Archive for March, 2009
Restaurant Business Growth: Discover The Importance Of Having A Signature Item
Posted by: | CommentsRichard Saporito
A signature item is a particular food or drink that a restaurant has created and is very well known for. Every establishment needs a signature item which becomes the mainstay for regular patrons, and, in turn, keeps the establishment in business for a very long time.
The signature item could be anything such as a specially made sandwich, a pancake filled with a choice of 100 different items, a dessert, or even a cocktail. You’ve seen it; a restaurant that serves such a delicious dish that people will literally drive hours and hours, over state lines, just for a taste. Once they arrive at a restaurant that serves such a dish, the most important thing they must know is where the line forms at the front door.
A signature item can actually keep a restaurant afloat because it’s the one reliable item that puts their numbers over the top. If a signature item is really that good, it can become quite famous such as the California Cobb Salad or Buffalo Chicken Wings which are both still finding their way onto menus after many, many years. Then, there is a restaurant that will actually name a dish after the patron who concocted it and add it to the menu permanently!
A great signature item has the potential to bring your restaurant significant growth as your customers will tell their family, friends and co-workers about their experience at your establishment. This word-of-mouth marketing will result in more overall business and more repeat business as well.
One particular signature item experience of mine was when balsamic vinegar first came on the scene many years ago. I was working in a restaurant where the Chef had created an unbelievably delicious mustard balsamic vinaigrette dressing. People came from all over town to taste this salad dressing. And brilliantly, the menu offered a huge selection of giant sized, tasty salads that this vinaigrette dressing would complement.
This is brilliant marketing and highlights an important aspect of adding a signature item to your menu. While adding a signature item is the first step, you must also find a way to feature your signature dish for best results.
This can be achieved a number of different ways; by a well-designed table-top display, adding positive customer remarks to the menu, or by simply having the waitstaff highlight this signature item during their initial contact with your patrons.
In the beginning, you may consider offering your new signature item to your best customers for free. This will improve your reputation with these customers and will allow you to gain valuable feedback.
After all, your signature item will only help to grow your restaurant’s business if it is loved by the majority of those who have tasted it.
Click here to improve restaurant service reputation and increase sales immediately:
How to Improve Dining Room Service
About the Author:
Richard Saporito is the Founder of Topserve Restaurant Consulting, author of "How To Improve Dining Room Service." If you'd like to improve your restaurants' reputation and increase sales, contact Richard today for a Free Initial Restaurant Consultation by calling (888) 276-4808 or visiting his Contact Page.
Improve Restaurant Service Through Balance & Consistency
Posted by: | Commentsby Richard Saporito
There are 2 words that I constantly repeat while helping restaurants to improve their dining room service; balance and consistency. Both concepts can easily be applied to restaurants where waiter performance is basically 1/2 physical abilities and 1/2 mental abilities.
The physical aspects of balance is obvious; carrying/serving more than one plate at a time, carrying/serving cocktails on trays, balancing one’s feet while in motion etc.
For physical consistency, it amounts to not only excellent physical condition, but also the consistency of the waiter service skills and technique, or the “consistency of balancing” – if you will.
Physical consistency is how one carries his or herself in the restaurant dining room, and the physical vibe (body language) that is emanated as well. This affects diners who are trying to enjoy themselves out and away from the stresses of daily life.
There also has to be a mental balance to a waiter’s performance as well such as being realistic about the amount of tables that can be handled at one time or asking for help from other waitstaff when overloaded with too many tables on an especially busy night.
Basically, it is being able to make the “common sense” restaurant and people decisions needed to provide successful dining room service or functioning on an “even keel” so to speak.
For mental consistency, one hopes to always have a positive and empathetic attitude towards the customer and other staff members, especially in the face of adverse situations. Restaurant service is always problematic, so it is imperative to have a consistent trouble-shooting approach to all situations.
Balance and Consistency can also be applied to food and drink concerning taste, texture, spiciness, color, presentation etc. A mouthful of mixed foods can be crunchy, yet balanced by softness in texture.
A sip of wine can have a certain crispness, yet be balanced by delicate fruits. When pairing food and wine, balance is necessary as you certainly don’t want one taste to overpower another.
And, of course, consistency is a desirable trait in every aspect of your restaurant’s performance. Your customer’s long for consistency in the quality of your food, your customer service, the cleanliness of your restaurant and bathroom and overall ambience you provide.
Restaurants that excel in these areas are the ones that thrive. They’re the ones that are happily recommended by others, are talked about by the water cooler and the ones that have waiting lines every weekend night.
Yes, balance and consistency will improve restaurant service every time..
Click here to improve restaurant service reputation and increase sales immediately:
How to Improve Dining Room Service
About the Author:
Richard Saporito is the Founder of Topserve Restaurant Consulting, author of “How To Improve Dining Room Service.” If you’d like to improve your restaurants’ reputation and increase sales, contact Richard today for a Free Initial Restaurant Consultation by calling (888) 276-4808 or visiting his Contact Page.
About the Author:
Richard Saporito is the Founder of Topserve Restaurant Consulting, author of "How To Improve Dining Room Service." If you'd like to improve your restaurants' reputation and increase sales, contact Richard today for a Free Initial Restaurant Consultation by calling (888) 276-4808 or visiting his Contact Page.
Improve Restaurant Dining Room Service With Anticipation and Reaction
Posted by: | Commentsby Richard Saporito
Anticipation and Reaction is a crucial concept in delivering and maintaining excellent restaurant dining room service. It is very important that all staff and management read the customers individually and the table as a whole— ahead of time.
For example, a good waiter can often anticipate when a table will be ordering heavily off the menu. The waiter should react by spending some extra time at this table because, most likely, this table will order even more menu items —if given that extra time. It makes for a more enjoyable party while boosting up the check total in the process.
Then, there are times when serious business people come in for lunch, order lightly, and pretty much want to be left alone to discuss business. With anticipation of the customer’s needs, and reaction, the waiter should know to give efficient, unobtrusive service, yet not ignoring the table.
Then, there is the situation of the crying baby at the table. The smartest thing a waiter can do is to get some food out right away to distract and calm the baby. Often times, an order will be given consisting of appetizers and entrées, along with the baby’s one small dinner order. With anticipation and reaction, the waiter should ask “Would you like me to put in the baby’s dinner order along with the appetizer order?” The response by the parents, as they understand the purpose of serving the baby immediately, is usually a sigh of relief -”yes!”
It is also very important for the host to read the customers as soon as they walk through the front door to help provide the best table that fits the party. For example, if a couple walks into the restaurant locked in each other’s arms, then a nice quiet table with some privacy would surely be the perfect fit.
Another situation is if a party of ten arrives looking to indulge in many cocktails while making quite a bit of noise in the process. With anticipation and reaction, the host should seat this party as close to the bar as possible. The bar patrons probably won’t mind the extra noise, and it will be much easier for the waiter to give better service. Running heavy trays of cocktails back and forth from the bar to ten thirsty patrons will not be as tedious because the large party was sat in close proximity to the bar.
This mindfulness by the host also saves the waiter time and effort which can be afforded to other diners in the restaurant. And, most likely, there will be a higher beverage total generated by this large party because of the reduced travel time from the bar to the table.
Yes, anticipation and reaction by the staff and management will improve restaurant dining room service and increase profits!
Click here to improve restaurant service reputation and increase sales immediately:
How to Improve Dining Room Service
About the Author:
Richard Saporito is the Founder of Topserve Restaurant Consulting, author of "How To Improve Dining Room Service." If you'd like to improve your restaurants' reputation and increase sales, contact Richard today for a Free Initial Restaurant Consultation by calling (888) 276-4808 or visiting his Contact Page.
Méthode Champenoise, The Art Of Champagne
Posted by: | CommentsAs touched upon in my article “Making Red, Rose and Sparkling” wine, there are three different ways to create the bubbles in sparkling wine or Champagne. The first method was carbonation, the same method used to make a can of soda fizzy and also the cheapest method for making sparkling wine. Method number two was called the transfer method in which a sweetened base has yeast added to it and is allowed to ferment a second time in an enclosed tank so the building carbon dioxide cannot escape. After fermentation, the wine is then clarified and re-sweetened if necessary before being bottled under pressure. This method is used to produce medium price range sparkling wine. The last method and most complex is méthode champenoise, used in creating the best quality wines. But what exactly is méthode champenoise?
The méthode champenoise starts with the first fermentation held in either small oak barrels or large steel vats with temperature controls. The use of oak barrels is less common, however. After this first fermentation is complete, the wine is put through malolactic fermentation. This is when the wine maker takes hundreds of different fermented batches of wine from different vintages and grapes and blends them together. This new mixture is then sealed in bottles with a wine-sugar liqueur called “liqueur de tirage” and yeast. Fermentation happens inside the sealed bottles from one to three years typically and creates a build up of carbon dioxide. Read More→
