The Texas Restaurant Coach

With rising hackers attacking businesses through social media, it's time to update company policy on employee use of company computers

2009-08-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

If your bar or restaurant is starting to use social media, it's time to consider updating an employee policy concerning the use of Twitter and other social media outlets.

After focusing on email as a way to spread malware and viruses, hackers are now targeting social media outlets as their new distribution model.

In a recent blog in the San Antonio Express-News, Matt Scherer suggested that businesses should follow these guidelines:

1) Does your firm or business have a policy on the use of social media? For example, a corporate handbook could inform workers that if they accept a link from a follower named Xge333x to look at his or her pictures that they could be terminated if clinking that link spreads a virus or malware into the system.

2) Does a business have an outside channel of computers, not linked into their main business processing centers, for social media use? At one local Air Force base, the public affairs officer has a computer not linked into the base's main computer system where he can post blogs and follow Twitter.

3) Is the company's social media policy briefed to workers on a semi-annual basis or through the use of other corporate channels such as the company newsletter?
Restaurants should update their employee handbook to address this, especially for those managers and marketing professionals that use a company computer to post tweets on Twitter and messages on Facebook.

GRA provides restaurants with green certification program

2009-08-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

Kermit the Frog sang "It's Not Easy Being Green," but with restaurants, going green is something that could save them money and create good will among their client base.

I recently found the Green Restaurant Association web site with its seven standards for meeting its full certification program. Below are the seven standards that the GRA evaluate:

1, Water Effciency
2. Waste Reduction and Recycling
3. Sustainable Furnishings and Building Materials
4. Sustainable Food
5. Energy
6. Disposables
7. Chemical and Pollution Reduction

Restaurants who want to download the standards for their green progran should visit this link.

With the cost of energy as well as a continued government pursuit of green initiatives, smart restaurant owners will remain ahead of the curve on this standard.

Subway shooting incident shows the need for restaurants to manager their security process

2009-07-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

After three robbers shot a 17-year-old employee at a West Palm Beach, Fla., Subway Restaurant, her parents filed suit against the store.

"At Subway restaurants, employee and customer safety is of paramount importance," spokesman Craig Rasmussen said in a statement published in news reports. "We are aware of the recent lawsuit filed, but are unable to comment on pending litigation."

In today's troubled times, restaurant security is something that every store manager and owner should review as often as possible. One of the best things that restaurants can do is to get a security audit from their local police force.

Based on their recommendations, store managers should upgrade their security equipment. In many cases, adding new equipment can often lower the liability costs of their insurance policy.

Regardless of the costs, employee security is an issue that impacts the credibility of a restaurant or chain operation.

Social media effort helps Brassier Pavil get more catering jobs

2009-07-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

If you are a restaurant who wants to increase awareness of your catering operations, consider an increased use of social media as a way to add more business in this category.

Brasserie Pavil, a San Antonio restaurant that specializes in French cuisine, has added over 1200 followers on Twitter. At a social media lunch in Thursday, Colleen Pence, the social media advisor for the restaurant, said the restaurant has gotten nine major catering jobs within the last six weeks.

My company is starting to help some of our clients with social media efforts. And, we are creating personas for clients from Midland to Dallas. Our clients recognize that this effort wil take a little time, but as the business case for Brasserie Pavil shows, the effort is well worth the effort.

Why restaurants should have a master recipe list

2009-07-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest headaches for restaurant owners is consistency in food preperation. From one-restaurant operations to large franchises, restaurant managers want to make sure their customers get a consistent meal at every visit.

For management, it's hard to monitor the culinary performance of their staff without customer feedback. While spot checks can help a manager correct a cook who wants to deviate from a master recipe, customer feedback can provide a second source of verification.

Management needs to stress the need for consistency with their cooking teams. However, if a cook has a better way to prepare a dish, restaurant leaders should consider updating their master recipe list.

Why cell phones are an effective way to reach customers

2009-07-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

Are cell phones becoming the next way to reach customers?

Yes, even though it's a pretty new technology.

Research has shown that restaurant operators are now starting to embrace cell phone as a way to reach their regular customers.

According to Brad Beasley, the president of CrossLink Media, the redemption rate for most wireless coupons are at 20-percent.

"Most restaurants are happy when they get a two to three-percent return on direct mail," said Beasley. "However, with wireless, they can target their core customers and get a higher return."

Customers have to opt in with this form of marketing by texting a message to a provider. As part of their database, the restaurant can send each of their customers special offers.

Restaurants should focus on driving their clients to visit their restaurants on their slower days of operations with special offers such as half-price promotion for special meals. By working with their vendors, restaurant operators can introduce new meal items or get special discounts on specialty items for their customers.

(Note: If you want to embrace the use of wireless cell phones for your marketing platform, please contact me at www.foodproconsulting.com.)

Exceptional customer service even more important with today's economy

2009-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

As the 2009 Southwest Foodservice Expo kicks off, I have to admire the comment from Mark Brezinski, the owner of Bengal Coast Restaurant concerning the restaurant industry.

"We're in a business where you have to create reasons for people to come in," Brezinski said in the Monday edition of the Dallas Morning News.Even when the economy is rolling along, restaurant owners have to constantly stress the importance of customer service.

As a longtime restaurant manager, I believe training on customer service starts on the first day and continues every time there's a chance to coach someone. Shift managers can encourage exceptional performance and customer care with their own performance.

By welcoming guests and helping their staff when there's a rush, a restaurant manager can demostrate to his staff the importance of exceptional customer service. When it comes to monitoring the performance of shift leaders and managers, it's important for general managers and restaurant owners to manage high expectations for their leaders on this area.

Restaurant patrons are questioning the need to eat as much as they did two years ago, so a focus on providing customer service is even more important.

With minimum wage increases, restaurants will have to streamline their processes

2009-06-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Now that the minimum wage is going up July 24, restaurants managers and owners will have to deal with the increase in their labor costs.
The 11-percent increase for minimum wage will probably mean a combination of price increases or workforce consolidation.
As a restaurant consultant, I believe that businesses should not drop costs for training or customer service. Instead, they should realize that their customers will expect that their staff will want a well-trained staff at their establishment and will be willing to absorb the 11-percent increase in their food for great service.
With a month to go, there's time for restaurant owners to look at their costs, especially from their food vendors. By asking a vendor for the best rates, they can offset the additional cost for labor.
Restaurant managers who look at these costs and begin a strategic review of their labor costs can ensure that the change in minimum wages won't truly impact their bottom line.

So what are you doing to promote your business?

2009-06-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

It should be a perfect location.
Located on the second floor of a major business center, one would think that the restaurant would capture a large number of workers who need a quick bite.
So, why were there only four customers durng the lunch hour rush?
It's a question I would ask if I owned that restaurant.
The food was good, and the service was excellent. However, perhaps what was missing was the marketing effort for this restaurant.
I couldn't help but notice that there was a catering menu available by the register. Nor was there a frequent lunch patron program.
It's these simple little marketing things that help a business compete, even when they have a prime location. As a business owner, it's important to keep track of trends and look at reasons why people aren't buying.
As a consultant, it's my job to help restaurant owners look at trends and reasons for the lack of business. Yet, the most important element for any successful restaurant is to look at what brings repeat customers back again and again. By understanding this element, a restaurant operator can make his or her busienss profitable.

In wake of publicity concerning restaurant skimming, it's time for all restaurant owners to review their security systems

2009-06-09T06:27:00.000-07:00

When the Washington Post reported that eight servers from three restaurants were arrested for credit card skimming, it created a publicity nightmare for them.

Imagine, if you will, what longtime customers would think if they read that one of their favorite restaurants had servers had stolen their credit card. That's why restaurant owners should pay extra attention to the credit card processing system.

As most restaurant owners have contracts locking them into credit card processing systems, it's best for them to review the security features of their program with their sales representative before purchasing or upgrading one.

A system that isolates each staff member typically costs more than a regular system. So is the addition of security cameras in a restaurant that monitor credit payment systems. However, the extra cost is well justified if it prevents theft of a patron's credit card.

Is your restaurant ready when that bus of people show up for lunch or dinner?

2009-06-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

It's a quiet Tuesday at your restaurant, and a bus of high school students and their parents pull up. Is your restaurant ready to serve them?

While there are fast-food franchises on the local interstate that cater to these groups and pay bus drivers a stipend for pulling over at their locale, others could use a little training in this area.

As someone who started years ago as a delivery boy and then a manager at one of the original Pizza Hut restaurants in San Antonio, here's my thoughts concerning training for handling that unexpected bus of people:

1) Can everyone double up on duties? For example, could the busser serve food when it's ready?

2) Is the shift leader capable of filling in where needed to keep the food and drink flowing?

3) Who is the quickest person to run the cash register to accept payment? And, if there are two or more terminals, who else can accept payment to expedite every customer?

4) Is everyone friendly to the customers? Do they thank them at the end of the meal for their business?

I would recommend that a restaurant owner look at his "bus" training at least every 60 days as some restaurants frequently change staff. After all, the extra influx of cash from repeat bus-type business is something every establishment wants in their operations.

Why restaurants should embrace the use of Twitter into their marketing mix

2009-05-31T13:58:00.000-07:00

An article in the Charlotte Observer notes that many restaurants are slow to adopt the use of social media in their marketing efforts, but as someone who has just began to understand its capabilities, I wonder why. One of the biggest problems that Craig Utt, a restaurant consultant, noted in the article was restaurants had with social media was because of the time issue. While there is no charge (yet) to use Twitter as a way to communicate to customers, there is a labor charge. Someone has to take the time to complete all of those tweets and blogs.

As a longtime restaurant consultant, I think it's best to have a restaurant manager designate a younger person on the staff who is into social media to manage the campaign. For older restaurant managers, there's a longer learning curve in adding social media tools to your daily marketing mix.

As a source of inspiration, I want to list these restaurants that have effective Twitter sites:

http://twitter.com/BrasseriePavil: Not only does this San Antonio restaurant list specials, it also acknowledges guest and special parties with tweets like: rt @Facelogic Enjoyed brunch @brasseriepavil w/ @catharines@alessiomiceli @midsandhighs. Turned out to be group date instead of girl time.

http://twitter.com/mortons_cle: The Cleveland location of this venerable chain restaurant does an excellent job of promoting specials, the personality of the chef and personalities in the restaurant.

twitter.com/ChurchsChicken: This fast food franchise is using "Its Random Acts of Goodness" to bring in more customers. By combining traditional media, public relations and social media, it could show the trend for other restaurant chains and independent operations.

Consistency or innovation? Restaurant changes need a balance between both....

2009-05-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

When someone goes to McDonalds or Starbucks, they know they will get a consistent meal or cup of coffee. Yet, many smaller restaurant chains have issues with consistency.

As a restaurant consultant, I have found the biggest issue with these small restaurant chains is that their management doesn't stress it with their training program. When a new cook or manager comes to work, the restaurant ownership doesn't stress the need for using an approved book of recipes.

It's hard for many owners to tell a professional chef or cook that they should adapt their apporach to preparing meals to the approved menu. Some owners don't want to make waves with their cooks, but their customers pay the price. After all, they expect their meal to be the same at every location.

However, restaurant owners shouldn't discourage innovation in their kitchens. If a new cook has a better way to prepare an item, I would suggest that they test its popularity by adding it as a special menu item for one restaurant. If customers embrace the change of the new item, then they should consider a change to their standardized book of recipes and food prep.

With unhappy customers griping online, it's smart to really focus on restaurant customer service

2009-05-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

In this tech-oriented age, customer service is more important now than it ever was.

Restaurant guests have access to reviews over the Internet through aggregate sites and bloggers. That worldwide easy access magnifies so much the harmful potential of any mistake.

Only about 7 percent of restaurant guests will blog or comment online about their experience. But 45 percent of guests will read those comments. And who is most likely to blog? Those that are angry enough to broadcast their bad experience.

Good customer service, especially in fine dining, demands a ninja-like waiter staff.

When the servers function like a well-tooled invisible hand and guests see what they are looking for before they need ask for it, that is a job well done.

Most guests remember bad service. If the guest has no memory of the service, the service was impeccable.

The guest looks up, his drink is filled. His date gets ready to ask for her steak knife and is surprised to notice it is already at her side. Everything is where it needs to be without asking.

The wait staff must be observant and intuitive. A waiter should also know when it is inappropriate to be personable and engaging.

If the guests are just sitting at their table and not conversing with each other -- perhaps the atmosphere is a little tense -- that may be a good time to approach and offer some pleasant comment. Break the ice.

But a party obviously engaged in conversation may perceive any verbal interruption as an annoyance, however slight. The party may be reaching terms on some important deal or wrangling over very personal matters of the heart.

Wait staff must keep its ears alert so as to avoid being too intrusive.

Timing is everything.

Drinks and entrees arrive on time. Guests do not fidget over delays, nor do they feel rushed to leave.

There are three key factors to a guest's dining experience: the Greet, the Beverages, the after-meal coffee.

The "Greet" is that first impression, how the guest was received. The Beverages must be refreshed and served according to the guest's instructions.

And the after-meal coffee is the guest's last experience at the table. The last experience tends to be the one freshest in the guest's mind when he or she leaves the restaurant.

Unless the main entree was a complete disaster, the guest will not likely dwell on that as much as he or she will on the way the experience ends.

And speaking of little disasters, wait staff must be empowered to make decisions to remedy them. A smart manager would rather have a guest not pay for something than pay for something that guest did not enjoy and leave the establishment feeling robbed.

Smart restaurant owners should write off the little losses through your accountant. But, they should make sure wait staff can exercise discretion in handling those write-offs at the point of contact so as to avoid having your restaurant suffer the greater loss of its good reputation.

As George Carlin would say about salt: "It's bad for ya...."

2009-05-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Other than the travel, the wait time, the occasional lousy service and paying the bill, one of the more unsettling inconveniences about eating out is eating salt.
There's too much of it, and as the late George Carlin would say, "It's bad for ya."
The Center For Science In The Public Interest awarded Red Lobster a dubious first place for "Saltiest Meal in America." After you have consumed the Admiral's Feast, the Caesar salad, that creamy lobster-topped mashed potato, your cheddar biscuit and that cold glass of lemonade, the sodium count climbs to 7,106 mg.
Brag to your shrink over that binge and he may put you on suicide watch.
Red Lobster is only the worst offender by a pinch. A Chili's plate of buffalo chicken fajitas follows a close second, and there are plenty of other restaurant chains that go extreme on the salt shake.
Children's menus - no surprise here - load up on the stuff. A Burger King chicken tenders entree with buffalo sauce, fries and a milk comes with 1,835 mg. Maybe Burger King's new Star Trek movie tie-in should be, "I'm giving the bird all the sodium chloride she can take, captain!"
Back to Earth, the single best way to avoid high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes is cutting salt intake. It does not do your kidneys any favors, either. But many casual dining and fast-food meals have well over a day's worth of the recommended limits.
High-risk individuals - those with hypertension, adults beyond their mid-40s and African Americans should consume less than 1,500 mg a day.
Other adults should limit intake to 2,300 mg a day. In case you need the visual cue, you are looking at one teaspoon.
Children eight and under hit their max at 1,200 mg a day, and youngsters nine to 18 need to learn to say "Whoa!" right around 1,500 mg. See there? Math class did come in handy.
Back to Reality, most of us swallow twice or more the recommended levels. Then there are those special occasions when we go to Red Lobster or Chili's, or Olive Garden - want 3,380 mg with the chicken parmigiana?
You got it!
What to do? Be inquisitive. Ask the restaurant staff questions about the food. More salt is used with frozen foods, for example, because it takes more to bring the flavor out.
It's safer if you have high blood pressure to choose kitchens that prefer fresh ingredients.
And keep in mind that more eateries are sensitive to consumer concerns. The Subway Veggie Delite with apple slices and a Coke adds up to 500 mg. Imagine that? You could actually have a second meal that day and possibly stay under your sodium ceiling.
It never hurts to request of the cook special instructions.
A cue to chefs that cook sensibly is dishes laden with alternative spices and herbs.
The variety of spices that flavor a dish with little or no salt is considerable. Diabetes America offers plenty of suggestions on what spices go well with meats and veggies, and the list provides an excellent guideline to go by when discussing food preparation with the wait staff.
So, how about passing on the salt and putting dill and paprika on your fish fillet?

(Note: Restaurant managers who would like for FoodPro Restaurant Consulting to consult on low sodium diets and other ways to make your food fresher while saving money, please contact us.)

How to get your food brokers to provide you with lower prices

2009-05-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

As a longtime restaurant manager and now a food consultant, I am amazed at how many restaurant owners accept the status quo from their food vendors. For example, how often have you asked for a deviated price from them?

Let's imagine that your restaurant uses a lot of cheese in its menu. By asking for a deviated price, the food broker forgoes any profit on this major line item. However, they make their profit on other lesser items.

Many food marketing groups such as the Wisconsin Cheese folks provide special incentives to restaurants who promote their food. The key for getting them is to ask all of your food brokers for help in this matter.

Most food brokers are not typically willing to provide these prices to their customers. It takes someone willing to ask them the right questions to get these incentives from most of them. If your vendor is already offering you these "deviated prices," consider yourself fortunate.