Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Increase Your Sales

Real not Fake: How to Build a Positive Reputation for Yourself and your Restaurant

Customer BS radar is on high alert – they’re swamped with hype, and can learn a lot about your business before they even visit. Have you googled your name and business lately? Make those buzz-words ‘transparency’ and ‘integrity’ your marketing advantage – share real, honest information about the management team, staff and daily activities. Consumers find ‘behind the scenes’ of hospitality endlessly fascinating, so give them facts to feast on. Keep the Menu Honest: is

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‘Local’ – More Ways to use this Magic Word for Cafe & Restaurant Marketing

Maybe you enjoy pizza from Italy, beer from Denmark and TV from Britain, but the L word, LOCAL, arouses emotions and loyalty in most of us. Customers know the fish, the fruit and the wine come from far away, but every time you promote local suppliers and connections, they see you as better than the big chains selling the same thing everywhere. And it’s another way to sidestep price competition. There are many low-cost and

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Online Events for Restaurants

Talking Reset & Refocus with Dani Valent on the Dirty Linen Podcast

You can also listen to the podcast here. From Dani’s description: ‘Ken Burgin is a hospitality consultant who reckons he’s stopped hundreds of hospo wannabes from sacrificing their own homes and futures for a starry-eyed food dream. He’s a realist and a numbers guy who loves helping people see the beauty – and the necessity – of a nice set of numbers. He sees the pandemic as an opportunity to reset and refocus…’ See more

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5 Ways to Drive Word of Mouth Marketing for a Cafe or Restaurant

Many people assume ‘word of mouth’ works automatically, and it’s always positive. As if people will say the nicest things without you making any effort. Sorry, that’s not going to  happen! And word of mouth can also be negative – ‘OMG did you hear that place got a food poisoning fine, and they’ve been underpaying their chefs!’. However there are ways to guarantee that people have a lot to talk about, and you rise above

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Nat shares his dislike of crap food, and millions agree…

What is it about Nat the muso cook that people love? [warning: lots of swearing]. He’s raw and real (his dad was a chef), he hates fake food, and he’s getting media attention. What can we translate from this into restaurant & cafe land? Enthusiasm ✅, energy ✅, love of real food ✅, potty mouth 🤔. … I asked a bunch of restaurant mates if Nat actually helps the industry: Absolutely yes I love him.

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Suddenly, Everything Needs to be Negotiated!

Restaurant & cafe operatiors now have to do a lot more negotiation, and it’s not just the small stuff. Three months ago you were arguing over a 20c increase in chicken prices, or the chef wanting a $30 wage rise. Now you’re dealing with a stubborn landlord, an unknown bank manager, impatient suppliers and a cranky partner. Most of what you did before was haggling, now it’s time to work like a grown-up! Negotiating with

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How Restaurant & Cafe Owners Can Learn from Sport Teams and Violin Players

What can sporting clubs and a classical violinist teach us about staying in touch with our customers? And not just ‘don’t forget me’ messages, but spending this time of enforced separation to build their love, enthusiasm and loyalty? Two widely contrasting social media posts landed in my feed recently – one from ‘sports fan engagement specialist’ Blair Hughes, and the other from young violinist rock star Ray Chen. Blair is a lifelong sports nut, and

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Online Events for Restaurants

Talking about Covid and Hospitality on the Hospitality Mavericks podcast – May 2020

I enjoyed talking with Hospitality Maverick Michael Tingsager from Brighton in the UK, about Covid and Hospitality, and what we think is coming in the cafe, restaurant and foodservice industry ‘post Covid’. There’s much speculation, as things change on a weekly basis, but it’s useful to think about the fundamentals of business that don’t change, and how they will be relevant in a new business environment with less money and more restrictions. I hope you

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My interview on hospitality and the Coronavirus crisis – Sky News Australia, March 21, 2020

I had a short interview on Sky News today about the state of the hospitality industry. I was given four questions to consider, and prepared some bullet point reminders. In the event, only the first three were asked… and I was relaxed! 1. You’ve been in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years. What we’re seeing right now is unprecedented – what should restaurant & cafes owners be doing? Communicate like never before with

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How Hospitality & Restaurant Trainers can Work Remotely: a Survival Guide…

Hospitality training has usually been done in person – we hospo people like to ‘stand up and do it’. With the restrictions and closing of many restaurants and cafes, there’s an urgent need to present training in new ways. We need very different tools and completely new methods – traditional workbooks with pen & paper don’t translate very well. Here’s a bunch of tools, resources and ideas to use and experiment with… Understand the world

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