by Heather T. | Feb 12, 2024 | Business, Food, Marketing, Observations, Operations, restaurants
Recently there was an article on Eater. “Why not bring takeout containers to restaurants?” and I thought, wow this is such a great idea (not rocket science obviously) but I should start doing this. What a great way to save the environment and, by the way, save our favorite restaurants a few bucks in the bargain.
Which, of course, led to the inevitable 2 AM neurodivergent thought, OH!, how can a restaurant leverage this? There must be restaurants doing this already, and of course, there were and there are. Restaurants give discounts to diners who bring their own dishes (2019) and many more. One thing that I noticed though about the restaurants and other food service operations that offered this is there didn’t seem to be a ton of thought into “targeted” getting people back in the door. Some offered discounts off of a future meal, some off of a current meal, some free refills (for beverages) but not much real upselling.
From a customer funnel point of view, if you want to think about getting repeat customers back in the door, what’s the incentive to get them back in PLUS the incentive to spend more money?
I’d love to see a restaurant out there (and maybe there is, let me know!) who would offer the incentive “BYOC (Bring Your Own Container)” and get a voucher/coupon for a free coffee or tea and our signature dessert.
Why that? Coffee or tea doesn’t cost most to provide and if you created the incentive wisely a signature dessert could cost a few dollars or less to make. Tiramisu is cheap to make, so is a scoop of homemade (or a good prepared) mousse with some flavored whipped cream to zip it up. Dessert has a much higher profit margin on it typically than an entrée or appetizer.
If you just give them a discount or small incentive, it doesn’t do much for repeats, it can help, but what’s the upsell part of it?
If you get them to come in and get drinks, maybe an appetizer and a couple of entrees (make the must order an entrée as part of the small print on the coupon), it’s an incentive to get people in the door and spent money first.
Even if it’s a couple who come in regularly and they bring two takeout containers, give them two vouchers. If you look at it from the perspective of how is any different from giving them a $10 off coupon their next meal, it is different because your incentive is to give them something for free but they have to spend money first. Even without a couple ordering appetizers, if a couple’s tab is a couple of entrees (mid-priced restaurant average) 17.99 X 2, plus a couple of soft drinks (up the take if it’s beer or wine) 2.50 X 2, and the regular check average is $50.00 and you just “gave away” $3.50 in product, when it boils down to it that’s pretty inexpensive marketing. If your price points for your menu items are higher, the ratios are even better.
You actually get three birds with this: promoting eco-friendly practices, saving money on your own to go containers and getting people in the door for repeat dining. Even if you encourage regulars to give them to others, that’s not a bad thing, it increases brand awareness and you get the same result; you get more people in the door and they order the big-ticket items like entrees (and if your waitstaff is good at the in-person upsell, high profitably drinks).
If you are going to try any incentives like this, make sure they contribute to your bottom line.
I’ve seen too many restaurant coupons that just give a discount with no stipulations on use or no incentive to get people to buy more.
So if you create an initiative to bring in customers, track through what you get out of it. Is it a onetime sale, something that will get people to come in many times or something that will make people spend more money because of the incentive itself?
There were a couple of good articles I came across in searching for restaurants that did have to go container incentives that I think would be worth a read.
How can restaurants take advantage of sustainable packaging?
What Are Reusable Food Container Programs?
By the way, my first book just got released on Amazon this weekend in Paperback and on Kindle! Check it out! Finding a Location for your Restaurant: How to Scout the Perfect Location for your Dream of Opening a Restaurant or other Hospitality Business.
by Heather T. | Feb 7, 2024 | Business, Observations, restaurants
There are three main types of people who want to open a restaurant.
Those who have been in the industry, usually chefs and cooks (but not always, sometimes it’s front of the house people), those who grew up in a restaurant environment, (i.e. parents or other family members owned or ran a restaurant), and the folks who have fallen in love with the “idea” of owning their own restaurant.
All of them have, and can run and own a successful restaurant, but I have found in 40 years of working in and with the hospitality restaurant that’s it the first two types that have better success and better success long term with running a restaurant.
I’ll be blunt and I am really not trying to talk people out of owning a restaurant, but to be realistic about what someone is getting into if they have never worked in a commercial food service establishment before.
For fans of, “The Bear” TV series while it has many realistic parts to it for at least the back of the house, apart from some glaring errors, (pretty much everyone in the industry knows what ServSafe is, whether or not your state requires it). IMO It’s still not a great representation of actually “owning” a restaurant and ALL that it entails. I think it hits the marks pretty high on the stress, the dynamics and many other things that happen in real life in a kitchen though and it’s worth a watch if you want to open a restaurant and not had ANY prior experience. But it still doesn’t cover many of the realities of the actual operations of a real restaurant, front of the house, back of the house, the day-to-day operations, the financials and the struggles with financials on a constant basis, checking in orders, employee theft, doing inventory on a frequent basis, dealing with difficult customers both online and off literally every day, dealing with vendors, scheduling staff, dealing with seasonal or economic slowdowns, the marketing online and offline, etc. etc. etc……………
While there have been some terrific food movies out there, mainly from the kitchen perspective, I have yet to see a restaurant movie that really truly reflects REAL life running a restaurant and I suspect it’s because no one “really” wants to see what’s behind the scenes on a real day-to-day basis.
It’s scary how much work, how much stress, and how much slog an owner has to get through daily, especially if they are a hands-on owner. Many chefs who become chef owners spend more time managing and dealing with day-to-day problems than cooking and I had several jobs before I got out of the business where I spent more time pushing paper than behind the line. Not fun, take my word for it. My passion is food and while I love excel spreadsheets, I got into the food business because I loved to cook, not because I wanted to become an accountant.
My first book is coming out shortly (Finding a Location for Your Restaurant) and with that I created a series of real life or lets call them, “lets get a reality check”, quizzes, so that people thinking about owning and operating a restaurant (regardless of whether they have experience in a restaurant industry or not) can get an idea of what they know, they need to know and what they WILL run into as an owner or lessee of a restaurant property.
I want to thank several hundred of my friends (both from the industry and from many other walks of life in other industries) for being guinea pigs to test these and get a baseline for the scoring.
Again, these quizzes are not meant to discourage people from wanting to run their own restaurant, but rather to provide some insight into the reality of it and many of the things that you, as an owner, WILL encounter.
I mention this in my book, but it bears mentioning here. Back in the mid 1990’s I considered buying and running a restaurant and in hindsight, I am so very, very, VERY glad I did not. It would have failed in under a year. With all that I know now, I look back at that person, who had a lot of cooking experience and some management experience and I can snark at myself honestly and say, “oh you foolish, foolish child”. because I had no clue at all about what running and owning a restaurant and doing it successfully really entailed.
Interested in trying the quizzes out?
by Heather T. | Jan 9, 2024 | Food, Observations, Operations, restaurants
I had a meeting with a client recently, and a big part of our conversation was about hiring for a restaurant. I had to dig out my notes to send them but realized I don’t think I’ve ever put these questions out on the blog that I have used in the past as part of working in restaurants in management and for the last twenty years in consulting, where I’ve helped interview candidates for positions.
While none of these questions are rocket science, and there are multiple websites out there offering lists of 10-20 questions, there are some questions on here that I’ve never seen listed by some hiring sites that have “suggested questions.”
It seems that many of the sites had people writing these questions more from a HR perspective and not from an actual restaurant management perspective or experience dealing with some of the realities that working in restaurants engenders.
So, if you find a few you have yet to come across, I hope it’s helpful.
The one additional thing I’ve found in calling references is to call suggested references but also call any past positions not given but listed on the job seeker’s resume (and to Google their name in quotes as well for any positions worked that they may not have listed, so (“John Doe” Chef Kingston, NH) for example.
The one question I always ask of references and non-references is, “Would you hire them back?” if the reply is “Probably not, or no,” that can be a red flag. And in a lot of cases, that’s all you need to know.
I always recommend checking your state’s labor laws to find out what questions you can also legally ask past employers.
Doing a tag team interview (two interviewers) can also help: one person takes notes, and the other asks the questions. People’s body language and facial expressions can be enlightening when answering questions, but if it’s just you asking, you might miss those if your head is bent writing notes.
If you are interviewing multiple candidates, ask to record the interview with their permission because then you can go back and review exactly what was said. I’ve interviewed dozens of people for the same position, and sometimes, interviews get blurred together, and it’s challenging to make a final decision based on memory alone.
Two questions I ask both potential working chefs and GMs (that might be kitchen managers or GMs that are in charge of the whole restaurant or food service facility) is:
What can you tell me about this business? (if they didn’t do their homework first regardless of the position hiring for) make it a short interview unless they strike you as a really good candidate. (Anyone worth their salt though will at least look at the website, the really good ones will dig around online)
Is there anything that you see that you think could be changed or adjusted? (related to the first question).
Interview questions for working chefs and general managers:
What can you tell me about this business? (if they didn’t do their homework first regardless of the position hiring for) make it a short interview unless they strike you as a really good candidate. Anyone worth their salt though will at least look at the website, the really good ones will dig around online)
Is there anything that you see that you think could be changed or adjusted? (related to the first question).
Some of the questions are somewhat duplicated but asked in different ways. I always liked to throw some repeat questions in that are reworded as sometimes people change their answers. If a chef position is also a head chef or executive chef position, many of the questions asked of a General Manager would also apply.
Working Chef Questions:
- What are your salary expectations and benefits you’re seeking? Do you have any questions about the position or our restaurant?
- What specific skills and experience do you bring to our restaurant’s concept and clientele, and how do you align with our values and customer base?
- What inspired you to become a chef? Or cook?
- Describe your culinary journey, including your experience with specific cuisines, cooking styles, or restaurant types?
- How do you handle and adapt to changing food trends and dietary preferences, such as plant-based, gluten-free, or keto diets?
- How do you ensure food quality and consistency in a high-volume environment?
- Can you provide examples of conflicts or challenges you’ve faced in the kitchen and how you resolved them?
- Can you provide examples of conflicts or challenges you’ve faced managing menus, special events, and high-pressure situations?
- What is your approach to sustainability, locally sourced ingredients, and menu creation?
- What is your approach to balancing creativity with customer preferences and cost-effectiveness?
- How do you approach training and developing kitchen staff?
- What are your long-term career goals in the culinary industry?
- Can you share an example of a dish or menu item you created that was particularly well-received?
- Have you done food and wine pairings or food and other types of pairings? Please describe?
- Describe your leadership style and how you foster a positive and collaborative work environment.
- What are your expectations for staff in terms of performance and conduct?
- What are your proudest accomplishments as a chef?
- What drives your passion for cooking?
- What is your vision for the future of your culinary career?
- Who are your biggest culinary influences or role model?
- Are there any specific cuisines or dishes that have impacted your cooking style?
- What challenges have you faced as a chef?
- What are your future goals or aspirations?
- How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends?
- How do you balance your personal and professional life?
- What is your experience in managing a kitchen?
- What is your experience in maintaining food safety standards?
- How do you motivate and lead your kitchen staff?
- How do you handle equipment maintenance and unexpected changes in the kitchen that might impact service and quality?
- How do you encourage ongoing skill development among your kitchen team?
- What are your career goals?
- How do you balance the demands of the job with your personal life?
- How do you handle conflicts between staff?
- How do you effectively train new staff on kitchen procedures?
- What methods do you use to maintain organization in inventory and kitchen operations?
- What methods do you use to create staff schedules?
- What methods do you use to ensure safety and cleanliness in the kitchen and with your staff?
- What is your culinary philosophy or approach to cooking, and how do you stay on top of current food trends?
- What experience do you have with menu development and pricing dishes profitably?
- How do you cost out a menu?
- How do you cost out a recipe?
- How do you mentor any staff that doesn’t have as much experience as you do?
- How do you identify and source high-quality ingredients?
- How do you balance purchasing high-quality ingredients with cost effective purchasing?
- Tell me about your experience accommodating special diets, such as vegan and gluten-free ones,
- Tell me about your experience keeping your team motivated during both busy and slow shifts.
- It’s a slow day, what do you and your staff do?
- Are you currently ServSafe® certified? Which certification?
- Are you familiar with food costing software? If so, which one or ones?
- What Point of Sale software are you experienced with?
- Have you ever had a customer return a dish, and how did you handle this situation?
- How do you balance preparing perfect dishes with sending food out on time?
- Have you ever done inventories prior? Please describe the method and how often you were involved in doing them.
- Have you ever purchased from broadline and speciality vendors? Who and what did you purchase?
- Do you think it makes sense to purchase everything from one vendor? Or to price compare products?
- How many vendors have you dealt with prior at a time?
- Have you ever negotiated prices with vendors?
- Have you ever had to deal with a vendor that tossed product (meaning they would charge for a flat of produce and had taken out some product, turned the flat over gently and then again to make it look full) or a vendor that didn’t properly deduct tare weight from product deliveries?
- If you dealt with the above, how do you deal with the vendor?
- Have you ever run into a situation(s) where you couldn’t afford to make the minimum order for a food delivery and you desperately needed goods? What did you do?
- Have you ever run into a situation(s) where the restaurant couldn’t afford to pay vendor invoices and bills and your vendors cut you off from deliveries until past due invoices were settled? What did you do?
- How long have you been managing others?
- How many staff have you been in charge of prior and what positions?
- How long have you been managing others?
- What was your favorite place to work prior and why?
- Are you prepared to be on call if a line cook or dishwasher doesn’t show up for a shift?
Interview Questions for General Managers:
- What are your salary expectations and benefits you’re seeking? Do you have any questions about the position or our restaurant?
- As a general manager in charge of the entire restaurant, how do you reduce operational costs?
- As a general manager in charge of the entire restaurant handle disciplinary actions with staff?
- Have you ever had to discipline staff members? For what and tell us about a couple of situations.
- Have you ever had to fire someone? If so, how many people, tell me about the experience?
- Have you ever had to hire people? If so, for what positions, tell me about how you approach hiring?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving both front and back of house staff?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving a staff member and customer?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving yourself and a customer?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving yourself and a staff member?
- Can you describe your experience with managing difficult situations, including a specific example, and how you resolved conflicts involving yourself and an owner or manager above you?
- What Point of Sale software are you experienced with?
- Are you familiar with food costing? If so, please detail.
- Are you familiar with food inventories? If so, please detail.
- Are you familiar with setting menu pricing? If so, please detail.
- Have you taken a ServSafe® course, and are you currently certified? Which certification(s)?
- Have you ever taken TIPS® training and are you currently certified? (Important if you have a bar or alchol service)
- Have you ever taken ServSafe Alcohol® and are you currently certified? (Important if you have a bar or alchol service)
- Are you prepared to be on call and fill in if someone from the back of the house or the front of the house calls in sick or pulls a noshow?
- How do you give feedback to employees?
- Do you become “friends” with employees or do you keep a distance personally?
- What is your skill level with MS Office? If so, please detail what programs within MS office. .
- How do you ensure seamless coordination between the front and back of the house to deliver a high-quality dining experience?
- Give me some strategies for maintaining food quality and presentation?
- Give me some strategies for adapting to changing food trends?
- What measures do you take to adhere to health and safety regulations in both the kitchen and dining areas?
- Can you describe your experience with creating and managing budgets?
- Can you describe your experience with maximizing profitability for both the front and back of the house?
- Have you ever had to deal with employee theft?
- If you have had to deal with employee theft, what did you do?
- Have you ever had to deal with an issue of sexual harassment in the workplace with your employees?
- If you have had to deal with of sexual harassment in the workplace, what did you do?
- Have you done employee scheduling prior? For what daypart (breakfast, lunch, dinner, other) and for how many staff?
- Describe the most difficult scheduling problem you have faced as a manager?
- How do you approach training, developing, and managing staff to maintain high standards of service?
- How do you approach training, developing, and managing staff to maintain high standards for food preparation?
- What steps do you take to address customer complaints involving both food quality and service issues? Give some examples of how you would deal with complaints.
- How do you manage your time effectively to oversee all aspects of restaurant operations?
- What are your long-term goals for improving the restaurant’s performance and success?
- What do you think, in your own words, are your key responsibilities as a GM, including balancing time between overseeing the dining room and the kitchen, and what operational systems would you use to facilitate this?
- How do you plan on onboarding and training new hires?
- How do you plan to manage inventory, and use that data for operational decisions?
- Can you share strategies for effective staff communication, delegation, and handling issues like understaffing or team conflicts?
- Describe your leadership style and philosophy?
- How do you cultivate a strong service culture and manage the demands of the job while maintaining work-life balance?
- Are you familiar with the legal aspects of running a restaurant, such as liquor licenses (if applicable) and labor laws?
- Can you share your experience with restaurant marketing, promotions, and responding to online reviews and public feedback?
- How involved have you been in menu planning and development?
- Describe a strategy you’ve implemented for boosting staff morale and reducing turnover. (and after they give an example) ask them to explain how well it worked and what happened.
- Describe a strategy you’ve implemented to ensure high standards of customer service. (And after they give an example.) Ask them to explain how well it worked and what happened.
- Can you give an example of how you’ve successfully managed a diverse team and describe your journey in the restaurant industry leading up to a general management role?
- How do you balance the needs and priorities of both front-of-house and back-of-house staff?
- What are your strategies for attracting and retaining customers?
- What do you think is most important when dealing with customers?
- What motivates you and what do you find most rewarding about running a restaurant?
- What are your strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations in the restaurant industry?
- Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your experience that might be relevant to this position?
- What is your strongest qualification for this job?
- Tell me of at least two reasons this job is a good match for your skills, strengths, experience and background?
- Give me an example that best describes your organizational skills.
- If offered the position how long do you plan to stay at the establishment?
- What new skills have you learned or developed recently?
- What kind of personality do you work best with and why? And what kind have you had any problems with working with in the past?
- What irritates you about other people?
- What do you think you like and dislike about the job we are discussing?
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What attracted you to this position?
by Heather T. | Nov 30, 2023 | Business, Observations, Operations, restaurants
I’m pretty excited. I’ve been working on a how-to book series, and my first book will be released at the end of December!
Future ones will all be restaurant-oriented and will cover: writing a business plan, writing a marketing plan, how to do competition research, dining and kitchen flow, writing an operations plan, menu development, dealing with difficult customers both online and offline, reputation management, the art of the upsell, managing and dealing with employee theft and managing and keeping your employees.
My first book, Finding a Location for Your Restaurant will cover:
- Community Assessments
- Who Is Your Market?
- Competition
- Parking including Limited Parking, Shared Parking, Street Parking, Motorcycle and ADA Parking, Parking Fees, Employee Parking and Delivery and Pickup Parking
- Lot and Road Conditions
- Flooding and Flood Zones and Other Natural Disasters
- Foot Traffic
- Traffic Counts
- Vendor Access and Who Delivers?
- Noise Considerations
- Crime and Safety
- Catering In-House or Off-site Considerations
- Landscaping
- Zoning
- Outdoor Dining
- Signage
- Taxes and Tax Assessment History
- Business Turnover
- Employee Housing
- In-person Research
Most of the how-to books I’ve come across on opening a restaurant don’t go into depth about everything you should be really looking at when you assess a restaurant location.
I’m also almost finished with a quiz with scoring that I think will help guide people who want to open a restaurant. Inspired by Steve Strauss’ Entrepreneurship Readiness Quiz, which we use in SCORE (with Steve’s permission), I am working on a “Do you REALLY think you are ready to own your own restaurant?” Instead of 20 questions, it is going on about 100 questions+ so that someone, whether they have had restaurant experience or not, can drill down on not just whether they are ready or not but if they do want to start the business; this is where they will find the holes and knowledge that they either lacking and need to learn about or make sure they hire key people with those skill sets.
by Heather T. | Nov 8, 2023 | Food, Marketing, Observations, Operations, restaurants
A recent inquiry from an individual interested in gaining insights into my approach during restaurant audits inspired this post. While I can’t disclose specific client information due to confidentiality, I can give some examples of things I typically assess when evaluating a restaurant or other hospitality establishment.
It’s important to clarify that this pertains to my private business clients, not those from SCORE mentoring.
Whenever my husband and I dine out or when I’m out with friends or business associates, I tend to analyze various elements of the dining experience, including visuals, menu offerings and design, food quality, food presentation and service. It’s hard for me to turn off the evaluation gerbil wheel in my brain. But at least I’m easy to get along with while dining out because the food has to be really, really bad for me to complain.
I gave some examples of a recent dining experience my husband and I had, highlighting aspects I would typically take note of during a restaurant audit and thought I’d put them into print.
Please note that this covers only the front-of-house visual aspects and doesn’t come close to a comprehensive audit, which includes over 200 touchpoints or the examination of kitchen operations and food quality.
I always encourage owners and managers to “be” a customer and evaluate the space as often as possible. Sit at an empty table for a little while during service or at the end of the bar and just observe.
If you’re paying attention, you can always find room for improvement.
Here are a few things that we noted while dining that could use some TLC to enhance better guest/customer satisfaction, check averages, and tip averages.
Enhanced Specials Promotion:
As we entered the restaurant, we noticed a low-standing sandwich board with the day’s specials. Unfortunately, it wasn’t eye-catching for walk-in customers, and while we visually saw it on entering, we didn’t stop to read it, assuming that the specials would be repeated in some way when we sat down.
Our server and the server who came to take a neighboring tables order didn’t mention the specials without us specifically asking. The specials weren’t visibly posted inside or available in printed form. When we inquired, our server directed us to the board outside. In this scenario, the restaurant missed an opportunity to effectively promote its specials, and the server missed a chance to increase her tip by just verbalizing the specials instead of asking us to get up and walk halfway through the restaurant and around the corner to view them.
Seating Comfort Assessment:
An uncomfortably cold draft from a floor vent under our chair caught our attention. This is why I recommend that owners and managers sit in every seat within the restaurant in all seasons. They should evaluate whether the air conditioning or heating causes discomfort, whether drafts exist, and whether the music volume is excessive in certain areas. Adequate lighting for reading menus is also a key consideration.
Convenience in Restrooms:
Restrooms should have hooks and/or a small table in all-gender bathrooms for patrons to hang their bags or coats. Placing personal items on the floor is often considered unhygienic; in this instance, there was no space on the toilet tank or the narrow sink.
During colder months, having a place to hang coats is particularly appreciated. People may be entering the restrooms while waiting for a table and before they sit down (and may still have their coats on) or after paying the check and preparing to leave.
Safety Concerns in the Kitchen:
It’s important not to have glass drinking glasses in the kitchen on the line. Several times, we observed servers passing glasses of soda directly to line cooks through the pass-through window, and we could see them placed on the line right above the stove area. This practice can lead to accidents, such as glass breaking and falling into food. Proper safety protocols are essential, i.e., using plastic vs glass.
Discreet Refilling:
Refilling ketchup bottles from a #10 can in the dining area can be unappetizing to customers. Although ketchup has a long shelf life, it’s best not to expose the refilling process to patrons. Moreover, maintaining cleanliness and sanitization is crucial for the condiment containers. While many restaurants do this and ketchup has a very long shelf life, A. I don’t want to see it as a customer; I noticed because I notice these things, but most customers do notice and it sticks in their subconscious as an “ewwww” factor. B. I’d question when the last time these refilled bottles were cleaned out totally and sanitized. Our bottle was about ½ full, and my husband’s ketchup and my ketchup from the same bottle were two different colors of red.
Effective Upselling:
Our server missed opportunities for upselling both drinks and desserts. No ask to see if we would like coffee or dessert, just an ask if we wanted the check. Encouraging customers to explore the bar menu or offering dessert options at the end of the meal can significantly increase overall sales and enhance the dining experience.
Adequate Space Between Tables and Chairs:
While maximizing seating capacity is important for revenue, it’s equally crucial to ensure customer comfort and ease of movement. Waitstaff should have ample space to take orders, serve food and drinks, and clear tables without inconveniencing customers.
(If you were wondering about the above photo, this is a perfect example from the restaurant in question; how much room would there be if someone was sitting in the other seat? There is already not enough room to walk between chairs without bumping into the bag).
When laying out a dining room and estimating space, chairs should not pushed into the table but should be pulled out enough as if someone was sitting in each seat, plus some extra space for handbags or backpacks and coats to hang in the winter (especially if there is no coat rack, as in this case).
There is nothing worse for a customer than having to ask people not to just move their “stuff” but to actually have to get up so someone could get out to use the restrooms or to leave.
It’s even worse if you have waitstaff juggling hot food or a tray of drinks. If your dining room layout reminds you at all of a full flight in an airplane with tiny seats, cramped space, etc., you really need to rethink your layout. What you may sacrifice in a seat or two, you will make up in spades from happy waitstaff and repeat customers.
As an owner or manager of a restaurant, most improvements can be gleaned just by taking the time to observe and to ask your staff for suggestions and improvements.
A consult I did a few years ago where we asked the staff for suggestions (and this had never been done before there) resulted in many ideas that saved the owner money, and made the working environment easier to use through flow suggestions and more productive for staff because suggestions were implemented, and staff appreciated the fact that they were listened to.
These observations are not meant to be critical but rather constructive to pinpoint areas where improvement can enhance the return on investment (ROI) and the return on the total investment (ROTI). ROTI can also be Return on Time Investment, which also applies in this case.
by Heather T. | Oct 23, 2020 | Food, Marketing, Operations, restaurants
Not a working QR code, just an example
This past Monday I ran a workshop session for my SCORE chapter, Restaurants, Mastering the Art of Takeout. One of the topics I touched on was QR codes and how restaurants and other foodservice establishments could leverage use QR codes in conjunction with Google Docs to be creative with their menus as well as offer things like reheating instructions for takeout to customers without having to add a printed piece of paper to the takeout order. I had written a blog post touching briefly on this topic last month, Tackling Some of the Challenges of Takeout Food for Restaurants.
Before I dive into some of the uses, there are somethings I want to touch on first. This is something I have been discussing with many of my own business clients for months.
If you are not familiar with Google Docs, it’s Google’s free online alternative to Microsoft office, there are also Google Sheets (like Excel), Google Slides (like Powerpoint), and quite a few more applications. I like using the online applications because you can share with anyone, share editing capability with anyone, access it from anywhere, and unlike desktop-based programs, which even if autosave is turned out, you may lose content if you have a power outage or other computer issue. When you add something in a Google Doc, it’s still there even if you get booted off the internet or you go offline for other reasons.
If you are looking for help with the Google applications, Google itself has a lot of resources, https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282664?hl=en and https://support.google.com/docs/?hl=en#topic=1382883 have some great tutorials. There are also some very helpful tutorial/help documents at https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/googledocuments/.
If you are not overly familiar with QR Codes, this might also be useful. I am glad to see the resurgence of them because they had so many practical applications and were also often misused but that’s a topic for another blog, but if you want a laugh, this is probably my favorite UnMarketing video featuring Marketing Guru (and I don’t apply the term Guru lightly to anyone) Scott Stratten, QR Codes Kill Kittens. It looks like a session he did at one of the conferences he speaks at but sadly it doesn’t say which it. Scott is also one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter.
Before you create your first QR code, read the difference between both, and make sure you read the fine print before you set up and start using them in your business. I bring this up because many Dynamic QR Code creation platforms offer it as “free” but it’s not really, it’s a free trial or they don’t actually point out that heaven forbid you actually want to edit/change any links after you’ve created them…….you have to pay for them.
Static QR Code: A Static QR Code contains information that is fixed and un-editable once the Code has been generated.
Dynamic QR Code: Dynamic QR Codes allow you to update, edit, and change the type of the QR Code however many times you need, which makes them the best fit for restaurants and marketing purposes.
Back to the topic at hand ?
With many menus now only being hosted solely online and traffic driven to them in-house from QR codes or having to do daily printed menus for safety reasons, having an easily editable and also (and this is important) mobile-friendly version of your website is key. While you can tie your menus into online ordering if you want people to call or email or message you to make a takeout order instead of ordering through an app or website, being able to easily edit and change your menus becomes a higher priority, especially if you employ a web designer to maintain your website and who would charge you every time you wanted to make a menu change. While you can upload a photo or image of the menu daily or embed a word doc or other type of document, while it may look great on a desktop or laptop, it’s not generally mobile-friendly.
I bring this up because I’m seeing a lot of this recently. A mobile-friendly website with an image in it (the menu) that is too small to read on mobile because it doesn’t resize. Example one below, example two (Below that) is what a Google Doc looks like on mobile.
Even if you don’t want to use Google Docs for the above reason, it is something to think about if you are giving people heating or re-heating instructions for items, think about doing a Google Doc for menu items and doing a QR code with a link to the online instructions to reheat them. These QR codes can be easily printed off using an in-house printer and Avery labels and stuck onto the outgoing takeout containers. Whether you do one document that has general heating instructions for all, one that has individual heating instructions for everything that could be reheated on the menu (remember this is extremely easy to change the information online and an update is instantaneous) or customized documents for each with different QR codes is up to you. The QR code on the below sample actually works, any links to my Twitter account, come on over and say hello!
In a few weeks, I’ll be doing a follow-up Webinar for SCORE (these are free so I encourage people to take advantage of both SCORE national and regional/state offerings as they come up.)
