I have worked in my share of restaurants. 10 to be exact. One thing I have often noticed is that the kitchen can feel left out from time to time. It’s no wonder that so many places end up with front-of-the-house vs. back-of-the-house conflicts. Include them The front-of-the-house folks get to see the look on…
Culture
Create a culture. That is your best recipe for success. Higher the right people, train them, and then make sure you are sending the right messages with your actions. Your behavior will set the tone for your employees. If you are standing around doing very little work, what do you think your employees are going…
Internal Marketing
“Internal marketing should precede external marketing.” At first, I didn’t fully appreciate what the hell that meant, but I quickly realized the importance of it. There is no point in spending a bunch of money putting together a big marketing plan, unless you are sure to start with your employees first. They are the ones who…
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…
Address it Now!
I like to sleep at night. There are many other things I like to do at night, but we won’t go in to those now. Let’s just focus on the fact that I like to sleep, and don’t like having things weighing on me that might interrupt that process. One of the beautiful things about…
Haven’t You Eaten Here Before?
Even though our real objective in this business is to get the customer to come back, we as restaurant employees cannot make the assumption that they have come back, and therefore understand how it is all supposed to work. That’s our job. Help them out Unless you recognize them as a repeat customer (and even…
Date Night
So my wife and I are on a date. Please bear in mind that I work nights, and we have teenagers, so the date night does not come around as often as we would like. Well, as often as I would like. I can’t speak for my wife. Burnt-orange peel We walk in to a…
Remember Me?
When customers go out to eat, they want to feel welcome. Pampered. Entertained. Special. It is our duty to make them feel that way. We are in the hospitality business, after all. Create a culture As I have said on many occasions–it starts with you! You have the ability to create this culture. Go in…
Variability
In Marketing class, we talk about the four components of service: Inseparability, perishability, intangibility, and variability. Yeah, I know. I am not going to bore you with tales of the other three, but variability is something worth focusing on. It is one of the keys to a successful restaurant, not just with service, but with…
Wine Lists
I recently had the pleasure of accompanying my wife on a business trip to Charleston, South Carolina. Having never been there before, I asked a few friends where might be a good place to dine. I did not solely count on my friends, I also used this thing called the internet. I was able to…
How to Seat a Dining Room
It is amazing to me how many restaurants don’t understand this all-important concept. You get to decide the success or failure of your restaurant at the front desk. So learn how to do it properly and then train your front door staff on how to do it properly. Don’t bury your servers! It is important…
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