The Right Restaurants for Business Lunch

Many business deals are sealed during power lunch. If your restaurant wants to attract customers for business lunch, then you need to check out the criteria of “how to pick the right restaurant for a business lunch” that are discussed in the Open Forum at American Express.

Foremost, it starts from great service. Your servers need to be “observant and discreet --- they know when to come by, and when to leave you alone to discuss business matters.”

Then, it comes to appealing food. American food and steak-and-seafood option are considered good choices. The forum suggests businessmen should offer a variety of options to the person whom is invited, including vegetarian. Restaurants may want to consider adding healthy and/or vegetarian items --- healthy, organic, and vegetarian food is one of upcoming food trends anyway.

Last, it ends with great atmosphere. From the forum, I hear words like “impressive,” “professional ambiance” and “beautiful décor.” I myself prefer a place with tablecloths, stainless steel silverware, and nice china.

In addition to those three factors, I also feel convenient location, brand image, and price range are also important. Location is difficult to change, but a restaurant can at least ask itself if its brand image matches the clientele’s personality and if the items on the menu look “just right” to the target customers for business lunch. What do you think?

References:
The Open Forum @ American Express: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwokblog07072010
Picture was downloaded from: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwokblog07072010P

Comments

Is It OK for Hotel Staff to Wear Piercings and Tattoos?

Time has changed. I see more and more college students wearing piercings and tattoos nowadays, but is it OK for hotel staff to wear piercings and tattoos? The answer is “no, no, no.” According a report at USAToday.com, customers across the board do not want to see any hotel workers with pierced eyebrow, pierced tongue, tattooed arm, or nose ring. Some may argue that tattooed and pierced workers may seem more acceptable in edgy boutique hotels as compared to the big franchised hotels, but the survey results did not find any differences among a variety of lodging products. Many respondents believe people who wear visible tattoos and piercings are taking a high risk of their professional lives. If you stay in a hotel, do you mind being served by tattooed and/or pierced staff? What if you are the one who makes the hiring decision? References: USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010 Picture was downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010P

Where Coffee Meets Culture: My Experience with Orientation, Socialization, and Culture at Dutch Bros (by Karina Martinez)

When people think of Dutch Bros, they usually picture colorful drinks, loud music, free stickers, and baristas so friendly they’ll jump in the car with you. As someone who has had the opportunity to work for Dutch Bros, I can say that the energy customers feel isn’t an act; it is the result of intentional and effective HR practices that are focused on orientation, socialization, and culture. From your very first day, you experience how these practices shape the entire Dutch experience. Orientation, Socialization, Culture In HR management, orientation is the introduction of the role and company to new hires. This is intended to help them feel welcomed and informed. Socialization goes beyond the initial training process; it’s how new hires grasp the organization’s values, behaviors, and traditions over time. Together, these fun...

Average/Below-Average Looking People Can Earn as Much as the Attractive Ones

Research has shown that attractive people can not only charm interviewers (and thus get hired easier), they are also more likely to earn more as compared to those with average or below-average looks. Accordingly to a Wall Street Journal report , attractive people can earn 3% - 4% more than a person with below-average look. If such difference adds up over a person’s lifetime, an attractive person can earn up to $230,000 more than an ugly worker; even an average-looking person can make $140,000 more. Another relevant Wall Street Journal report also suggests that workers who exercise regularly can earn 9% more than those who do not. If that is the fact (I believe it is), is it legal? Can employers do that? Linchi Kwok and Otto @SyracuseU Career Fair To my knowledge, no law or regulation under EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) considers a person’s look as a protective class. It is true that people in general have an idea of what kind of person they feel attract...

Linchi Kwok, Ph.D.

Search This Blog