar and order something like Jägermeister and Red Bull. With a straight face. Usually I am reminded under the table…
Lock the Door
I took a road trip recently to visit my mother on the Oregon coast. After driving for six hours, and getting into town late–too late to surprise my mom–I decided to have a little Irish whisky and celebrate St. Patrick’s day before checking in at my motel and hitting the hay. I walked into a restaurant/bar that I had taken…
Urgency
One thing customers need to see at most of the restaurants they eat at is a sense of urgency by those helping them. When people go out, they want to at least feel that the staff is actually there to lend a hand. It’s not my problem Now I never liked waiting on customers who feel the need…
Controlling Costs
Back In May, I published a post titled: “10 Reasons Why Restaurants Fail.” https://tabletalkpdx.com/2013/05/11/10-reasons-why-restaurants-fail/ One of those reasons is not controlling costs. It is about time that I re-visit this. One thing great chefs know is that if you want to play this restaurant game, you have to treat it as a business. Yes, it is…
Which Would You Do?
I would like to tell two stories and let you decide for yourself. Scenario one: A friend of mine stops to get a latte at a local coffee house. She doesn’t see the cash only sign and proceeds to order from the barista. She receives her coffee and attempts to hand her credit/debit card to the…
I Provide a Service
I stopped by to see a former co-worker of mine, and to see how his world was going. He now has two nice, upscale places in town, and I wanted to know if things were working out for him. He said two things that stuck with me, that I had to share the next day…
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