stuff4restaurants

Isn’t it strange how life constantly dishes up interesting coincidences. Just yesterday I posted an article about the need for business owners to develop complaint handling strategies.

Shortly after deftly hitting the post button, my home phone rang and was answered by my young son. From my office I could hear he was struggling with the conversation. I surmised it was probably yet another Indian call centre ringing to tell us how extremely lucky we were, to be one of the “chosen few”… Continue Reading »

Sooner or later it happens to us all. Regardless of how much we do to serve each customer perfectly, things do go wrong, sometimes little things, and on really bad days, really bad things…
And, unless you and each member of your service team have a very specific and comprehensive response strategy, the resulting situation can get totally out of hand and unnecessarily embarrass the customer, de-motivate your entire service team, other customers present, and worse, become a topic of conversation that spreads throughout your community like a killer virus. Continue Reading »

Consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers will miss out on £600m in 2007 alone because they are failing to connect with women, according to Lady Geek out today from Saatchi & Saatchi.

Thirty-five per cent of female internet users polled said they would increase their spending on consumer electronics if marketers and retailers knew how to communicate with them. Continue Reading »

I’m not interested in your fabulous new building, I’m not interested in your new menu, I don’t care what you say about your earth shattering service, so save your breath and don’t waste your hard earned money bragging and boasting about it in advertisements.
It’s not that I am particularly insensitive to my fellow man, (O.K. that is arguable) it’s just that I have the same human failures as most others… the sad fact is, I am far more interested in me than you. Continue Reading »

I have to admit, for the past few weeks I have been totally obsessed with it… I have worked late into the night, thinking of nothing else…

I have tried lots of remedies, I have become a shameless “Link Tart” I have posted on hundreds of high traffic sights, I have tweaked things I have no idea about, I have added so many tricky plugins that my plugin folder now groans under the pressure.

And the results… Continue Reading »

Ever since ProBlogger ran an article about the places people blog from and included a photo of my “Blog Headquarters”… a sail boat.

I have received a heap of traffic and comments. Thank you ProBlogger and all those who left comments and sent emails, it is really great to make so many new friends. To those who wanted to know a little more about how I go about this great lifestyle I have included some details below. Continue Reading »

Most cups of coffee I am served are lousy… and I mean really lousy.
They have often been made with over roasted beans, the milk has been scorched, or the so called Barista has their pressures all messed up, and the grinder would have been better used mowing lawns. Continue Reading »

When was the last time you discovered that a member of your family, friends or work team is really good at something and celebrated it?

We often spend so much time and energy chasing the “Big Picture” stuff, we forget to stop and take the time to communicate on a personal level with the people that matter, the people who make stuff happen, often we are off doing all that really important “BOSS” stuff, or much worse, we have developed the really bad habit, of discovering only what people do wrong. Do yourself, your family, your friends and your business a huge favor today, Go out and discover somethings they are doing well, discover some of their hidden talents, then, celebrate them.
One of the most powerful Advertising and team building motivational tasks any business owner can perform is: to spend quality time, genuinely exploring the riches that lie dormant within every customer and team member they come in contact with.

The illustration above is from a new series of Pen and Ink sketches

I recently exhibited. You will find more of my mental meanderings HERE.

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“The Chasers” have just released their video and a new internet magazine on the back of the global publicity they have received for their recent breach of security publicity stunt, at the meeting between the President Bush, The Chinese Prime Minister, The Russian President and all the other world leaders at the APEC meeting in Australia.

This is a brilliant piece of orchestrated publicity. I won’t prattle on about it, see it for yourself HERE

New Zealand may only be a small country, tucked away down under out of sight to many. However, They do produce some of the best wine and food products in the world, plus, as they would say “some really NEAT” consumer products.

So what do you do when you want to market these products to the worlds fastest growing consumer market, China, and you have the constraints of a fairly limited marketing budget.

They opened shop, bang in the middle of Hong Kong, a location that already has the existing business networks into their target market.

Those of you who know how tough, expensive and frustrating breaking into the China market can be , will marvel, as I did, at just how smart a move this is.

Hong Kong has the added advantage of being a Country with all the protections of a British legal system, sort of, and the majority of it’s residents speak English, and are looking for ways to use their location and China based contacts to advance themselves.

Great move New Zealand, (now I know why I kept the Kiwi on my own passport)

Heres a link to their Hong Kong website .

and one to their New Zealand export website where you will discover all the great products this country has to offer.

Foot Note:

All “Cloudy Bay” donations will be accepted (Cloudy Bay is one of New Zealand’s best known, premium wines, and if you have not tried it yet, do yourself a HUUUUGE favor)

I begin every public speaking engagement with the warning: “Please don’t believe a single word I say”,

Yes, I say it to be a little provocative and grab some initial audience attention, however, and far more importantly, I want my business owner audience, to begin to view their role as owners from a whole new perspective. Continue Reading »

I want to compile a list of really great restaurant web sites and blogs…

If you have know of, or have a friend, with a great web site or blog please let me know. Send a link to the site or sites to lindsay(at)stuff4restaurants.com plus your own contact details and any other details you think will help everyone, and I will review them and compile a list.

Due to the overwhelming volume of response, I am unable to accept any more email registrations for the PhotoNews concept.

If you missed out, please accept my humble apologies, but I can only handle so many at this early stage. That is, if I am going to provide the high level of support necessary.

To those of you who have been successful, Thank you, you will receive an email with links to a new temporary site within the next 4 hours (that is: if I can get the family pet to help out with a little typing)

To those who have missed out this time, I’m truly sorry, However, Not everyone who has initially applied, will be entirely suitable, so future regions will become available again, plus, we are now planning to apply this and some new approaches to another niche market in the near future and I will let you know by email if you have lodged your contact details.

1. A blog will give you a powerful new way to attract new customers.
2. A blog will work as a “WORD OF MOUTH” or “VIRAL MARKETING” accelerator ensuring your existing customers promote your restaurant to their friends and relatives.
3. A blog will get your existing customers to dine with you more frequently. Continue Reading »

WOW! I knew there would be a good response but the numbers of readers sending me emails wanting to know more about this opportunity has been truly overwhelming, it’s going to take me a couple of days to get on top of it all, but heres a quick update:

Continue Reading »