OnSite Consulting | Consulting to Hotels, Casinos & Restaurants Nationwide |

The key reason for this explosive growth and what seems like a yogurt brand in every available corner, strip mall and random location is purely economics.

Before you’ve even opened, all these odds are stacked against you. The name is not enough. The brand name brings in the customer for the first time; the quality of the product keeps them coming back.

Casual dining mom-and-pops haven’t been hurt as much by the recession, mainly because people feel a strong connection to the businesses. Becoming a local leader and integral part of the community, versus a faceless chain, can go a long way to developing customer loyalty.

In a restaurant market full of competition, what separates you from your neighbor? Service, ambiance, price, parking and décor can all be strong factors in swaying a potential customer’s decision. However one fact always seems to get lost somewhere and that is the ability for your customers to get in contact with you either to make a reservation, discuss special needs or even book their company holiday party. As restaurant consultants, we know that restaurant customer service is the critical and often overlooked as an area than can directly drive improved business when given appropriate attention.

OnSite Consulting references those restaurants offering ‘unbeatable offers’, we have for some time been expressing concerns that dropping prices or offering ‘unbeatable deals’ is not the quick fix that venues need. These offers rarely bring in the level of new business expected, the restaurant often carries the loss associated with such loss leading discounts for a long period of time and returning to a price point which does make sense for the business can be deeply unpopular.

I asked one of the servers whether if someone asked me if she was pretty I responded “she is ok” would she be satisfied – immediately it clicked, if she is not satisfied with being described as OK then how can she be satisfied with asking our customers if the restaurant is OK. By definition OK means the minimum acceptable level and i have to believe your restaurant is striving for more.

In an attempt to boost local business during the economic downturn, the City of West Hollywood has partnered with the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to offer a special economic hardship package to local retailers, restaurants, hotels and other businesses.

James Sinclair, President of OnSite Consulting, operators of O-Bar in West Hollywood, said the economic hardship package is not only a financial measure, but one that will raise morale amongst business owners.

I have received a number of emails and phone calls recently in regards to the impact nightclubs, bars and restaurants have seen from what is, without question, an extraordinarily slow period. Operators are finding that they are not just having to deal with the annual, seasonal revenue cycle, but that they are faced with a simultaneous and overlapping crash on consumer confidence, the likes of which have not been witnessed for over a decade. On the assumption that it will not be getting better any time soon, immediate planning can allow for both current and future survival.