Posts Tagged ‘food and drink’

Plan Your Restaurant Public Relations

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

A restaurant public relations plan is a pivotal part of an overall marketing initiative and must be put in place before you start. A successful entrepreneur always worries about his marketing and has a PR plan specifically tailored before the opening. You need to worry about how you are going to attract new clients and convince them to return as regular patrons.

Good restaurant public relations starts with a plan for the grand opening of the establishment. A minimum of two weeks before your big day, send out press releases to a variety of local media outlets to help you get advance coverage and appear in local event calendars. Be prepared for a good attendance and prepare everything to be ready before the big day.

During a grand opening, your restaurant public relations person must be on hand to give out media kits, which are professionally produced documents with facts and figures, biographies of the owner and head chef and those all-important menus. Bring in a professional photographer to take valuable snaps for future use.

Cross promotion is a significant part of any restaurant public relations initiative and you should try and become involved with local chambers of commerce and/or nonprofit organizations as much as you can. Utilize their list of media contacts and get them involved in your restaurant’s opening festivities.

Special events can be pivotal to restaurant public relations success and you should focus on the calendar during your first few months. How about featuring an art show alongside certain events, or creating an annual or semiannual wine festival. Open up your business to a whole new raft of potential clients and give yourself valuable PR exposure to boot.

Local newspaper editors are often looking for material to fill their pages and you should try and make friends with them, most especially if they have a significant food and drink section. If you can establish yourself as an authority figure and provide a lot of good news and material to them on a regular basis without pitching your business, then this would pay dividends. Whenever they need advice or input they will think of you and the resulting column inches can be valuable PR exposure.

Restaurant public relations at its best involves a very subtle approach. Your permissions-based mailing lists should be supplied with great food related stories, ideas and information at regular intervals. When Thanksgiving is approaching, give them advice about family get-togethers and parties and menu ideas. Remember, it is not the hard sell, but establishing yourself as an expert.

Restaurant public relations begins and ends with a plan. Never be tempted to wing it and always have a calendar of events, together with associated key dates, for action whilst continuing to develop personal relationships with important people locally.

About the Author:

Purchasing Wood Wine Rack

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

If you’re good with your hands, building a wood wine rack is very simple to do. Firstly, you will need a plan for your wood wine rack and you can do this easily by searching on the internet using the keyword “wood wine rack patterns”. There you will find many choices.

You can also find patterns in wood working books. If you do not own any wood working books you might try looking at your local library. Most libraries will have a wide verity of wood working books. You can be sure that you will find the wood wine rack plans that you are looking for.

The next thing you will need to do is gather your materials. If you are in a hurry, you can go to your local hardware store and purchase the materials that you will need.

If you don’t have enough money, you might want to think about trying to find some scrap wood to make your wood wine rack out of old cabinet. Old cabinets are very good choice for creating a wood wine rack, or you may also consider using an old piece of furniture or scrap wood from old project to create one.

Try setting aside weekend or a day that you will be off work to finish your wood wine rack project. So many people will start a project only to be distracted by something else. When this happens, it is likely that the project will never get finished.

Once you have set aside time for your project you will want to make sure to organize your materials. Lay out all your materials in the order in which you will use them. This is a great time to take inventory as well. Make sure you have everything ready before you start to work on your wood wine rack.

You will probably want to paint or stain your wood when you have completed your project. If you choose to paint your wood, don’t forget to choose a color that matches your decor.

It really shouldn’t be difficult to make your own wood wine rack. Just take your time and have fun making your wood wine rack. Make a great wine rack that is unique as you are. Just with a little time and creativity, you will have surely had a piece that you as well as your family can enjoy for years to come!

About the Author:

Restaurant Customer Service Is Everyone’s Job Number One

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

It doesn’t matter whether you are a veteran in the business or are just starting out, restaurant customer service is very important. From the moment that a customer walks into your establishment to the time that they exit, your success or failure will hinge on the quality of your service.

Restaurant customer service that excels beyond customer expectations leads to repeat customers and positive word of mouth for attracting new customers. It also sets the tone for your restaurant and the dining experience to come. After all, first impressions are everything for a restaurant.

Servers who are friendly, smiling and striving to please customers set a welcoming environment. To go beyond the basics, have the owner or manager open the door and greet each customer as they enter, chat with customers at the table during service, and thank them for their patronage as they leave. Excellent service means small, special touches, like presenting a mint with the bill, providing a complimentary drink or cake for a special celebration, and asking customers about their dining experience before they leave.

When it comes to restaurant customer service, there are a number of tips to remember. Give the diner the server’s name, establish rapport by asking open-ended questions, make sure that the phone is answered within two rings, study up on the area information to give to guests who inquire, and make sure that you ask about their food allergies.

Some restaurants take customer service to a whole new level with creative ideas, like offering a chefs table, presenting roses to female guests, providing a tour of the restaurants kitchen or wine cellar, having sweaters on hand for customers who might be chilly, printing commonly requested recipes on recipe cards, or providing guests with a little bag of cookies or chocolates as a remembrance.

You will need to take creativity and initiative when it comes to providing exceptional restaurant customer service. You can simply enhance an already existing practice, for example having the entire staff to sign a birthday card and including a gift certificate, in addition to singing and presenting a cake on a birthday. If a reservation has been made to celebrate a special occasion, supply balloons and disposable cameras.

In order for a restaurant to excel in customer service, management needs to express to all employees its definition of service and then empower them to do what needs to be done to exceed the needs of customers. It could be something as simple as providing an umbrella if it starts to rain as they are leaving for their cars, or having at the ready recommendations for an after dinner show or entertainment.

Great restaurant customer service starts at the back of the house and move to the front. The waitstaff and greeters can be the best at service, but if the presentation or attention to detail is not up to par, their efforts would be for nothing. All employees, regardless of whether they interact with the client, must be aware of how their performance impacts the overall experience.

About the Author:
enviro water tanks onga pumps water tanks rebate sydney slimline water tanks