Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: We're telling stories because stories is how we talk about things that matter. My buddy Mark just returned from Vancouver, had a very cool experience. He called it the bar boomerang. This is a really good story. It's definitely one worth telling. On today's episode of Restaurant Strategy.
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 the Restaurant Strategy podcast. We put out two new episodes every single week, all meant to help you level up, build a more profitable restaurant. You're in the middle actually coming towards the end of a 20 episode arc talking about the stories we tell because guess what, that's how people talk about the world they live in. So you need to give them context, a foothold. That's what the stories are all about. Listen, I give talks, I write books, I have a membership site. I have a group coaching program. It's the number one way I know to how to help people. You learn more by going to rspfit.com if you got a restaurant, you're stuck at single digit profits. We can get you to consistent, predictable 20% returns within six months. Months. We've got hundreds of people that we put through the program. Over 120 people currently enrolled in the program. RSP.com also and remind you about the restaurant profitability Summit. It happens October 18th, 19th and 20th in Minneapolis. Tickets are on sale now. I don't know, at the time of this recording, maybe about a quarter of the tickets are left, capped at 200. We got about, I don't know, 55 tickets left. If you want to be there, I'd love for you to be there. That link is also in the show notes.
Avi, you love to go out to eat. So as a guest, what's your biggest pet peeve when you're trying to choose a place to eat?
[00:02:09] Speaker B: Yeah, as the father of two children, I can't leave the house for less than $30 an hour. My wife has celiac. So when we're going to make a dining decision, I live and die by that menu. I'm in there researching what's available. What can my wife eat, what can we share, what do I get to eat off of her pleat?
And so that menu is just a crucial part of all decision making for me as a consumer. It's why? At Marquee, we focus so much on our menus, our menu integration, so that as operators, your menu that lives in your point of sale that you want customers to see is available and up to date everywhere.
[00:02:42] Speaker A: To learn more about Marquee, go to marquee.com, m A R Q I-I.com to learn more about this and all of the incredible features they have.
Pop Menu has reimagined the restaurant. They're breaking the mold of the menu. Take the kitchen doors off the hinges, serving up their most comprehensive solution yet. It's called Pop Menu Max. So it's got everything you've already heard me mention, right? Websites, SEO, marketing tools, all of that. But now we get phone answering, now we get third party online order aggregation, we get first party ordering, we get wait listing. All of that is now in the, is now in the in the bag. Pop Menu is phone answering. For example, that technology gets your ringing phones covered, right? AI AI helps the simple questions get answered so your phone line's not tied up right. So you don't have a staff member just answering the phone that can actually be there for your in person hospitality. No more missed reservations, no more missed orders, no more people asking for hours, anything. And that's just the beginning. You have a passion for food. Pop Menu has a passion for technology. Together, it's a recipe for restaurant success. Listen, if you're a restaurant owner, you need Pop Menu. It's going to take your business to the next level. For a limited time only, get a hundred dollars off your first month. Plus you get to lock in one flat unchanging monthly rate. Go to popmenu.com restaurantstrategy to claim this offer. Again, that's a hundred dollars off your first month. And yes, you're gonna find that link in the show notes.
Okay, so today's episode's gonna be a shorty because this story is relatively short. My buddy Mark, who loves restaurants almost as much as I do, doesn't work in restaurants, but loves to go out to restaurants, dines out quite a bit. He was with a buddy of his in Vancouver for the weekend and on their last night they went out to, to grab a drink. They were, they grabbed a drink at a cocktail bar and they were talking to the bartender and before they left they were like having a drink before they went to dinner and before they left, the bartender says, oh, just remind me before you go, I got something for you.
They were like, okay, what?
So you know, they were, you know, again, making conversation. The drinks were Made. They put up. They're sipping their drinks. They're enjoying them. About 15 minutes later, bartender came up, says, you know, would you guys want another drink? And they said, no, we really have to get going to make our dinner reservation. He said, great. And he put up a little jar of something. And he said, this is a cocktail to go. I want you. I know the restaurant you're going to, and I want you to give this to the bar manager. Our gifts from the, you know, from all the bartender. From the bar team at this restaurant, right? So take the drink over to the bar manager at the new place. And they were like, oh, that's cool. So a little, like, cocktail in a jar, and they put it in a little bag, they closed out and they, you know, went on their way. And so basically the idea is that if they didn't end up giving it away to the bar manager at the next place, they would have a cocktail to enjoy later.
But the idea was that you bring it, you go to the next place. So they walk and they say, hi, we're just checking in for our reservation. It should be under this name. And they looked it up, say, oh, great, I got your table right this way. And they said, great, perfect. Before you seat us, is the bar. Can you let the bar manager know we have something for them? If you could send them over, that would be great.
Host said, okay, no problem. So they sat him at the table. Five minutes later, bar manager comes over, right? Says, hi, introduces herself, says, there's something I can help you with.
And my buddy Mark goes, yeah, actually, we were just having a drink over at this cocktail bar, and they sent us a cocktail to go for you guys to enjoy. And she said, oh, that's amazing. Great. Remind me before you go, I'll have something for him. And my buddy Mark looked at his friend and was like, that's weird.
So the bar manager took the bag, went away, they had their meal. All was going maybe like 45 minutes or an hour into their meal, bar manager came back, says, how you enjoying everything over here? So, oh, we're loving it. Said, great. What did you guys get? Blah, blah, blah. What are you drinking? Anything else you need? Said, no, we're doing great. Said, perfect. So this is a drink.
I want you to send this back. And they called it a boomerang drink. The whole idea is, right, that the bar manager gives a drink to the patron to deliver at the next restaurant, and then the restaurant basically reciprocates the idea being that it's super generous within the industry, right. You know, doing something nice for each other. But mostly I think they know that it will all work out and it will get people to stay out. Because I've said this before, right? So somebody made a reservation. They got showered and shaved and dressed, you know, thought deeply about what they were going to put on. They look good. They are already out. The hard part is done. They've gotten in the car, they've driven downtown, they parked. Or they got in an Uber. They're downtown. They are out for the night. So the idea to get them to come out for a drink beforehand or another drink afterwards or to do dinner and go somewhere else for dessert, like, you've already. The hard part is already done. You already got them to go out for the night. They got the babysitter. They coordinated everything.
So the idea is the first place gave a drink to bring to the second place. Second place then gives a drink to the patrons to deliver back to the first place. Basically saying, hey, I don't know if you're. If you're gonna stop by there on your way home or it's near your hotel, but please drop this back off to them and tell them, thank you.
And of course, my buddy Mark and his friend, they sit there and they finish their meal, they pay their check, they take the cocktail and they go back to the cocktail bar, which happened to be near their hotel. I said, they went to the. They took the cocktail. They went back to the cocktail bar, and they gave it back to the bar manager who had given them the first drink. And they said, here, from this restaurant. They said, thank you so much for the cocktail. And they wanted us to send this back. And of course, what do they do? My buddy Mark and his friends sat down at the bar and had a nightcap. They had one more drink. And somewhere in their brains, I'm sure these restaurants, it happens in Vancouver. I've never heard of it anywhere else, but this just happened about two weeks ago when my buddy was away in Vancouver, and he was like, I think the whole town does this. And I was like, really? He's like, yeah, yeah, I think it's a thing.
So it's the first time I had ever heard of it. And I'm bringing it to you.
I want to make this a thing. So all of my friends in Vancouver, and I've got a couple of restaurants that I know there and a couple of operators there, to all of you guys, if you are doing this, thank you. And I'm lovingly sharing it with the rest of the world because I think this is incredible. Number one, it's hospitable, it's generous. He talked about making people feel important and seen.
Right.
It is all of those things. And there's a business use case for it in which people will go back to the first place because the boomerang is going to bring them back. Bring a cocktail from number one to number two. Number two sends a drink back to number one. Well, the patron has to deliver it. And then nine times out of 10, I would guess they're going to sit and have a nightcap, another cocktail, whatever. That's exactly what happened. I'd never heard about it. To everybody in the Vancouver market who's doing it, I applaud you. I think it's awesome. I am lovingly stealing it. Not stealing it, sharing it. Because I'm giving credit where credit is due and I'm sharing it with the rest of the world. To everybody else out there, this is how you build community within your restaurant, community within your market. So if you've never heard of this, join me. I'd never heard of it either. If you think it's a good idea, like I think it's a good idea, I strongly urge you to adopt this for your market. Boomerang cocktails. What a cool idea. And that's it. I told you it was going to be a shorty one. I just wanted to tell that little story because it was brand new to me. And now maybe for you guys it's brand new. If it's not, if you guys have done this before, if you seen other people doing this or a better version of it, I'm all ears. Chip close dot com. That's C H I P K L O S E dot com. That is my email address. I respond to each and every email I get. Listen, guys, I appreciate you being here. If you want to learn more about the group coaching program I run, it's called the P3 mastermind. You go to RSP.
If you want to get your tickets to the summit, you click the link in the show notes. Actually, both of those links are in the show notes. But the Restaurant Profitability Summit is quickly selling out. If you want to be there, I want you to be there. Tons of reasons to be in the room. Two different types of tickets, either general admission or vip. I would love to see you in Minneapolis in October. Listen, guys, thank you very much for making this part of your week. I will see you next time.
