What’s Growing On

University of Missouri-Columbia (Ivy ’05) Campus Dining Services’ essay contest generates valuable feedback, according to Director Julaine Kiehn. “We use the $300 For 300 Words essay to learn from customers what they most like about our meal plans and services and what they would like to have changed,” says Kiehn. Judges from inside and outside CDS select winners based on content, clarity, neatness, grammar and spelling. Points are deducted for entries more or less than 300 words. “I’m always surprised by the creativity,” says CDS Assistant Marketing Manager Andrew Lough. “We’ve had song lyrics, poems of all sizes and stories.”

See Ful Article   http://www.rimag.com/archives/2006/09a/news.asp

Sweet Tomatos Diners feedback

To deliver on that promise, Sweet Tomatoes strives to serve foods with no preservatives or added ingredients that are sourced from farmers with which it has long-term relationships. Inherent to its soup-and-salad-heavy menu is a health-minded focus whose appeal continues to grow.

The company devotes considerable time and resources to customer survey call logs. It responds to complaints and takes seriously all suggestions and feedback.

Sweet Tomatoes’ kitchen cabinet of consumers is expected to provide the next level of guest feedback.

“It’s a group of guests from all parts of the country who sign on for a two-year commitment to give us feedback,” Scharff says.

See Full Article  http://www.rimag.com/archives/2006/09a/cic-sweet.asp

Starbucks diners feedback

For all its strength and dominance, the company hardly has become complacent as the leader of the coffee pack. With more than 40 million customers per week served in 37 countries, it continually evaluates what consumers want in their cups through market research and, importantly, through customer feedback.

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Outback Steakhouse Diners Feedback

“We stay close to our customers, whether through something as simple as making a tableside visit or conducting online questionnaires,” he says. “Finding ways to obtain constant feedback is important.”

But such feedback isn’t limited to guests. While every other year the nearly 20-year-old Outback conducts focus groups in conjunction with online surveys, it places as much emphasis on communicating with its culinary team. Erickson says the work done in R&D kitchens allows Outback to recognize the hottest food trends while measuring them against their feasibility within the Australian steakhouse concept’s menu and brand persona.

See Full Article  http://www.rimag.com/archives/2006/09a/cic-outback.asp

In-N-Out Burger Diners Feedback

Van Fleet says that the company does some research and solicits customer feedback to help improve operations but not for creating menu items or changing aspects of its stores.

“We pay a great deal of attention to the kinds of things guests tell us, but being that we’re private I’m not going to go into a whole lot of detail about what those things are. We listen very closely to all the customer feedback we get.”

 See Full Article  http://www.rimag.com/archives/2006/09a/cic-in-n-out.asp

Cheesecake Factory Guest Feedback

Guests at The Cheesecake Factory are very vocal—which is not at all a bad thing. Evidence can be found in the hum that emanates from laughing, chattering guests who fill the cavernously large restaurants, and it’s also seen in their penchant for expressing likes, dislikes and ideas to unit- and corporate-level employees. And when they speak, top executives listen closely.

“We don’t forget who pays the bills,” says Howard Gordon, senior vice president of business development and marketing for the four-time R&I Consumers’ Choice in Chains winner. This year, it also has the survey’s highest overall score as well as attribute-high scores in food quality and service.

Guest feedback—culled mainly from online comment forms and store-level conversations—helped drive what Gordon describes as the company’s most comprehensive menu update in a decade, which launched in August.

See Full Article  http://www.rimag.com/archives/2006/09a/cic-cheesecake.asp

How Restaurateurs are using feedback

Turning the Tables

Guest feedback not only leads to simple operational fixes, it also tells you more about who your customers really are.

By Kate Leahy, Associate Editor

Kabuki Japanese Restaurant uses positive feedback to reward high performing stores. Au Bon Pain added more vegetarian soups to its menu in response to customer requests.

Listening to customer feedback can be as fun as taking medicine. But the payoff amounts to much more than a spoonful of sugar.

Thalia Loffredo thinks so. When the New York City restaurateur opened Jovia in the fall of 2005, she invited diners to don critics’ hats and fill out questionnaires to help her improve the new operation. She mailed $20 restaurant gift certificates to all who offered their address on the user-friendly form.

After compiling responses, Loffredo made important changes. She switched out the hip music at lunch for a softer sound, saving edgier tunes for dinner service. She worked with the chef to add a vegetable component to a bare-bones fish preparation. She installed a bright red awning over the front door after guests had trouble finding the restaurant. And she walked away with a brand-new guest database.

With this exercise early after the restaurant’s opening, Loffredo set a standard for acting on guest feedback. A valuable source of input, customer evaluation can guide menu changes, fine-tune service and décor and keep service in check. On a larger scale, it can help companies track brands and build guest databases. It can even establish stronger bonds between customers and operations.

Menu Focus

Many operators use feedback as a way to gauge the success of menu items. That’s the case at Arterra, a restaurant at the San Diego Marriott Del Mar Hotel that boasts a changing seasonal menu.

“Based on feedback, on a day-to-day basis we determine how long a dish will stay on the menu. Those guest comments have an effect on how and when we make those changes,” says Joe Emma, assistant general manager of the hotel.

See Full Article  http://www.rimag.com/archives/2007/02/bus-feedback.asp

Yelping Hands

Yelping Hands

When Chef-owner David Gingrass (r.) decided to transform Hawthorne Lane, his 12-year-old fine-dining San Francisco restaurant, into the less-formal Two, he first wanted to test-drive some ideas. To do so, Gingrass turned to an unlikely source.

Web site Yelp.com posts restaurant reviews written by members called Yelpers. Figuring that they were knowledgeable about food and restaurants, he invited some Yelpers for dinner. For 10 weeks, Gingrass and Hawthorne Lane Chef Bridget Batson held dinners for groups of 12 three times a week. Diners consisted of Yelpers as well as guests who responded to invitations through e-newsletters. Five-course meals for $19.95 were served at the staff table in the restaurant’s kitchen. With a captive audience, Gingrass solicited opinions on everything from menu to prices.

“I learned a lot more than I expected,” Gingrass notes. The focus groups steered him away from tacking on a service charge that would tip kitchen staff (“Everyone thought it looked like a hidden charge”) and toward adding a communal table offering a fixed-price menu with glass of wine for $25. Another revelation: how widely diners’ taste for salt varied.

Gingrass is glad he surveyed diners before the reconcepting. “I’m not 25 anymore,” he says. “When you’re 25, you can afford to make your [culinary] statement. But I have a bank statement to make. And I’ve found that you’re more likely to make money by asking people what they want.”

http://www.rimag.com/archives/2007/01/news1.asp

Satisfying customers is good for business

When business owner Alison Palic heard marketing guru Dana Werdmuller speak, one thing stuck in her mind: An unhappy customer will tell seven to 11 people about the bad experience.

Palic, who had brought her 6-month-old baby to the talk, knew it was true. She belongs to a group of moms that evaluates places to eat — and some don’t warrant a return visit.

She had noticed how employees at Safeway, Borders and Starbucks — all with corporate ownership — are now trying to make sure customers are satisfied.

A physical therapist and certified Pilates instructor, Palic said she plans to do the same at her business, Synergy, downtown.

An unhappy customer will cost you money.

Read Full Article http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/February/11/biz/stories/02biz.htm

Executive chef serves up success

He urges students to use the comment cards found in the Fresh Food Company to give feedback on the service and quality of food. 

If the staff knows where the students see problems, changes will be brought about sooner.  The Fresh Food Company strives to make improvements.

See Full Article http://ogb.wfu.edu/?id=4068_0_9_0_M