Profitable Hospitality Podcast

The high turnover and shortage of kitchen staff is a worldwide problem – it’s not a career that attracts or holds enough good people. The work is physically hard, the hours can be long and unsociable, and the career opportunities limited. Many chefs leave hospitality completely, instead of finding other ways to use their experience within the industry. In this interview, Ken Burgin talks with Geremy Glew of Placed Recruitment. a specialty recruitment company focusing on chefs and hospitality staff. Geremy is a chef and knows how kitchens work in large and small venues – he has many insights into this situation, and shares practical advice for chefs and the business operators who employ them. You can also  listen to the previous interview with Geremy in Podcast 128 on Successful Kitchen Recruitment, and watch a video recording of the webinar we did on Kitchen Recruitment.  

It’s a big problem in hospitality – and it’s probably happening at your business. Independent restaurants and cafes are especially vulnerable, as they often lack rigorous systems for hiring, training and supervising employees. Once a thief starts working for you and finds your weaknesses, they’ll just keep going. In this interview, Ken Burgin talks with the ‘Crime Doctor’ Chris McGoey about the wide range of employee fraud and theft in restaurants. With food, liquor and cash in daily use, and often with inadequate security and controls, it’s easy for things to go wrong. Chris shares some excellent suggestions on how to tighten up your systems and keep profits in the business instead of in the pockets of dishonest staff. You can find him at CrimeDoctor.com and also listen to his podcast Crime School.  

When you travel, there’s a lot you can learn about your own industry – customers, service, menus and marketing. Make sure to keep your camera busy! Even if it’s just to another city, but in this case I went to Italy for a month – travelling in the area around Rome and to the south in the 'boot', then another week in the north visiting the big cities of Genoa and Milano.  I’ve recorded my observations here, particularly food, service and restaurant operations – I was also interested to see how well I could operate my own business, Profitable Hospitality, from on the road. It’s fairly different to your venue, in that I’m not serving guests with food and drinks. But operating remotely with the aid of modern digital tools went very well, and I’ve explained how in the last section of the podcast. I’d love to hear your observations about travelling in Italy – the food, the service and ‘the business’. Click on the Comments link and add your thoughts...  I’ve put a wide selection of photos from the trip into several

Great customer service needs more than just a friendly smile and product knowledge. There’s a bunch of other skills that service and front-line staff need if your business is going to be ahead of the competitors.  In this podcast Ken Burgin outlines 10 skills that go beyond ‘the usual’ – some will be familiar and others maybe less so. As staff and managers improve their ability in these areas, there will be a significant improvement in service quality, positive feedback and sales.  Many more articles and resources for restaurant, hotel and bar customer service on the Profitable Hospitality website... 

Guest, visitors, customers, pax – what do you call them? There are many benefits when you decide to go further, and work to make the people who enjoy your food and drink into a community - increased loyalty, increased spend, return visits and recommendations. PLus you're likely to get more pleasure from the work you do in the business. In this interview, Ken Burgin talks with Suzi Dafnis, CEO of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network, about how they’ve built a community from a diverse range of members, and how that experience can be applied to a cafe, restaurant, club or bar. First there needs to be a willingness to be ‘community minded’, ready to engage with visitors as real people. You’ll also be actively listening and responding to what they want, and taking a leadership role to build the community through better communication, events, and product improvement. There’s a very optimistic feel to this interview – so much is possible with small steps. I hope you enjoy it!  

How do calm people achieve that state, and maintain it? They seem to be confident, relaxed and in control – frustrations and roadblocks are handled, and don’t cause upsets and drama. And why does the hospitality industry seem to be so addicted to stress?! In this interview, Ken Burgin interviews Jacqueline Stone, a counsellor and therapist. Her business Wise Stress Mastery is committed to helping people find relief from stress and lead happier, more productive lives. We look at the 10 everyday habits she suggests to help you be calmer and more effective, even when staff don’t turn up, the fridge breaks down or a large booking cancels!  Jacqueline was also interviewed in Podcast 49: How to Help Your Staff Give Up Smoking.  

In business, your ability to influence the actions and beliefs of customers and staff is crucial. It’s also important not to be constantly influenced by others. So when we discuss the idea of influence, the most useful question is, "How, when, where, and why do we influence people?" In his famous book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini addresses the 'how' by providing the Six Principles underlying the process of influence and why they work. It’s what Ken Burgin discusses in this podcast, looking at how you can ethically influence customers to spend, recommend and return. Plus how to influence staff to be reliable, productive and engaged in their work. Cialdini’s ideas are easy to understand and very powerful.  

Everyone loves to hear a story, and traditionally they have a beginning, middle and end. They may tell us about success, adventure, lessons learned, happy times, difficulties faced, challenges overcome, and moving onto the next stage. There are many stories you can tell about your business, and some of them will be a powerful part of your marketing and influence.  In this interview Ken Burgin talks with Valerie Khoo of the Australian Writers Centre, about the 8 ‘Power Stories’ that she believes every business can and should tell. You don’t have to be a professional writer to tell stories, just draw on your experience and share the details. Stories are useful for a variety of audiences – your customers, the media, your staff, your bank and even to convince yourself of the value of what you do. Make sure to also check Valerie’s book Power Stories: The 8 Stories You Must Tell to Build an Epic Business  

Tourists are hungry and thirsty, just like our other visitors, and they also have extra needs and desires. By adding to their experience they will spend more time and money, come back for a second visit, and tell their friends using photos and social media. In this interview Ken Burgin talks to Robyn Lewis of VisitVineyards.com – a leading directory of food, wine, wineries and vineyards. As well as hosting a huge list of destinations and experiences, she shares about industry marketing trends and runs industry surveys to find out what customers and operators are really doing. This interview will be a rich source of information for restaurants, cafes, hotels, bars, wineries and tourism operators.   

Food trucks are at the cutting edge of food innovation and social media marketing. Competition is fierce and there are low barriers to entry; consumers expect fast service and great flavours. The US leads the way with mobile food development, and there’s always value in a trip to the east or west coast to check developments. In this interview Ken Burgin talks to Scott Kilmartin of Short Batch Icecream Company and the Online Store Guys. He’s just back from a trip to the annual Social Media Marketing World conference in San Diego, and he also visited San Francisco and Los Angeles to see icecream shops and food trucks – he has a lot to tell us!  

Coping with the flood of industry information is a constant challenge – food & beverage trends, government regulations, staff requirements – it never stops! In this podcast Ken Burgin talks about the tools and techniques he uses to stay up to date, save important information and share it with his team and Profitable Hospitality members.

Social media gives feedback in a random way, but how much better if you could find out in detail what customers experience – the food and beverage, the welcome, the service and departure. Even the toilets! Customers compare your place with others they visit – an objective view is so valuable. In this interview Ken Burgin talks with Jen Walls of Above Benchmark. Her company runs mystery shopping and customer satisfaction surveys in all areas of hospitality. You may have tried your own feedback forms – what’s clear from this interview is how much is involved in getting useful, measurable information, that can be compared from one month to the next. Information that gives constructive feedback to managers and staff, leading to improvements that bring customers back more often and telling their friends. Listen in and learn how professionals design surveys and gather the most useful feedback.  

The #1 issue for most hospitality operators is finding and keeping good kitchen staff – it’s a big challenge. There’s worldwide competition for good cooks, and a declining number of people who want to work the long and unsociable hours. But many operators could do a much better job of promoting the jobs available and choosing the right candidate, not the wrong one! In this interview Ken Burgin talks with Geremy Glew of Placed Recruitment, a specialty recruitment company focusing on chefs. Geremy is a chef and knows how kitchens work in large and small venues – he’s the ideal person to give us advice. We discussed job advertisements, responding to inquiries, personalities, matching staff with a position, reference checking, the conditions staff want and the role of recruiters. If you want to find better kitchen staff, with more hits and fewer ‘misses’, make sure you listen to this podcast – it’s packed with useful information. You will also find the job descriptions, job advertisement formats and management do

It’s very satisfying to organise inhouse training for a restaurant, hotel or club – we can dig deep into the particular needs of an organisation and work on their issues. In this podcast I pull back the curtain on some of the Profitable Hospitality workshops I have run in the last two years – topics and techniques. Whatever the training agenda, there is usually a common core of issues to be covered – financial management, efficient training of staff, staff supervision and ‘leadership’. It’s easy for sessions to focus on cost-control, and forget that increasing the number of visitors and sales per customer will also make a big difference to the bottom line. Using social media to drive sales has become another popular subject, and guidance on managing online feedback and reputation issues.  

People work very hard in this industry, and the risks are high. The economy is a challenge, trends change, and new competitors arrive all the time. Developing an income that doesn’t just depend on customers ‘turning up’ makes a lot of sense. In this interview Ken Burgin talks with Diane Kennedy, a CPA based in Reno Nevada. Her business USTaxAid is in the business of helping people to ‘Make More and Keep More’, through expanded income opportunities and the wise use of tax minimisation. I’ve known Diane for quite a few years, and always been impressed by the enthusiasm she brings to helping people get better fianncial results from their hard work. We discuss five types of income and how to develop them: - Active income- Leveraged active income- Recurring income- Residual income- Passive income  

Retail products can be a new income stream for your restaurant, add some marketing flair, or create an independent business that doesn’t depend on lots of staff and expensive premises. Jams, pickles, sauces, dry products, pre-cooked meals, baked goods, savoury and sweet items – there are many options. In this interview Ken Burgin talks with Jane del Rosso of My Other Kitchen – her business is focused on helping people to research and develop new food products and get them to market. Whether it’s in her large commercial kitchen, through classes or consultation, Jane has helped hundreds of people bring new products to market. Production methods, packaging, labelling, health regulations, marketing, profit margins, pricing, online sales and retail options – there’s a lot to consider!   

It’s the job that most managers dislike, and one of the most important: the staff roster and schedule. Putting strong staff on the busy shifts, having just enough people to match customer numbers,  juggling time off, and controlling wage costs. There’s got to be an easier way! In this interview Ken Burgin interviews Kristin Harris from Deputy.com – one of the leading online rostering and staff management systems. We look at the advantages of online vs traditional systems, how labour and administrative costs can be saved, and the ‘convenience factor’ for management and staff. Plus a range of tasks that can now be done more efficiently – alignment of sales to roster hours, reporting, journal entries and task assignment. It’s time to take this tedious job online and enjoy the advantages!  

Good brands are memorable – and stand out from the crowd. The same applies for professional people working in hospitality: it’s important to present yourself online with clarity and focus. You already have a brand, whether it is associated with your personal name or your business name - just try Googling your name and see what comes up! In this discussion, Ken Burgin talks with marketing consultant James Burgin about the opportunities to build your online presence, reputation and network. It’s not just about social media channels, although they are important, but also about creating an online profile, sharing written and photographic content, protecting your reputation and using the right online tools and resources.   As the saying goes, you can ‘not, not create an impression’ - let’s make sure it’s the one you want!

We all need a website, but what does that mean this year compared to 12 months ago, and when will it need to be upgraded again? The website also needs to be mobile friendly, because Google now actively penalises websites that don’t work well on mobile phones – so many things to consider!  In this interview Ken Burgin talks to Ben Jones of Growth Studios. Ben is an experienced web designer with a background in graphic design, direct marketing and web design – it’s a strong combination. We discussed the best way add menus, photo albums, an About Us page, an Employment section, Location details, a booking link, and an inquiries page. Plus ecommerce, strong visual design elements and the importance of good SEO to attract Google searches.

We’re not just talking about the frail and very old, but everyone 55 and over. Many have another 40-50 years of life ahead of them - that’s a lot of eating out, coffee, snacks and beverages! Understanding the segments within the broad group of ‘senior diners’ was one of the first distinctions raised by today’s guest Aaron Fish, a foodservice executive working in the retirement living sector in Texas. He has extensive experience in restaurants, and brings that understanding to this conversation with Ken Burgin. Topics discussed include menu options, handling dietary needs, choosing the right staff, service expectations and the role of food in the lives of people who don’t go to work every day. Lunch and dinner can be important for entertainment as well as nourishment, and that gives more possibilities for creating a popular and profitable business. Baby-boomers and seniors are a massive proportion of the population - often overlooked and under-serviced, and that means opportunity! You can connect with Aaron on