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 EHC #554
 Insights for the Professionally Curious
 September 12, 2008 
One of my more difficult weekly tasks is to decide what information I am going to leave OUT of the Complimentary Edition of the EHC. It's not that I don't love you all, just that the folks who are paying for my weekly rants deserve to get their money's worth ... even if that money only averages out to 75 cents an issue. So I apologize for the necessary surgery ... and hope you may eventually decide your business is worth another forty bucks a year!
Good Morning!

Its back on the road this coming week -- Sacramento on Monday and Tuesday for a distributor food show and then Detroit on Wednesday to Friday for some on-site consulting. One day at home to pack and we leave the next day for two weeks in Europe.

If you said you were interested in knowing about special events, watch your email in-box for details on the Last Annual Birthday Bash coming up on November 17-18 in New Orleans.

Marketing guru Joel Cohen and I have been sharing our latest ideas on restaurant marketing like this every year since 2004 (we both have November birthdays) but we call the 2008 edition our Last Bash because next year everything will be different.

Starting in mid-2009, Joel and I will be applying our marketing approaches to restaurants certified under the Six Star Hospitality Program and public events like the Birthday Bash may well become a thing of the past. (Personally, if I never had to fill another seminar seat, I would be thrilled beyond measure!)

If you are not on the list for special events and would like to be (or if you are and prefer to be off it), just click on the Update Profile link at the bottom of the page. That's also the place to update your email address.

Bill Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor

Mini Desserts,
Maxi Appeal
An Idea For Our Times

 I saw this in a recent note from my favorite food fanatic, Phyllis Ann Marshall, principal of FoodPower in Costa Mesa, CA. She wrote:

Executive Chef Cliff Pleau of Orlando's Season's 52 designed these spectacular desserts small enough to control over-indulging, but don't mistake the care and attention put into the preparation of each mini dessert.

At $2.50 each it's no wonder more than 90% of their diners give their taste buds a little treat at the conclusion of their meal! Some take two, others take 'em all, but just imagine the conversation on the way home!

A Note From the Doc:
You know that the first two bites of dessert are the best. Why not make it easy for your guests to satisfy their sweet tooth without the need to make a major financial decision? Better yet, if you can make these little gems weigh in at about 100 calories, you can even eliminate the guilt. If you're not selling dessert to 90% of your diners right now, this is an experiment worth trying!

PS: I ate at Seasons 52 when I was in Orlando last week. This idea in practice is truly as brilliant as it sounds!
The Six Star project is taking on a life of its own. I appreciate the nearly 270 operators who have helped the cause by responding to the general survey. Have I heard from you yet? If not, it's not too late to share your thoughts.

The program designers will need to invent ways to do things that have always seemed impossible ... so what would you like to see invented while they are at it? The next few EHC surveys will take each element of the Six Star program and ask you to go WAY outside the box of what you think is possible.

Essentially we want you to complete this sentence: "Wouldn't it be cool if ______" Go crazy! Be unreasonable! We want to know the resources you wish you had at hand if your wildest dreams could come true. Then we'll see how close we can come to giving them to you.
The September Survey
All-Star Staffing

A common complaint of independent operators is the amount of time they spend trying to keep their shifts filled with quality workers. At the same time, you need an all-star staff to deliver Six Star Hospitality ... so the program will include a proven process to find, select, develop and retain the best of the best.

Without a plan you are just making things up. When you make things up, you risk making mistakes, either by hiring the wrong person or by violating employment laws. Making it up takes more time, is less effective and produces more stress. When you make it up, most of the work falls to the manager ... who already has too much to do. Worst of all, without a plan you don't get the best people and that is the greatest loss of all -- for you, your staff and especially for your guests.

This month's survey outlines what we already intend to create ... and asks for your ideas to help us see even more radical applications. The program designers will need to invent ways to do things that have always seemed impossible ... so we want a "wish list" of the resources you would like to have at hand if your wildest dreams could come true ... then let's see how close we can come to giving it to you.

If you said you wanted to be part of the development process, this is the way to do it right now. I can't ask you to field test something until we have created it!

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 ...
  • What Is Killing Hospitality? - the first installment of a discussion on what brings down independent operators
  • Enemy ... or Opportunity? - there's a powerful new competitor that is probably not on your radar yet ... what makes them such a threat and how can you profit from it?
  • Wine Night Revisited - an unsolicited testimonial on one operator's experience with half price wine night
  • What Did You Learn From Your Staff Today? - how to use the world as your place of higher learning
  • Special Offers on Management Resources - while I am still in that business
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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