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 EHC #541
 Insights for the Professionally Curious
 June 13, 2008 
Good Morning!

It is Friday the 13th. Did you use that as an excuse for a mini promotion? If not, you lost out on some easy money.

The primary value of a promotion is to gives you a reason to invite guests to return ... and to give them a reason to do it. It's real hard to say, "Why don't you come back on Tuesday. It's a slow night and we really need the business!" So if a promotion gets a guest back just one more time during the month it will be successful, particularly if you can do it by e-mail with essentially no cost.

A secondary value is that promotions break up the daily routine for your guests and your staff. Promotions inject energy into the place and give you a reason to do something different -- try new recipes, change the look of the place, experiment with different types of service or just do something silly. When the promotion is over, the restaurant is never exactly the same as it was before.

Keeping the feeling of freshness is important to your long term success.

We are also just ten days away from the annual CEO Project sessions. The perspective that people discover in this program will surely be a key element in my mission to transform the industry ... but why not gain these insights now instead of waiting for the system to be developed.

Graduates tell us that "suddenly" life seems to get simpler and more fulfilling. Relationships -- of all sorts -- become richer, thinking becomes clearer and the business seems to become easier to run.

You know you have been thinking about attending ... just do it! Call me. I saved you a spot.

Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor

It's Not About You
Putting Fathers Day Into Perspective

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

I want to share a story that I originally published a year ago. If you were subscribed then, consider it a reminder.

When I was graduating from college, my parents wanted to come to the ceremony. I wasn't big on ceremonies and the graduation ritual itself wasn't that big a deal to me at the time. So I was not planning to attend my own graduation and with the arrogance of youth, I told my folks to save their money and stay home.

I was too young and stupid to realize that my graduation ceremony was not really for ME, it was for my parents -- the ones who had sacrificed so much to allow me to attend college in the first place, the ones who were proud of me for making the grade and graduating, the ones who wanted to celebrate as a family what was truly a major accomplishment for all of us.

Years later I realized that my denying them the opportunity to do that must have been a real slap in the face. It was like saying their only role was as financiers. Unfortunately, by the time I woke up to my insensitivity, they were gone and it was too late to beg their forgiveness.

I bring this up now because I don't want you to make a similar error.

Father's Day may not be any big deal to you and you may be inclined to shrug it off ... but Fathers Day is not really for the fathers as much as it is for the families. It means a lot to your family to be able to acknowledge you as a valuable and loved human being, not just as the breadwinner.

Don't shortchange your family. Allow them the joy ... and privilege ... of celebrating you on Father's Day.

(I note with humility that I might have offered these same sentiments prior to Mothers Day and that by not doing so, I reveal an unconscious sexist streak. Ouch!)
The June Survey
The Rising Cost of Food

You don't need me to tell you that the cost of food is increasing at a rate never before seen in our industry. This places increased pressure on operators to raise prices ... at a time when diners are being squeezed by layoffs, rising gas prices, a falling housing market and general economic uncertainly.

The increases are past the point where most operators can afford to absorb the additional costs but raising prices seems to be a recipe for disaster as well. What to do?

Independent operators are nothing if not creative, so this month we look what they are doing to stay afloat in the midst of a perfect storm.

As usual, I will send copies of the survey results to everyone who participates. In the meantime, you can download copies of all past EHC surveys -- including the massive WOW Ideas collections.

Click here to add your thoughts to this month's survey.

Here's What You're Passing Up To Save 75 Cents!
In This Week's EHC Special Edition ...
  • Good News Amidst The Bad - surprising information about prices that are actually going down ... and on the last item you would expect
  • An Unfair Advantage - the secret to regaining control of your time and exploiting every sales-building opportunity
  • What Did You Learn From Your Staff Today? - an insight into how the most important lessons you learn from your staff ... are usually about yourself!
  • Special Offer for an out-of-print book on restaurant newsletters that I just discovered in my warehouse
Solve the problem of what to talk about in your next staff meeting. Upgrade to the EHC Special Edition and get it all!
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