Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Darden Restaurants CEO has tips on surviving recession

I agree with this almost completely.

Article here.


Key Points.

A server or a manager, regardless of what's happening at home, must walk into a unit and put on a smile. It's more important now when people are experiencing more anxiety than they might normally.

Yep, even if you're not 'feeling it', FAKE IT!


Those unprepared had to rely heavily on discounting.

There is a lot of risk to putting your brand on heavy sales. It reinforces what it's worth, and it is challenging to get back normalized pricing after an extended period of time. You see it in consumer packaged goods that get supported by coupons. They lose their ability to command a premium.

Yep. Value is value - quality is quality - don't sell yourself short, you may never be able to recover.

When you reduce staffing, the customer experience gets eroded. You breach trust at a time when their restaurant visits are more dear than they've ever been.

When times are slow, do MORE!



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