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National Chains vs. Independent Operators-An Editor’s View

First let me say that I have nothing against any National Chain and second that I don’t really consider myself an editor, but after 17 months I felt compelled to use my "Power" put a little personal perspective on the site:

The other day, I had lunch with my wife at a National Chain restaurant (to remain nameless) that had recently opened in our city about 6 months ago. While the experience wasn't necessarily bad, I seemed acutely aware of a few things that day:

1. The Lunch menu was so limited that we were practically forced to order from the higher priced, dinner portion size menu.
2. Three times during our meal, a server came by with a tray of food or drinks that were not ours and asked us if we were the table that ordered (whatever they had on their tray.
3. Our server struggled with remembering the soup of the day and had trouble pronouncing some of the items on the menu (She seemed like she was fairly new, so we will give her the benefit of the doubt.

Like I said before, it wasn’t all that bad, but it got me thinking about the amount of resources the national restaurants have: R&D Departments, "menu experts" and Wait Staff training departments, etc. and I concluded that my experience should have been a lot better than it was.

Looking at all of the resources we are providing on this site, restaurant operation from Jim Sullivan, product trend information like Pilgrim’s Prides "Chicken Nuggets" and product promotions from our sponsoring suppliers, independent restaurant operators have the tools to not only compete with national Chains, but can out-perform them in many ways.

If I am a typical customer, what I really want is a true dining experience, a server with a friendly (and genuine) smile, a menu filled with items that whet my appetite and the feeling that my money was well spent. I think that you, the independent restaurateur, in many ways outshine the guys with the big marketing budgets and a good chunk of market share. I hope that the Recipe for Success site is an additional resource to your success and if there is information that you need, we are here to provide it.

OK, I’ve said my peace and in the words of Forrest Gump, "That’s all I have to say bout that."

The "Editor"

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