Almost every food service operation today utilizes some form of electronic devices. A major supplier of these electronics that appeal to the food service is the Toshiba company. They offer a wide variety of various equipment, and models at prices that any food service operator will welcome. If you are rethinking your office requirements or expanding your operations, contact Toshiba through the link provided!

GEC has dealt with Office Depot for over 20 years. It carries a complete line of office supplies, equipment, and furniture at prices that are competitive with all other large box stores. Their online ordering system is efficient, fast, and accurate, they also often have promotions that are very cost effective. GEC suggests that the next time you need anything featured by Office Depot that you give them a trial. I am sure you will be pleased!

You cannot operate your restaurant without efficient equipment. I have used true equipment for many operations that I have designed over the years. I can truthfully report that I have never received a negative report from any of the installations that we have furnished. Today true manufacturing provides an online service to help everyone in food service select as new or for replacement, equipment that will survive over time at a price that is affordable. So check them out!

Every successful restaurant operation needs a reasonably effective office system. A collection of daily information and the analysis of cash income and expenses is crucial to the continued profitability of any business especially in food service. Examine the offerings of Circuit City and you will find almost every type of office equipment at prices that are very affordable. Look at your operation and decide if you need a reworking or an upgrade, if so, click here.

As a marketer you may wish to offer certain premiums as promotion for various projects throughout the year. It is helpful to have a source of reasonable products available to use as your premium to attract traffic to your restaurant. A review of Tmart offerings may provide you with the exact source you need to produce a successful premium incentive program. Take a look and try it out!

Did you ever dream of having your own wine? Here is an interesting way for you as a provider of wine to your customers to make their dream come true! You can create a personal wine cellar for your wine drinking clientele by contacting the people at Personal Wine. As restaurant operators we are always looking for ways to build loyalty in our customers. What better way than to stock a few bottles of their personalized wine.

Restaurants are a customer based business. As an operator you want your employees to look their best at all times. You may scoff at the idea of suggesting hygiene and beauty aids to your female employees. However, when restaurant, bar, niteclub, and catering managers create pathways for female employees to upgrade their appearance, their tips go up and favorable customer comments pyramid also. So give it a look!

GEC Consultants, Inc. Recently returned from our attendance at the international restaurant expo at McCormick place in Chicago, Illinois. At the time we sought out vendors dealing with wine and wine equipment. By coincidence I met with a representative from Wine.com. She suggested that I examine her website. I did and am pleased to report a wealth of information that I believe will be useful to operators in the hospitality industry as well as in individuals seeking the finest wines to meet the requirement of their palate.

Here is information on Gwendolyn who is the Director of Education and Content and resident wine expert for Wine.com. She’s a wine educator at heart, hoping her enthusiasm for wine will increase peoples’ enjoyment of the beverage. She received the Diploma in Wine & Spirits through the London-based WSET. As any wise restaurateur will tell you “wine knowledge is a never-ending pursuit – the more you know, the more you learn you don’t know and the more you want to taste!”

Following are information categories that you may find helpful in designing, reviewing, and rethinking your wine list.

90 under $20
Gift Ideas
Green Wine
Holidays
Industry News
New Arrivals
Pairing Wine With Food
Staff Picks
Uncategorized
What We’re Drinking
Wine Education
Wine Recommendations
Wine Tips
WineShopper

1. What are your revenue goals?

2. How and when do you plan to achieve them?

3. What is a realistic potential for improvement in your current marketing and sales process?

4. Where does  your current business come from?

5. What is a first step you must take through marketing,

6. What budget can you afford to advance the to reach or exceed your expected  results?

7. Which sales tactics are  most likely to provide  best results?

8. What have your competitors done that has not worked for them in the past?

9. What have you done that has not worked for you in the past?

10. What is the best mix of tactics to use to generate leads?

11. What is the best mix of tactics to strengthen your branding?

12. What is the best mix of tactics to retain your current customers?

13. How does your mix of marketing tactics  contribute to your reaching your goals?

14. What kind of  campaign should you engage in first and what tactics should you test over a period of time?

15. With the tactics you choose,  how do you make sure you implement them as well as you are able?

16. What methods do you have to  check the success of these tactics over time?

17. In using your tactics what pitfalls must you avoid?

18. How do you set up a process to make sure you nurture demand  within your target market so you gain the highest sales results over the long term?

19. Which marketing and sales tactics should you avoid altogether because they are not producing good results?

20. How would you measure and improve results continually over time?

21. How long might it take for results to materialize based on your assumptions?

22. Are you planning to train your operating people to tap their energy and potential salesmanship to get fast results?

23. Are there any immediate problems you must fix to get fast results?

24  If you achieve your revenue goals, how will that affect your business operations and ability to deliver at or above your current quality levels?

25. Do you have a commitment from your working team to do everything they can to reach your marketing goals?

These are only a few of the questions you must ask in attempting to build a dynamic marketing strategy. Asking questions is the first step. Next comes the research to implement the actions you choose to take.

For more information see the “Marketing Blitz”.

There are many reasons for this but two stand out, those restaurants that are in professional communities throughout the United States and those that are in youth-oriented areas of our metropolitan cities, are shown to have suffered very little from the recession.

Reasons for this appear to be first, the professional segment of the population that were basically unaffected by the recession continued to live their normal lifestyle. They frequented restaurants for lunch, had working conferences, and stopped at restaurant/bars after work. As families they ate out once or twice a week for an evening meal and on the weekends they made it a social event of meeting friends and dining in their favorite entertainment dining spots. On Sunday a major family outing occurred three or four times a month.

Secondly, in the youth-oriented populations  of pre-teens and post-teens, these young adults continued to spend at the local gathering places because those restaurants with modest prices have  become their social centers. Since they were living at home or in cramped living quarters they were accustomed to meeting their friends and socializing in their favorite feeding spots.

It appears this information should alert us that if we want to get on the bandwagon, and increase our sales, we should focus on these two segments of the population; the young professionals and the teens and post teen  young adults. It is obvious that the casual service operators catering to these target clienteles have withstood the recession with flying colors.

Therefore, it would seem the answer to the question for them, “Where has the recession gone to?” Their answer is, “What Recession?”

Do agree that the recession is really over? Let me know how it affected your business.

Regards,

Lloyd M. Gordon