From the category archives:

Restaurant Management

Podcast 18: Less Bitching, More Listening – How to Improve Internal Communication

Some restaurants, cafes and bars assume staff will hear about everything, and others think that notices and emails are enough. But so many hospitality managers and owners complain that staff don’t listen, don’t care or don’t notice – communication with employees needs a shake up! There are many ways to improve: with print, email, online, [...]

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Podcast 16: Reducing Tension Between Kitchen & Front of House

Tired of the eternal drama between floor staff and kitchen? It’s boring, unproductive and expensive. If you need to make changes, here’s your action agenda: Ken Burgin discusses key areas such as improving the flow of information, revising Job Descriptions, better meetings, more training for floor staff, removing kitchen frustrations and creating a shared understanding [...]

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How to check if Australian banknotes are fake

Would you or your staff know if they were holding a fake or counterfeit note – what do they look or feel like? Fraudsters find it easy to pass them off in a busy bar or restaurant. This short video from the Reserve Bank of Australia explains how to identify them – another excellent resource [...]

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Podcast 14: Managing Email, Calendars, Contacts and Passwords More Efficiently

Ken Burgin talks with productivity expert Helen Crozier about how to handle business communication and online activity more efficiently. The discussion focuses on four key areas: bringing email under control, managing your calendar for events and meetings, keeping track of contacts, and managing passwords – important in so many areas of modern life, and easy [...]

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How Starbucks Trains Customers to Behave – a Way to Reduce No-Shows?

How the coffee company increased customer satisfaction and service efficiency by introducing standardisation and getting customers to act like employees. With restaurateurs under constant stress from ‘no-shows’ and unreliable guests, are there lessons here on how to make them more ‘obedient’? Just a thought, because what’s being done now sure ain’t working…

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Podcast 12: How to Prepare your Restaurant or Cafe for Sale

In the second podcast on selling a business, Ken Burgin looks at how to prepare your business for sale including quick profit improvements and how to improve the appearance so it’s immediately appealing to a buyer. Areas covered include recording recipes, menu simplification, review of staff productivity and expenses, and reducing utility costs. Plus short-term [...]

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Podcast 11: How to Maximise the Resale Value of your Cafe or Restaurant

In the first of two podcasts on selling a business, lawyer Peter Panagiotopoulos of PNA Legal talks with Ken Burgin about the important players in the sale process: landlords, lawyers, brokers, buyer and seller. He also explains what should be in the key documents: lease of the premises, and the contract for sale of the [...]

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Podcast 10: Success Interview with Paul Smith, chef/owner of Green Zebra Cafe

Meet Paul Smith, successful chef/owner of Green Zebra Cafe in Albury, NSW – a large inland town in Australia. Paul and his partner have had the cafe for more than 10 years and have built a great reputation for their food, coffee and the fresh pasta they make on the premises (also sold retail). In [...]

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Podcast 9: New Year Profit and Efficiency Boosters

January is a great time to look with new eyes at marketing, cost control, staff skills, bottlenecks and your own personal efficiency and satisfaction. Here are dozens of tips and resources to get the new year off to a great start – share these with your team! LISTEN to more free podcasts from Profitable Hospitality [...]

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2 Ways to Stop Your Twitter Account Being Hacked

If you use Twitter, you’ve seen the odd nasty tweet or direct message from someone you know (and trust). How could this happen, and how can it be stopped? Regular password changes are obviously important, but there’s also another way that troublemakers can access your account – watch this quick two-minute video to find out [...]

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