June 30, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

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

June 24, 2009 | Link This | Email this | 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

June 17, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

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

June 10, 2009 | Link This | Email this | 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.

May 26, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (3)

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