Tag Archives: Embrace the Suck

Episode 80 – Running a Restaurant is Like Herding Cats



Welcome to The Restaurant Coach Podcast. It is the cure for the common restaurant restaurant. If you haven’t heard, my first book: Your Restaurant Sucks is going to be available on Audible! I was fortunate to work with Professional narrator Sean Pratt on this project. The book sounds amazing and I hope you enjoy the audio version as much as I do! On today’s episode, I am taking you behind the scenes and letting you sit in on a team coaching session where I talk about how restaurant leadership is a lot like herding cats. Now, if you think herding cats is easy…think again. Take notes and if you have questions, send me an email at donald@therestaurantcoach.com. Let’s jump into the session…

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Book A Success Strategy Session

Restaurant Success Summit

Get Daily Text Tips To Make Your Restaurant Better

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Episode 79 -The Cure To Finding Staff…It’s Your Culture!



Welcome to The Restaurant Coach Podcast. It is the cure for the common restaurant. First off I want to announce some exciting news! My first book Your Restaurant Sucks is going to be available on Audible very soon as an audio book! Yes, I know it’s taken awhile to get here and I am very excited to finally be able to get that out. Also, my third book and the audio book for Your Restaurant Culture Sucks will both be released in October. I also have my two-day Restaurant Owner Bootcamp coming up…I’ll put a link in the show noted for details and how you can attend. And last but not least I am holding my 3-day Restaurant Success Summit this October 25-27 in Scottsdale with 15 sessions and I am bringing in four epic experts to show you how to set your restaurant up for massive success! Speaking about culture? Are you having a hard time finding people to work with you? If so, you are not alone. I honestly think that the restaurant industry has done this to ourselves by creating an work environment that is plagued as a bad joke. How do we overcome this stigma? By taking control of our culture and showing the world that your restaurant is different. In this episode I’m going to let you sit in on a training session I did for my Facebook group called The Restaurant Coach Nation. Let’s see how you can create a culture that attracts top talent…

Show Links:

Book A Success Strategy Session

Restaurant Owner Bootcamp

Get Daily Text Tips To Make Your Restaurant Better

Join The Restaurant Coach Nation

 


Episode 78 – Why Your Guest Journey is Mission Critical



Welcome to The Restaurant Coach Podcast. It is the cure for the common restaurant. What drives guest loyalty? Is it food? Is it service? Is it the decor? What if a little bit of everything that creates a specific guest journey. Your guest journey is a lot like your culture…it’s there weather you know it or not. And like your culture you either have a guest journey by design or default. It’s always better to create the one you want over the one your team wants. Today’s episode is from a session I did for the online Pizza Summit. The steps outlined in this session are what transforms an experience into a memorable one. It the formula to turn loyal guests into raving fans. Let’s jump into it…

Show Links:

Book a Success Strategy Session with Me

Grab a Seat at The Restaurant Owner Bootcamp


Episode 77 – Restaurant Success is 80% Mindset



Welcome to another episode of The Restaurant Coach Podcast. It is the cure for the common restaurant. I get interviewed quite often to be on other podcast and today I wanted to share with you an interview I did with Rev Ciancio and John Shaw from their Restaurant Executive Mastery Podcast. During this interview I am going to tell you exactly why restaurants get stuck and what you need to focus on TODAY to break free from your restaurant running you. Let’s jump into the interview…

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Episode 76 – Listen To Your Guests Or Lose with Zack Oates



Welcome to another episode of The Restaurant Coach Podcast. It is the cure for the common restaurant. As restaurants recover from the pandemic you might have noticed a shift in guest dining behavior. While the pandemic did drive takeout and delivery to new heights…the demand is still high. Having a solid way to interact with your guests and maintain that sense of a “table touch” is what digital feedback is all about. My guest today is an expert at keeping that connection between your restaurant and the digital diner. Zack Oates is the founder of a company called Ovation. Not only is Zack an innovator, he’s also a really great guy that I am honored to call a friend. Let’s jump into my interview with Zack….

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Ovation

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Episode 75 – The REAL Secret to Restaurant Success is Culture



Welcome to The Restaurant Coach Podcast! It is the cure for the common restaurant. I’m putting the final edits on my third book called Your Restaurant Culture Sucks. I choose the topic of culture because I think it is the secret sauce that separates the good, from the great, from those that truly are outstanding in their market. Culture isn’t something that can be fixed quickly, especially if you’ve allowed a toxic one to run amuck in your restaurant. Today’s session is from a session I did in February 2020 at Hospitality Innovation Planet in Madrid. It has to be one of my favorite shows to speak at because they people there are like sponges when it comes to learning and improving themselves. The production is organized by my good friend and fellow consultant Eva Ballarin who runs a world class congress for those that want to become their best. If you have the chance to go then this is one show you want to put on your bucket list! Let’s go have a seat and image you’re there with me in Spain…

Show Links:

Hospitality Innovation Planet

Eva Ballarin

Schedule a 1:1 Strategy Session with Me

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Take The Restaurant Checkup


Episode 74 – Seven Rules for a Kick-Ass Restaurant



I know they say that rules were made to be broken and for independent restaurants you really do want to break them especially when it comes to your training systems and marketing. Now when it comes to culture and operations there are some rules that you want to follow like they were carved into stone like the commandments! In fact there are seven rules you must follow religiously if you want to have a kick-ass restaurant. Today’s Sunday Seminar was taken from the LIVE training I do each weekend inside my private Facebook group called The Restaurant Coach Nation. It’s FREE to join, just answer three questions to make sure you work in the restaurant industry so I can keep the riff raff out. Just head to Facebook and search for The Restaurant Coach Nation. It’s that easy.

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Episode 73 – Quantum Chef Sh*t with Adam Lamb



Welcome to another episode of The Restaurant Coach Podcast. It is the cure for the common restaurant. You know it’s sad that average is the new standard for most restaurants. Look around in your market now and you’ll see average restaurants everywhere. The bad news is that it lowers the bar for restaurants and you probably know of a couple average restaurants that are full night after night. Now the good news is that the bar has been lowered by the majority of average restaurants so you have an easier time to stand out above the mediocrity and become a leader in your market. How do I know you have the the potential to become outstanding? Because you’re here listening to this podcast. You’re here because you want to become better and for that…I am honored you decided to tune in. Now, today’s show is an interview with a good friend and culinary brother, Chef Adam Lamb. I love having conversations with interesting people that challenge your everyday perceptions of the world. Adam Lamb is just the chef to do that. He talks about the ups and downs of his career and takes you down to the quantum realm! Hang on for a wild ride…

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Episode 72 – The Four Building Blocks To Culture



Welcome to The Restaurant Coach Podcast…it is the cure for the common restaurant.

Each week I receive several questions from some restaurant owners frustrated and trying to get by in from their team… but the most common one is, “Why won’t my staff use my checklist?”

Great question! The short answer is you haven’t told them why they are important to them. With that being said your real issue isn’t how to create accountability among the team. The real issue is not understanding how accountability fits into the overall culture of your restaurant. You see there’s a strategy and a framework for everything.

So your options here are 1) Keep going down the rabbit hole trying to Google and YouTube answers of how to get team buying and ultimately waste more time and become increasingly frustrated in the process or 2) You could follow a proven step-by-step process that helps driven restaurateurs, motivated restaurant leaders, and independent restaurant owners like you double their profits while reducing the hours they work in the restaurant in as little as six months.

Now if I were already your coach I know which one I encourage you to choose. Now if you choose option one, no worries. Feel free to keep banging your head against the wall. Now if you think option two sounds better, if you’re tired of working long hours in your restaurant, if you don’t want a complex plan, and if you’re tired of trying to figure it all out by yourself then here’s what I recommend.

Book a free 45 minute success strategy session with me.

What we’re gonna do is just have a crystal clear conversation about what’s holding you back. I’m going to help you map out the step-by-step strategy that you can start using now to achieve your goals and will also see if I might be a good fit to help you reach those goals even faster. What’s the catch? You just need to take action and book it. Head over to my website at therestaurantcoach.com and book your strategy session with me now.

Today’s episode is taken from a free training I do every Sunday inside my private Facebook group called The Restaurant Coach Nation. You’re welcome to join the group for free just head over to Facebook look for The Restaurant Coach Nation, answer three simple questions that verifies that you actually work in the restaurant industry and you’re in.

It’s pretty simple right? All right let’s jump into the four building blocks to creating an outstanding culture. Fair warning, if you do not have all of these blocks in order your restaurant could be suffering. So take notes and let’s get to it.


Episode 71 – Farm to Fork and Art with Bernie Laskowski



Welcome to The Restaurant Coach Podcast…it is the cure for the common restaurant. So, how is your restaurant holding up as we recover from the pandemic and things are starting to readjust to the new normal? I would love to hear from you about what is your biggest challenge you are facing right now. You can text me at (505) 393-4750. Getting back to how things were before isn’t going to happen. The world changed and we as an industry must change too. My guest today is not only a friend, he is a fellow veteran and we actually worked together back in the early 2000’s (although he forgot that as you’ll hear)…I had to jog his memory. Bernie Laskowski is a chef, Restauranteur and just a great leader who has set up his expanding restaurant empire called Craft Urban out in the suburbs of Chicago. Let’s jump into the studio conversation with Chef Laskowski and me…

Craft Urban

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