Article: “Customer Service Or The Lack There Of”

excerpt:
“Who among us hasn’t had an unpleasant dining experience thanks to a rude waiter, lousy food and bad service? From the telephone to the table, customer service is defined by anticipating the demands of customers, and these days, customers are demanding more; specifically in the way of service, and service starts as soon as the guest walks through the door.

The old adage, “You never get a second chance to make a good first impression” still holds true today, especially in the hospitality industry, and equally important is the guest’s lasting impression.

“If we don’t take care of our customers, our competition will,” said Annie Kang-Drachen, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Department of Food & Beverage Management, UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.”

source: “Customer Service Or The Lack There Of” by Kate Mazzarella-Minshall (Foodservice.com)

Article: “Google Maps offers discount coupons for US stores” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“Google Inc. will offer printable discount coupons to local shoppers, in a promotional bid that aims to drive U.S. online shoppers using its Google Maps service to visit stores, the company said.

The world’s top Web search supplier is taking advantage of the marketing tool, which is traditionally used by small businesses, to entice U.S. consumers to seek out savings from local retailers such as dry cleaners, pizza delivery restaurants and auto repair shops.

Google has partnered with Valpak, the top U.S. supplier of coupon advertising, to provide more than 20,000 coupons from current Valpak advertisers when consumers search for relevant stores using its Google Maps map and local directory service…”

source: “Google Maps offers discount coupons for US stores” by Eric Auchard (Reuters, Aug.14,2006)

Article: “”Name game: Chefs who give their food silly names may not be so foolish.”

excerpt:
“The grosser a dish sounds the better. That’s the philosophy some chefs are adopting when coming up with names for dishes on their menu. From Kitchen Sink Chopped Salad to Debris Sandwich, chefs are giving food a bad name. Luckily, they’ve been able to convince customers the dishes taste better than they sound, and for many, the marketing gimmick has paid off.

San Pedro chef/co-owner Michael Goodman created the Fat Boy Man Salad at home a few years ago, when he wanted to eat more nutritiously. His vegetarian creation consisted of baby field greens, carrots, grape tomatoes, beets and green beans. It tasted terrific, but Goodman found it wasn’t enough to satisfy his hunger. Soon, he began super-sizing it.

“It was obnoxiously large,” says Goodman. “People started calling it the Fat Boy Man Salad.”

source: “Name game: Chefs who give their food silly names may not be so foolish.” by Nancy Ngo (Pioneer Press, Aug.3.2006)

Article: “More chefs in the kitchen: Restaurants explore ways to allow diners a firsthand look at food preparation” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“He watches The Food Network religiously, cooks dinner for himself and his wife, Janet, at least four times a week, and said he’s more than comfortable working in the kitchen, even when it isn’t his own. He also has worked with local chefs at area restaurants more than a dozen times.

So it’s no surprise that he leapt at the chance to be among the first to participate in a “Chef for a Day” program at The Seelbach Hilton Hotel’s Oakroom restaurant when the program was launched a couple of years ago.

“To be shoulder to shoulder with a group of professional people and keeping up with them doing exactly what they were doing and to feel a part of that — that was amazing,” Frick said…”

source: “More chefs in the kitchen: Restaurants explore ways to allow diners a firsthand look at food preparation” by Shannon Leonard-Boone (Business First of Louisville, Aug.11,2006)

Article: “How to increase your prices” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“The thought of price increases causes anxiety for many operators. But clever pricing is a great opportunity to practise your marketing skills, build your reputation and increase your profits.

When inflation was high, price rises were almost a sport - now they’ve become an agonising debate. One thing’s for sure - you live by price and you die by price. Operators still holding the price of meals to what they were 12 months ago are bearing the brunt of massive increases in the cost of fuel and ingredients. Profitability is suffering.

So how do you put up prices with confidence and style?”

source: “How to increase your prices” (ProfitableHospitality.com, Aug.2006) [public access til Aug.19th]

Article: “Purse snatchings hit cafes” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“…Workers at some outdoor cafes say they recently have had some suspicious customers, such as people who ask to be seated and then disappear moments later. Not long after, a customer will complain of a missing purse.

Meanwhile, alarmed customers have been finding creative ways to tether their bags to their bodies, wrapping straps from the bag around their legs, a chair, or underneath a high heel. Some restaurants have been supplying hooks under the table for bags to be hung.

“…Some of the restaurants on Newbury and Boylston, they are seemingly friendly and feel like the suburbs; people forget this is a city,” she said. “Sadly, the very people you wish would have a good experience in Boston are the ones losing their purses and wallets.”

source: “Purse snatchings hit cafes” by Matt Viser (Boston Globe, Aug.15,2006)

Article: “Customer service with a snarl” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“Customer service has eroded over the past decade for a variety of reasons — low wages, lack of training, exponential growth, to name a few. Few companies have the blend of corporate culture, training and opportunities for advancement that makes employees surpass expectations…

…In the restaurant business, quality is difficult to gauge because most customers don’t complain — they simply go elsewhere. To amp up its service, Furio began a day-after-dining program to gauge customer satisfaction: The Scottsdale restaurant picks diners at random from the reservation book and contacts them about their experience.

“We look at every single comment,” says Stephanie Eglin, director of marketing for Anthem Restaurants, which owns Furio. “When somebody gives negative feedback, the owner himself makes the call if he’s able to. This type of endeavor is not costly, and we’re able to gain a lot of valuable feedback…”

source: “Customer service with a snarl” by Marija Potkonjak (East Valley Tribune, Aug.14,2006)

Article: “Survey of Top On-Premise Wines Released” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“The Restaurant Wine newsletter, published by wine consultant Ronn Wiegand MS, has released its annual ranking of the 100 best-selling wine brands in restaurants as well as the 60 most frequently ordered wines. Beringer Vineyards of Foster’s Wine Estates tops the list of brands, followed by Franzia, part of The Wine Group portfolio. Rounding out the top five are: Kendall-Jackson; Yellow Tail, from W.J. Deutsch & Sons; and Inglenook, part of Constellation Brands’ Centerra Wine Company portfolio. The Restaurant Wine survey covers the entire spectrum of U.S. restaurants, from casual dining chains to fine dining restaurants.

The report found that case sales in the on-premise segment grew 6 percent, or 4 million cases, to reach 64 million cases sold. The value of on-premise wine sales now exceeds $12 million. In terms of the overall market, on-premise sales account for 22 percent by case volume and nearly 50 percent of dollar value…”

source: “Survey of Top On-Premise Wines Released” by Mary-Colleen Tinney (WineBusiness.com, Aug.8,2006)

related link: “Restaurant Wine Newsletter” by Ronn Wiegand

Article: “Chowhound: Rave reviews’ smell suspect” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“Chowhound.com, a popular online message board devoted to those in search of good food and drink, has banned mentions of a Cambridge restaurant from its site.

Chowhound alleges it was receiving a suspicious number of rave reviews of the 4-month-old Conundrum in Harvard Square, many of them coming from the same computer connection.

“We’ve had a blitz of postings with rapturous praise for Conundrum from many, many posters, all of whom are utter newcomers to the site, and our users have been complaining that it seems like we might be getting played,” Chowhound co-founder Jim Leff said. “I’m not trying to do anything but run an honest food discussion, and it’s my job to defend that discussion when we feel like it’s being taken advantage of.”

source: “Chowhound: Rave reviews’ smell suspect” by Donna Goodison (Boston Herald, Aug.12, 2006)

Article: “Fusion with flair, if you’re patient” (Aug.2006)

excerpt:
“Stunning design and excellent food by themselves do not automatically make a great restaurant, however. Three months after it opened, the 200-seat Kampai still is plagued by poor service and a kitchen that sometimes seems incapable of turning out more than one exquisitely plated dish at a time.

…On our first visit, the server kept rebellion at bay by stopping regularly to check on us and apologize for the kitchen being so backed up. He was friendly and professional. As the evening dragged on, he brought a free pot of tea to keep us happy.

At a later dinner, a different server all but abandoned our table after bringing drinks, and there were no reassurances. He appeared undertrained and overwhelmed. The starters and entrees straggled out one at a time, and the rice we asked for earlier in the evening didn’t arrive until we were almost finished eating. The manager, eventually noticing our discomfort, tried to speed things up and offered a $5 gift card toward a future meal as compensation, but it wasn’t enough to mollify us by then.

…Kampai House has the food and the setting. Now, all it needs is some attention to service to become a restaurant worthy of a return visit.”

source: “Fusion with flair, if you’re patient” by Aleta Wilson (Mercury News, Aug.13,2006)