The
Art of the Table:
The Real Power Behind the Buzz
Be
clear about your mission
and
your values:
As a manager, you need to
have
clarity about
your restaurant and
its mission;
staff will pick up on any
doubts or uncertainties so check-in
with yourself and make a daily
commitment to support and renew
your mission.
PR stands for
personal relationships:
it’s
a simple as that.
Everyone can
embrace public relations. As a leader
you can set the example. Engage one-
on-one — reporters
appreciate it and
customers will too.
Engage your staff on a daily basis:
Every person who works for the restaurant
is an extension of your brand; take time
every day to remind them of
that in unique ways.
Shifting from a poor attitude, smiling, being aware
of their own
body language can impact the entire energy of a restaurant.
Give your staff PR tools:
Take the fact sheet from your
PR agency or develop
one yourself with all the who what and why’s of the restaurant;
be sure your staff
understands the message of the restaurant so they may relay it consistently
to
anyone they come in contact.
It’s a “We” and not a “Me”:
Remind
staff about working as a collective – help
each other out – everyone needs to take responsibility for impacting
the successful
perception of a restaurant. Working together, helping someone who can’t
seem to
get it all together, can impact the success of a team.
Be willing to stay in the muck while changes are being made – so
what?:
It
will only get better even if it seems worse for awhile – there
are tough time for
everyone and sometimes when a manager or leader admits the tough part,
it
makes it easier for the rest of the staff to keep giving, keep smiling
to those
customers.
Get motivated by other’s motivation:
The enthusiasm you
and your staff create
is contagious – ask their advice on who they would like to support
in the
community in a non-profit way.
Remember the power of the words you choose to use as well as positive
body
language
Respect each other and what you can co-create together
Set your intention – every day:
Ask your staff to set a group intention
that this
day – when the busser goes around and lights the candle on the
table, ask them to
silently set an intention that this table have an extraordinary evening.
Anything
can happen….
Mind the intellectual capacity and grow the culture of your staff:
A
ask
your
staff for their feedback. Reward even a wacky off the wall idea. Let
them know
that they can impact the marketing success. Everyone just wants to
be heard.
Create a format to do so at least once a month.
Have a bad day?
Everyone does….take a walk around the block. A
New York
Times reporter slammed a restaurant for bad service not because one
waiter didn’t
perform but because of what she felt the moment she entered the restaurant.
Attitude is carried over – it takes practice to shift into another
mood. Encourage
your employees to check-in with those they feel are bringing the rest
of the team
down – work collectively to put forth the best attitude.
Kindness begets kindness:
Even the most challenging customers
can be won
over and become your loyalists.
Everyone knows at least 100 people:
Your staff can become your customer
evangelists by working as a team, by understanding the collective energy
that
is created. Give your best employees business cards – reward
those who bring in
the most customers. Give your staff the opportunity to feel proud about
who they
work for. They spend half of their lives at their job – make
it work for them in
creative ways.
Hear more about this presentation and learn ways to develop a strong internal
buzz in your restaurant by attending the GGRA
Tradeshow and Susie
Biehler’s presentation
©2005 Susie Biehler
