Remember that Ronald Reagan quote: "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help"?  Well, from my viewpoint, it may be true.

I wrote a post last September proposing an active push for a national menu disclosure law, to save us from potential local disclosure requirements similar to legislation Philadelphia recently passed. That law, which is to go into effect January 1, 2010, requires five lines of nutritional information for every menu item. Imagine what a QSR drive-thru menu will look like under those requirements!

Apparently, the federal government is working to solve this poten...Read More

Comments (1)

While reading "Springwise," one of my favorite newsletters, I came across an item about Hyatt Hotels. They are going to start a program of random acts of kindness for their Gold Passport guests. Hyatt is empowering their employees to provide “thank you” surprises for their loyal guests. It might be a free meal or some other similar gesture to build and strengthen brand loyalty.

What a great idea! How many restaurants — from the individual unit to the larger chains — strive to break through the com...Read More

Comments (1)

As promised, here's a follow-up to my original restaurant Web-sites post. When developing or refining Web sites, you should consider several factors, among them navigation, content, aesthetics, use of a customer-loyalty section and available online tools, as well as security and privacy issues. (Of course, it's also important to have a good Google PageRank, which determines where your site will show up in searches.)

There are a few areas where sites tend to fail for users, and one of those is the store-locator section. I see sites that ask for redundant information or for information that may not be easily available (like the ZIP code for an area you are visiting or will just be passing through). Being sent to an external mapping program that has a s-l-o-w load ti...Read More

Comments (0)

The industry lost one of its great icons earlier this week with the passing of Norman Brinker. Few have had as much of an impact on our industry as Norman.  His insights on both the industry and people are, deservingly, legendary.

I had the opportunity to work with him on a consulting project a number of years ago. It was an incredible opportunity to witness his unique leadership capabilities and his interaction with people. Norman brought his best to every situation and mentored others to do the same. He had the ability to motivate people to do their best, because they wanted to, not because the felt compelled to perform. Perhaps that is the true essence of a leader.

His legacy will continue in the thousands of people in our industry who he mentored or otherwise inspired.  He will be missed for many years to come.

Comments (0)

After spending a few hours surfing restaurant Web sites, I wanted to share my observations.

Your Web site is the portal to your brand. Yet so many sites leave so much to be desired. Some are so bad that the experience leaves a negative impression!

I saw many that were poorly developed, outdated, or frequently, both. Some sites are so bad they actually create a level of frustration that might damage the brand image - for example, those flashy sites that take way too long to load or have so much stuff happening on their pages that they are a distraction.

Ask yourself two questions. First, “What is the role I want the Web site to play formy company?” Second, “How well is it fulfilling that role?” Be brutally honest in answering the second question.

Over the past few years, the purpose of Web sites has evolved from bein...Read More

Comments (3)

Historically, restaurants have been considered a leading indicator in and out of economic cycles.

Perhaps I can offer a glimmer of hope. We’ve experienced a noticeable increase in projects from restaurants over the past several months. The earliest interest started with limited-service restaurants, but now full-service restaurants also are active.

Executives want to reposition their existing brands and refresh stores. Could it be that this interest in innovation and renewal precedes increases in sales and traffic patterns themselves?

From my viewpoint, there are several factors influencing operators' pursuit of restaurant innovations:

•Seeking new positioning to attract Millennials
•Reducing energy footprints (including sustainable design and LEED)
•Creating more inviting interiors (especially ...Read More

Comments (2)

Perhaps you've heard of the father who got a $5,000 cell phone bill for text messages his teenage daughter sent. That’s a LOT of texting. But the reality is, that that’s how Millennials communicate.

Millennials (also known as Gen Y) will be an increasingly prominent driver of restaurant sales, so not adapting to their way of communicating will become more and more costly.

Many restaurant operators are focusing on Internet ordering right now, but might does text-message ordering have a larger potential?

Let’s face it, there are a lot more cell phones out there that are not connected to the Internet than smart phones and laptops. Wouldn’t you want to make text ordering available to all of them? 

One of the problems, of course, is how to implement text-messaging capabilities quickly and cost effectivel...Read More

Comments (4)

The unfortunate YouTube incident involving two now ex-employees of Domino’s Pizza is another example of how impactful Internet events can be to a restaurant brand.  In some ways, it's reminiscent of the rat video in the New York QSR restaurants last year. 

Domino’s President Patrick Doyle posted a follow-up video several days later to counter the impact to the brand. Kudos to Patrick for doing this; I am sure it will help. However, the entire incident brings several thoughts to mind.

• First is the absolute need for brands to have a senior-level marketing person monitor and protect the brand from e-incidents. 
• Second is to have a crisis plan in place before an incident occurs. Just like a good brand will have a crisis

Comments (0)

There is no doubt that one of our industry’s greatest competitors is the retail chains offering foodservice. Both C-stores and grocery stores have been striving to increase their foodservice share of market. Some chains have been more successful than others, but as a group, they are doing a better job each and every day.

A recent NPD Group survey revealed an area where the retail chains hold a significant advantage over foodservice. It is PM snacks – those evening and late-night meal occasions. 

From my viewpoint, here is an opportunity for QSR and Fast Casual to “counter attack” in the battle for share of stomach.   

A number...Read More

Comments (1)

The most-asked questions about the economy these days are, "When does it end?" or "Are we at the bottom yet?"

When I’m asked to guess at when I think consumers will start returning to restaurants, I say probably about 3 months after we start seeing labor (the number of people with jobs) turn positive. 

Much of the pullback in consumer spending is being driven by the concern (really fear) of losing a job. In the March 16^th issue of Newsweek, the article The Biggest Thing to Fear is Fear  does a great job of discussing this issue, and even provides some positive perspectives.

The media is finally selling more than Doomsday headlines, which in itself is refreshing. While you are flipping through the magazine, read Br...Read More

Comments (0)

In a prior post, Business as UN-usual, I talked about using events to engage customers at the local level.  Here is another post to challenge you to “think outside the box.”

There are a few restaurants that do not set menu prices. Instead customers are asked either to make a contribution, or to pay what they feel the meal was worth.

Most of the pay-what-you-want restaurants are not-for-profit organizations designed to help those who cannot afford a meal. The hope is that the less fortunate will pay what they can, with the expectation that those who can pay a little more will, allowing the restaurant to continue to operate. One World is a good example.

However, a recent issue of ...Read More

Comments (1)

A recent survey published by the NRF’s publication, Stores Magazine, provided some insights as to what consumers think are expendable expenditures, and which they feel are more in the necessity category.   

Not surprising cell phone service, internet and cable TV rank high enough to be almost immune from cut back, at least at the basic levels of service.

In our industry, the survey parallels tra

Comments (4)