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Bill Main

Articles by
Bill Main

Page 6

When charities come calling

If your restaurant has any prestige, you will be called upon to contribute to charitable organizations by donating gift certificates for meals and/or hosting special charity events.

Always hiring

I learned a trick years ago from an old real estate broker.

Smith, party of 40

Whether you have a banquet room that seats 100 or a group of tables that can accommodate 20, hosting special events can be very profitable.

Service guarantee

When you buy a car, a camera or a toaster oven, you receive a warranty — a guarantee that the product will work. How often have you seen a warranty for restaurant meals?

Split the difference

Recently, in a pricey bistro in Greenwich, CT, the server brought a roasted half chicken with potatoes and spinach for two mink-clad patrons. As he plopped the plate in the middle of the table he asked, "Do you want an extra plate with that?"

Best of the best

Maybe it's time to look back over your personal and professional life and assess what you've accomplished, what's important to you, and what you'd like to work on in the coming year.

The theory of relativity, part two

In part one of this subject, we discussed the age-old question, "Is my food cost too high?" The first step in determining if the answer was "yes" or "no" was to compare your restaurant's performance to industry averages calculated by the National Restaurant Association.

Say what?

The noise level in your operation is just as important as the food, service, and décor according to recent surveys conducted by the National Restaurant Association. The San Francisco Chronicle includes a noise rating as part of every restaurant review.

The mayor of the village

I often refer to the GM of a restaurant as the Mayor of the Village because this job, when executed correctly, is barely managerial in nature. It is much closer to a true leadership role.

Put it in writing

Consider yourself lucky if a guest tells you about a problem they've had while dining with you. It means you have a chance to fix the problem and keep them as a customer.

ChaChingle bells

The weather outside may be frightful, but that doesn't have to apply to your sales.

To the core

Every society has a set of morals by which it functions. They are usually a combination of philosophical and religious values that define how we work, play, love, buy, and sell. They define right and wrong, form the basis of our laws and governmental policy. In short, our culture.

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