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 EHC #546
 Insights for the Professionally Curious
 July 18, 2008 
Good Morning!

The momentum of the Six Star project has prompted me to do something I hardly ever do -- shovel out my office! For those who don't know, I tend to work in piles ... and with 30 feet of desk top and a large room, I can accumulate a veritable mountain of loose debris! I should weigh the total amount of paper I haul it out but it would probably scare me.

Hmmm ... maybe I should put in a webcam. I might keep things more orderly if I couldn't hide the debris from you anymore ......... Nah!

Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor

Soggy City
Don't Be a Drip

Now that the warm weather is truly upon us, I am noticing the perpetual problem of heavy condensation on the outside of cold drink glasses.

If the glass is set on a hard surface table without something to absorb the dripping water, the glass sits in a puddle, dripping into the food and onto the guest when they take a drink. Cocktail napkins are the minimum "fix" required here but they quickly turn to pulp.

My personal preference is for a heavy fiberboard coaster. It holds up to the water and keeps the guest and the tabletop dry. It can also be imprinted with a merchandising message. I am thinking that a coaster might actually be better advertising than a table tent because people would look at it every time they pick up and put down their drink. It would certainly make the dining room look less cluttered.

Six Star Hospitality(tm)
Rethinking Restaurants

I can't begin to tell you how quickly Six Star has taken on a life of its own! I am getting notes from people all over the world, asking how they can be part of this project. Very exciting. Very gratifying. Now all we have to do is create it!

This project will transform the way that independent restaurants operate and put the hospitality back into the hospitality business. Needless to say, it will completely transform the nature of my business as well.

In case you missed it, here is what we know about the Six Star Hospitality Program so far:

THE DREAM (The Great Result)
To create a resurgence of hospitality in the world and deliver the experience of true hospitality to every patron of every independent restaurant, every time.

THE VISION (How to Do It)
To create the Six Star Hospitality Program -- an elegantly simple system that provides the logic, methodology and support structure allowing independent restaurants to operate with effortless excellence.

THE PURPOSE (For Whom?)
To provide restaurant owners and employees with a fulfilling sense of purpose and the joyful experience of enriching the lives of the people they serve ... as they produce a consistent profit.

THE MISSION (How to Move It Into the World)
To make the Six Star Hospitality Program so irresistible and so affordable that hospitality becomes the competitive point of difference in every independent restaurant in the world.

Obviously a system that can facilitate all this on a global scale must be simple yet comprehensive, universally applicable yet infinitely customizable, priceless in its impact yet priced so fairly that it becomes a no-brainer decision. That is not something that can be developed without a massive team effort and that appears to be well underway.

If methodology like this sounds like something you would like to see brought into the world, I invite you to be part of creating it. As a start, just answer a few simple questions to help us get a clearer picture of how the system needs to be designed.

So far, 175 operators have contributed their ideas to this first step of the project. I would love to make it an even 200. Have I heard from you yet?

Rather than take up space in the EHC with the latest steps in the evolution of Six Star, I will send regular updates just to those who tell me that they want to be part of making all this happen. You can indicate your degree of interest when you contribute to the survey.

As the saying goes, "Play big or go home!" How large a game are you willing to play? I invite you to join me as we do the impossible.
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 ...
  • Purchasing 101- a common sense consideration that will help you reduce food cost without compromising quality
  • Still Doin' The Work - a give and take exchange with a reader who took me to task on a comment I made last week about how to seat the dining room
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.

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