Bryan China Company
Presents
Restaurant china, mugs, specialty plates, logo'd dinnerware at factory direct prices!
Bryan China Company
Presents
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Restaurant Tips Pumping up the volume! |
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Wednesday, July 15, 2015Just a collection of thoughts from experienced restaurateurs about how to improve operations, training, hiring, advertising & promo... and how to PUMP UP THE VOLUME!
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The Over-Portioning Woes! A recent experience reminds me that the obvious isn't always the obvious. While dining with a friend at a local restaurant, my friend asked for more sour cream. The 18 year old restaurant employee returned with a 7 oz bouillon full of sour cream! As a restaurant owner, I sat there in disbelief! My friend wanted and used maybe an ounce.... the remainder being completely wasted and the cost came right from the restaurant's bottom line. The moral of this story is: An employee will fill a vessel to its capacity. It's up to you to determine the vessel used and to train employees accordingly. If you said, "All requests for additional condiments should be placed in a 1 1/2 ounce ramekin," then you've fought half the battle. The remainder of the battle is making sure the procedure is followed. Durability Vs. Cost Any decision to purchase dinnerware must address estimated useful life vs. cost of the ware. You can easily pay $12 for a dinner plate but will it last 3 times longer than a $4 plate? Probably not. If your china gets used.... it's going to wear out. The key for your organization is to replace it before it looks like "heck." This is one the most common mistake restaurants make. You can be assured that your customers notice the wear... do you? Make it a point to look at your chinaware once a month and sort out the worst of it. To get the maximum value for your dollar, we recommend our Tuxton China which combines great looks and durability at very modest prices. Do I need a website for my restaurant? Well that's a tough question for today... but for tomorrow, the answer is an unqualified yes. Most visionaries agree that the future of the web is to look inward... to local markets... vs. globally. Add changes in technology and one can envision a world where you can instant message luncheon specials at 11:30 each day... take orders over the net... broadcast advertisements to PDA's within 5 blocks of your restaurant whenever you want to. More and more, consumers are searching the web for local products and services... a trend expected to continue. To start today... reserve your own domain name. You can check availability and reserve one for about $9.00 per year at Namecheap. You can get a hosting company for as little as $3.95/month at Peoplehost So for as little as $60 per year, you can have a web presence today from which you are positioned for tomorrow. For a restaurant, one indispensable tool for your website is software to manage your customer email activities. One very good system is Aweber This system includes an email sign-up that you place on your website. It will email your customer with whatever message you want to get across! All without effort on your part... once the system is set up of course. Your goal should be to accumulate the largest email list possible. Customer should be able to sign up at your site or at the restaurant.. via a comment or sign up form. Offer them something to sign up... Email frequently... keep in touch. The Low Carb Craze? The latest research may indicate that the Atkins craze may be on the downswing. Replacing it is "good carb / bad carb" Low Glycemic vs. high Glycemic foods. What's a restaurant to do? Email your thoughts and we'll share info.... Over 2 years ago, we said.... LOW CARBOHYDRATE section on your menu.
Do it today! Why? Because millions of people are on the ATKINS DIET...
and eating out is difficult. They end up paying for a full meal, only to
throw away the potatoes, bread, and other high carb items. A low carb
selection is easy.... beef, seafood, poultry, pork... simply done
without breading. If you are known as the place to go for a low carb
meal.... you will get more business. People on the
Atkins, talk to each other... share tips.... it is a win win situation
for everyone! The diet is proving to be the most effective diet, the
most healthy diet!!! Get informed at
Another idea Offer low carb takeout munchies and lunches. The hardest part of the Atkins diet... is thinking ahead. "I'm hungry, what do I eat? I didn't take anything out of the freezer yesterday. Where can I buy just 6 oz of shrimp with nothing else... or an 8 oz chicken breast with nothing else... where can I buy two hamburger patties smothered with cheese and mushrooms... and nothing else. Hold the bun and don't charge me for it!" Three keys to any success is: 1. SOLVE A PROBLEM 2. DO IT NOW 3. MAKE IT EASY Low carb menu selections will be successful. There is a quiet revolution in eating that's happening now.... be a part of it!!!! Vitrified? What's that mean? - When you hear that chinaware is "vitrified" it actually refers to the degree of melt in a clay body. Literally, like glass, meaning the ceramic body is non-porous. The composition includes silica which transforms to glass when fired at high temperatures. It is stronger, thinner, and more translucent than ware fired at lower temperatures and for shorter periods of time. What does this mean to the restaurant? Other than it's natural strength, fully vitrified china does not absorb moisture. If ware is not vitrified, it will absorb moisture. The body will expand and contract at different rates than the moisture, thereby by causing internal stress leading to breakage. Bottom Line --- Insist on vitrified chinaware! Minimum Wage Thoughts - Minimum wage is another way of saying "I'd pay you less if I could." Think about it... is this the message you want to give your employees? Your employees are your biggest asset... more important than your decor, more important than almost anything! The right employee can attract business, turn your patron's bad experience into a good one, can save you thousands of dollars... and otherwise contribute to the success of your restaurant! Nova Dough! - Here's an idea that worked extremely well at my restaurant! I created my own "restaurant money" on business card stock commonly available at any office supply store. Using Print Shop software, I made free drink money... 20% off money, buy one/get one free money, dinner on me money, free appetizer... I even put my dog's picture on it. I printed the front and back. They fit neatly into a wallet and best of all... they disappear in the wash! The biggest bang for the buck is that they are different... and because of that, your restaurant will get free word of mouth publicity! Just sit back and think of the number of uses!"
You can really have some fun with this! The "Unexpected Extra" - Complete your patrons dining/entertainment experience with the unexpected extra. Whether its a sampling of a new menu item... a complimentary dessert... or recognition!... give them something that they didn't expect and they will remember you when it's time to make a dining out decision. Chinaware Trends - We're definitely seeing a trend toward "bigger." Large pasta bowls lead the way for innovative restaurants. Add "wow" factor with 16" or 18" oval platters! Wide rim, bright white ware is quickly replacing traditional "American white." Also seeing a trend to match the food to the ware rather than the ware to the ware. Star shaped dessert plates... specialty appetizer plates... something different and entertaining. New glaze colors, even mixing and matching colors livens up the tabletop! Traditional cups/saucer combo is being replaced by mugs. Dramatically Improve Your Hiring - Is this familiar? You hire 3 servers, 1 doesn’t show up for work the first day, the second quits after 2 days, and the third has some type of personal problem that tells you… “this won’t last.” How do
you avoid this?… by hiring the right people. The first step to hiring
the right people is to
“pre-qualify” applicants before they walk in the door. In other words,
determine the character and behavior you want in people and tell them in
the ad, upfront! Let’s apply these principles to an ad for wait staff.
First, if your newspaper puts ads in alphabetical order (ask), start
with a word that will appear near the beginning of the listings.
Remember… be detailed in a humorous way. Your objective is to attract the best qualified applicants for your restaurant. Running a detailed ad will not cost you as much as hiring the wrong person! Think of the lifetime value of one customer who stops patronizing your restaurant because of a bad experience! With an ad like this, you will elicit a response… I’ll also be great advertising! Try this and email us your results.
Increase Your Volume by 20%
or more within 2 Months!
I was recently
at one of my favorite restaurants, one that I frequent at least 3 times
a month. I know and talk to the owner every time I go there… which has
been over six months. While talking to another patron, I learned that
the restaurant features a “magician” every Wednesday. Why didn’t I
know that? I have 2 kids who would love to be entertained with a
magician while dining! The owner knows I have children. This restaurant
missed a great opportunity! They missed an additional $80 in sales per
month from just one customer! Don’t let this happen to you!
Here’s a
cheap, simple way to create an online or paper newsletter with your
patrons.
E-mail
newsletter You can
email a monthly calendar of events! Tell ‘em what’s going on. You can
e-mail upcoming specials… say you just received a shipment of fresh
Tuna! E-mail a birthday greeting; a coupon for ½ off any appetizer on
Mondays… let your imagination be your guide. Important: Give your patron subscribers a way to “opt” out of the newsletter. They should be able to do this via a reply email. Put this notice at the very bottom of your e-mail newsletter.
Why
this works!
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