I introduced part one of this series by complaining about the lack of customer service I received when soliciting bids from printers. I want to balance out that complaint by mentioning that not only has Carl Belgiere at KC Book Manufacturing been head and shoulders above the competition at providing exceptional customer service, but has blown […]
Tag Archives | restaurants

Making it Easy to Spend (Part One)
I recently had the opportunity to request bids for printing my book. I am spending a fairly significant (to me) amount of money on this project and wanted to make sure I was getting the best deal possible. I requested bids from seven local companies. One got back to me within 48 hours. I received […]
What Restaurant Owners Should Know About Groupons (Part Two)
Yesterday, in part one, I discussed some of the factors you should consider prior to the launch of your Groupon offer. These were all items that needed to be addressed in advance of the promotion in order to make sure you were prepared for the onslaught of new guests in the first week. If part […]

Core Value Marketing
For years now restaurants have been instructed that marketing through social networks is the wave of the future. A second dot.com boom has surfaced with companies promising closer ties to consumers for restaurant owners. Social networking does provide a tremendous opportunity to restaurants that commit to successfully managing their online presence. The reason why this […]

The Truth About Credit Card Theft In Restaurants
As discussed yesterday, Yahoo ran a front-page story from creditcards.com on Friday discussing types of people who you cannot trust with your credit card. The Yahoo headline is pictured above and makes it clear that servers are on the list. While the actual article includes eight groups, the headline very clearly implies that you should […]

Food Allergies: A Responsible Approach
I have one hard and fast rule when it comes to waiting tables. No one dies on my watch. I have had several guests leave the restaurant in an ambulance, but none of them have died. It is a simple thing, but it helps me sleep better at night. I may not be changing the […]

Independent vs Corporate Restaurant Priorities
This morning I read an article regarding the rising costs of food and how restaurants will respond. In the article former server Charles Ferruzza finds a pair of local restaurant owners who say they will refuse to raise prices to compensate for the increase in costs. The owners discuss absorbing the costs themselves or reducing […]

Hot Schedules Reviewed: Part Two
Hot Schedules is coming. Its rapid growth has it on track to become the dominant scheduling system in restaurants. As a user for several months, I want to provide a frank and unbiased view of the system. These opinions are mine alone and in no way represent the company that I am employed by. They […]
- The Greatest Customer Complaint Response Ever September 23, 2010
- A Food Critic Intervention August 31, 2010
- My Response: 25 Things Chefs Never Tell You September 16, 2010
- Advice For A New Restaurant Manager January 18, 2013
- Learning Restaurant Spanish (Nouns) June 2, 2010
- Advice For A New Restaurant Manager January 18, 2013
- Was The 20/20 Restaurant Episode Fake? A View From The Cutting Room Floor November 21, 2012
- How To Hire Professional Restaurant Servers Fast September 10, 2012
- The Importance of Speed in Hiring Restaurant Servers July 2, 2012
- Six Dangers Of Restaurant Server Understaffing June 19, 2012
- Shiya Soni: One very important advice here would be to use a g...
- Colin Wilson: Please Charles Ferruzza keep your gentrification o...
- Ina Stefanova: This is an excellent resource, David! I will defin...
- John Blackman: My first visit to this site and what a great lesso...
- Master_Rabbit: Here’s advice from a 10 year veteran. Try anot...
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About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.