FIVE STEPS OF SUCCESSFUL MENU SELLING for SMALL AND MEDIUM RESTAURANTS

I have stepped into the so called Restaurants and start feeling out of place in seconds. Sometimes the grip that –that awkward feeling holds me come from “may be I should stay things will improve to am going to another Restaurant’. The issue here is that  I expect the waiter to welcome me and get busy indeed  because am going to spend my hard-won  cash in exchange of the food that’s stuck i in the kitchen for eternity the moment I seat. I expect my eyes to meet spotless furniture and shinny cutlery waiting for me the VIP.So the places I have gone to have either scored 90% on food and 5%on service and 0% on how they sell their menu.I have known proprietors who claim to have a degree in hotel management but actually in this aspect of menu selling and marketing ahgrrrr ,They need coaching ofcourse.Some times what we learn in school is not easily practiced by those that acquire these skills.

I would like to SHARE   the 5 steps of successful selling of a menu. I would like to analyze with practical examples of how small restaurant can use the 5 steps of successful selling of a menu.

·         PROSPECTING CUSTOMERS

Because times are hard proprietors of outlet s should use cheap way of advertising, for example a board colourfully displayed outside the place with a list of dishes on into easily practiced by those that acquire these skills.You may use banners,fliers or word of mouth

·         PROSPECTING A CUSTOMER

Because times are hard proprietors of outlet s should use cheap way of advertising, a board colourfully displayed outside their  place, with a list of dishes on it.In this way your target market or potential clients can catch what you offer .Explaination of the benefits and  and compare and contrast with a similar dish they know from a stone throw –your competitor.Offer the possibility of having your clients order right at the entrance this gives them an opportunity of less time of waiting and assurance that you are ready for them.Give away fliers that gives another opportunity to clients to have a look at the menu if they find that man on the entrance talking to another client.

·         QUALIFYING THE CUSTOMER

Your staff ie waiters can persuade the prospects soon after they have the client s who are willing to buy .A waiter may briefly explain the history,ingredients that makes the dish standout from other choices.Mostly that dish should be higher that others to make more revenue

·         PRESENTING THE MESSAGE

Attach the wants and needs to the customer and do not rush them to accept before this probation of  allegies,dietary needs and things they worry about or like about the dish.If you have noticed  time constraints  to  have the meal. Suggest the takeaway  or suggest a reasonable time of waiting period for the dish to get ready.However,make sure that you are realistic ,do not exaggerated at all,you create a scarecrow for good if it turnsout to be a lie.

·         CLOSING THE SALE

This the time a waiter can ask for an order from the guest. Proceed to have a docket written for kitchen use and ask for an aperitif to stimulate their appetite. The last thing you want is a complaint that the food was a disaster .Complaints dresses down the image of your restaurant .

·         AFTER SALES SERVICE

A good sales person will be around the place poised to answer all the questions regarding the product .The guest should be asked if they have enjoyed the meal ,however do not overdo this .A waiter who served the table should be left to ask the guest ,unless the manager is also around he/she can do that. Too many questions for a feedback may spoil the moment already enjoyed Timely service ends when the client takes leave.    

The five points explained above can win customers for a long time however they may be basic to a small to medium restaurant but big restaurants can build it from there and match it to the product.

OOPS i forgot i had coffee on my table,cheers.

A TOUR AND WHAT TOURISTS MUST EXPECT (2)

CONTINUED........... OH YEAH am still tackling the tour and hints for both the tourist and the operator.........

Tour brochure checklist
The important items to look for in this task are;
• Itenerery
• Group size
• Terminologies
• Single supplement policy
• Pace

Itenerery

You must eloquently explain all about the distance to be covered on the tour, the time that shall be spent to exhaust the whole tours itenerery and activities that shall take place during the tour.

Group size

Check the group size that is designed to accommodate a particular tour and compare it with the group you are dealing with and analyse all the logistical issues associated with it.

Terminology clarity

We should be pretty aware that every industry has its own terminologies that may not be understandable anybody even a Phd holder. We need to explain what terminologies mean and the consequences that come wit it if we tend to ignore them.
Single supplement
Policy like this may for instant require the client to pay a double rate room even if they are alone/single

Pace

The PACE at which the events and activities will be taking,how fast or slow and the whole timing process of the tour from departure to arrival
Conditions
Conditions should never be spelt out in passing.Liability and any emphasis of a close worth knowing should be clearly highlited.

Questions

Always invite questions from your clients
Consumer protection
It differs from operator to operator ,the benefits that are there if they organize the tour for you .Customers should ask this question if they realize their operator says nothing about the consumer protection.

Cost

The cost of the tour is our make or break base of the conversation we call selling.Let them know what they are paying to avoid loss of revenue and trust from customers.
Aspects of a tour using a brochure
• Tour organizer should explain the overview of detail that involve the tour this is what my market friend will call it qualifying.
• Choose a brochure that you think matches the interest of the client and let them read and understand it ,of course they will ask questions if they don’t understand
• Run through the brochure with the client and invite questions ,by doing that you are sure you are moving on the same page.
• Familiarise them with the brochure by repeating all the important need to know points
• Cacellation policy is one last bit we all goof at and think we have closed the sale yet if they don’t know we are to blame.Dont forget customer is king but not always if we show the king their rightful place

A TOUR AND WHAT TOURISTS MUST EXPECT (1)

A tour is a form of travel from palace to place with multiple features which can be sold to a client as a single unit.The people who participate in these activies are called tourists .They can be locals or domestic.

The history of tour dates back to 1840 with the enthusiasm of Thomas Cook to vist palces with his son.The begging was awesome because the tour registered 23 million aannually
Tour itself as it is packaged into four:custom designed tours and packaged tours with the later having hosted tours,escorted and independent tours
Custom designed tour operator organizes with clients in collaboration to take total control of the tour.Mostly such clients have the knowledge of the proposed destination .This is expensive to organize.A client goes alone after all arrangements making the choice of almost everything.

Prepackaged tour:
is prepared in the absence of the client on its list independent tour is amongst them those tourists who would like to have an even high degree of the tour they go all the way in family groups and it was popular in the 1960s where it was called Foreign independent tours because it was mostly associated with foreigners.The package includes transport ,accommodation and a well articulated itenerery.On transport the emphasis is on the mode of transport.Accommodation contract is in the hands of the operator who books the supplier ie the hotel however the taste of the guest is considered on the type and comfort of the room.Itenerery the component includes distance,time activities and type of meals mostly full board is advisable to ease the hussle in the middle of the tour.

Hosted tour:
tourists are oriented at gateway and may accompany one host who feeds them with a significant imformation of palces or whole tour it can be described as having single assistance.because they are left to go in shuttle unless they want clarity from host.The details may be given by the step in guider
Lastly within the prepackaged tours there are escorted tours ,this depends on the accompanying of professional escort

This has in it what is called the multiple destination because apart from what the package spells there are multiple destination because they are given the freedom to stop at any place they feel like spending sometime along the way.

to be continued:.....

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR RESTHOUSES /RESTAURANTS/LODGES-FOR INVESTORS,VISITORS

This afternoon I was lucky to have  had a chat with some international tourist and they asked me what are the requirements to set up and run a lodge or restaurant.This question conceived the idea to have this posting born;

This posting shall be of benefit to an investor,staff of business units in this industry,owners to avoid clossure of their places and visitors to make imformed decisions when making choices.

RECEPTION

1.      Neat receptionist at all times, in well ironed uniform, and courteous at all times

2.      Clean floors, well swept, mopped, or polished

3.      Clean walls – well painted, no marks, not cluttered with wall hangings, few but decent

4.      Room rates and licences clearly on display

5.      Adequate size

6.      A good chair and table – at least one for the  receptionist and one for the guest

7.      Guest register should be available

BEDROOMS

1.      Clean walls, smoothened and well painted preferably in light colour

2.      Floors, well mopped or polished

3.      Bed sheets of good quality (two per bed), regularly washed and well ironed for every new guest

4.      1 blanket and at least a mattress protector (usually a blanket)

5.      Bedside rug or mat

6.      Working table and chair

7.      Wastepaper basket or bin

8.      Candle holder in each room

9.      Clothes hooks – (wooden or original, not nails)

10.  Window openings of adequate sizes, regularly opened to allow free circulation of fresh air

11.  Curtains of adequate sizes, properly fitted and of good quality

BATHROOMS

1.      Regularly cleaned bathroom floors, free of cracks and with good drainage

2.      Bathrooms walls to be finished with tiles or smooth cement (not painting)

3.      Regularly scrubbed and cleaned bathrooms walls (with soap)

4.      A soap holder

5.      Clothes hook or towel rail

6.      Lockable door when inside

TOILETS

1.      Regularly and thoroughly cleaned toilets

2.      Pit latrines should have a lid

3.      Well painted wall

4.      Use disinfectants to keep off bad smell

5.      Proper door (lockable when inside) and roof

6.      Seat and cover for flush toilets

7.      Sanitary bin

8.      Toilets brush

9.      Tissue holder

10.  Clothes hooks

11.  A mirror if communal

DINING ROOM

1.      Clean and strong chairs and tables

2.      At least uniform table cloth or decent table mats

3.      A well laminated menu on each table. (displayed neatly)

4.      Clean, well mopped and polished floor

5.      Smart and uniformed waiters

KITCHEN

1.      Clean walls painted in light colour (preferably oil paint) or tiled

2.      Clean floors, regularly mopped and without cracks

3.      Clean (grease-free) cooking equipment i.e. cookers, pots, plates etc.

4.      Clean kitchen staff in proper kitchen uniform and footwear

5.      Items kept in an orderly and organized manner

6.      Free of cockroaches and other insects

7.      Food items should be well separated and covered in refrigeration to prevent contamination

SURROUNDING

1.      No cobwebs and dust in sight

2.      Well swept surrounding free of debris

3.      Proper refuse pit/ rubbish pit

4.      Pets are not permitted access the premises

OTHERS

1.      Fire fighting facilities

2.      First Aid facilities

3.      Medical examination for food handlers every six months

4.      Literate Manager

5.      Cleaners should be provided with protective wear i.e. gloves and footwear

MALAWI TO BUILD HOSPITALITY SCHOOL AND GOLDEN SAND HOTEL, BUT......

I am excited,excited that my smile is wider than usual.If you see me now my lips are nearly touching my ears.The priorities set by government to build hospitality school,Golden Sand Hotel in Mangochi Cape Mcclear is good news indeed, Minister of Tourism has announced.

We need to prepare as a country to train more personel with no ordinary knowledge but intouch with the global hospitality industry.I must commend government for thinking ahead that the infrastructure we tend to build (thanks chinese people)need to have people with the capacity to sustain its glory.


The only thing that bugs me is while we are thinking ahead we are failing to transform what we already have.We have a hospitality school already called Malawi Institute of Tourism.
This school has trained most of the managers you may meet in our hospitality industry.The sad part of this school is that government being its mother, little is being done.In my time 2004-2007 computors were very few if not just two to be specific against 200 plus of us.This has slightly improved by now am told but the ratio still calls for action by government.

• These are young men and women who are a face of the country they need equipment knowledge before they go to the industry.Student should never go to the industry before 80% of stuff has been absorbed.No wonder hotel staff in the industry always mock them why they went to school to learn how to smile or speak or clear the table they argue its something innate or what everybody can do.We need to differentiate the service a student or any learned staff can do from that which can be performed by a man dragged from the street.
• The syllabus has to be inline with the global tourism trends
• The syllabus has to give student who want to undergo a degree programe the strength to trod on otherwise it falls short of the ladder to degree programme.

All these infrastructures are nothing if we never run the operations in it .........in this posting i wont mention anything about the the PRESIDENT HOTEL in the city,i save the paragraph hahah.Where are we on this state of the art HOTEL?