By Jesse Stanchak on February 15, 2010

Today’s post comes from Derrek J. Hull, voice of the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show and International Wine Spirits & Beer Event (IWSB) blog Floored!, as well as its Twitter and Facebook profiles.

Restaurants need a response plan that includes social media elements to cope with the fact that customers can leave negative comments almost instantaneously.  Having a plan in place before a situation occurs lets everyone on your team know who the point person is for the response, along with the chain of command and the plan for monitoring the conversation.

Everyone gets a good or bad review at some point. Embrace it — and in the case of a bad review, don’t sweat it. Look at every comment as an opportunity to have a conversation.

“If people are taking the time to give you feedback — even if it’s negative — that’s an opportunity for you to re-frame the conversation with them and hopefully turn the situation into a positive,” said Spike Jones, of word of mouth and identity firm Brains on Fire.

Nobody is perfect. A couple of bad reviews alongside highly positive reviews actually makes potential customers more likely to take you seriously, because they realize your page isn’t full of shills posting fake positive reviews. In the case of Yelp, business owners have an option to respond privately and publicly to reviews — this free feature can be unlocked by visiting biz.yelp.com.

Assume a tone that embraces the old saying “the customer is always right,”  even if you think the customer is actually in error. The best review responses typically start out with something like, “Thank you very much for your feedback. We take it very seriously and we deeply regret you didn’t have a 5-star experience at our restaurant … ”

Responding promptly and diplomatically to reviews gives you the ability to fix problems and make people happy. However, if you begin to receive multiple negative reviews with recognizable patterns — stale bread, rude server, etc. — it may be worth examining your operation and identifying ways to improve.

Likewise, if guests are taking the time to talk about your establishment in a positive way, you can listen and learn from those conversations to possibly generate ideas for new programs.  Who better to tell you what they want to see in your restaurant than your passionate fans?  You can learn a lot by taking the time to listen to them and implement their feedback into your operations. Make sure you’re also looking for opportunities to connect with those fans offline as well. Connecting the dots between the two amplifies and intensifies that bond.

Yelp’s Luther Lowe discourages a company from attaching tangible “rewards” in response to good reviews. For example, if someone writes an unsolicited 5-star review about your business, it can rub some people the wrong way to get a “thank you” note from a business owner saying, “Thank you for your review of our restaurant. We would like to offer you a complimentary dinner for two.”

Last but not least, take the advice of word of mouth expert, Gaspedal CEO (and SmartBrief on Social Media Editor At Large) Andy Sernovitz:  “People are already talking. Your only option is to join the conversation.”

From our friends at SmartBlog  http://smartblogs.com/

Not Twitter for Business.  Twitter for My Business.

A Little Advice on Being Yourself in a Social Media World

I’ll be the first to admit that I really don’t have this whole “Twitter” thing all figured out.  At least not yet.  I can’t begin to tell you about how many countless hours I have spent online or in the marketing section of Barnes & Noble pouring over everything Twitter.  Twitter, Twitter, Twitter.  I even dream about ways in which I can reach out and increase my following.  Pathetic right?  I know.  Trust me- I know.

That little blue bird has become somewhat of an obsession and I often feel like I’m carrying the whale all by myself.  (Please get that reference)  This whole Twitter phenomena is scary and confusing, and for a while, I would have much rather pretend it didn’t exist than try to immerse myself in it.  But to do so would have been social media suicide.  The business world would pass me by as I lay hiding under the covers in my racecar bed.  (Its more of a towncar bed- I have a California king.)  So I did what anyone looking to increase their company’s exposure would do- I jumped out of bed, changed out of my Jammies, and confronted Twitter head on.

Sign Up Now?
Yeah, I’m doing this.

Full Name, User Name, Password, and E-mail?
I know that stuff- this is easy!

Type the Above Words?
Ok, I can’t really read that, this may be harder than I thought.

Create My Account.
Boom. I’m on Twitter.

“So now what?  Oh look, I’m following Shaq!”  And that’s where the success of my well thought out Twitter marketing campaign ended.  Maybe in between jumping out of bed and changing out of my Jammies, I should of thought about how I was going to use Twitter.  So again, I did what anyone looking to increasing their company’s exposure would do- I spammed Shaq.  Someone with as many followers as him will surely listen to my cause.  And maybe he’ll even call me on my birthday like he does with some of his other Tweeps.  Genius.

@Therealshaq:  COME CHECK OUT MY SALES AND BUY FROM ME!!  (URL deleted for blog purposes)

Surprisingly, he didn’t respond.  He didn’t even #, RT, or @ me.  This was a disaster.  I guess he was right; don’t tell grandma.  Or anyone else for that matter.  It was like this with everyone I tweeted and still is in some instances.  No one would respond to me.  I was forced to stand idly by as the Twittering world moved on and conducted business as usual.  I was totally uncool- it was High School all over again.  My acne cleared up and my voice no longer cracked, so what was I doing wrong?  Why wouldn’t anyone notice me?   For me, Twitter quickly became the Sadie Hawkins of the business world.  I had been wall-flowered.

I had to rethink my Twitter strategy; I needed a game plan.  What was everyone else doing that I wasn’t?  And that’s when it hit me.  Some of these so-called experts on Twitter were wrong.  Twitter shouldn’t be a place for you to tout your newest deals or sales- it shouldn’t even be a means to add a “face” to your company’s name.  Twitter should be a tool for self-expression, a tool that just happens to express you through your company’s name.  No game plan needed.  Just be cool.

So I did what anyone looking to increase their company’s exposure would do- I started posting jokes and responding to other people’s tweets with smart remarks.  Then I started to branch out and find my own interests on Twitter adhering to some rules I made up just now for this article.

1.) Be yourself-
#MusicMondays?  I listen to old school Hip-Hop on the way to work so I tweet that, not whatever artist or song is trending.  NWA, Bone Thugs, KRS 1?  Yeah, they’re there on any given Monday.

2.) Make your Twitter about you, not your products-
I follow @Boyintheballoon because its funny and I constantly check @RealTracyMorgan and @DanielTosh for the same reason.  The people you follow shouldn’t always be what are strategically beneficial for your business but should make your Twitter experience enjoyable for you.  After all, you’re the one that has to be glued to the computer all day.

3.) Don’t take yourself too seriously-
Yes you’re using Twitter as a tool for your business, but don’t become a tool.  Its okay to poke fun at the things you post, or write something a little embarrassing.  I do it all the time and it’s mostly unwittingly.  Call yourself out- its funny.

Here’s a perfect example:
#theresway2many Great deals on our site! Hows that for a shameless hashtag plug?

Twitter isn’t something that you just start doing.  Its something that you react to, and as a reward for doing so, it grows.  Getting on your soapbox and screaming about your product isn’t going to get you noticed.  Just be cool and your following will grow organically.  Offer a joke or a cute remark to something that someone has posted.  Tweet the things that you’re into because someone else might be into that too.  Include some aspects of your business or website but be up front and genuine about it.  Tweeps will start to notice that you offer much more than a product.  You offer yourself as an individual, not as a company.  Isn’t that what Social Media is really about?

With 30,000 products on our websites and even more available to our customers, it can be a challenge to find that perfect item. One excellent resource is our vendors. One of our manufacturers came up with a fabulous way of finding the perfect item by  Cres Cor . This is a tool that helps end-users determine precisely what they need before they order. Check it out!

Simply The Best Panini

From DoughPro's November Newsletter

After years of development we now offer our line of Panini grills, we offer a solid top version CS1500 and a split top version SL1577. Where other Panini grills simply have heaters strips that are attached to a plate our heaters and actually embedded into the aluminum casting thus resulting in faster heat up time and better recovery.

* All Doughpro grills boast “cast in heating elements” that are backed with a LIFETIME WARRANTY and many top chains are making the switch to our Panini grill because they can see the difference. Please take a look at our video showcasing the SL1577 in action.

It was an evening of “Artful Expression” for REW employees at All Fired Up in Winter Park last Thursday.  Staff showed their creative side painting pottery and even a few “Chicken Pitchers”.  It looks as if some employees took a little inspiration from Cezanne and Mondrain, while others may have been influenced by Duchamp or Jack Daniels.   Either way, its all very creative!  The event was a thanks to the staff for reaching another lofty sales goal and served as a nice distraction from a very busy week.  A special thanks to All Fired Up in Winter Park and to Patty for organizing the event.

Hello friends, Robert here and today, have I got a product for you! The Lincoln Impinger 1040 double stacked conveyor oven.

“Did he say double stacked?”

Yes, I did friends, double stacked. But enough about that for now, follow me if you will and tell me, how many times have you been in the kitchen of your restaurant and thought: “I could save time and money if I could just stop walking in circles and continuously checking my oven”? That thought is more common than you think and I am going to show you how a conveyor oven can not only increase productivity and decrease cost, but also maintain the quality that your patrons desire.

Think about it, while many restaurants serve exquisite foods, a lot of time is wasted trying to park, find a seat, place your order, and to eat the meal. A fast food restaurant located across the street will put through 10 times the customers in the same amount of time as the upscale dining restaurant. Why, you might ask? Fast food restaurants take many different strides to prepare food quickly, but customer throughput depends on a key factor: the drive through. A continuous stream of customers can be serviced without waiting on other customers to leave. The conveyor oven is like a drive through for your restaurant’s favorite dishes. Variable speed, variable temperature, this oven is a fully customizable powerhouse.

Oh yeah, did I mention, it’s DOUBLE STACKED!

That means twice the output, twice the versatility in half the time. So now you might ask me, but Robert, can’t I only cook pizzas on a conveyor?  WRONG! If you lined up the meals you could prepare with a conveyor side by side, that line could be seen from space! I’m talking garlic bread, lasagna, baked pastas, pizza, hot submarine sandwiches, calzones, strombolis and the list goes on and on. I’m telling you if you want versatility, look no further. Imagine the time you could save with the top deck of your oven putting out the crispy crusted pizza that your customers love, while the bottom deck is toasting hot subs to order.

That, my friends, is the double stacked advantage.

Did I mention that this oven is on commercial grade casters? Talk about deals on wheels! Already, you’re saving the cost of a hard-installed oven, so your investment is ready to roll on to bigger and better things as soon as you are! All you need is an electrical and LP hookup and you will be cooking with gas…literally. If all of this is not enough to convince you, I have 4 words: Ten four ten sixty-three. It’s not the number to call, it’s not the secret combination to Capone’s vault, it’s the price you will pay for this double stacked dream! $10,410.63 for a tool that will save you time, energy and keep your customers coming back for more is not just a bargain, it’s a steal! Saving money during this economy isn’t a crime, it’s a necessity. This gently used oven is a perfect match for anyone who is looking for a way to increase productivity, lower costs and ensure quality.

I’d like to thank you for taking the time to listen to me today and when you’re ready to take control of your kitchen, give us a call.

If he needs equipment for his restaurant, we’ll be happy to help.

This would go great with some Ghost Toast.

Ugh… terrible.