Restaurant Business Entree - Experiential Marketing

If you've ever been to Carnegie Deli in New York City, you know there are two things you can count on every time you dine there, mile-high sandwiches and wait staff with attitude. The atmosphere is electric; the noise level is loud. The deli has firmly established its reputation as a quintessential NYC food fest destination.

Meanwhile, over at The Drake hotel in downtown Chicago, their English Afternoon Tea is a very fond and elegant memory. It beautifully mirrors the overall gracious experience the hotel offers its guests.

Experiential Restauranting
When patrons leave your establishment, what do you want them to remember? What do you want them to tweet about as they make their way to their next destination, while their impressions are fresh on their minds? Ideally, the lingering impression, the reason customers become regulars, is the imprint of a great overall experience.

The soul of your restaurant can emanate from the chef's personality and culinary skills, or be rooted in local culture and history. It can manifest through unique offerings like international flair; a quirky mix of wait staff that can sing, dance or act; rare and challenging recipes and ingredients; thematic interpretation; simple fare with comfortable surroundings. The ideas are simply endless.

The Key Elements of Experiential Restauranting/Style and Substance

- Clear concept of establishment style/type of cuisine, and the ability to articulate it
- Presentation of concept/personality that permeates all aspects of your operations
- Menu that not only reflects the concept but differentiates the restaurant
- Passion for food that radiates through the menu (think "Like Water for Chocolate" wedding feast)
- Service that reflects the concept and desired lasting impressions
- Identified and evolving "extras" which build the restaurant's cache over time

The Key Elements of Experiential Marketing/Mirroring Restaurant Ambiance

- Storefront and interior, name, and logo reflecting the intended personality
- Website look and feel, imagery, navigation, and content/writing style
- Advertising and promotions with insights into the dining experience
- Socialized marketing: Weaving different experience elements across select social media
- Mobile marketing: Patron outreach and restaurant locator tool*
- Bringing the dining experience full circle
* Example: Foursquare/Google Maps Mashup ("Musings of a VC in NYC" blog entry and comments)

Experiential Advice/Warning
When economic and/or other financial constraints stand to impact your bottom line, DO NOT, we repeat DO NOT sacrifice the quality of your ingredients or recipes to save money. Either reduce the number of menu items and/or incrementally increase the pricing. Consider changing your hours of operation or meals offered. Be sure to communicate why you are doing so with your patrons. If you choose to take the "easy" way out and cut the quality of your food and hope for the best, you are placing your core competency in jeopardy. The ultimate risk is the failure of your restaurant.

Scheduling Staff - A Challenge For All Restaurants

Restaurant managers will tell you that hiring and retaining staff as well as scheduling workers are their biggest challenges. Anticipating the size of the crowd on any given night is tough enough and then you must try and match the number of workers to the size of the crowd. Add to that, the need to balance the number of shifts and workers requesting time off and it can be a real challenge.

Most restaurants have gone to a computer generated scheduling system. Workers can put in their requests for time off and managers can plug in the shifts that they need to fill as they work through the schedule. Computer programs can help managers make sure they are balancing out the hours and spreading around the shifts fairly. There is nothing that will cause discontent faster in the workplace than employees who feel like they are being slighted.

When workers feel like they are under appreciated or under used they are likely to start looking for another job and turnover is the number one enemy of the restaurant industry. Having to hire and train new employees takes valuable time away from managing day to day operations and managers need to do everything they can to retain people. It is extremely important to hold onto servers because of the relationships that they establish with your customers who come back again and again just to see them.

Any manager will tell you that a good server is difficult to find and can be a valuable asset to your operation. While you want to make sure that the best people are working at the busiest times, it is also critical not to overwork those servers to the point that they might become burned out. An occasional day off on a weekend is a nice treat for a restaurant employee who is accustomed to waiting on other people out enjoying themselves. Using a computer system will give employees a chance to put in their requests for time off well in advance to help the manager plan for coverage. This type of scheduling means that workers will not be trading shifts on their own which is always a recipe for problems.

Knowing How to Get Staffing Levels Just Right

You have probably been in a restaurant where you have seen several servers just standing around. If you dine out frequently, you have probably also dined in a place where the servers were running ragged because there were not enough people working. Figuring out how many people to have working on any given night is the biggest challenge for any restaurant manager.

Information is the key to scheduling efficiently. Data from past sales, worker availability, hours already worked and reservations all need to be factored in when making out the schedule. Computer software which keeps track of all of this information can be a manager's greatest resource. Alerts can be sent when there is a big party coming up that will require extra staffing and most systems can also be set up to send alerts if a particular worker is close to going over 40 hours in a week.

There are always times when it is difficult to anticipate the size of the crowd on any given night but proper planning will certainly head off most problems. If you know the average number of diners who come to your restaurant on a Monday night, then you have a pretty good idea of how many people to schedule to work to handle the crowd. The key is to reaching the perfect balance of servers to patrons; you don't want to be paying people to work when they have nothing to do. You will be wasting money and the servers will be upset because they won't be making much in tips.

A computerized scheduling program also gives your workers a chance to request time off well in advance. This way you won't have workers trading shifts and trying to arrange a night off by themselves. Inevitably, something always goes wrong with that scenario and you are left trying to plug a hole in the schedule at the last minute. Electronically preparing the schedule will also mean that you have confirmation that it was transmitted to each individual worker and they can't say they didn't see the schedule that was posted in the kitchen.

Eliminate Your Restaurant's Paperwork

Pushing papers is a thing of the past. Purchasing, payroll and scheduling are being handled by computer by a growing number of restaurant owners. Even the smallest operations are finding out how they can save time and money by switching to a system that handles all aspects of managing the business electronically.

Restaurant managers know that one of the most time consuming activities is placing purchase orders for food and other supplies. Help is available through software programs that simplify the process. The programs let you easily keep track of inventory and past sales so you have a good idea of what will be needed for the upcoming week. You can electronically schedule orders and manage expenditures more efficiently. The programs can also be set to alert you if an event is coming up in the restaurant that will require special food or supplies to be purchased.

Scheduling your employees is much easier thanks to the management programs. Your workers will give you their availability for the coming month and then you can plug them in for shifts based on your needs. The software program can show you what your busiest times have been in the past and you can set staffing levels accordingly. You will also be automatically alerted if there is an event coming up like a business meeting or wedding rehearsal dinner that will require extra staffing on that night.

Another advantage of an electronic system is being able to message your employees and know for sure that they have received the message. The schedule can be sent out electronically along with internal memos about operations. You will not only save on paper but you have some assurance that the worker has received the message. It is a much more efficient way to operate than just posting a memo or note in the kitchen and hoping that everyone sees it.

Restaurant managers who have made the switch say that they have found they now have more time to concentrate on growing the business. Many can be more visible inside the restaurant itself trying to make sure that diners are leaving satisfied so that they will come back again.

Pubs and Bars - Getting Into Food

You don't need me to tell you that the pub and bar trade is suffering. What, with the smoking ban, recession and cuts to public spending, many businesses are suffering. It's no surprise that many traditional pubs and drinks only bars are beginning to diversify.

Serving food is one way many pubs and bars are able to generate extra revenue and prevent them from being one of the pubs that closes down every single day in the UK.

But getting into food can be fraught with pitfalls and challenges, which for the experienced can be daunting. Not only do you have to find a chef, buy kitchen equipment for bars and get the food in, there are a myriad of certificates and approvals needed from local authorities.

However, while I can't assist you in selecting a chef, or dealing with the local council - I can provide you with some tips for buying kitchen equipment for bars and pubs:

The best thing to do is to split the process into three:

The Customer

There are few pieces of bar equipment required when the customer first enters. The first is the menu. To avoid printing costs and regular amendments the simplest solution is to use a blackboard. These menu boards can either be used for the entire menu of to place specials on.

Cutlery for bars is another item that will be needed before the customer can start their meal. Make sure all cutlery is stainless steel as it is easy to clean and more hygienic. Only but good quality cutlery otherwise it will have to be regularly replaced; condiment holders likewise.

The Kitchen

To establish the equipment required it is best to speak to the chef, after-all they will be using it and know exactly what is needed. But there are basics for the pub kitchen; knives, chopping boards and other utensils.

As for cooking equipment, a good over, hob and deep fat fryer are a must for most traditional pub menus. Chef wear is also important to ensure hygiene in the kitchen

The Service

Service trays or even trolleys should be used if you haven't got experienced waiting staff, otherwise accidents will be inevitable. Food warmers are also a good idea, especially for when it is busy as it prevents dishes and meals getting cold.

Top Tips to Buy Restaurant Supplies

Are you planning to open a new restaurant business? A good restaurant can not do without excellent equipment. Buying restaurant equipment involves a big investment. In this article you will find some tips which can help you in buying good equipment at affordable price.

Nowadays all type of restaurant and kitchen equipment can be bought online. Internet shopping is always hassle free. Buying online is always a good decision. It saves your time as well as money. Every thing can be done from the comfort of your home. You don't have to visit local stores. There are stores which offer free shipping on your door steps. So all you need is a computer and a high speed internet connection.

Online shopping always allows you to make a proper selection. Internet shopping allows you to go through different categories of products. In this way you can compare the features as well as price of the supplies. Internet allows you to find your favorite brand.

Simplify Restaurant Scheduling

One of the most frustrating part of managing a restaurant is filling out the weekly schedule. You want to make sure you have enough people to work to handle the crowd but you don't want to schedule too many people and waste money. On top of that, you have to make sure you are balancing out the number of hours people have worked and accommodate any special requests for time off. In the past, scheduling has meant using a pencil with a good eraser because there were sure to be changes but not any more.

There are now software programs which allow you to manage all aspects of restaurant operations electronically, online. The people who work in the restaurant all have access to the system and can log any special requests that they have for time off. The programs will also keep track of reservations and special events so you are notified if you need to have extra people in for a big night. The programs can also track sales and dining room activity so that the manager will have a good idea of how they can expect to be on any given night. This information is critical to matching the number of workers to the number of diners. When you are not paying extra people to stand around, you are saving money.

In addition to managing staff, most programs can help you manage purchasing as well. The software can be set up to track food orders and pay vendors. This way of managing inventory is another way to control costs and eliminate the waste that is so prevalent in many restaurants. Even if the restaurant is a small operation with 30 or 40 people, the software can make a big difference.

Another advantage by going electronic is improved communications with employees. In addition, to distributing the schedule you can use the internal mail features to make announcements and circulate memos. It is a great way to keep servers up to date on daily specials and new menu items. The workers can also use the system to make suggestions to management about things customers have said they would like to see added to the menu or suggest changes.