What Restaurateurs Need to Know About Online Reviews

What Restaurateurs Need to Know About Online Reviews

Online reviews posted by consumers on sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google, and Facebook have changed not only the ways diners search for and discover places to eat, but also how restaurateurs today market to their audience.

This underlines the need for executives to keep customers’ needs at the forefront in order to build a community of loyal patrons. Sure enough, winners and losers in the industry will be determined by their ability to manage and monitor online reviews, harness customer feedback, and deliver 5-star-worthy guest experiences.

Let’s dive into some of the ways online reviews and ratings are shaping restaurant-going behavior. Read more

Get Your Bar Game Ready For Football Season!

It’s that time of year again! Time to load up on chips and dip, crack open a cold one and break out your comfiest sweats — football season is just around the corner. For diehard football fans, this means spending the next few months religiously reppin’  your lucky jersey and cheering on your team. For restaurant and bar owners, this means you have a season-long opportunity to cater to a unique crowd. Get your bar or restaurant game ready with these game time tricks. Ready… break!

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Customer Service Turnoffs To Avoid

Customer service doesn’t start when a customer enters the door, it begins the first moment a customer visits a website or calls a restaurant. It takes months, sometimes years, to build a relationship with a customer, and only moments to damage it. Bad customer service is one of the quickest ways to send customers running to your competition. Keep things simple and amicable by avoiding these major customer service barriers.

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4 Reasons Why Restaurants Lose Money

It’s no secret that the restaurant industry is tough. It’s hard to get started and even harder to stick around long enough to accumulate a profit. According to a study done by Ohio State University, 60 percent of restaurants change ownership or close in the first year of business, and 80 percent fail within the first five years. But why is this the case? It’s true that failure is a common part of life in the restaurant industry, but it doesn’t have to be. Here’s a quick breakdown of four of the biggest dining faux-pas and how to avoid them.

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Uncorkd Digital Beer Menus

How to Bullet Proof Your Menu With Menu Engineering

You want to build a successful menu. But what is a successful menu? In general, it’s a menu that helps you increase sales. But after  you’ve defined what success means for you, how can you measure that success over time and ensure that your menu stays successful. One strategy that has been kicked around for many years, but is now really gaining traction in the restaurant industry is menu engineering. This is a strategy that you need to know about. Read more

5 Mistakes Even Veteran Servers Make

Every journey begins with a single step. And a server’s career begins with several missteps. Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant, or anywhere for that matter, has made mistakes traveling along their job’s learning curve. Most aren’t a big deal and can be laughed away, or used as fodder for hazing newbies and rookies on staff. Some mistakes an be charged to inexperience, but there are a handful of bad habits that even veteran servers fall into. It’s up to management to identify and coach these bad habits out of servers through proper training. Here are 5 mistakes that all severs make, and tips to correct them. Read more

The Problem With Small Plates - Uncorkd

Fixing Small Plates: Common Problems of Small Plate Restaurant Service

Where do you stand on the trend of small plate dining? Have you ever grumbled at the wee bit of food that you’re expected to share with a group of four? Or maybe you’ve marveled at the range of dishes you were able to try. The small plate trend has been building for a few years, and now more new restaurants are pledging themselves to the small plate zeitgeist. There is a division of opinion on small plate dining that, like properly placed forks and knives, occupy space on either side of the plate. But despite conflicting views, there is one problem that both sides must agree on: some restaurants are flat out doing small plates wrong. See for yourself, here are the most common problems with small plate dining, and tips to fix them.  Read more

5 Restaurant Technology Fears Operators Face – Uncorkd

1/3 of restaurant operators feel they are “lagging” behind on adopting restaurant technology. Full-service restaurant operators are lagging behind is because they are succumbing to common fears of technology adoption. But we’re here to be a comforting light in the dark for tech-hesitant restaurateurs. We look at the top five reasons restaurant operators gave for not adopting technology and show you how you can feel comfortable making the leap from tech rags to tech riches. Read more

The Check Out: Weekly News Bites for Restaurants May 13th

Every Friday Uncorkd compiles the most recent restaurant and beverage industry stories that had us talking. Here is the must-read news from May 7th-May 13th.  Read more

Wine and Beverage News Week of March 12

Every Friday Uncorkd compiles the most recent restaurant and beverage industry stories that had us talking. Here is the can’t miss news from March 12th – 18th. Read more