Large Header




Pizza Insight
CEO Project

Sure-Fire Staff Selection System
Contact Us
EFFORTLESS, INC.
PO Box 280
Gig Harbor, WA 98335 USA
(800) 767-1055
(253) 858-9255

Quick Links
 EHC #544
 Insights for the Professionally Curious
July 4, 2008 
Good Morning!

This is a holiday weekend in the US, meaning that most of you are either too slammed to read this or taking the weekend off! With that in mind, I will keep the message short.

So far 90 people have contributed ideas to the first phase of my Hospitality Imperative project ... and I would love to make it an even 100. Have I heard from you yet? Just answer a few simple questions and you will help me get a clearer picture of how the system needs to be designed. We are busily inventing an elegantly simple operating structure that is universally applicable and infinitely customizable ... one that will allow independent operators to put the hospitality (and the fun!) back into the hospitality business. If this sounds like a worthwhile challenge, I invite you to join me as we do the impossible.

Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor

Freedom Is ...
Thoughts on Independence

Today, we in the United States celebrate our independence. This country is truly a noble experiment in what can be accomplished when people are given the freedom to speak their minds, choose their own paths and rise or fall based on their own talent and effort.

May we never lose sight of what made this country great and may we vigorously defend our right to the liberties that so many gave their lives to secure for this and future generations.

FREEDOM IS ...

Freedom is always and exclusively freedom for the one who thinks differently. Rosa Luxemburg (1870-1919)

The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance. John Philpot Curran (1750-1817)

Freedom to learn is the first necessity of guaranteeing that man himself shall be self-reliant enough to be free. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

Freedom is not the same as security. Be wary of giving up your freedom in the name of safety. It is far safer to be totally free in an insecure world than to be totally secure in an unfree one. Bill Marvin (1944- )

The July Survey
Tipping The Scales

The media is reporting that another casualty of the down economy is server tips ... not only because fewer people are dining but becayse those who are may be leaving less to the hard-working service staff.

Let's look closer at that this month. Are you seeing evidence of reduced tips? If so, how are you addressing it? Have you instituted a service charge and if so, how has it been received by your guests and staff?

Staff compensation is one of the elements I will be examining as the Hospitality Imperative project proceeds. The first question to ask is not, "How do we do this better?" but rather, "Is this what we should be doing at all?" Let's find out.

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 ...
  • Making Lemonade - what you should (and should not) be doing to take advantage of the unique opportunities presented by a down economy
  • Doin' The Work - the important distinction between improvement and re-invention
  • 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!
Solve the problem of what to talk about in your next staff meeting. Upgrade to the EHC Special Edition and get it all!

Copyright ©2008 William Marvin. All rights reserved.

This e-mail is sent by William Marvin, Effortless, Inc., PO Box 280, Gig Harbor, WA 98335 USA, e-mail:bill@restaurantdoctor.com, website at www.restaurantdoctor.com. Past editions of EHC are archived on the website.

The Electronic House Call is sent only to subscribers who have requested it. If a copy of this was forwarded to you by a friend and you would like to receive it directly, you can subscribe on the website. You can take your name off the subscription list by clicking on the "SafeUnsubscribe" link at the bottom of the page. You can update your e-mail address, name, spelling and interest categories by clicking on the "Update Profile/Email Address" link at the bottom of the page.

Copyright Notice: The EHC may be copied and re-transmitted by electronic mail, and individual copies of a particular EHC e-mail transcript may be printed, provided that such copying, re-transmission, printing, or other use is not for profit or other commercial purpose.

Material from EHC may NOT be reproduced on the World Wide Web or in broadcast media, print media, or other media without express written permission. Please contact Effortless, Inc. at 253-858-9255 or bill@restaurantdoctor.com to submit a request. Any copying, re-transmission, distribution, printing, or other use of EHC material must set forth the following credit line, in full, at the conclusion of the portion of EHC that is used: "Copyright ©2007 William Marvin. Reprinted with permission." William Marvin and Effortless, Inc. may withdraw or modify this grant of permission at any time.

Privacy Statement: The e-mail addresses that make up the EHC distribution list are confidential; Effortless, Inc. does not furnish these addresses to any other entity in any form or for any purpose. Effortless, Inc. directly distributes the EHC only to users who have subscribed either by e-mail, or via our home page. Once you remove your address from the distribution list, no record of your address remains in the database. Addresses that are returned three times as undeliverable will be dropped from the list.