Restaurant Rick Podcast: Recent Episodes
Restaurant Rick
A career as a McDonald’s multi-market franchisee and fine dining owner brings unique problem-solving techniques and lessons learned from the ground up. Hiring, training and retention concepts for outstanding staff and customer loyalty. Stronger operational improvements, delivering consistent sales increases and excellent cash flow.
The most effective ways to limit the impact of Covid by focusing on your prime tools for staff retention, supply chain reliability and customer wariness. We can bring back our customer counts, sales and staff retention with the right proactive plan.
We flip the script on FAQ's. This time, Restaurant Rick asks the tough questions. By taking an honest and objective look at your key practices, you will realize many of the answers that will lead to strategies for greater success.
By broadly defining safety and security, we can see the pivotal role it plays in everything we deal with on a daily basis. From the health and safety of our staff and guests through our Operations and Training Manual to the security of our property, we can easily improve our awareness and save a lot of money.
The gradual return to full capacity presents a Golden Opportunity to re-think our Team-building strategy. Tested and proven tactics for success in your toughest competition – finding and keeping the best people.
Make every marketing dollar do the work of ten by taking full advantage of low and no-cost social apps. Tips on gaining free media coverage from neighbourhood Newspapers, local Radio stations and Podcasters.
Restaurant Rick reveals the top six traits that are shared by Founders, CEOs, and independents who are adding clever concepts to the next generation’s Hot 100 list.
Learn how my micro-managing style got me into trouble, then served up a shock that compelled me to loosen the reins. The short journey from Controller to Leader.
Restaurant Rick does his best to answer the questions we are all asking. Where are we now on Covid? Who can I believeon medical science? What steps can I take to survive and thrive? When will this get better?
How happy is your Team? What if you had a simple tool that would give you the answer? A quick semi-annual survey of your front-line people will show you what they’re thinking.
A difficult customer can shake up your front-liners and cause your favourite guests to feel uncomfortable. Learn how the right tactics can manage the tough customer for better outcomes.
Hear how investing in your restaurant’s neighbourhood can substantially boost your sales, hiring and retention.
Three lessons learned the hard way that can save you from making mistakes that will haunt you, plus a bonus tip that can become your mantra for surviving unanticipated events.
A great menu can increase your sales, boost your customer counts and deliver a higher average cheque. A menu that’s not well-thought-through will give you declining customer counts. This Episode will help you make the best choices.
Certain words and phrases are part of everyday speech for many of our staff, but they don’t belong in our guest interactions.
If you knew that Covid had been brought under control and you are opening to full seating tomorrow, what would you wish you had done?
Domino’s daring marketing campaign had gained attention. While their new menu recipes were being applauded, they were quietly making another bold change by devoting 50% of Domino’s administrative personnel to the marketing and digitized and analytical work. Spoiler alert. It’s working very well.
A proud 50-year-old business had grown into the world’s leading pizza delivery chain but was now watching its stock hit an all-time low of $3 a share. Customers didn’t like the taste of the sauce or the texture of the crust. Domino’s saw the urgency to improve their food quality and reputation. They made two radical decisions.
Here are tools you can add to your mission for powerful Customer Loyalty. Discover the golden gems that your POS system and software are already capturing. Add the basic knowledge of demographics and suggestions for off-the-shelf apps and you have the intel you need to create your own powerful strategy that will stabilize your existing guest loyalty and add new customers.
The story of how an out-of-control Management turnover rate led to a firm commitment of promoting only from our own front-line Team, and record retention rates for Management and Crew.
The first 3 Keys to finding the right people. Smart Hiring, Enlightened Compensation, and Creative Hiring Sources.
Why spend thousands for a smartly bound corporate document when you can pull together a group of your own real-world guests? Rick gives you a guide and questions that produce plenty you can put into action, right away.
How four, sharp members of your own Team and a two-day Visitation to a store creates the process that will have your company constantly improving and growing.
This is your chance to hear how a modified concept that’s a staple of military and police work can make turn an underperforming store into and over-performer and incremental unit even better.
A simple method for gaining candid staff opinions on job satisfaction with your company and how you can make changes that increase their happiness and job performance. How asking the right questions, listening to the answers and making the changes can move Staff and Management Retention rating straight up.
Advice on how to uncover new sources of the quality people you need on the front-line. This critical building-block of a full Staff Retention program will bring on people who are loyal team players and a ready source of future management talent.
Signs of hope and reasons for concern. Rick’s guidance on navigating the ever-changing news in this time of Covid. Managing the things we can control by keeping our Team and Guests safe while we build back sales and cash flow.
A fresh look at Episode One of the Restaurant Rick Podcast series. Changes that have taken place since our launch, just three months earlier, show the need for stronger emphasis on our staff sourcing, hiring and retention efforts. Five upcoming new Episodes will provide a rich source of ideas on how.
A different prospective for savvy business leaders. How doing the right thing benefits your people, your guests and your neighbourhood.
How weaving together solid operations, aspirational front-line training, targeted internal and external marketing and sincere neighbourhood involvement can ignite your staff and turn your guests into ambassadors.
The story of how a period of turbulent Manager turnovers led to a surprising decision. We would start every person we hired on the front line and make this the driving feature of our management development program. This single change impacted every important aspect of our system from recruiting through training, service ratings, sales increases, staff satisfaction and guest appreciation.
Restaurant Rick created a proprietary format that produces more powerful result. Standard breakeven analysis tells you where you are but buried in the data is a simple set of tools that tell you where you can go. It will help you make better decisions on hiring, scheduling, compensation, marketing, site selection, equipment, design and borrowing.
Taking a hard look at your hiring practices. Focusing on attitude, passion and drive. Finding the exceptional people. Forming a core group who set the tone and attract more A players. How paying great people a higher wage than your competitors can save money and improve your cash flow.
Closer look at each demographic segment. The tools you need to identify your best guest demographic targets. How mirroring guest demographics in your hiring creates a loyal front-line team and rich source of future managers.
Why and how demographics are the key influences on human behaviour. Learn their impact on dining trends, choice of restaurants and guest service expectations. Knowledge to help you hire, train and retain the best people.
More accurate sales projections and wiser ad marketing cost choices. Discover the sales-building source that’s already within your operation.
Straight goods on the future of food service. Best ways to conserve funds and craft effective strategies for the new reality. Reliable sources of medical science facts, experts and safety practices for your team and guests.
From McDonald’s multi-market franchisee to fine dining restaurant ownership. Unique retention, local store marketing, and cost control programs. Dynamic food service operations skills. Valid for today’s challenges.