Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: What if there were things you could do, things you could put into practice tonight to make a deeper connection with your guests, which would ultimately lead to more return visits, more revenue and yes, increased profits. That's what we're going to talk about on today's episode. Best of all, everything we talk about is absolutely free. Don't go anywhere.
There's an old saying that goes something like this. You'll only find three kinds of people in the world. Those who see, those who will never see, and those who can see when shown. This is Restaurant Strategy, a podcast with answers for anyone who's looking.
Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in. My name is Chip Close. This is Restaurant Strategy Podcast. Two episodes. Every single week we focus one one episode a week on operations, another one on marketing. If you don't know me, I'm the Founder CEO of Restaurant Strategy. I write books, I give talks. I host something called the P3 mastermind. It's a group coaching program where we help independent restaurant owners level up increase the profitability of their restaurants. Why? So they can make more and work less. If you're ever curious to learn more about that program, it's a 30 minute call where we just get to ask each other a bunch of questions. There is no pressure. If it doesn't make sense for you to join the program, we're not going to invite you to join the program. But get on that call and let's figure it out. If it is a good fit, we'll talk about what next steps look like. You do that by going to restaurantstrategypodcast.com schedule as always, that link is in the show. Notes do you want to pulse on what's happening in your restaurant? Ovation gives you real time understanding about your guest experience, transforming guest feedback into clear, actionable insights so you can stop guessing and start making smarter decisions about your business. Their AI driven reporting breaks down every review into restaurant specific categories like speed of service, order accuracy or food quality and shows you where to focus. One operator put it this way, Ovation has been a game changer. It helps us identify issues early before they turn into bigger problems. Another operator starts every staff meeting by reviewing recent Ovation data, giving the team one source of truth to work from with heat maps, goal tracking and performance dashboards. Ovation doesn't just tell you what's wrong, it helps your team fix it. You can even assign action items and track follow through. If you want to get all the answers without having to ask all the questions, go to ovationup.com chip to book a demo. Mention this podcast and they'll waive your setup fee again. Ovationup.com chip, that link is in the show notes.
Okay, so today we're gonna talk about how we be more human, how we inject real hospitality, personality, humanity back into our restaurants, because I think we believe over the next five, 10 years, it's gonna make all the difference. In order to have this conversation, I'm joined by my very good friend, my colleague, one of my mentors, a guy named Chris Hughes. We've known each other for almost 18 years. We worked together for the better part of a decade. He's now one of the coaches who works directly with members of the P3 mastermind.
What's going on?
[00:03:26] Speaker B: How you doing, Chip? Thank you for having me back on the podcast.
[00:03:29] Speaker A: Thank you for coming back. Thank you for suggesting this. So Chris and I were talking, and I said, hey, what should we talk about? What do you. What do you feel really passionate about? And he basically said. He's like, listen, technology gets more and more and more. Now we're talking about consolidation, and everyone's got a tech stack, and everybody wants to know the best way to infuse AI into their restaurants, but we have to, you know, yes, we should have those conversations, but we should also be having the conversation. And I think this is where you and I both come from, the way we were raised, that we should be talking about ways that we can be more human. So talk to me a little bit about where this came from. I mean, obviously, what are you seeing that made you think about this?
[00:04:08] Speaker B: I feel like, you know, it's come around lately because a lot of conversations are, how do we. How can we infuse the latest tech, you know, technology into the. Into the restaurant? And mostly it's like, how does AI fit in? How can I be utilizing AI? Like, what. In. In which ways can AI affect my business?
Which is great. And I think it's a really smart conversation. As this technology emerges, I think it's really smart to be looking at how to utilize it to a most effective manner.
However, it's, you know, it's in the same semblance.
It should be a spice. It should be like, how do we sprinkle this dust on top of what we're doing as opposed to replacing what we're doing, because we are a human endeavor. And I think that's where this, you know, the push pull comes from. But I also think it's, like, a really great time to be having this conversation as this is an emerging technology.
[00:05:05] Speaker A: I Totally agree. And I think what's happening right now is as we're becoming more transactional. I know this is something we've talked about a lot. We talk about the, with the groups.
I see this as, as a split happening in our industry and tell me if you feel this way. A lot has been written about this about like that messy middle and how difficult it's going to be, right? The quick service, fast casual people shopping based on convenience, needing a quick meal while they're on the road, on the way to work, etc. I don't think that's going away and I think that's getting bigger. Likewise, I think where, because we're all holed up, so many people work from home, so many people work partially from home, we spend so many times in the computers that, that going out and being within with community is important. And I think people are going to go out and celebrate and find more things to celebrate and I think they're going to want to spend money on there. So there's this bifurcation where we get high end and low end and I think it's the stuff in the middle. And we're watching this now especially with the chains, right? So we work a lot with independent restaurants.
So we don't. A lot of what we do doesn't have anything to do with what chains do or how they function. But I think it's also very telling to see how they're operating. And we've watched all of these slip and then this year, over the last 12 months, then making a very concerted effort to come back. A lot talk about, a lot of people talk about Chili's resurgence and all of that, but that stuff in the middle is really, really hard.
The Outbacks, the Applebee's, any family restaurant going out on a Tuesday, Wednesday night, it's now so expensive that people are thinking twice before they do it. And I think there's an opportunity to tell people why they should do it.
I think it's a conversation that is just starting to be had and I think we're going to have it big time over the next couple of years.
[00:06:51] Speaker B: Yeah, agreed. 1,000%. And you know that middle of the market is always the most price sensitive. The bottom of the market is not because it's always a race to the bottom. And the top is not price sensitive because you're looking at very limited. You know, there's limited offerings for a very well heeled clientele. So there's not, you know, an unlimited amount of restaurants at the top end.
So they, and they have very limited capacity. So like they're usually not touched. It's the middle of the market.
That is going to be the ones that are going to need to be the most adaptive and decide how this plays in to their, their, their economic model. Mostly getting, getting around the labor issues and the.
[00:07:34] Speaker A: So one of the things that you, we talked about, one of the notes we took as we were sort of sketching out this episode, you talked about the importance of going from this sort of like transactional service to really back to relationship building. And I think it's interesting what you're just talking about here.
You and I come from fine dining, right? So New York City, high end, which guess what, as it turns out, New York City has, let's eyeball it at 50 great restaurants where if you want to drop a serious amount of money, you can have a serious meal. And the food is not what keeps people coming back, or at least I don't believe it is because you can get great food at a lot of different places. This is something I learned from you, where it's really about the relationship, really about making people feel seen, heard, known, making people feel, you know, as Will Godara talks about, making people feel important.
So how does that happen? Even at a casual restaurant, even at that, that messy middle where people are so price sensitive?
[00:08:31] Speaker B: I think that's actually the beauty of what's, what's possible is that because the expectation, the bar is lower at a middle, middle tier restaurant. So anything that you're doing above the norm is going to be even more noticeable at that level. You know, when you think of it this way, you go to a high end, a four star restaurant, you go to a restaurant, Danielle, in New York City, the expectation is high. You expect it to be phenomenal. You expect the service to be impeccable.
You go to your normal regular, you know, twice a month, local restaurant and they're performing at a higher level, you're going to notice that.
And so, and you don't have to go to the lengths, like you don't need to have a stool for the lady's purse next to the table to wow people.
[00:09:24] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.
[00:09:25] Speaker B: Like it doesn't cost anything either. Like that's the best.
[00:09:27] Speaker A: So let's talk about this because, and I want to get specific for, for the audience and in any of this, any examples we give, I'm not telling you what to do. Chris is not telling you what to do. We're just telling you what we've done that works in the hopes of Illustrating a point and hopefully inspiring you to think of, like, how you can inject it. But, Chris, do you remember what we used to do? So Chris and I helped open Avoce, which was in the Time Warner center, right in Columbus Circle. Missy Robbins was the chef there, and I was running the front door. And I had all these young women who were all at school at, like, Parsons and NYU and Columbia, and they were incredibly capable and intelligent, but green and nervous. And one of the things we told them is I said, you know, I really want you to connect with everybody. When you're either greeting them, taking their coats, or seating them at the table, you have to connect. And we did something that I thought was brilliant. And Chris, you came forward and you said, you know, basically, and this is. I'll never forget this, you said, you can't just tell people what to do. You have to give them something specific to focus on. And so one of the things we did there was that we said, every party, I just want you to compliment some. Just pay them a compliment. It can be on a coat, a tie, earrings, shoes, whatever.
Just compliment them. And the way you put it is, you said, you know, somebody's coming out to a really nice meal in New York City. Let's assume that they thought deeply about what they put on. And at a certain point, they looked in the mirror and said, yep, I'm ready to go. Like, they checked themselves before they left, and they wanna feel attractive. They want to feel like they belong. They want to whatever it is. And so just telling the Girls who were 19, 20, 21, and again were nervous and sort of in over their heads, just saying, just compliment. Just pay a compliment. And they would say, you know, just excuse me. I just wanted to let you know, I love your ear.
And watching a woman's face light up, it was amazing. And it was an easy way of saying, so. In any event, I tell that story because I was on site with a client. So I run the P3 mastermind. Chris helps oversee this. He runs two groups. And then we have a handful of people that are part of the P3 program. And so as part of that, they get us going out and working with them and their teams. And even last week, in the middle of Ohio, right? Not a big city, not Cleveland, small market, outside in the suburbs. And I gave this to the. And I said, you know what we used to do? And I gave it to him. And I watched them over the course of 45 minutes be like, I can't do that. That feels really awkward. I'M really nervous to do it. And by the end of the 45 minutes when they had done it 15 times, they came back and they were like, oh my God. And this woman started telling me and then she's giving me the card because her actually her cousin designs shoes and that's where her shoes came from. And I complimented her shoes and it was like they were off to the races. They were like best friends at the end of like a five minute walk to the table. It was awesome. And again, this was not a high end fine dining restaurant. This was casual. And I said, just try it every party that comes in, pay them a compliment and see how it works. And it worked. It worked so, so quickly. And they had never been to a restaurant where they saw it happen. To your point, the bar is so low. We do it, it works.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: And you know, and that's the thing that you could literally, if you, if you took nothing away from this episode other than this suggestion of putting together a cheat sheet for the people who are on your front of the house staff on how to make small talk, you'd be setting the bar higher than most of your competitors.
And these days, so many of the younger people are intelligent, so much more worldly than, than like my generation was so much, so many, you know, they have so much ins into the, into the world. The one thing that they're not better at is social interaction. And we can help them through that by giving them some pointers.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. So talk to me about, so extrapolating that out, talking about casual restaurants or maybe super busy restaurants, right where it feels like turn and burn. And we just got to get people in, make sure they get what they want, get the check, get them out. We talk about that like genuine connection. So, okay, maybe easier to do at a fine dining restaurant. Slower pace. We've got the time to do it. But how do we do it? Like, how do you promote genuine connection in a fast paced casual setting?
[00:14:03] Speaker B: So there's, you know, there's so many ways to do it. And we think of all of the touch points that a guest would have from the time that they open the front door to the time they leave. And there's, there's got to be a thousand opportunities within that time span.
You know, at a fine dining, you've got all of those things. They're already kind of like preordained.
But in a casual setting, there's a lot of those steps of service are skipped over. They're just, they're not part of the service.
But it doesn't mean that we can't perform a lot of those functions. You know, I think of, like, some things just on a human level, like teaching everyone to make eye contact, to address people with, you know, the, just, just addressing people as, as being human and using their, their names if possible. You know, we always trained in fine dining that you would, when you drop the check, you would look at the credit card and you would get the last name and say, you know, thank you, Mr. Johnson. It was great to have you. There's no reason you couldn't do that in a casual setting.
Those, those tools are all available.
Asking, you know, making small talk again, like, just having a conversation. Like, yes, this is a client and you know, it's, it's a transaction, but it doesn't have to feel like a pure transaction. And just asking someone, like, you know, someone comes in, especially like, imagine it's after work, someone comes in, we can obviously go up and do the spiel like, hey, welcome to Chili's. You know, have you dined with us before? Blah, blah, blah. Or you could say, I see, you know, hey, I see that the rest of your party's not here. You look tired. How was your day today? You know, it was a lot. Look, it was a long one. Let's get you a drink. Like, just having a human interaction as opposed to like putting up the wall between us.
That's all that people are looking for.
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You know what? There was a woman I worked with years and years ago and she was like. And she said, you know, when she would go over and greet the table, she's like, hi. How's everyone doing? They're like, good. How are you? She's like, if they ask me how I am, I. I give them the truth.
Yeah, comma. And what she would always do is, and I'm really glad you're here. It was comma. And I'm really glad you're here. She's like, actually, it was a great day. Thank you so much for asking. But to be honest, I'm really glad you're here.
Or she's like, you know, actually, it was a really hard day. I appreciate you asking. It was really stressful.
But honestly, I'm really glad you're here. And everything was like, but that's okay. I'm really glad you're here. And it was true. And she's like, I am really glad people sat in my section. Cause I get to make money, and it's gonna make my. It's gonna make my day better. Or I'm really glad they're here because it gets my mind off of whatever was happening before I came into work or whatever it was, comma. But I'm really glad you're here. And people were like, oh, she was really real. And because she was real with the first part, I'm gonna assume she was being real with the second part.
It's so funny. There was a P3 member years ago, and we were having this conversation. We were talking specifically about how do we build the connection, like, right off the bat, right at first approach. And my challenge was like, how do you make first approach different than every other restaurant? And he's like, hi, thanks for, you know, thanks for coming to Chili's. My name is Chip. I'll be taking care of you. I mean, you fill in the blank. It's some version of that everywhere we go. And, you know, to be honest, I don't know how creative we can get with, you know, just trying to get the details out. Hey, welcome. Glad to have you. Here's my name. I'd love to get you started with something to drink.
But he said he came up with something so brilliant. And again, it's a guy named Devin Eichler. He came on the podcast. He talked about this. He runs Crafty Cow out in Milwaukee in the surrounding suburbs. He has three locations, and it was absolutely brilliant. He came to me, and he says, you know what? We find that so many people come out to celebrate, and even if they're not, they should Be celebrating something. So we come over to every table, we say, hey, welcome to Crafty Cow. We're glad to have you. My name is Chip. I'll be taking care of you. Real quick. What are we celebrating tonight? And it's literally, so if you go to Crafty Cow in Milwaukee, in economy, in any of those areas, you go in there, you will be greeted at the table by saying, hey, welcome to Crafty Cow. My name is. Fill in the blank real quick. What are you celebrating tonight? And inevitably, somebody is celebrating something like, oh, it's her birthday. Oh, it's their anniversary. Oh, you know what? They just got a promotion or. And he said it's great. Then you get to dial in. You get to give the focus. There's a.
And if not, if they look at each other like, no, we're just out here for, you know, just friends getting together.
He's like, the next beat was, no, I'm sorry. You mean that nothing good happened this week that we shouldn't raise a glass to? And then inevitably, people are like, well, you know, yeah, I mean, she just did land a really big client. Or, you know what? Like, my son just made his, like, high school basketball team. Or, like, they would. It was maybe not obvious.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: Even if they can't come up with something, it becomes funny. Yeah. And everyone has a laugh.
[00:20:22] Speaker A: Yeah. Is they're digging for something.
And it's a way to just say, like, this is what we do, man. We go out here. It's not like, just that we go out here to celebrate, but when we're here, we find something to celebrate. And it was a way to. So you talk about that. How do you make a meaningful connection? You guys look up Crafty Cow. It is. It's sort of an upscale gastropub, a little bit divey. Like, it's got, like, tons of patina to it. It's got a cool vibe. Great beers, great food. They're famous for the chicken sandwich. That's another episode.
But what they do at a casual level is just make that deep connection by just saying, not, are we celebrating something? Which people ask all the time, but it's like, what are we celebrating tonight? And it opened the door to such, like, a cool moment. Every single table, I sat there. Every time. The first time I went out there, I sat there and I just watched every table being greeted because I wanted to see it happen. And Devin was like, watch what happens in real time. It's the coolest thing.
[00:21:22] Speaker B: I think it's important to note that, like, you know, for those restaurateurs are like, I don't want to, you know, I don't want to run risk of, like, alienating someone or, like, maybe the staff says something. I really feel like you have more danger in not making a stand, taking a stand on this and, and, and developing some.
Some style in this sense, as opposed to just playing it safe and being like, all right, we are, you know, welcome to Chili's and etc. Etc.
I think taking a stand and developing this, you, you know, you have less risk than just being, like, boring and random. And it's really, it's a great way to differentiate. And again, the beauty of all of this is it costs nothing. This is all free.
[00:22:10] Speaker A: Yep, it's all free. And somebody is going to step away. So if they take care of, you know, 80 covers on a Wednesday night, Thursday night, you know, 150 covers on a Saturday night, what percentage of those people are telling the story? Like, you know, it's so funny is that they greet the table and they were like, they asked what we were celebrating, and we were like, nothing. It's just girls night out. And they were like, no, come on. And so we, like, you know, we talked about how I lost, like, £6 this month. Like, and, like, I'm really proud of that. Like, and, you know, like, you know, in some small way, they're, like, connecting dopamine endorphins, like, good vibes with this thing of, like, no, man.
[00:22:47] Speaker B: Like, yeah, that's.
[00:22:47] Speaker A: That's worth celebrating. We can raise a glass to that. You guys should raise a glass to that. It was so. And when you get to know Devin, Devin is just like, like, that's who he is.
And the fact that he dialed in that deeply and he was like that. This is how we greet the table. I've literally never been greeted like that. Right. I'm often greeted. Hi, how you doing? Welcome to Restaurant xyz. I'm Amy. Are we celebrating anything tonight? And you're like, you just want to know if you have got to put a candle in something.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: Like, don't you find it funny that most restaurants on the scene are not formal fine dining restaurants, but they all greet as if they are a formal fine dining restaurant, which is kind of ironic. Like, you would think that the. The joints that are a little bit more casual would be looser in the greeting, in the, in the interaction. And I, you know, and I always try to train them. Like, listen, as we go down the formality, we still do the steps of service. We just loosen up. Our interaction.
Yeah, our interaction loosens. The verbiage might loosen, but we still do the steps of service.
[00:23:54] Speaker A: Yeah, I always find that funny.
[00:23:56] Speaker B: It's like, why are you normal? This is like a taco place.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: I talk about first approach so many times, like so much. Like, I just think, I think the battle, I think the war is won and lost right there in first approach. Like how you like the energy you bring into it. Like actually how you're engaging what you accomplish on that.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: And it's such an opportunity across the bow. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, this is who we are.
[00:24:21] Speaker A: The time we put into the signage out front, the time we put into our website, it's the same amount of time that we have to put into making that first impression, that first human impression.
Like, like be as remarkable as the, you know, as the signage. I always talk about this. So Death and Company is this really important cocktail bar. It's Speakeasy in Manhattan. And I've been there twice and I've had pretty bad experiences both times. And the time and attention they put into their list, right, their cocktail list. The time and attention they put into the decor and especially the outside, really hiding it and the sign on the ground and all of that, and all of that goes out the window because everybody, at least the two times I was there, so maybe a small data set both times I was there, they were so rude and gruff and maybe they're trying to do this downtown. I'm too cool for school, playing it aloof. But I was like, really? I just couldn't, like all the attention put to all these other aspects. And you're just not being nice to me. You're not just not being gracious or grateful. Like, there are so many places I can go out in New York City. There are so many speakeasies I can go out to in New York City. There are so many great speakeasies within a 10 minute walk of that place. I don't have to come here. And both times, like, against my better judgment, I went back the second time and I was like, if possible, I think this is worse than the first time.
[00:25:48] Speaker B: And which is, you know, which is a shame. But like, and there, that's the type of place that, like, sure, maybe you can survive that way. You know, there's. There are places that can and thrive, but it's not the norm for most restaurants that they can be abusive and get away with it.
[00:26:05] Speaker A: So talk to me because I want to wind this down. We've given some really great examples.
I want to make this really actionable, I want to talk really quickly about. So we were talking, right? In a world where you've got these, you know, anyone can go online and bitch about you, right? We got Google, we got Foursquare, we got Facebook, we've got Yelp. People can go on and do that.
How do you process. How have you thought about this, or how do you continue to think about this? Like, how do you cut off negative reviews? How do you seek them out so that you can deal with them within the four walls before they become a digital problem?
[00:26:42] Speaker B: Well, I think the beauty of addressing it on the floor is that it can usually be resolved cheaply, inexpensively, and thoroughly. To be honest, most customers just want to be heard. I really believe that. And whether it was an experience that they, you know, they were disappointed with or. Or there was, it doesn't matter whether there was a true failure or not. Maybe I should put it that way. Like whether it was true, the failure, or it was a perceived failure, it doesn't matter. Because what we want is to make sure that by the time that they leave, that they're gonna at least give us a neutral review. Right? We want to. We want to at least come out with neutral. We would prefer a positive, but I'll take neutral at this point.
So how do we do that and how do we get that. To really be part of the culture is one. It's got to come from management. Management needs to be involved in this process, and it needs to be thoroughly involved in this process. So with managers being the front line, they should be one walking the floor. I like to put in common practice that each manager should be getting at least five interactions a night. Where they're coming, they're getting some contact info, they're touching a table, they're really learning a guest, they're learning what the guest likes, doesn't like writing this information down, whether it's mental Rolodex, paper, notebook in their pocket, passing that. You remember when we worked together, I'd come up to you often when you were running the front door, and I'd be like, you know, Mr. Smith on table 42.
Just, can you make a note? This is the wine he had. This is. He didn't like this. We had a problem on this and just making these notes, like, you know, AI will take care of a lot of this. Especially with. With POS now being integrated with.
With reservation software. Like, a lot of this note taking is. It's. Is capable, but it's that manager still touching the table.
[00:28:47] Speaker A: That is what we do with it.
[00:28:49] Speaker B: And then the big thing is that getting your servers also to not just be serving machines, but to be conscious and to be aware and then to call in again, call in that line of defense. Management team, say, table 27's got a problem and management should always be alerted and they can go and touch the table, smooth it out, figure it out. And that's what we're really getting away from these days.
[00:29:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: Is management.
I can't tell you how many restaurants where I've never seen a manager.
[00:29:20] Speaker A: I don't even.
[00:29:21] Speaker B: I can look around, I don't even know if there's one on the floor.
[00:29:24] Speaker A: Yeah. One of the things that I spend a lot of time thinking about is how we. That same idea, right? If I tell the hostesses, hey, I really need you to, you know, connect with people and they're like, oh, okay, I'll try. I'm like, no, here's a really great way. Here's a cheat code for it. I like to give the managers a cheat code. And I learned this from somebody and I thought it was really good. So in fine dining, right, we never ask, how is everything? Because we assume that everything's great. It's, you know, just wanted to check in. Is there anything else I can get for you with your main course? Right. It's always, what else can I get to make sure that this is as good as it can be? We never ask if it's good because we assume it's good.
But I know there are plenty of places that do like to check in and ask on the quality. Right? So what was really great, what I thought was really cool is they, I was working with this guy who made all his managers check in at the end of the meal when entrees are cleared. Check in, hey, I just wanted to check in. How do we enjoy everything tonight? And everyone's like, oh, and what does everybody say? Everyone says, oh, good, good. Yeah, great, yeah. He's like, no, no. And then they would say, one follow up question. Okay, what was the best thing? What was your favorite thing you had tonight? Right? And then people would say like, oh, yeah, no, her chicken. Her chicken was amazing. Like, they would. They'll all say, because they've all tried everything. And then they would push one further. So because oftentimes you get like, no, no, everything was great. Everything was great. And I was like, okay.
Then the follow up to that was, okay, I'm sure not everything was great.
So if there's one thing you thought we could have Done better. This is how we get better. What is it? So literally asking, like, was there. It's not. Was there anything that could be better? If there was one thing, what could we have done better? And inevitably, you'll say, you'll get this. Well, you know what? Like, I thought the Bloody Mary could have been spicier. Or, like, you know what?
[00:31:06] Speaker B: The.
[00:31:06] Speaker A: The corn bed was sort of dried out. Or, you know, what I was really missing was like, blah, blah. Like, it was really good. It was really good. But, like, I felt like, and then you'll get the real goods. Then you'll get. And it's just. So we talk about these meaningful interactions. It was like, I learned that. And I was like, oh, that's a cheat code. It's something that I can tell people to do.
[00:31:25] Speaker B: Chip, not only are you getting the real goods, because I agree with you, I think you're getting the real goods because everyone's gonna sit there and say, it was fine, and they're gonna go home and destroy you online because they've already shot their shot. They're not going to be compelled to destroy you online. About the Bloody Mary. That was too spicy.
[00:31:43] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:44] Speaker B: So it's a double win. You're getting all your feedback to be actionable, that you can make adjustments. So if you're seeing that trending, like, all right, the bar, they need to tighten up their mixes.
You're getting that information in real time. And then you're also dissipating the wrath of the online review.
[00:32:03] Speaker A: Bonus points here. And this was the real boss move. This is like we. We always talk about, right? This is how you go from playing checkers to chess.
The owner of that place, empowered, really directed all the managers. They had to do two things. Whatever was told that they hated went in the notes within the reservation system. And then they went and got a card, and they put, like, Matt, like, the Mac and cheese was too soggy. So it's like free Mac and cheese signed, right? So, like. And it. We. And it would. Another touch point. You come back and say, hey, listen, I know you're enjoying your dessert. I wanted to give you this next time you come back, no questions asked, you're getting the Mac and cheese on us because we're gonna work on this, and I want to see if we can get it right so that you feel, you know, And I want to know whether you felt like we made a difference or, you know, like, free blood, you know, first Bloody Mary's round of Bloody Marys, it was like, this was a Way it was acting as a bounce back, but it was like when somebody comes back and says, I heard you, I heard you enough that I made a note in there. So we're going to know when you come back next. And I'm giving you this so we can try again and we can fix it. Right. It was like such a boss move.
[00:33:11] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And just, it's free. It's just a little bit of follow through. And people appreciate being seen and heard. That's it. That's all they need.
[00:33:20] Speaker A: Yep. The way this happens is by making this a priority and by, by baking this into. Right. Not saying to my hostesses, hey, I want you to make sure you're really connecting with guests. But I.
Connecting with our guests is important.
A simple way for you to do it is to compliment someone on something every time you see the table or take their coats, right?
[00:33:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:33:46] Speaker A: And if you just do it on one person, right. Like it doesn't feel, it just, it feels like, oh, like I'm so. And the girls would say this, like, oh, like, I'm so sorry. I just, I wanted to let you know I love your shoes. Right. It was like. And it was so honest. It was like just literally pick out something you love. Like, sir, can I just tell you, I love this tie. This looks so good on you. People are like, oh, thanks, yeah's my wife. Or like, whatever, like, whatever. Oh, I just got it for my birthday. Oh, like I just treated myself to this. Like there was a story behind it. So whatever it is, don't just tell people that to do it. It's just make it. We systematize it, we bake it into what we do. And so we've given you a whole bunch of examples over the course of this.
As people are making this actionable, what's one simple thing they can do? They're listening to this. They're going into service tonight. What do they do?
[00:34:33] Speaker B: I think just using, you know what an easy step is just using guest names.
It's just using a guest name, whether it's the first name, the last name, anything that you know. Welcome back, Mr. McDonald. Hey, John. It's great to see you. Like just recognizing people if they've been there before. That's a step. And then for the guests who haven't been there, putting out your hand, this is one of the. You talk about old school boss moves. This is an old bartender trick.
Guy comes and sits at the bar. You've never seen him before. You reach across the bar, say, hey, my name's Chris, what's your name?
Then? All that is. Is now it's two people.
[00:35:18] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:19] Speaker B: The moment you. You've shook hands, you've touched that that relationship's established, and you can now treat people like, with humanity. And I think there's a real connection there. And nobody does that. Nobody's reaching across the bar. Nobody's. Nobody's saying, hey, John, it's so great to see you again.
[00:35:38] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:35:39] Speaker B: You know, for regular guests, using that name recognition I think is worth it. For new guests, shaking a hand or saying, hey, I know we've had 800 of a guest, but I'm really happy that you're here.
[00:35:53] Speaker A: I love it. All right, everybody listening. You got your marching orders. We've shared a whole bunch of examples, things that you can steal and implement in your restaurant, things that you can use to inspire you, come up with other ideas, better ideas. And I think Chris's idea is a really great thing. That's something you can get everybody doing, everybody rowing in that direction, starting tonight. Chris, I appreciate you taking time. I think it's a great conversation. Everybody listening. I really appreciate it. Chris, any last words of wisdom before we cut out of here, do a
[00:36:28] Speaker B: bunch of this stuff because it's free and it's going to make you a lot of money.
[00:36:31] Speaker A: That's the best part about this episode, and I like doing episodes like this. And I spend a meaningful amount of time whenever we host. Host our live events. I would say 30 or 40% of the stuff we tell you to do takes relatively little investment as far as time, money, or whatever, it's just about being dedicated to doing it and saying this stuff matters. Which, guess what, this stuff matters and it will matter a lot more.
Guys, I appreciate you taking time to listen to the show. I know there's a lot of great podcasts out there you could listen to again, if you are interested in the P3 mastermind. The way you start that conversation is to go to restaurantstrategypodcast.com schedule, grab time on the calendar. You'll chat with me or someone from my team, and we'll see if you're a good fit. There is zero pressure. We bring 10 to 15 new members into the program almost every single month.
So it's not a matter of getting you to join. It's just about finding the right people to join. If you want more guidance, want more community, that's what that is all about. Appreciate it, guys. I will see you next time.
