Category Archives: food

September 4, 2020 · 4:39 pm

We Went Back To Our Bar

Foodie Friday, finally. If you regularly read this screed on Fridays, you might have picked up that Friday afternoons almost always involved a trip to my favorite local watering hole. In fact, I devoted one Friday rant to the place.

During the pandemic, while we’ve ordered food on a regular basis from the place to support it as best we could through the crisis, last evening was the first time in six months that we actually went to have a beverage. While bars are still closed here in North Carolina, restaurants are open with limited capacity indoors as well as distanced seating outdoors. Our plan was to sit outside and since it was a nice evening we ended up staying for dinner as well since technically our bar qualifies as a restaurant based on how much food it sells.

Of course, we did stick our masked faces inside to check out what was going on and to say hi to some staff members we hadn’t seen in a while. What a difference. The bar area was shut down – it’s usually packed – and several tables had been removed to limit capacity. Many more picnic tables had been added outdoors to make up for the lost seating. But it did get me thinking.

Many changes have already happened in the restaurant business. The biggest one, obviously, is that a significant percentage of them have closed their doors forever. It’s a marginally profitable business in good times and these days are NOT good times. For those that remain, adjusting to limited seating and a lot more take-out has also changed how the restaurant is staffed and operated. The quality that people have come to expect has morphed into wanting that quality at home. Cafeterias have died and drive-through fast food has been reborn to a certain extent. Without the need for a lot of service staff, operating within ghost kitchens has become prevalent. In fact, one franchise – Dickey’s Pit Barbecue – launching a network of ghost kitchens, including virtual restaurants to expand their reach in Chicago, Houston and Orlando, and entering into a new market using only ghost kitchens in Providence, R.I.

None of the changes have been easy, and the disruption points to something that’s applicable to your business as well. That’s leadership. In a crisis, leadership is even more important than in normal times because your team tends to panic and freeze or do silly things. The businesses who have really won in this environment so far are the ones that have a plan, have a good, strong corporate culture, have injected a little bit of entrepreneurialism in it, and stress execution. It starts at the top.

Does that sound like something you’re doing? Shouldn’t it be?

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August 28, 2020 · 3:56 pm

Turned Around Tacos

A little reminder this Foodie Friday. I called one of my favorite taco places last night to place an order that I’d pick up. I ended up hanging up the phone without placing the order and the reason why I did so should be instructive for anyone who has customers (and what business doesn’t?).

The place we were ordering from serves very authentic tacos and other Mexican dishes. One of these is a torta – a sandwich – called a Toluquena. While there are minor variations on it depending on the place, it’s a pretty common menu item and I wanted one. I was also trying to get a plate of cheese enchiladas and a “wet” burrito. All of these things were on the restaurant’s menu.

A woman answered the phone. It took a few tries to get her to understand that I would come to pick up the food but once we had that squared away, I asked for the first item: the Toluquena. She didn’t understand. She asked if I meant a Tampiquena, which is a common steak dish but not what I wanted. “No, una torta – a sandwich.” A Tampiquena sandwich? No, a Toluquena. The next couple of minutes involved her getting the menu and pointing out to her where it was. It was sort of a sandwich “Who’s On First” routine.

We moved on to the enchiladas. Cheese enchiladas. “With chicken?” No, just cheese. “Chicken enchiladas?” Let’s try Spanish – “no, no carne, no pollo. Solamente queso.” She said she needed to go check, at which point it was time to hang up the phone. The odds of getting the food we wanted were quite long at that point and I was in no mood to eat something I didn’t order. We ended up driving to another taco place (just as good, by the way) and brought home exactly what we wanted.

The reminder is this. First, more folks are using the telephone to place orders to go these days for the obvious reasons. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the restaurant business or selling hardware or party goods. People want to call in and pick up. Next, because of this, the person or persons answering that phone need to know the products (or menu). In my case, the language wasn’t an issue – I speak enough Spanish to get by – but my guess is that the bulk of your customers speak English so your phone people should be able to as well.

This woman’s inability to handle our order didn’t just cost them last night’s business. The last time we ordered from this place we received the wrong food in our order having ordered over the phone and picked up. I love the food but I love getting the food I order even more. I probably won’t go back until I’m comfortable ordering in person (you can’t order online from this place either). When a customer service issue becomes routine, you’re in trouble.

Every customer interaction is a chance to shine. Every person who will be dealing with customers needs to have the training and resources they need to shine brightly, especially now.  Make sense?

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August 21, 2020 · 12:26 pm

Food Prices

Let’s think about what’s been going on with food prices this Foodie Friday. I do the bulk of the food shopping so I might be more attuned to both the food supply and food prices than many of you, I get that. However, this is something that affects us all (unless you don’t eat, which is another issue altogether).

You’ve probably noticed that your grocery bills have gone up steadily over the last six months. That’s been due to the pandemic. You’ve read about the problems in meat processing plants as well as shortages of many other items due to supply chain disruptions and the shift from many of us working in an office (and eating meals away from home) to working at home (where we’re supplied by grocery stores). You’ve probably also recited the “supply vs. demand” mantra to yourself as prices rose, as the supply of some food items diminished, and the demand grew.

What you might not realize is that many of those issues have gone away. Have prices fallen? Not so much although they are down a little from their peak. As an NBC News article said:

Pandemic grocery prices shot up like a rocket and fell like a feather, even after supplies recovered. While the average price of ground beef was down by over 9 percent last month, shoppers are still paying nearly 13 percent more than they did in January.

Do I think it’s all price gouging or companies taking advantage of a horrible situation? No, not all of it, but you can’t help but wonder why prices for many items that are in abundant supply remain high. An analysis of consumer price index data for February through June, conducted by 24/7 Wall St., is shedding some light on the exact items that are driving up your grocery spending the most. According to the analysis, you’ll find that foods like dried legumes, peanut butter, ham, and potatoes have seen a price increase of 7% or more. However, the five items that top the price-growth list are mostly found in the meat aisle. Hot dogs, chicken, pork chops, and most beef cost quite a bit more than they did pre-pandemic even though, based on what I see in the stores I patronize (and supported by the data I could find), the shortages are pretty much over.

I think we’re all aware of the unemployment situation and the fact that the support system for those folks who’ve been fired or furloughed is shaky at best. Food insecurity has been a problem in this country pre-pandemic and it’s only been exacerbated. I also get that many variables go into establishing the price of foods in grocery stores, including costs to the grower, the processor, the manufacturer, the distributor, and lastly, the retailer. Increases in food prices are driven by dozens – if not hundreds – of different factors. But I also see that the food producer stocks are doing pretty well, and they’re still paying dividends. Maybe now is the time for them and others in the food chain to think about putting the customers ahead of shareholders, at least in the short term? Is taking a short-term hit or foregoing a dividend a fair price for supporting your customers and building goodwill?

Now, ask yourself a similar question.

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