Let's Talk!

Archive for the ‘Growing Your Business’ Category

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule To Amend Tipped Employee Regulations

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule To Amend Tipped Employee Regulations

On December 22, 2020, the Department of Labor announced a final rule revising its tipped employee regulations to address amendments made to section 3(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (CAA). That amendment prohibits employers from keeping tips received by their employees, regardless of whether the employer [...]
Covid: An Opportunity To Revisit Drive-Thru Thinking

Covid: An Opportunity To Revisit Drive-Thru Thinking

Covid has, if nothing else, sped up the thinking about how we deliver the Guest experience. It's never made sense to me that an operator dedicates less than 20% of his unit's resources to something that delivers 50-65% of his sales. [stm_post_about_author][stm_sidebar sidebar="573"] Digging Deeper [stm_news loop="size:3|post_type:post" posts_per_row="3" view_style="style_2" img_size="medium"][stm_spacing lg_spacing="60" md_spacing="60" sm_spacing="60" xs_spacing="60"]Are You [...]
Inside The Box Thinking

Inside The Box Thinking

For the longest time, I didn’t believe in the rants of gurus who said to think outside the box. I mean, I was looking around and seeing that no one had actually exhausted their inside the box thinking first. Which should be a prerequisite right? How can you move beyond something that isn’t even working [...]
What Is The Employee Experience?

What Is The Employee Experience?

Q: Who creates and delivers every single guest experience? A; The Front-line employee. Understanding this means the imperative is to create a meaningful and differentiated experience for the employee first. so that they will create a meaningful and differentiated experience for your guests. Traditional roles, responsibilities and resources are no longer enough in a world [...]
Core Values Don’t Change

Core Values Don’t Change

This is a list (in no particular order) of our core beliefs for building great businesses out of good businesss. We predicate all of our operational philosophies and client outcomes on these beliefs. The Guest Experience is the most important (only) product you offer. Attracting “A” level talent is a function of great operations. Recruiting [...]
Notes On Loyalty Programs

Notes On Loyalty Programs

Loyalty is probably the most abused word in the marketing lexicon and is usually defined using a retail context. How? It’s use has been warped, twisted and misappropriated to mean nothing more than a discount that rewards a guest for dining with you or to dine with you at some future time (frequency). So much so that [...]
Catering: The Rationale Creating This Part of Your Business

Catering: The Rationale Creating This Part of Your Business

Catering is one of the fastest-growing segments of the foodservice industry, with caterers, banquet halls and hotels commanding the majority of the special-event market but not monopolizing it. Indeed, restaurateurs increasingly are getting into the game, expanding their catering and private-dining services as a way to garner incremental sales and optimize overhead in the face [...]
Pricing Is A Key Component To Sustainable Success

Pricing Is A Key Component To Sustainable Success

Pricing means different things in different industries, and every company has different needs. We draw from an extensive toolkit to develop a tailored solution that works for your environment and your people, and we work with you to design solutions that allow your organization to develop the skills to repeat the process into the future. [...]
Lost Opportunity Cost

Lost Opportunity Cost

Most operators consider the cost-benefit between two (or more) choices they want to consider. The problem lies in how they chose the options being considered and whether or not there were better alternatives.

QFO: Big Menu Or Small Menu?

QFO: Big Menu Or Small Menu?

Q: Is it better for a restaurant to limit its options per food category or to have as many choices as possible? A: There is no right answer except to understand your Guests to the point of adding or subtracting enough to make them spend enough to make your restaurant a success.

Questions From Operators: Frustration

Q: “I get so frustrated with myself on a weekly if not daily basis . Like how can I set personal or work goals and then continue to make choices that prevent me from achieving those goals ??? Sometimes it’s just forgetfulness , laziness , moments of weakness or taking the easy path instead of […]

People: Massimo Bottura

People: Massimo Bottura

Massimo Bottura: “I have a test that I do with my chefs—it’s called “Who Are You?” You have to express yourself in an edible way—or even in a different way. You have to express yourself and tell me who you are. I do this test all the time—if I come back on a Monday, I […]

Page 1 of 22