As you may know, The UB Blog loves doing interviews from all walks of life within the restaurant industry.  From food bloggers, owners, and even software programmers.  If they are involved within the industry, we want to meet them.

Today we get to interview an individual who is aspiring as the next generation taking over his family restaurant.  Over this past month, I have had the privilege of working with Nicolas Carretero from Guido’s Pizzeria and Tapas located on The St. Louis Hill.  Before I start yapping away, let’s get to the interview!

1.  First off, welcome to The UB Blog!  Whenever I get the privilege to interview a local restaurant, I want to know the background.  Can you tell me the story behind Guido’s Pizzeria & Tapas?

My Grandpa Carretero immigrated over to NYC for a few years to check out America for the first time. He decided to move my family here to US for better opportunities.  He chose Saint Louis because there was a Spanish movement in the Mid-West.

My uncle, Miguel Carretero opened his first Guido’s in January 1988 in Holly Hills on Morganford Rd. Two years later, two more Guido locations:  one in Maplewood and one in Afton.  Later, he relocated the three pizza places to 5046 Shaw on “The Hill” and has been there ever since.

2.  Tapas (one of my favorite menus) have become very popular and trendy in The US.  Can you tell us a bit about Tapas?  What are your favorites that Guido’s offers?

Tapas are authentic Spanish finger foods meaning small appetizers.  Well, I am Spanish so I love them all!  But my top two musts:

“Bacalao a la Vizcaina” (codfish)

and

“Alfcachofas con Jamon” which is Spanish artichokes cooked with white wine, olive oil, peas, and Jamon Serrano (Spanish ham).

3.  I know Guido’s has been around for 22 years, which is very impressive.  How does an established restaurant stay fresh?  Are you guys using traditional marketing/advertising or turning online to social media and new forms of marketing?

We travel to Spain every year, not just to visit familia.  Nah, not for vacation but for business purposes and creating new innovations for the restaurant.  The basic “word of mouth” does a lot for us.  We rely heavily on Guido’s regulars to keep spreading the word.  But we are also trying new strategies online like Facebook, Twitter, Dig, Stumbleupon, and Linkedin.

Guido’s is also doing some new stuff;  promos for AC St.Louis Soccer team, Saint Louis Athletica Soccer and promoting the Soccer World Cup 2010.

We do some advertising, but very little.  Hopefully through word of mouth and new strategies online, we can reach out to all St. Louis audiences.

4.  Sites like Yelp, bloggers, and social media have changed the hospitality industry.  Now everyone is a critic with a voice.  Do you believe it’s important that restaurants pay attention to their online reputation?

Of course, I believe it’s extremely important for us to pay attention to what customers have too say and what people are thinking.  Especially online, it is the wave of our future.

5.  Last question, from a personal suggestion:  Do you go with the pizza or tapas at Guido’s?

I love both! Put it this way, you can’t go wrong with either of them! Just trust me,  Guido’s Pizzeria and Tapas is the authentic and fresh mother ship of Tapas!  And we make a great Saint Louis style pizza.

Guido’s Pizzeria and Tapas

5046 Shaw Ave

St Louis, MO 63110

314.771.4900

Friend up Guido’s on Facebook here…or Follow on Twitter here

Location is EVERYTHING, right?  Of course it is!  Will you always be slammed?  Not necessarily.  The Field of Dreams idea “if you build it they will come” doesn’t really pertain to real life.  Mondays, cold rain, lack of exposure, and poor marketing are all factors that can kill a business.  Therefore “location is everything” doesn’t always hold true.

Let’s say you’re in a relatively high traffic area and you normally do well.  Today just happens to be one of those days, and you’re abnormally slow.  How can you increase street business?  Google Favorite Places may be one way, but I am a bit skeptical.  Let’s ditch advanced technology for a second, and get back to our roots.  Below are 5 tips for hustling street traffic:

1.  Send out the Canadian Mounted Police

My Grandfather used to have a saying:  “If you get lost, I’ll send out the Canadian Mounted Police.”  He was neither Canadian or ever lived in Canada.  It was originally just a hilarious joke that my Grandfather loved to keep going.  In reality he meant:  “If you get lost, we will hit the streets and find you.”  Some times you gotta hit the streets…

Is the restaurant dead?  See a server standing around?  Send them to the streets!  Servers are naturally friendly, or can at least fake it.  Have them stand if front and invite people inside.  Better than standing around arguing who is getting cut first.  Tell them to engage, make friends, invite people inside.  In the end, it benefits their tips to pull in customers.

2.  Video Billboards

Remember back in the 50’s when television was first introduced?  Stores would line 50 different televisions facing the street all programmed on the same channel.  It was mesmerizing to watch the pictures dance around through the windows.  A small boy staring through the window with white eyes lit up usually outlined the Hallmark Moment of this period.  We say take the same approach!

Invest in 3-4 small LCD Flat-screen Panels and strategically hang from your storefront.  An alternative is wireless picture frames, which also work well in bathrooms.  Face them onto the streets to attract your customer’s eye.  Set up a slide show and rotate all your specials from the house computer.  This will be sure to catch the attention of people passing by.  Take a hint from Vegas and start drawing them in like flies!

3.  Old School Chalk Boards

I know what you’re thinking…a freaking tech site for restaurants and I’m talking about chalk boards?  Yes I am, before blogs there where chalkboards.  Chalkboards are cheap and mandatory.  They are simple to update daily and place in front of your restaurant.  Buy the double sided board to attract customers walking in both directions.  I know its old school, but very cost effective.  Update your specials daily and set it on the street, think of it as your daily blog post!  Best of all, servers can do it easily.

4.  Hand Out Free Drink Tickets

It’s no secret, people love free drinks.  Have some coupons on hand and hit the streets.  Invite people in for a free drink on the house.

1 Drink = 2 Drinks = Full out Dinner

Tell your servers to say “Stop in right now and get 1 free drink.”  This way you bank on the spontaneous factor, and who would pass up a free drink anyways?  Your customers are swimming by, now go fishing and land them in the boat.

5.  Take the Chinese Approach – Free Samples

You know what I am talking about, Mall Chinese Food.  The bourbon chicken sample kills it!  How many customers do they pluck daily with one free sample?  Your restaurant should take notes.

The Chinese know one thing, people can be swayed with free food.  You may have been craving a hot Sbarro’s Calzone until that spicy bourbon chicken came along.  Five minutes later you’re elbows deep in fried rice and crushing Crab Rangoon.  The free sample prevails once again.

Cut up some of your best sammies/apps.  Hit the streets and offer small sample sizes.  Once the customer is baited, hook them with a special inside.  Guarantee you will begin to pull customers off the streets like the Chinese do in malls.

These are some non-tech ways to get more customers.  Can you guys think of other clever marketing ideas?  How about restaurant owners, any of these techniques work for you?  Share your comments below!

Remember the movie “Field of Dreams?”  It’s about a middle-aged guy named Ray Kinsella living with his family among the vast cornfields of Iowa.  While farming the yellow fields one day…Ray hears a voice.  The voice softly whispers “If you build it, he will come.”  Taken by surprise, he continues laboring and tending his precious crops to feed his family.  As time passes, the voice starts booming louder and louder – “If you build it, he will come” – “If you build it, he will come.”  This sparks relentless ambition into Ray as he realizes what the voice is telling him:  Build a baseball diamond.  Thus starting the worst movie ever made…

Ok, it’s not a bad movie…I will admit that.  It’s touching to watch his drive and dedication in building something he knows nothing about. When was the last time you listened this deep?

Just Because You Build It, Doesn’t Mean Customers Will Come

So he built it, and they came.  This is why I feel it’s the worst movie ever.  “If you build it, he (they) will come” is the biggest line of crap ever rattled off, at least from an entrepreneurial standpoint.  Yet tons of entrepreneurs think with this mentality.  Setup shop, sit back, and watch the cash roll in.  Even worse, spend thousands of dollars in advertising and wait for customers to show up.  What happens when nobody shows up?

Building a business takes hustle, patience, and perseverance.  Just setting up shop doesn’t guarantee customers.  This is true in any business, not just the food and service industry.  Your customers are there, you have to actively seek them out.  Hit the streets, make phone calls, network, and scrap for every last customer you can find.  Get relentless and don’t settle…because the second you stop hustling, is the second your restaurant loses.

Social Media Makes Life Easy

Back in the day, people had to hustle much harder than us.  Even Ray in The Field of Dreams had to drop all his chores and work to build a baseball diamond.  That takes physical work.  Can you imagine being an entrepreneur before computers?  We have life easy.  Our work is scalable.  We have instant access to thousands of potential customers’ right through this screen.  All it takes is hustle.  If you own a restaurant, your time is now.  Learn what it takes to succeed with social media and hustle everyday.  Because just building physical walls doesn’t guarantee success.

What do you think?  Are we too conditioned for instant gratification?  Can meeting people through social media gain restaurant patrons?  Comment below friends:)

The majority of my life I grew up fishing private ponds, streams, and rivers in Missouri.  There is nothing like the serene stillness and peace of a bright summer day on the crystal water.  This is my element, at least as a kid it was.  I remember tying neon green and construction orange lures in hopes of landing that monster 8lb large mouth bass.  Constant casting and reeling while my lure danced across clear water taught me a great deal of patience.  In a way, fishing is like social media.  Are your customers biting your lures?

The Game is Patience

My father taught me the importance of patience.  He is honestly the most patient man I have ever met.  This transferred well into fishing for me.  When you’re bass fishing, you are constantly casting and retrieving different lures in efforts to attract fish.  Bass have instincts to strike what they haven’t seen before.  Therefore you should constantly change and adapt to water color, temperature, time of year, time of day, and what everyone else is fishing with.  This takes patience.  Learn that you won’t always land tons of fish until you find the right technique. Social media is the same way for your restaurant.  You have to offer different specials and react differently given the timing.  You are building an online customer base, and that takes time.  The most deadly mistake your restaurant can make is believing things happen over night.  You have to learn, try new things, and be patient with your customer base.

Push vs Pull Marketing

There are both push and pull strategies in fishing.  Buzz-baits make an awful buzzing sound that annoys fish to the point of striking out of frustration.  Are they effective?  You bet.  Spinner-baits use shiny metals to attract fish so they strike out of curiosity, also highly effective.  In essence: Buzz-baits = Push Marketing Spinner-baits = Pull Marketing Most social media platforms use a pull marketing technique.  Twitter is a perfect example of this.  90-95% of your tweets should be engaging (Pull Technique), and the rest to push your specials on followers.  Twitter followers consider specials as spam, so it’s best not to over tweet them.  Instead, you should focus on creating compelling content around your restaurant that pulls followers in.  Here are some tips on using Twitter like a double edged sword. UrbanBacon is more of a push marketing example.  Here you directly post your specials, and then work on pulling them in through comments/interaction.  UrbanBacon users are actively looking for specials, so you can get away with pushing specials upon them. Ideally you should use a combination of Push vs Pull according to Mike Atkinson from FOHBOH.  Play with your customer base and see which platform/strategy is more effective for your restaurant.

What Are You Fishing For?

In my eyes, there are 2 types of fishing:  Bass fishing and Cat fishing, and both use very different techniques.  For bass you typically use fake lures to constantly cast and retrieve.  Bass are aggressive and hunt their prey, so you must be aggressive.  Catfish are bottom dwellers meaning they sift through the pond floor for food. They rely on sense of smell, therefore stink bait smells like a steak dinner to them.  Let your bait hit the bottom, pull the line tight, and wait for a bite.  Are your customer’s bass or catfish? You should know what customers you’re fishing for.  Are you a trendy college bar?  Than why in the hell would you advertise in The Wall Street Journal?   Focus on producing content your customers will consume and revolve it around your restaurant.  For example, if you are a dive bar, than start a blog about dive bars across the country.  This will attract people who love dive bars.  Once they’re hooked, it’s up to you to land them into “the boat” a.k.a. your bar.  The foundation of content marketing is knowing what you’re fishing for.

Fish Different Spots, But Stick to Your Honey Hole

Anglers learn to try different spots.  There are plenty of fish, just some places are more abundant.  Through trial and error you can find these spots.  The main key is to get fishing, just remember your honey spot. There are tons of social media sites:  Facebook, Twitter, UrbanBacon, Yelp, etc where people are daily.  Which spot works best for you?  If your Facebook fans are extremely loyal, than this is your honey spot.  But don’t be scared to fish other social media sites.  They may just have the customers you’re looking for!

Fishing Takes Time

You want to start catching fish?  Start fishing!  Simple as that.  The more you fish, the more you catch.  You have to invest the time it takes to learn techniques, scout spots, tie lures, wait for bites, set hooks, and ultimately land fish.  If you want more fish it’s time to take action. Social media is exactly the same.  Want more followers?  Then you need to start connecting with people online.  There are multiple social media platforms already built, you have to invest the time.  It takes time to build a customer base online, and nothing happens overnight.  The customers are there, are you ready to invest the time? What do you guys think as restaurant owners?  As customers?  Is social media worth the time?  Leave your comments below!

We have been following the Yelp lawsuits closely at UrbanBacon.  As promised, we will occasionally  keep you up to date with recent happenings…Check out their blog here for the full story.

This week Yelp decided to change their advertising structure.    Businesses advertising with Yelp were previously allowed to highlight their favorite review at the top of their profile.  A monkey could figure out why a business would want their best review displayed at top of the page.  They are now removing this feature from their business model.  Is it too late?

Yelp also filters their reviews.  The filters sift reviews that are possibly posted by people affiliated with the business.  This is for obvious reasons.  Otherwise every business would have their entire family giving them 5 stars.  In an attempt to add transparency, Yelp has added a section so users can view what their filters are catching.  Now everyone can read reviews that were never posted.

When the lawsuits were brought about, we questioned the future of Yelp.  One thing we can say is they are making efforts.  Is it too little too late?  While they have reached a settlement with these changes, the lawyers are proceeding with the class action suit.  They are looking to collect damages which could come at a pretty penny.  A scheduled conference has been set for April 26, 2010.

What do you guys think?  Is Yelp doing enough to clear their name?  Have they lost credibility?  Please leave your comments below!

Disclosure:  I am a member of Yelp, but am skeptical with their current business practices.  As of now, my reviews will stay posted…as of now

It’s no secret, the Internet has given individuals a voice.  Bloggers are splashed across the canvas of social media ranting about their encounters with restaurants and basically every industry on the planet.  Everyone is subject to reviews, and guess what?

People Listen.

This is the basis behind word of mouth marketing.  We all value each others opinions to some degree, almost more than we value critics.  Critics seem untouchable as humans, and it becomes hard to relate in our mundane lives.

This is nothing new.  We’ve been recommending and trashing restaurants for years.  Think about the office, how many times a day do you hear people talking about different restaurants?  Are they all good?  Of course not, people have bad experiences.  Not only that, we have been programmed by society to think complaining is rude.  So we hold complaints until we leave.  Maybe restaurants are to blame, maybe people are to blame.  The bottom line:  It happens.

I’ve always been a big advocate of acceptance.  By accepting and realizing these norms, we can all move forward.  People are going to blog about your restaurant, they are going to speak out over social media, and they are going to complain.  Not every customer will have a positive experience.  Maybe their dog died, or the food was off that day, or the sun wasn’t in-line with Pluto…whatever the case, customers will complain.  The way these complaints are handled is the deal breaker.

Let’s look at a scenario:

A young couple visits your restaurant and has a bad experience.  Trying not to cause a scene, they don’t address the situation (trust me, this is common).  They pay for the meal, tip their server, and head home.  It so happens, the couple runs a foodie blog that reviews local restaurants.  The next day, a negative review of your restaurant is published on the Internet.  Not good for business, right?  Your restaurant has two options:

You can ignore the review, and possibly spout your anger through social media…

OR

You can leave this comment on their blog:

“Hello, my name is ___________, and I manage/own (restaurant name).  I am deeply sorry you had a negative experience.  Next time please feel free to tell our wait staff, they want to help make things right.  To show we appreciate your business, stop in next time and have a meal on us.  We want you guys to come back and visit us.”

As a business, which do you think is the better response?  You have the opportunity to immediately turn a negative into a positive.  Other readers will see your reaction and appreciate your honesty and willingness to fix the situation.  That is ROCKSTAR customer service.  Your customers are talking, whether it’s online or offline, are you listening?

Why where The Romans such a dominate army?

One Reason: The Gladius aka “the sword that conquered the world”

This technology allowed soldiers to dish massive amounts of damage to opponents that leveled entire armies!  When was the last time your iPhone conquered Greece?  It’s funny how a simple technological advancement can be so powerful.  Sounds like Twitter, right?

We all know Twitter is a powerful networking tool.  That’s not a secret.  Just like the double edge sword, its also has an incredibly simple design.  This in return, deserves a simple approach.  There is no magic bullet to killing Twitter, but we can let you in on a secret tactic that works, keep reading…

The Nature of Twitter and Specials

Twitter is entirely user based.  Without users the service dies.  Therefore, the nature of Twitter follows natural human behavior.  We all want deals/specials and we will jump through hoops to get them.  Getting hooked up makes us feel special, destroys buyer remorse, and keeps us coming back.  Face it, by nature we are suckers for great deals.

Yet, we don’t want to be sold, because that just sucks.  So how does a restaurant offer deals without selling?  What is the super secret trick to posting ninja specials?  Are you ready for it?

The Super Secret Ninja Tweet Example:

“RT this and we will send you a coupon for…”

Profound, huh?  Not really…we told you Twitter deserves a simple approach.  But this single tweet alone can be a double edge sword, here’s why:

1.  The coupon = exposure = more customers to your restaurant

2.  Since they must RT to get the coupon, it encourages everyone of their followers to RT it also

Wondering what this can do for your followers and email lists?  Say someone RT’s you in order to get the coupon, which means it’s time for a ninja move.

@mention them saying:

“Totally pumped to send you our coupon, please DM me your email.”

In order to DM someone, they must follow you.  See where the hoops are leading?  Once they DM their email to you, send them their coupon immediately.  They have deserved it.

Do not forget to rehash by asking them:

“Do you wish to receive coupons in the future to this email?”

If they agree, consider this a sign up for your email list =) In a matter of seconds you have gained a customer, follower, and email subscriber. Some may call this gaming the system…I call it brilliant marketing.  After all, you are offering the consumer something they want, for free.

WARNING:  Yes, this works.  It’s effective as The Roman’s double-edged sword.  But even a powerful nation like Rome became arrogant and fell. Use this technique sparingly as ALL your marketing efforts on Twitter. Twitter makes a better customer service platform anyways.  It’s all about meeting people and listening.  95% of your Tweets should be talking to people, the other 5% can be marketing.

@RizzoTees once told me to respect the twitterverse, and it will show you love.  I believe that wholeheartedly.  In tha words of Ali G – “Respect!”

DO you guys know any other effective Twitter tips?  Leave your comments below or share this!

Welcome to our third interview on UrbanBacon, one that I am totally pumped about!

I was privileged to interview Arlene Maminta Browne from Robust Wine Bar located in our very own St. Louis, MO.  Arlene, and her husband Stanley, are the two masterminds behind the fabulous Robust Experience.  Truly two people who love life, their family, and wine.  Check out their blog to learn more.

I also want to personally thank Arlene for all the insight she has given us.  It is truly appreciated:)  Enough of me, check it out!

1. I know how much I love wine, and I can only imagine what owning a wine bar is like.  Can you tell me the story behind Robust and what are you guys looking to accomplish?

After 10 years in the wholesale wine business and 18 years in restaurants, Stanley was ready for a new challenge.  So we combined his experiences and tried to improve on what traditional restaurants do with their wine programs (often which can be over whelming to the average customer).  We wanted a more user friendly approach to wine and created the “Robust Factor” where people choose their wine based on body style, as most people know what style they like.  As far as the food, we wanted small plates because a lot of people, including Stanley and I, don’t want a big full meal all at once, and would rather try a few different dishes.  We always find ourselves sharing appetizers or splitting an entrée when we’re out dining.  We also included the retail Wine Shoppe component, because most people tend to forget the name of the wine they drank with dinner last week.  This way they can buy the wine they like after dinner, at a good retail price, and enjoy it at home.  Wine accessories, and reasonably priced small gifts are also available so people can buy a little something with a bottle of wine for use as a hostess gift, for a wine enthusiast, or a last minute impulse gift.

2. Your website is awesome!  As you mentioned, I noticed what you call The “Robust Factor.”  Can you explain a bit more what that factor is?

We wanted to make wine drinking easy, and more approachable, by encouraging the novice, as well as the wine expert.  The Robust Factor was designed to help people choose a wine by its body style rather than the traditional varietal or region you see on most menus.  Guests can choose by number and descriptor, 1 through 8, from lighter styles “Crisp”  and “Mellow” to bigger, bolder styles  like “Generous” and “Robust.”  It’s all a matter of what suits your taste.  All our wines are hand-picked by Stanley who is a Certified Sommelier and a Certified Specialist of Wine so you can always be assured of quality.

3. In 2009 Gary Vaynerchuk visited St. Louis to promote his book “Crush it!”  You guys invited him back to Robust afterward for wine…Can you tell me about that experience?

Let’s just say it was a rush!  There had been a lot of talk between our Twitter followers and Facebook fans all day, as well as a little behind the scenes work in the prior months.  We weren’t really sure if Gary was going to come or not.

I went to the book signing early with some fellow “Vayniacs” to get a good spot, while Stanley held down the fort at Robust.  We had a mission: Get Gary to Robust.  We even had a special wine flight named after him for the night “The Vayniac Flight.”

It truly was a team effort and together we pulled it off.  Gary told me when he was signing my book that he promised he would stop by for a little while.  I just kept repeating it in my head, “He said ‘he promised’, didn’t he?”  When he made the announcement after his talk that he was going to Robust and invited everyone to join him, I quickly texted Stanley and away we went!  Gary was ever so gracious and kind, spending time with everyone who came to see him.  We opened a bottle of Billecart Salmon Brut Rose, our celebratory champagne, and relished in the all around goodness!  I still get excited thinking about that night!

4. Let’s shift gears a bit.  You guys are heavily involved in social media online.  Do you think it’s a good idea for restaurants to adopt social media?  What successes have you seen?

ABSOLUTELY!  Social Media is one of the best ways to connect to your guests in the most interactive and meaningful way.  I would add a little caution to that statement for restaurants in general.  Due to the nature of the business, it is difficult to maintain this type of interaction with your customers because as many restaurateurs will tell you, there are so many moving parts to this business.  To make social media efforts successful, you really have to have someone who is completely dedicated to social media and makes time for it.  Stanley and I are lucky because as owners we have very set roles, but I keep him focused on the importance of interacting through social media, as well as overall marketing and PR.  Don’t get me wrong; there is certainly room for improvement, but one thing I know for sure is that social media isn’t going anywhere; it’s just getting stronger.  It’s really the way to get your story out and encourage positive word-of-mouth.

5. I feel like too many restaurants have a hard time seeing the benefits of building their brand online.  They rarely tweet, still have flash websites, and neglect their FB fan page.  Do you have any tips/words of encouragement for restaurants trying to build their online brand?

Like I said, the business is very time consuming and challenging on a consistent basis, so often times social media, marketing and PR get left on the back burner.  However, I do see that many restaurants make the mistake of using social media solely for advertising purposes.  I see it time and time again.  It can’t always be a commercial.  Engage your customers, ask them what they think and let them into your life a little bit.  We actually started our blog because with two little ones at home, and business expansion on the horizon, we realize we can’t always be with our customers as much as we would like to be.  Our blog, Twitter, Facebook, and text messaging allow us to interact and connect as much as possible without always being there in person.  It takes a lot of time and dedication, but believe me, it’s worth it.  We’ve been having a lot fun on twitter in particular lately.  Stanley calls it a “love fest!”

6. If it was your last glass on Earth:  White or Red Wine?

That’s easy! Champagne – and Stanley and I would be sharing it!

Yesterday, the well-known start-up Yelp was slapped with a class action lawsuit.    You can read about the story here.  Yelp has been accused of “extortion” by a veterinarian hospital in California.  The hospital contacted Yelp asking them to remove negative reviews of the business.  Yelp refused to take down the reviews.  Then a funny thing happened, the veterinary hospital was promptly contacted by a Yelp “sales representative.”  The rep told the company they could delete or lower the negative reviews on their pages for the low cost of around $300/mo.

Much to my surprise, this isn’t new news.  I tweeted a few articles yesterday and the reactions were shocking.  Apparently, I live under a rock.  My tweeps informed me that Yelp has been extorting business for quite some time.

I had NO idea…honestly.

This almost triggered me to remove my 40 some Yelp reviews yesterday, but I decided against (for now).  Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and there are intriguing questions to be answered:

Are they really extorting small businesses?

Do Yelp reviews still hold water anyways?

How many businesses do you think will join the class action lawsuit countrywide?

One thing I do have to say about the situation:  It has destroyed Yelp’s credibility.  The site is built on reviews, whether negative or positive.  The fact they are collecting revenue to “hide” negative reviews destroys the entire mantra of the site.  Who can you trust?  In my eyes, the money blinded Yelp from what they originally set out to create.  I am anxious to see their response to the lawsuit.

What do you guys think?  Can a start-up like Yelp withstand a nationwide class-action lawsuit?  How do restaurant owners feel about it?  Is Yelp dead?

I randomly met Paul Tran on Twitter one night.  We got to talking, and he blew me away.  This guy is sharp and very in-tune with the restaurant community.  While no longer running his own restaurant, he now focuses on franchising and equity.  Trust me, this interview is a must read for owners!

1. Paul, after reading through your Linked-In profile, I am impressed.  You are a former successful restaurant owner now focused on franchising and equity.  What’s the story behind where you are today?

“After I sold my restaurant to a private equity investor, I wanted to go back to where I came from initially – the financial services industry – because many people know how to make money, but not many know how to grow, protect, and enjoy it at full capacity.  But I still love the restaurant business, and had many folks who wanted me to help consult on operations, growth, real estate, legal, and marketing matters, so I have an extra stream of income advising restaurateurs on their business.  Call me a crazy workaholic and I’d probably respond =)”

2. You have owned restaurants and spoken with many owners.  What do you think is the most difficult part of owning a restaurant?

“I think the most difficult part of owning a restaurant is operating without a system.  I worked 80 hours a week in my restaurant for an entire year before I realized I needed to create a process for EVERYTHING – customer dialogue, inventory/employee/operations management, etc…because lack of processes and procedure can take your time away from increasing opportunities, enjoying a balance of life, and focusing on what’s most important. A consistently superior experience is what keeps a customer coming back and keeps them raving about your business, and you can’t do that without systems. That’s what I learned first-hand, as well as seeing why a franchise is SO attractive – a business model with systems in place so that you can focus on more “Business Owner Tasks” like marketing, opening new locations, enjoying the fruits of your labor, etc.  You can’t run a business at its peak without a clear vision and a business plan; operating at max profit, at max capacity, at max customer satisfaction is no different.  SYSTEMS are HIGHLY recommended, folks read the book “e-myth” to get what I’m saying…”

3. I see owners who spend a majority of their time in daily operations.  Which I believe can cause them to lose sight of their business vision.  In your opinion, what should be their main focus?  Should owners act like a CEO or an employee?

“I think that CEO’s should act like CEO’s and help lead the entire company, not lead the sandwich table or the back kitchen operations.  Those skills can be easily hired and trained if you know what kind of culture and expectations you have.  You are the owner, and you are meant for more strategic things, like I mentioned – opening new locations, finding new marketing initiatives, etc.  But that doesn’t mean you don’t know whats going on in the trenches; touch on your general/kitchen/district managers often, be aware of how your front linesman are doing, because they interact and are the face of the customer.  Be in the stores sometimes just to let them know that you, their fearless leader, haven’t left them for dead.  But remember that you are a BUSINESS OWNER and not an EMPLOYEE-OWNER.  Communicate that your role is to ensure that you are taking care of things like ensuring your employees are happy, providing the resources to do their job, and they are ensured as much job security as possible.  You can’t do that in the kitchen making pizzas.”

4. You are heavily involved with franchising these days.  Franchises like McDonald’s, Papa Murphy’s, and Subway were widely successful in 2009.  What lessons can local independent “mom n’ pop” restaurants learn from such franchises?

“As communicated above (sorry for being redundant, I feel so strongly about these things!), having a system is important, consistency is key as well, communication with customers keeps them loyal (social media makes reaching out to clients a no-brainer), continually training your staff and holding them accountable (with reports, measures, etc), be know for something positive (branding), and treat your company -big or small or in between – like a world class organization.”

5. More and more restaurants join social media platforms daily.  How should restaurants use platforms like Twitter or Facebook to build their business?

“I think that they should use Twitter/Facebook with the knowledge that this is a customer service, branding and marketing platform, and requires a FULL-TIME effort.  It requires that organizations respond to customers immediately, find new ways to connect with customers and bring them back to your restaurant, be personable, reward your raving fans of express loyalty and referring, and not to be salesy – be a personable brand that people can and feel proud to relate to.  Try not to outsource, because it’s hard to outsource your internal brand personality.”

6. You sit down to a nice dinner:  Fish or Steak?

BEFORE I HAD GOUT, STEAK =P