a number of ways to market your business though your options may be limited by your budget, don’t go into hiding, there are ways to reach your prospects and clients on a smaller budget.

Rethink your business plan; it is the overall plan for budgeting and growth that you set in the first place when opening the restaurant. Revisit the plan, making sure that you asses each and every detail to find out how you will have your strategy changed for the betterment of the business. This involves putting growth on hold, anticipating inflation and minimizing all the investment in overhead expenses.

Examine your profit and loss statement:- before you decide to cut on the cost, go through your profit and loss statement line by line to see where you can possibly be able to trim down the expenses. Cut out the costs of things that are not going to affect your normal running or interfere with your work. Start by accessing the smaller costs then move on to the bigger expenses later on to see what you can save. Every profit and loss statement is different on its own, knowing your income and expenses will put you in a better position to make decision regarding your business.

Inspect your food cost:- in every restaurant food cost and labour are the most important things to watch out for. Have your food cost inspected very often. Look at how much is spent on every single item, are you paying too much, is the food going to waste, these are just but some of the few things you need to know. Reduce the waste by preparing food in small quantities but good quality. Store the foods in a way that they will stay fresh for long. Always clear the last stock first before going for the newly delivered foods. This way you will ensure that the items do not expire on the shelves, consider the first in first out rotation.

Get the best deal:- every time you are taking a new stock, ensure that you get the best deal. Communicate frequently with the supplies to compare prices of food and beverages.

Analyze your menu items-are you serving the right proportion to your customers? Go through the gross profit on each item, how many are sold and are you making any profits. Do away with any item that does not make profit.

Promote your value proposition:- with the high competition from within; always make sure that your restaurant stand tall among the competition. Every one wants attention, guests and revenue. Have a smart effective marketing strategy, be unique and environmentally friendly. Provide an exceptional experience let customer service and quality be your top most priorities. Train your people to put customers first.

Be willing to adjust at all time:- go through the menu and see where you can adjust to suit the current customer market trends. If you find that more healthful foods will sell in your place then you can choose to change the menu. Remember some changes may benefit your restaurant and attract more customers. Invest in your people; value your workforce by giving them a slight raise in their wages, reward them it will motivate them to even work harder and stay focused to the future.

Sell and Rent Back

(c) 2008 Paul Flood Marketing, LLC

When you create your marketing programs, do you believe your investment should only get your name out there and build your brand. There’s an ongoing debate among marketers about the value of this strategy.

Those of us in the direct response crowd disagree with that thought process because the typical small business owner usually lacks the resources to wait for prospects to need their service. We believe marketing investments should generate leads or clients with branding being an added benefit of the investment.

An additional problem with pure image or brand advertising is that it is very difficult to track and measure its effectiveness. In my mind, if I am going to invest in my company, whether it is in advertising, direct mail, new equipment or staff, I want to know my return on my investment and believe clients should also be able to do so.

Is there a happy medium between the two camps where we can serve our clients with marketing that builds brands and gives prospects a reason to buy now? Is there a small business target marketing strategy that accomplishes both objectives? Absolutely!

The tool to make this happen is the Unique Selling Proposition, or USP. A good USP is pure marketing gold and creates a compelling reason for the consumer to act immediately. They will think, “I need this” or “I need more information about this amazing product.”

Let’s go back a couple of decades so we can illustrate this point with a couple well-known examples: If Federal Express just ran ads that were about their name and logo, they would have gotten name recognition, but that’s about all. Instead they said to their prospects “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.”

Did the compelling USP work? Most people will agree it worked rather well for FedEx.

Will it work for a small business? Well, several years ago, a man named Tom Monohan was in one of the most competitive businesses that also traditionally has one of the highest failure rates - The restaurant business. He was in the most competitive arena of this market - pizza. The marketing message Tom created was a lot more compelling than the name of his pizza parlor is.” His message was, “Fresh hot pizza in thirty minutes or less - or it’s free.” I think we can agree that Dominos Pizza did well with their USP!

People, businesses included do not care about you, your name or your brand. They care about what you, your product or your service will to do for them. Once they’ve made the decision to buy, your name increases in psychological importance, but not until then.

Remember that your small business target marketing has very specific objectives and they are to deliver prospects or clients. If they are not designed to do so, you can either hope that you will get more clients or throw out useless ads and switch to ads and marketing designed to bring you profits.

The marketing designed to generate profits starts with your USP and tells your targeted prospect why they should buy from you and do so now.



Quick Property Sale

If there’s going to be a National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, doesn’t it make sense if would be around Thanksgiving Day? From November 14th to turkey day, clean out your refrigerator so there is plenty of room for the turkey and all that goes with it! Just as it’s important to have a clean refrigerator, it’s necessary for salespeople to clean up their sales anxieties. Improperly stored anxieties, like stored food in an improperly running refrigerator, can become rancid and even dangerous. Think of your sales anxieties like a refrigerator that needs some cleaning. In order to properly clean your sales refrigerator, follow these simple steps:

1.    To properly clean your sales refrigerator, turn the unit off and unplug it. 

In particular for introverts, when you get too much activity going under stress, or when you just do, do, do and never stop to unwind, you may be setting up your own demise. Take time to engage in activities of reflection, rest and meditation.

2.    Clean your sales refrigerator and freezer regularly, and clean up spills immediately. 

Let’s say you aren’t finding networking successful on one particular day. Or referrals you were given in a networking meeting aren’t really referrals. Or maybe your presentation went array. When you have sales mishaps get over them quickly. A former client calls this, “being in a funk.” Whatever you call it, don’t stay there long.

3.    Don’t eat up all those sales leftovers. 

What are leftovers in sales? There are actually two kinds of sales leftovers: ones that you want to eat up and ones not to eat. The ones not to eat are those that have extra angst from that leftover chatter in your head from a lost sale, or a referral rejection. In particular if you aren’t clear about whom you are serving and what you bring to the table, you will have a bit more rejection because there isn’t a match. Or it could be procrastination and you keep on beating yourself up about it. Get over whatever this spoiling leftover is. Some of this is natural in selling and some of this is your own limiting belief set holding you back. Then what leftovers do you eat? The leftovers to eat are the follow-ups you are ignoring way down there in the refrigerator, namely your schedule. Follow up with anyone who initially expressed interest, with prospects who may have said no, or even prospects who did say no.

4.    Clean your sales refrigerator weekly to kill germs that could contaminate foods.

Get into a weekly ritual of some kind that helps you to maintain your energy. Fill up and firm up a focus on the positive, a weekly follow-up process, even a weekly networking activity if you like. It’s important to act on your top marketing activities at a minimum weekly. Daily is better, but weekly will keep your sales pipeline full.

5.    Clean your refrigerator’s coils and air intake grill every 3 months.

Whether introvert or extrovert, myself included, most salespeople don’t stop to celebrate or acknowledge their successes. If you aren’t doing this regularly, or if you tend to keep on moving for the next client, at least plan a quarterly celebration. It can be whatever size and type you want: dinner at a restaurant, an evening away from the computer, or a weekend totally unplugged from work.

Regardless of the type of sales refrigerator malfunction, you want to have regular short and long term ways of cleaning things up. You can understand that stored anxieties, like that stored food in an improperly running refrigerator, can become less than attractive. Like the refrigerator that needs regular cleaning, salespeople need to regularly fill up, firm up and follow up to their own actions and mindsets.



Quick House Sale

Are your employees promoting your best items–the ones that are both profitable and crowd-pleasing? Or, do they leave it all up to the customer and miss opportunities for greater sales, customer satisfaction and profit?

If they’re not employing suggestive selling, then you’re not fulfilling your profit potential. The good news? Effective customer service training can make all the difference.

Your employees are the key to just how profitable your company can be. When you provide customer service training in the techniques of suggestive selling, employees will help you increase profits and give your customers a better experience. After all, it’s in their best interests to increase their tips, commissions, and careers too! And, if you’re thinking, “Customers don’t want to feel hustled to spend more money,” you’re wrong. It’s all in the way you do it.

Give your employees the tools they need and they will improve both your sales and your customers’ satisfaction.

One Word Can Increase Your Bottom Line. That word is “repeat.”

It’s amazing what happened to a shampoo company that changed one word on their product. They added the word “Repeat” to the directions. It almost doubled their nation-wide sales! Who says this couldn’t happen to you? If your sales associate suggests a perfect accessory for the shirt the customer has selected, it is likely that other customers standing in line may see the item, too. If a server offers one table the beer-battered shrimp appetizer, it is likely that a nearby table overheard the suggestion. And, even if the first customer doesn’t accept the offer, the patrons who overheard just might have been thinking, “Oh, that looks great!” When the offer (or a similar one) is repeated to the next customer, the suggestion will already have been planted–and is even more likely to succeed!

Why not apply this to your company? Add the word “Repeat” to your training. Servers and sales associates may not think that suggestive selling works, but make them use these skills and then show them how much your company’s profits increase. They’ll also be pleased by the increase in commissions or tips they receive by being such a great, upbeat, knowledgeable server or sales associate.

How do you start the process?

Even if you don’t have a formal customer service training program in place, you can teach your employees to make suggestive selling work for them.

Lead by example. If yours is a restaurant, start by taking them out to lunch. Have another employee you’ve already trained serve them. The new employee will learn while watching the trained employee take the order and make specific suggestions for an appetizer, entree, dessert and drink.

The same principle applies in other customer situations. Set up a role-playing situation with the trainee, and have him or her “purchase” from a trained sales associate. Have the well-trained associate say, “I know the perfect scarf to go with that blouse. May I show it to you?” or make another suggestion for an additional item. Demonstrate that for the customer, this actually can enhance the purchasing experience by helping the customer walk out with an “outfit” they love instead of a single item.

o Reward employees for getting it right.

Rewards for good performance are one of the best possible forms of performance management–much more effective than penalties for poor performance. If suggestive selling is your goal, make sure that employees see it as a winning strategy for both of you. If something as simple as suggesting an appetizer works, the reward might be as simple as giving the server a pat on the back.

You don’t have to hand out all of the new cash you earned; it’s much simpler, and often equally effective, to give out awards. Place these awards up for everyone to see. Employees will always work harder if they’re more interested in the incentive–but don’t forget that public praise is a powerful performance management tool, too.

o Monitor employee performance more consistently.

In some cases, you can review sales by individual employees and note how many “add-on” sales they typically achieve in a day. Customer research surveys from an outside vendor can provide detailed performance management feedback you can use to help your employees improve. Secret shoppers can identify which servers or sales associates are doing their jobs right, and are using the suggestive selling techniques effectively.

For example, sales associates or restaurant servers sometimes unconsciously fall into the habit of making negative statements to the customer instead of using positive language. (”You didn’t want the pink scarf with that, did you?” “So you don’t want an appetizer?” They may think they’re employing suggestive selling, but may not realize it’s working against them. Secret shopper feedback–which can include collection of verbatim comments from your employees–will help them zero in on how to improve. We’ve seen it happen time and again.

Just remember: if “repeat” is the key to employees generating better sales and service through suggestive selling, it’s also the key to you achieving better customer service training and performance management. Train new employees in suggestive selling. Then repeat frequently with ALL employees.

And enjoy all those newfound profits!



Sell House Quick

If your business is selling arts and crafts, then you know that you have to get creative in finding ways to get your products seen.

One way is to have your arts and crafts on display in local restaurants that you use yourself.

Depending on the shape and size of your arts or crafts, this can be a very lucrative experiment!.. You should make sure to use a nice restaurant that you yourself go to, make sure its not really a fast paced one, as you want people who are lingering over a nice meal to notice and appreciate your art that may be hanging on the wall by their table, or that decorative shelf housing your crafts in a corner.

Start by taking yourself to dinner with a friend or family at this particular restaurant that you like, and while eating, and relaxing, try and notice walls or corners, where your creations would look great.

Pick your best tasteful pieces, that you feel would suit the restaurant, and then approach the owner, during the daytime when he/she is likely to be there planning the day, and talk to him/her about the idea of hanging your art (show the owner your pieces) maybe give him/her some idea of where you were thinking it should go, so as to take the guess work out of the equation, and make the owner feel like its not another project he has to deal with!

Come up with a deal, that he/she gets a percentage of the sale, and then make sure you give him/her your business cards and brochures, and also that there is a business card with the price of the piece with the piece. Do not put a great big read “for sale” sign on the piece!, you need something subtle and tasteful, possibly in the bottom right corner of the piece. If you have 3D creations that need to be on a shelf, then make sure your business card is attached with the price written on the back neatly or typed on..

This is another great way to get you and your business known in the community, and is a great way to get people to look at, and appreciate and hopefully purchase your creations!



Quick Property Sale

Why is it that over the Christmas season we make a special effort to catch up with old friends and family members. With all the doom and gloom we are surrounded by on a daily basis it really is worth making an effort to get together more frequently and it needn’t cost a fortune.

There are so many restaurants and hotels making a massive effort to ensure that you spend your hard earned money with them, consequently there are some fantastic deals for meals, overnight stays and weekend aways available across the country.

Getting away to the coast is a great idea at this time of year when the visitor numbers are low and generally places are considered to be out of season but the hotels and restaurants are extremely keen to offer you the best deals around.

All you need are warm clothes, some good walking boots, hats and gloves and you’re set up for a fantastic day at the coast.

Suffolk boasts miles of unspoilt coastline, tranquil countryside, high quality arts and outstanding food and enchanting towns and villages, and Minsmere bird reserve offers families and keen birdwatchers a great day out with nature trails that take you through a variety of habitats to excellent bird-watching hides.

Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk coast is generally packed to the gunnels in the summer months but at this time of year you can expect a few daily visitors making the most of this stunning stretch of coastline. Aldeburgh is a fantastic little coastal town with a beautiful stretch of pebbled beach where the fishermen still draw their boats onto the shore and sell their catch of the day. This pebbled shoreline is perfect for a stroll or a brisk walk and working up an appetite.

Another advantage of visiting Aldeburgh at this time of year is that you can expect to get some great deals on dining, and you can’t beat the Bru restaurant in Aldeburgh, who are offering some fantastic fine dining offers, a two course lunch or dinner for just £10. The excellent quality of fresh local ingredients, locally caught fish and locally farmed meat is complimented by the best of fresh and locally grown vegetables. For the wine connoisseur the Bru has an extensive wine list.



Passive Income

Health is an important issue these days. Eating healthy foods is a popular trend that has been taken up all over the world. A number of international cuisines have been explored to realize their potential as healthy foods. The emerging international cuisine is the Mexican food. Hence, Mexican restaurant naturally become a popular choice for dining out. For the benefit of our dear readers, here is a free service, which is list of mexican restaurants available on a simple, clear webpage. Visit our webpage for more information on Mexican restaurants.

The concept of Mexican food being a healthy choice is not hard to grasp. The flavorsome ethnic cuisine frequently calls for fresh, healthy ingredients too. This is also what many Mexican restaurants try to include in their menus nowadays. So the menu is the first place you could look in determining if that is the place you?d like to dine at.

Traditional Mexican food is also a big selling point for Mexican restaurants. The Mole is such a popular Mexican dish, that it is offered in almost every Mexican restaurant. The chicken broth used in the makings of Mole sauce also contributes to making it a tasty meal.

In the Mexican history, the ever so famous Mole was born in Oaxaca, a southern Mexico region. There are 7 classic Moles and this wide selection makes for flexibility in choosing your meal. A Mexican restaurant usually provides a few of the variations, but not all of them.

In San Quintin or the California city, one will find many good Mexican restaurants. The popularity of Mexican food in these areas has brought rise to a good many establishments in those places. These establishments can be credited with bringing food authentic Mexican cuisine to these areas.

The warm and cozy feel of Mexican fare makes it a perfect meal to have with good friends and family. There are a wide range of Mexican restaurants available, ranging from the high-end to more inexpensive restaurants. The versatility of the Mexican food makes it a favorite choice for many diners.

Mexican restaurants usually are pretty well-priced and it is often value for money. Examples of the good food served in Mexican restaurants are simple ingredients such as fresh corn, tasty beans, grilled or roasted meats and hot chilies. Its healthy cooking style of grilling or roasting meat makes it a good choice for dining for the health conscious.

The Mexican restaurants often no less than an extraordinary experience. The ethnic food, exotic spices and friendly staff all add to enrich the experience of dining in a Mexican restaurant! It is no wonder that Mexican restaurants are popular choices for diners.



Repossession

If you’re looking for new ways to spice up your drink list, you might want to consider adding a few shooters. Whether you work in a restaurant, a bar, or a nightclub, shooters are often not properly presented. This is mainly because bar managers overlook just how valuable an addition they can be.

Whenever I talk to a bar staff about how to improve their sales, I always focus on getting them to consistently use suggestive selling or up-selling. It’s the single, easiest way to increase the average check (the average amount of money a customer will spend), and suggesting a shooter is a great way to do it.

REASONS WHY SHOOTERS ARE EASY TO

SELL

GREAT FOR CELEBRATIONS- Champagne and shooters are very popular for toasting a special occasion.

EASY TO BUY FOR GROUPS- People are very particular about the cocktail or beer they drink, but are usually willing to try something new if it’s a shooter.

VARIETY OF TASTES AND COLORS – It’s a dessert or a special treat.

SMALL, QUICK AND EASY TO DRINK – Some people (especially in dance clubs) want to have their drink and get right back to their fun. They don’t want to carry their drink around.

In the past when someone ordered a shooter, they would get a simple, straight shot of tequila or whiskey. Then came the Boiler Maker (a shot of whiskey dropped into a glass of beer), and over time bartenders began making layered shooters such as the B52 (Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Grand Marnier).

In recent years, with the explosion of the many new liquors on the market, imaginative bartenders have begun to experiment with different combinations.

LAYERED OR COMBINATION SHOOTERS

Keep in mind that for every name of a drink or shooter, there will be multiple ways to make it, depending on what bar you work in and what part of the world you’re from.

CHINA WHITE -White Crème de Cacao, Irish Cream- Sprinkle Cinnamon/top

JACK FROST -Jack Daniels, Peppermint Schnapps

BLOODY BRAIN -Melon Liqueur ¾; Advocaat ¼; put melon in first, then a continual stream of the thicker Advocaat, making a “brain” or spaghetti like shape.  Then add a little Grenadine to make it look gruesome.

DR PEPPER - 1 oz Amaretto (in a shot glass) dropped into 2 oz. beer & 2 oz. Coke/Pepsi in a beer glass.

HINT: Shooters will separate into layers much better if the ingredients are cold.  If you really want them to be perfect, make the shooters and keep them in the fridge for an hour.

www.ExtremeBartending.Com

BENEFITS OF JUICE SHOOTERS

The next generation of shooters are here. They are mixed with juice or milk and served in 2 oz. Shooter glasses. They still have 1 oz. of liquor. Just add a little juice, then shake & strain.

VARIETY OF COLORS - A great selling feature if a customer is unsure of what to order.  Ask them to pick a color or their favorite color.

VARIETY OF TASTES – Not every customer likes a harsh taste.  Now you can offer sweet, creamy or something just a little smoother.

PERCEIVED VALUE – Most customers will choose the big shot for the same price because they believe that they are getting more value for their money.

TRY THESE POPULAR JUICE SHOOTERS- Shake, strain and serve cold.

(RED) Killer Watermelon Southern Comfort, Melon Liqueur, Cranberry juice

(BLUE) Bazooka Joe Banana Liqueur, Irish Cream, Blue Curacao, milk

(GREEN) Kamikaze Vodka, Triple Sec, Lime juice

(Brown)  X-Ray Kahlua, Irish Cream, Frangelico, Milk

WARM SHOOTER:

(BROWN) Panty Remover Frangelico, Irish Cream, coffee

If you want to take it a step further, here are a few shooters that you can have a little fun with. You need to be careful with them, but done properly, they’re very safe and your customers will love them!

Flaming Blue Lamborghini (double) In a martini glass:

½ oz Sambucca & flame it, ½ oz Kahlua, ½ oz Blue Curacao, ½ oz. Galliano

Swirl glass gently for desired flame level. Sprinkle cinnamon over flame for special effect.  Hand the customer a LONG straw. Pour 3 oz.of milk into glass while the customer sips.

HINT: Hit the middle of the glass with the milk while swirling the glass to keep the flame going. BE CAREFUL!

Upside Down Shooters: Have the customer turn their back to you, tilt their head back, while you hold their head and pour into their mouth. Have some fun with these J

Sperm White Crème de Cacao, milk (Shake & Strain)

OR

Margarita Tequila, Triple Sec, lime juice (Shake & Strain)

Blow Job- Get the customer to put their hands behind their back and drink it with no hands.

Peppermint Schnapps, Irish Cream, whipped cream on top.

Your job as a bartender is (or can be) about much more than just taking an order and making a drink. Anybody can do that.  When you use your imagination and experiment a little, everybody wins.

Many of these are made in a shaker tin with milk or juice. Create an opportunity for yourself to show your Flair skills.

Please drink responsibly. Your mom wouldn’t want you to drink & drive and neither do we

Thank you from

Scott Young and the Team at ExtremeBartending.com



Rent Back

Selling a restaurant takes a lot of work, and more often than not, the seller has to be very careful to list in such a way as not to alert employees. The best advice for a person looking to sell a restaurant business is to seek the professional help that can make the process a lot easier. In the meantime, here are some great tips for selling that will make life a little simpler for everyone involved in the process.

You need to have a strong focus on the basics that will be appealing to the buyer. Make sure the bookkeeping is clean. A set of financials that is organized and understandable is critical to any restaurant sale. It is tough to sell a restaurant that is not profitable. Make sure the inventory levels and costs such as labor, food and beverage, are all in order. Your location is important as well. Examine whether your present lease or terms of the real estate give the buyer enough profit at month’s end. If everything is in order, it makes it easier to negotiate the desired selling price for a restaurant when the time comes.

Be objective, is the restaurant and street appeal up to speed? Do you have adequate staffing and parking? Covering all the bases is critical; otherwise, it may appear to the buyer they are being sold a “job”. In short, look at the whole process of selling a restaurant from the buyer’s point of view.



Get the Appraisal Done



The appraisal will help determine a restaurant’s true cash flow and determine what is a fair amount for the selling price for a restaurant. Totaling of the assets should include goodwill and any future business potential. Comparable sales for either singles restaurants or chains with multiple locations can be analyzed for seller or buyer. Everyone has a different perspective of what a property is worth—and it is usually the tax assessor that comes in at the high end of the scale.



Define and Target the Buying Market



You should endeavor to find qualified buyers that are capable of acquiring your restaurant. The technique involves first identifying—and then screening to verify financial strength and business experience. Business buyers are an excellent place to mine for prospects. A second great source for selling a restaurant will be the people that have available funds to invest. The aging population is a great place to put out the feelers. These potential buyers are like diamonds—they may be hard to find, but the effort is well worth it when looking to sell a restaurant business.

Employees can be a surprising source, however, a drawback is that many employees may not have the capital necessary, and the owner may have to carry more paper than they are comfortable with. While employees can be a risky bet, competitors and direct supplies are even riskier. It is vastly unlikely that they will end up going through with the deal, or place a fair market price on the table. It is more than likely they will be window-shopping and gathering competitive information on your restaurant.



Discrete Advertising



You will no doubt have privy to a lot of information concerning the many facets of how to sell a restaurant. It will pay big dividends to advertise your business correctly, and making the sale known prematurely can end up poisoning your efforts. There are many places to list your restaurant business for sale, both on the internet. The challenge will be to run an ad that will create interest without tipping off who you are. Confidentiality is important—but you also want to avoid the image of having the business look shop-worn. This can happen if the restaurant has been advertised over a lengthy period. Besides, if you choose to work with an advertising venue whose forte is selling a restaurant guide and listing your business—you will want to be head and shoulders above other restaurants thrown in the mix.



Qualifying the Buyer



It is important to have a system in place that can qualify a buyer when selling a restaurant or multiple unit chain. Many owners prefer not to contact the buyer directly. A reliable second party can gather all the necessary information including financial ability, motivation, and overall interest level before any of the details about your restaurant business are given away.



Closing the Deal



It is not bad advice to seek an attorney out who specializes in restaurants. He or she can eliminate the red tape, which can cause the sale to fall through at the last minute. All the legalities can be addressed—and this will benefit both buyer and seller.



Financing the Sale



There are a lot of choices to look at besides outright selling your restaurant. You may want to consider leasing the business, re-structuring the debt, expansion capital, equipment leasing, and even interested investors that include family members or friends. Whatever the route you choose to take; proper planning will keep you competitive throughout the venture.



Sell and Rent Back

Years ago, I took over as a manager of a restaurant in a major city. As expected, we had a good sized lunch rush every day, but the place never seemed to be filled.

The previous manager, although well-intentioned, had been gruff with customers and staff alike. Most of the staff was teenagers, and sometimes I didn’t blame him. Look, I was a teenager myself, and can remember not always being the best employee. Not because I was bad, but just because I was a teenager. You remember? Right?

Anyway, I worked with the departing manager of about a month and then I was in charge.

One of the first things I did, even before the old manager left, was to make sure I called everyone, including my 16-year-old employees, “sir” and “ma’am. I also made certain they got plenty of praise for a job well done and gentle but firm guidance (always in private) when they erred.

It wasn’t long before, “YO! Dude! Bring me some ketchup!” was replaced by “Excuse me, sir (or ma’am)! Could you please bring me some ketchup?”

Over the next few weeks, the lunch crowd slowly began to grow, as did the dinner crowd, and I wasn’t absolutely certain why. I DID know that my young ladies and gentlemen were making the customers feel more comfortable in our establishment, and the employees themselves were taking on more responsibility for taking care of the customers and getting the job done and seemed to be enjoying themselves in the process.

Of course, we had our regulars, and one day I noticed a pair of gentlemen I had never seen before. What struck me was that they were watching the employees and me with eagle eyes. As I moved around the room, chatting briefly with diners and making sure they were taken care of, one of the men called me to his table.

This is what he told me…

He and his friend worked in a nearby office building and had once been regular lunch customers, but had quit coming in several months before I came to work there. The reason they had stopped dining at our establishment was simply that they did not like the way the previous manager had treated the employees, and they had also felt the trickle-down effect in the negative way the employees interacted with customers and other employees.

Recently, people in their building had begun talking about how pleasant it had become to eat in our restaurant since the “new manager” had taken over. They had decided to check it out for themselves. Even though they enjoyed the food and the restaurant was nearby, they had been choosing to go elsewhere because of their discomfort in the previous atmosphere. They told me that they were extremely pleased with their experience and really liked the way I treated the employees and the employees treated each other and the customers. They definitely would be returning regularly.

THE MENU AND FOOD PREPARATION HAD NOT CHANGED.

THE FACILITIES WERE THE SAME.

THE EMPLOYEES WERE THE SAME.

BUT…

THE ATTITUDE AND ATMOSPHERE HAD CHANGED.

With the right attitude and with lots of respect for peers and customers alike, your business can grow even if you sell the same product or service as thousands of other internet or brick-and-mortar businesses.

So! Why not sell service? There’s sometimes quite a lack of competition there.

Postscript: Between the time I drafted this article and typed it up, I received an email from a webmaster who complained that while I had a nice website, it was just like several others he had seen, and he doubted I would have any success with it.

Oh well, he’s welcome to his opinion, I suppose. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him that last month I deposited over $10,000.00 in commissions from a website that everybody else was using.



Rent Back Fast