Trade Secrets

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Outsourcing your background checks
Outsourcing your employee screening and background checks reduces the time and expense involved in checking personal, academic and professional histories yourself. It can also lessen your legal liability.
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Check-back guidelines
How many times has a server interrupted your meal with the question, "How is everything?" My favorite response to this question is frequently delivered by my great aunt. She looks up, smiles sweetly, and says, "I don't know. I didn't order everything!" Making sure that a guest is satisfied with their meal is a huge responsibility.
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Social peanuts
A coconut shell, roasted peanuts and a string... for centuries these simple items have been used by some native Africans to trap monkeys using a simple strategy.
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Pop your cork
Corkage fees charged by restaurateurs to uncork, decant and serve a customer's bottle of wine have soared to upwards of $50 in America's most popular dining spots. This is creating a controversy that has some people popping their corks.
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Mixed bag
A combination Mad Cow scares, McDonald's taking a huge share of the domestic beef supply, and increased consumer demand thanks to Dr. Atkins is wreaking havoc with beef prices. Looking for ways to counter the skyrocketing food cost?
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Spring cleaning fling
It's the perfect time of year to throw open the windows and clean out the joint. And we aren't just talking about dust bunnies! Why not schedule a house-cleaning party and garage sale? 
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The art of giving
Rewards, contests, incentives, and bonuses can all be used to motivate employees, but what do employees value? How about asking them what they want? Get better service and keep your employees by using the right rewards.
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It's not just any old mustard
In my early days as a restaurateur I learned a valuable lesson about guest perceptions.  By featuring the right branded products, I improved my profits.
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Great side dish ideas
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Flash point
According to a Cornell Hotel & Restaurant Administration Quarterly study, every single day the average restaurateur has fifty-eight unscheduled, informal meetings. These are in addition to two or three daily formally scheduled meetings.
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Stop throwing money away
I mean this literally. Go in the kitchen. Look in the garbage cans. I guarantee you'll find real money in your 50 gallon garbage cans—also known as the "black hole" of food cost.
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Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
In his book Circle of Innovation, Tom Peters says that "Branding means nothing more (and nothing less!) than creating a distinct personality... and telling the world about it."
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