Posts Tagged ‘restaurant’
Recently I had a pleasure to attend a seminar on Future of Food Media at Westin at St. Francis Hotel. As a hospitality industry insider and a social media enthusiast I was very excited about the topic. Discussion was rather entertaining than educating, although it touched upon such important themes as a responsibility of traditional PR firm in the age of social media, transparency, role of bloggers and restaurant critics, influence of Yelp, importance of incoming and outgoing message and its relevancy. Below are my highlights of the show:
Benefits of Social Media
- Treating fans and followers as focus groups, receiving feedback from them, collecting data, identifying trends and habits on Facebook, Twitter & Yelp (Anna Wienberg)
- Low upfront cost to deliver targeted message to your most loyal customers via social networks. This includes promotions, news and events (Brian Galdino)
Role of Traditional PR firms
- Managing the brand and developing the restaurant concepts (Andrew Freeman)
- Filtering through the clutter of information, building the right message and choosing the method of its delivery. No need to use all the social media tools that are available – the challenge is to find the right ones and to maximize it efficiency (Brian Galdino)
- Identifying the right voice for the brand making sure it is consistent. Always be aware of who has access to your social networks (Andrew Freeman)
Twittering and Blogging
- Passion is the key to success. Highlighting new recopies in chefs blogs. Asking questions and collecting information within the industry (Robbie Lewis)
- Talking to colleges, making new connections, responding to comments (Robbie Lewis)
How to use Yelp for business
- Claim you business page and communicate with customers directly. Address misinformation (Ruggy Joesten)
- Capitalize on positives and highlight them through out you other social networks. (Ruggy Joesten)
Contrary to popular believe that only one of the ten happy guests will speak out and almost every unhappy will, Ruggy Joesten states that 85% of all Yelp reviews are positive
- Responding to negative comments briefly and straight to the point. Apologize, never argue, be angry or engage into long discussions. If somebody complains on the chicken and you don’t serve chicken make sure to mention it (Andrew Freeman)
- Yelp filtering algorithm is designed to prevent dishonest restaurant owners to scam the system (Ruggy Joesten – couldn’t explain how it works)
Future of Food Media
- Michael Bauer’s write-ups will remain more influential that Yelp reviews (Ann Weinberg)
- Restaurant owners and marketers should embrace social media with caution. Sometimes it is better NOT to use it than use it badly (Andrew Freeman)
- All new social media start-ups should have a clear idea on how they will make money. Foursquare will become irrelevant if it doesn’t monetize itself soon (Brian Galdino)
- Future of social media is in mobile marketing, however it will take some time before consumers will grow accustomed to that change. Therefore it is a bit too early to talk about individual applications for the restaurants (All panel agreed)
Fore more detailed coverage of the event, please, read Stephanie Rosenbaum article on Bay Area Bites
Image - Book Cover by Charles Memminger. Courtesy of publisher.
Today I would like to share with you my compilation of short true stories that took place at the Restaurant X on the course of the last year. None of them deserves enough attention to stand out and shine on its own, but hopefully at least one of them will make you smile or even laugh…
Complainers
1) I waited on ridiculously annoying old people the other day. First they complained that steaming coffee wasn’t hot enough for them. One of them followed me to the bar on his crotches to make sure that bartender poured enough bourbon in his Manhattan. The highlight of their dining experience was to send back a screwdriver (vodka/oj). Why? Because the color of orange juice was not orange…it was yellow!!!
2) My food runner tried to serve Spaghetti Bolognese to a wrong table, but quickly recovered. The plate didn’t even touch the table. Unfortunately a guest who ordered spaghetti at the nearby table observed the whole process with pure hatred on his red face. He was staring at his plate all the time trying to hypnotize it, but he never made a contact with it. Every single time I checked on him he said everything was “ok”. In the end of the meal he was looking so miserably like his relative has died, but when I asked one more time if anything was wrong, he jerked : “NOTHING!” I offered to take away the plate and pack it to go – he refused the offer. A few minutes later he asked for a check in a surprisingly calm voice, but his face read willingness to see me on the death raw. I guess a BIG FAT zero tip was hardly a punishment to compensate for his ruined day. Credit to the food runner.
Tippers
1) My friend, Jack, the bartender was laughing telling me this. Although he got stiffed on $80 check. A couple of Italians were ecstatic about “De-li-ci-o-oo-us Mojitoes” – each of them had three rounds. Mojitoes usually make the list of the most “pain-in-the-ass” drinks to make. When finally Jeff said “Arivederci!” to the happy tourists, instead of a tip he discovered a bus transfer next to check presenter. The transfer was expired…
2) Ghetto kids had a lunch celebration at our place. One of them just turned 21; he ordered a round of beers first happily flashing his ID in my face. A few minutes after birthday boy asked for champagne telling his buddy:”Yo Bro, we gonna put it on Facebook… Popping champagne and shit…”When I brought them a set up to crack Alaskan King Crab Legs, which they obviously never had before, kids thought that crab cracking tools and a steak knife are there for them to act the episode from SAW 3. I had to calm them down as guests at the neighboring table began to complain. I couldn’t help myself laughing when I saw one of them trying to get through the spiky crab shell with his teeth. My professional demonstration on how to use cracking tools definitely saved his gums from bleeding for which I was rewarded with a $5 tip. Should I mention that the check was $180?
Recently I’ve read one of Google’s most highly ranked hospitality article by Bruce Buschel, “100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do” . The author occasionally blogs in NY Times section dedicated to small business. Excellent writer, I give him that, but some of the points made, uncover his ignorance detachment from the service industry. Let me comment on some of his faulty “rules” which I placed under the following categories: “common sense”, “optional” and simply “wrong”.
1. Common Sense – It shouldn’t be written about, because it is well-known and being followed by every restaurant employee, who is not a complete idiot.
Rule #16. If someone requests more sauce or gravy or cheese, bring a side dish of same. No pouring. Let them help themselves.
Like anybody does!? If you’re pouring an extra sauce on somebody’s food you shouldn’t be working in a restaurant. You must be locked in a mental institution and shouldn’t be anywhere close to the food. It’s just a common sense.
2. Optional – it really depends on situation and behavior of the guest. Sometimes stepping away from the rule is inappropriate, sometimes it is highly encouraged.
Rule #7. Do not announce your name. No jokes, no flirting, no cuteness.
Although I usually don’t introduce myself, at least not during our first interaction, I like to leave that privilege for myself to decide. Depending on the guest I might throw a joke or two – it’s not a crime.
Rule #41. Saying, “No problem” is a problem. It has a tone of insincerity or sarcasm. “My pleasure” or “You’re welcome” will do.
It also goes the other way. I somebody asks: “Can I have some extra dressing for my salad?” “My pleasure” – would suck.
3.Wrong – My experience tells me that this rules should never be followed. Under no circumstances.
Rule # 32. Never touch a customer. No excuses. Do not do it. Do not brush them, move them, wipe them or dust them.
Absolutely missed here. Friendly tap on the shoulder works amazingly great. I read it in my first waiter’s manual from Susie Ross and thanks to this invaluable advice my ROI from guests went to the roof. Nobody complained ever.
The list goes on and on… So, check out the link and find this boring bunch of useless amendments, which might help a rookie restaurateur or server to make his first steps. They only useful tip that I found for myself is rule #23 If someone likes a wine, steam the label off the bottle and give it to the guest with the bill. It has the year, the vintner, the importer, etc. This, actually, might work.
Bruce anticipates criticism of his rules by making a point that “if 100 different actors play Hamlet, hitting all the same marks, reciting all the same lines, cannot each one bring something unique to that role?” Yes, of course. However, often used comparison of waiting on a table and playing a role on stage is only appropriate when the play is unscripted. There’s a huge difference between dialog and monolog and there is more interaction between a waiter and a customer, than between an actor and a spectator. Why not offering the lobsters to somebody you feel might enjoy them? Why not joke or flirt a bit when a guest in a mood to talk? Why not to compliment a customer choice?
I would do all of the above depending rapport established between me and guests. When you’re in the business for many years, THERE IS NO RULES. There is only professionalism, common sense and a customer who most of the times deserves to have an enjoyable dinner.
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