Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Design & Equipment

Improve a Cafe

How to Improve a Cafe or Restaurant You’ve Taken Over

A while back I wrote about the decline of a favourite cafe now under new ownership. I was challenged to give suggestions for how this could be done well, so here’s my Improvement To-Do list for a new cafe or restaurant owner: Highlight and Keep What Customers Value in the Cafe or Restaurant New Faces: own it, and let people know who the new owners are. Now’s the time for name tags (yes!) and the

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Invisible? How to Stop Customers Forgetting Your Restaurant

Unless you’re a major industry icon, or they’ve visited 5 times, most people don’t remember your business name… True story: 2 people in café, one on the phone. She looks at her friend and asks ‘what’s the name of this place?’…and the friend doesn’t know! Worse, there was nothing inside the café to tell them – no signs, nothing on the table or staff uniforms. Future business lost for sure. Before you go spending big

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The ‘Stage 2’ Error That Can Fatally Weaken a Cafe or Restaurant

A conversation with a new operator during the week got me thinking about a classic and potentially lethal startup mistake: Stage 1 and Stage 2 thinking. This approach basically says “let’s get this new place open as quickly as we can, even though we don’t have enough money to do it properly. After a few months when we are profitable, we can afford Stage 2 and get the job finished.” Stage 2 items include things

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Yuk Factor – Simple Things That Customers Dislike (and don’t tell you about)

We get busy, or need to cut expenses, and it doesn’t take long before shortcuts start with cleaning, maintenance, repairs and service. Here’s a bunch of familiar items – we’ve all done it, but please find a better way. Most customers don’t complain, they just stop visiting… and tell their friends – these are the opposite of Quality Signals. PRINT and share with your team – they will find more! Sticky things – unwiped tables,

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How ‘Quality Signals’ Silently Promote Your Restaurant and Bar

They’re the small, carefully chosen elements that, one by one, tell people that this is a quality business. Different people will notice different things, so one won’t be enough. Here are some of the ‘quality signals’ I’ve noticed in the last few months at different restaurants, cafes and bars… Fresh flowers – a big bunch, not a small one Good quality uniforms and aprons in staff – looking new, not washed 1000 times. Matching your

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