Operators want to build a database of customers as well as know who is in their restaurants, and the bowl for business cards has long been a low-tech way to do that. To draw attention to its take on the custom, Le Coq Rico in New York City goes beyond the basic box for cards with an egg-shaped receptacle. In keeping with the theme of the chicken restaurant, an attached sign says “Let us coddle your contact ... and win a free lunch for two.”
- 50 Great Ideas
- 1. Approachable guest education
- 2. Targeted outreach
- 3. Ongoing career development
- 4. All are welcome
- 5. Tapping closures for staffers
- 6. Out with training manuals
- 7. Owner's name here
- 8. Doggy bag collection
- 9. How local is it?
- 10. Cocktail list to suit the guests
- 11. Beyond the blue plate special
- 12. Just Say Yes
- 13. Tapping outside talent for specials
- 14. A pancake a day
- 15. Delivery hot spots
- 16. Keep a card handy
- 17. Personal finance coaching
- 18. High excitement over cocktails
- 19. Buddy system
- 20. Cut the a.m. carbs
- 21. Parka prep
- 22. Champion for retention
- 23. Friday follow-up
- 24. Happy hour for kids
- 25. Old school efficiency
- 26. Real-time predictive ordering
- 27. Charge it up
- 28. Straw education
- 29. Wearable incremental sales drivers
- 30. Iconic expectations
- 31. Getting in front of on-the-go consumers
- 32. Upcycling compost
- 33. Watching the weather
- 34. Viral table
- 35. Explanation-free catering
- 36. Yappy hour
- 37. Discounting desserts
- 38. Tattooed promotions
- 39. Modernizing the rules
- 40. DIY desserts
- 41. Social tour for new sites
- 42. Which water?
- 43. Driving profits with boozeless
- 44. Modern play place
- 45. Mentorship meetings
- 46. Early staging
- 47. Packaged to travel
- 48. Sticking with the theme
- 49. Giving staff a chance to stretch
- 50. Compliance at your fingertips