Top 10 items taken from hotels - Community | The Star Online

Top 10 items taken from hotels - Community | The Star Online

Deepavali Greetings to all

Fish! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

Customer Service Lessons from Fish Sellers

Fish! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

Amazon.com
I came across this book on display at a group team building activity in my former hotel. This Team Building company brings lots of different corporate groups to our hotel. This particular group was learning about providing Great Customer Service. The book looked like a children story book similar to the cover of "Who Moved my Cheese". It even had a boring cover with just the word "Fish" and a drawing of a fish on it. So I just passed it by. Yes I am guilty of Judging a Book by its Cover. 
Then lately my present boss, highlighted of about Customer Service and how we can try to make the work more fun even for work that is boring and mundane. He highlighted about the Pike's Place Fish Market in Seattle, America that is famous. People go there not only to buy fish but also to see the antics of the staff there. He said that there is even a motivational book written about this place. I remembered this book and got it. Like most books in this lens, its a simple to understand and a fun read. The book shares with you how to boost your employee morale and thus increases your revenue.

Seattle- Monday Morning
The story starts with an introduction on how a First Guarantee Financial supervisor named Mary Jane Ramirez life changed after the death of her husband within a year of moving to Seattle. And how she reluctantly accepted a promotion to manager of the dreaded third floor. A department which is the joke of the other departments in the bank. A place that everyone wishes they didn't need to come in contact with. Some department managers say that the third floor is able to suck the life out of you. Working there she realized why people dreaded coming to third floor. It was due to staff doing everything slowly. She then pondered on how she can bring life to the third floor. She noticed that the job was boring, so she needs to make the job exciting.
One day to avoid hearing negative comments about her new department during lunch breaks. She normally goes for lunch by the waterfront, but today she happens to take a turn towards the market. Here is where she finds the world different from what she knows. She finds the Famous Pike Place Fish Market. She is amazed at the energy of the people selling fish there. They seem to enjoy their work. In between the chaos she happens to chance upon Lonnie, one of the workers there. Lonnie offered to explain how she can use the Fish Market's strategy in her workplace. The very next day, during her lunch break she rushes to meet up with Lonnie. He explains that all jobs are boring. Then he goes on to say the first strategy that makes the Pike Place different from the other fish markets, the first strategy is as follow. The first strategy is "There is always a choice about the way you do your work even if there in not a choice about the work itself" 

Choose Your Attitude 
Lonnie shares with Mary Jane how he and his friends changed their attitude when they come to work everyday. Everybody thinks working in a dreary,wet and cold fish market can be a difficult job but Lonnie and his friends come to work with the right attitude. With this thought in her mind, Mary Jane went back to work and confronted her boss on what was commented by the big bosses in the meeting. Her boss then gave her a recording of the meeting. Mary Jane started to notice that by changing her attitude, she in turn changed her surroundings. Everything started to fall in place and she plan to bring this same attitude to work on Monday morning. She makes a note that she have to change her attitude first before she can change others. On Monday morning she calls for a meeting with her staff and highlighted the concerns of the VP and how he referred to the  third floor as toxic energy dump. After her talk, she found out her staff wanted to change but they needed a push. She saw some improvement in their attitude.

Play 
The second ingredient was what kids do best and we forget to do as we go older which was PLAY . Lonnie teaches that the fish market uses play in their daily work and with that they enjoy their daily job. The benefits of using play in our daily work life is productivity improves, there is a low turn over, teamwork and friendships. This I noticed in my present job, I am so afraid in failing or looking bad to my bosses. I didn't enjoy myself therefore I felt work was boring. Even in my home life, me and my other half used to be playful but lately we both became serious and had a lot of arguments. So now I changed my attitude and played more at work and at home.

Make Their Day 
The third ingredient to great customer service was to include your customers in your play. This will give a lasting impression to your customer. People will always remember something unique that they have done. Include your customers but don't go overboard.

Be Present 
The last ingredient is to be present. This is an important ingredient that I am trying to teach my managers. A manager have to be present in the restaurant. He have to be seen talking and showing concern about the food and beverages served. I learnt this technique from a manager in my former place. There we had a very slow kitchen, where food normally comes out after 1 hour. What most people do is to normally hide in the kitchen. So naturally we received a lot of complains. But what one new manager did was to go from table to table talking and assuring the customer the food will be out. He made sure the food came out fast and hot. He keeps telling the staff if the food is served steaming hot, then the customer will know that the kitchen is slow. If its served cold then the customer will think we were slow in pickup







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This book says everything I have always believed. Its not only the Chef that makes a restaurant successful. The wait staff is also important. Most successful restaurants all have one thing in common...
They provide customer service which exceeds their customer's expectations!

From the statistics below you will see why its so important
Well, consider these statistics from the White House Office of Consumer Affairs in
Washington, DC...
For every complaint you're aware of, there are 26 additional customers who
have unresolved problems or complaints...

A dissatisfied customer will tell 9 to 15 people about their displeasure and
sometimes they will tell as many as 20.

On the other hand, this same group also found...
Up to 96% of customers would do business with you again if they felt you acted
quickly and to their satisfaction and many said they would refer other people.

On average, happy customers will tell 4-6 people about their positive experience.

The Fact Is...
Businesses that provide extraordinary customer service can improve their
profitability, increase market share and will have customers who are willing to pay
more for their products and services simply because of the extraordinary service
they receive.

Hotels for Romance in Malaysia

Romantic Hotels that I have Stayed

I am married to the most beautiful (in my eyes that is) and wonderful lady, therefore when we go for our holidays I sometimes look for Romantic hotels to pamper her. I normally look out for their honeymoon packages cause there's a lot of romantic things that go with the rooms. Below are my review of some of the hotels that we have stayed.

AVILLION PORT DICKSON

At Avillion Port Dickson we took their honeymoon package. It was my wife's birthday and I wanted something unique for her. Avillion didn't let us down. The room we had was a water chalet on the ocean that had an open air shower area as well as bath tub. The package comes with a bouquet of roses, candlelight dinner for two at the Crow’s Nest, a neck as well as face therapeutic massage also for two along with two nights stay with breakfast. This resort is actually surrounded with lots of greeneries so much so that my spouse commented she feels like we were in another country not close by to Kuala Lumpur. The meals were normal. We had our candle light on the outdoor patio which was pretty romantic cause| you are able to view the ocean. Services were good. Since there were very few people dining we had the terrace to ourselves. Breakfast was average however it’s alright as we are not big eaters.

 SOMETHING ABOUT AVILLION
Avillion Port Dickson is situated on the 3rd mile of the 18km stretch of Port Dickson beachfront. It’s just near to the town however once you are within the resort, you will overlook that the town is actually close by. Spread over 17 acres of property, this resort offers 300 rooms comprising of the beachfront rooms, garden along with water chalets. The resort is designed was created with the concept of a traditional Malay fishing village with chalet upon stilts on the ocean. The landscape surroundings the resort is beautifully well kept. The dining places here are Crow's Nest, their all-day dining restaurant offering a mixture of a combination of Local as well as International a-la-carte delicacies at any time of the day. The Village Court is an open-air restaurant as well as being in the vicinity of the swimming pool that a variety of light food and beverages. Coming from the lobby you will find the Gallery Lounge which is also open-air bar where you will be entertained by a live band during the night as well as a Karaoke which have several karaoke rooms that can sit up to 40. For activities there is cooking classes for children, a mini petting zoo. For adults you have your own adult’s pool and a space which is on the ocean. Avillion is my No. 1 suggestion for couples to come for the honeymoon. Even though you are married for a long time, you can still have another honeymoon like what we do.
For the best deals in Avillion Port Dickson, please click here Avillion Port Dickson

BALA’S CHALET CAMERON HIGHLANDS

Cameron Highlands is famous for their cool weather, roses and strawberries. With these settings it’s a really romantic place to be with. For a truly romantic feel with an English Charm, try out this hotel called the Bala Chalet. The hotel is converted from an old English Boarding School. The hotel is very charming, the rooms also gives you the feel of an English Inn. The hotel is also not too expensive as the Ye Olde Smokehouse. But the only setback with this place is its food outlet. It’s rather small and there’s not much variety. Other than that you just need enjoy the place and gardens. That's what I did; just sit by the garden with my wife and just chit chat. The hotel is located on a hill with lush greenery around. So it’s really beautiful when the weather is colder and there’s a mist around. As it’s away from the main road it’s rather peaceful. For tea and scones go to this little quaint café above Marrybrown Fast Food in Tanah Rata.

 SOMETHING ABOUT BALA’S CHALET 
This charming English style inn is located on a hill overlooking lush greenery. Bala's Chalet is located in between Tanah Rata and Brinchang. It was a boarding school in 1934 for the European expatriate’s kids as a branch from the much more well-known Tanglin school in Singapore, that started out with 150 pupils along with 22 qualified teachers all recruited from| England. It’s a very enchanting place and is very tranquil. Particularly through the night. The bedrooms are also decorated to complement their English Inn theme. Their scones are good however a little costly. Personally I feel the ones offered in the Lords Café (formerly T Cafe in Tanah Rata tends to be much cheaper as well as tastier. The resort features cozy rooms designed with an English Theme. With a Cafe| that serves home cooked curries, western dishes as well as traditional Malaysian dishes. But you can always go to Tanah Rata or Brinchang for some food since the hotel is situated in the middle.
For the best deals in Bala's Chalet, please click here Bala's Holiday Chalet

IMPIANA CHERATING

Impiana Resort Cherating is definitely an ideal destination for a romantic escape by the beach. Impiana Resort is located among what I feel is the best spot of Cherating Beach. The resort is about 4 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur which is accessible by means of East Coast Expressway (Route E8), the rooms are designed with a traditional Malaysian, with a four poster beds. Almost all rooms have a view of the sea and the sound from the waves crashing on the seashore can be heard from your room. The Impiana is situated in East Coast's finest sandy shorelines therefore the beach there is clean and captivating especially on full moon nights. As there are not many resorts around so the area is rather quite. What we did here was have a night picnic where we got a small electric lamp and some finger food. Layout a mat and sit and enjoy the cool breeze and the heavenly sound of the waves. We also enjoyed the long walks on the beach, it was really romantic. Actually it was where we both fell in love as we were working there. Occasionally we go back there to recreate those romantic moments.

SOMETHING ABOUT IMPIANA CHERATING
Impiana derives from Malay word "impian" which literary means dream. Resort was designed to resemble a traditional Malay lifestyle. All rooms are charmingly furnished with wooden flooring, traditional four-poster wooden beds giving the room a romantic feel. Every room allows you to be nearer to nature and wake up to the relaxing sound of the ocean since almost all rooms face the ocean and is 300 meter from the beach front. Amenities in most rooms includes a features long bathtub only available in Superior Deluxe and Suites, air-conditioning, ceiling fan, mini bar, room service, television as well as coffee and tea making facilities. The balcony is rather small, only standing room however there is a day bed by the window that opens out that you can enjoy the sea breeze. Kedai Kopi café is an airy restaurant hat offers a variety of Malaysian as well as Continental dishes. The design of the restaurant is a local Malaysian Kopitiam. They even have the green flower cups. Half and hour drive towards Kemaman town you will come across shops selling Keropok Lekor and Satar, an excellent option for mid-day tea. In addition in the direction of towards Kuantan, you will come find Kampung Cherating which is full of seafood restaurants.
For the best deals in Impiana Cherating, please click here Impiana Resort Cherating

GRAND LEXIS PORT DICKSON

Grand Lexis is a one of a kind resort n Malaysia. This unique resort offers 3 room types. There's the Water Villas which is on stilts on the sea, Sky Pool Villas which is located in the hotel block as well as Garden Villas which is designed like residential houses. My spouse favors the Villas; she claims that it has that homely feeling. The unique aspect of this particular resort apart from its huge suites is that each every room features its very own swimming pool. It’s not a very large pool but big enough for a small family to have fun with. Whenever you feel like swimming, simply open the door and dive in your very own private pool. You can also watch your kids swimming from the comfort of your bedroom which overlooks the pool. Just a note the private swimming pool is actually 4ft deep, thus you need to pay careful attention to your kids. So imagine this resort has over 300 swimming pool, I’ve read its listed in the Malaysian Book of Records as the resort with the most swimming pool. Well if you would like a beach getaway then don’t choose this place cause there is absolutely no beach. The closest beach is actually next door at Glory Beach Resort however since the waterways are used by barges as well as ships, the beach can be dirty most of the time. It’s my suggested location that you can stay with your family likewise for newly married couples to have their honeymoon here...
SOMETHING ABOUT GRAND LEXIS PORT DICKSON 
Grand Lexis Port Dickson can be found at the end of Tanjung Gemok beach. The landmark to look out for is Glory Beach Resort. Glory Beach Resort is easy to notice simply because it's a three high rise building looking similar to an apartment complex. Grand Lexis is located just after Glory Beach Resort. As mentioned above there are three categories of rooms. There's the Water Villas which is on stilts on the sea, Sky Pool Villas which is located in the hotel block as well as Garden Villas which is designed like residential houses. Apart from the room there are games as well as activities available around the resort to cater to the needs of most ages. You can purchase the Activity Passport which cost about RM68 per booklet. It is basically a booklet of vouchers that can be used anytime for the activities around the resort which includes segway, archery, table tennis, cycling, video games tokens, nintendo wii video games and many more. In addition there are discount vouchers for the F&B Outlets as well as free cake along with coffee. It’s really good value in the event that you intend to do several activities and you are staying for more than 3 days. As for the restaurants there is their all day dining restaurant, Duyung Restaurant that serves daily buffet breakfast, Genn Japanese Restaurant open for lunch and dinner and the Lanun Bar which have live band performance every night except Sundays. The Lanun Bar is designed to look a pirate’s bar. But for me I ordered room service and just stayed in the room with my wife.
For the best deals in Grand Lexis Port Dickson, please click here Grand Lexis Port Dickson

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My Favourite App for Blogging

Apps for Blogger on the Move
Soon after posting my first lense with squidoo simply for fun, I somehow like writing blog, so much so I set up a couple of websites. One of the reason was to obtain some extra an income. As I am constantly on the go, therefore its rather difficult to pen something down. In addition to that, lugging my laptop around is not feasible. Luckily we now have the Android Operating system on most mobile phone nowadays. Its a great help whenever I need to pen something down. Now I am able to carry out research, check emails, browse the web, take photograph and even write my blog post on my mobile phone. I even wrote this particular blog post on a journey from my hometown. Below are some of the apps that I use to prepare blog post.

Polaris Office.

As most expert blogger recommend to create your article using a word document, in order to be able to review it prior to publishing. This idea is very good as you can in addition do a spell check. On my cell phone, I use Polaris Office. Its free in Google| Play store. Its compatible with word, excel and even PowerPoint. And you even save your files to the new Microsoft windows 2007 or even Microsoft windows 2003 which is great as I am still using the older Windows Office in my notebook. Its an excellent app as I can do my typing without having to be tied to my workplace. I even purchased a blue tooth key pad in order to be able to speed up my typing. This app can even read pdf files. Another good office product for mobile devices is the Document to Go. Link to A Polaris Office 4.0 - Android Apps on Google Play


Pocket (Read it Later)

To create my weblog, I like to perform some research on the subject that I am writing about. I do this cause I would like to have an an idea on how others tend to be writing about these subject. Using the analysis I'm also able to acquire details to clarify what exactly I am talking about . Pocket or as it previously called Read it Later, is an app that you can store articles that you found on the internet and desire to read later. So if I come across interesting article, I merely share the article upon Pocket. Whenever I need to view the article I can just to click the application and read the article. Once you have stored the article you don't even need to have an internet connection to read the article. A great thing about this application is that you can also view your stored articles on another computer by logging in. And its totally free. Link to Pocket-Read It Later

Photo Editor

Pictures are just as important to your blog as content. Therefore after taking photos for my website, I use this particular app to edit my pictures. The features of Photo Editor is similar to Gimp. With this particular applications it is possible to decrease the size of| picture because some website require a scaled-down image. In addition I can add bookmark on the pictures by using this application. For the creative ones you can add simple frames or even merge a couple of photos together. However if you want to create collages, I suggest the one below. Link to Photo.editor

Photo Grid

 I have always admired the collages in some blogpost. But to do a collage is very time consuming. So I just left it like that. Then discovered| this particular application on Google Play Store. Its so simple to do do collages. You merely select your layout and also along with the pictures. You are able to save under. png or even. Jpeg. Later you just need to put it into your post. Its so simple. Then later I use Photo Editor to bookmark my picture. Link to Photo Grid - Collage Maker - Android Apps on Google Play



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Restaurant Review :- Ramadhan Buffet at Grand Lexis Port Dickson

Aneka Rasa Ramadhan Buffet at Duyung Restaurant

Every year during the Holy Month of Ramadhan, most hotels or food outlets will set up buffets for the Muslim guest and friends to break fast to. Some hotels like to have theme dinners like P. Ramlee, Balik Kampung and so on. The reason I like going to Ramadhan Buffets is the same as why I like to go to the Bazaar Ramadhan. There is always new food to taste as most hotels will showcase their best and try to be different from the rest.

This year I went to the Grand Lexis Port Dickson to sample their Ramadhan Fare. The buffet was served in the Duyung Restaurant, which is quite small. So if you intend to bring a large group, you better make reservations. There are a lot of varieties to choose from.

There’s a large table loaded with all types of salads, ulam, sambal and appetizers. For the cold drinks there are seven types to choose from. They have even added the Chocolate Milk for the kids. For dessert or something sweet to open the fast with there’s lots of kuih, jelly, pastries and even a chocolate fountain.


For the Main course you will have about 12 dishes to choose from with has something of everything. From Western Dishes, Chinese Dishes and Malay Dishes. There was even Vegetable Tempura on the buffet.

This is not the end. Walk outside and you will find stalls of Noodle Soup, Murtabak, Satay, Ikan Bakar, Roasted Lamb, Banana Fritters and a cook to order pasta station.

A must try is their Nyonya Assam Pedas. Not too spicy but very nice.


A point to note their Ramadhan Buffet ends on the 28th July 2013. Priced at RM88.00 nett adults and RM43.00 nett child.

Address:-
Duyung Restaurant
Grand Lexis Port Dickson
Batu 2 Jalan Seremban, 71000, Negeri Sembilan
Telephone number: - 06 653 2000

INTO THE WILD: Guerilla Marketing Breaks the Mold

Traditional marketing isn’t going away and why should it? It still works when used correctly and strategically. But sometimes it helps to think outside of the traditional marketing box. Guerilla marketing relies on being creative and loud without the big budget. Five campaigns this year employed guerilla marketing beautifully with dynamic promotions utilizing 3D projection mapping, bagvertising, interactive billboards, rainvertising and ambient advertising.

5 amazing guerilla marketing campaigns in 2011

continue reading

Sights and Sound of Bazaar Ramadhan

This month Muslims around the world will be celebrating the Holy month of Ramadhan. This is when they would fast between sunrise till sunset. The month of Ramadhan means alot to some. Its a time devoted to spiritual contemplation and contemplate the suffering of others. Apart from that to some the Ramadhan signify that Hari Raya Puasa is just around the corner, especially for the little ones. The litle ones look forward to the nice Raya cloths and the little green packets filled with money. For me the fasting month is an opportunity to try food that is quite hard to come by. Cause during the month of Ramadhan food stalls will be set up selling mouth-watering food and drinks to break fast with. The area where the stalls are set up is usually in a large carpark or an open field. So far the biggest and best Bazaar was at the Shah Alam Stadium in Batu 13 Shah Alam. They took most of the carpark and there are hundreds of stalls of every kind of food and beverage.

There you can find usual ‘buka puasa' food, such as ‘murtabak', ‘roti John', chicken rice. There is also other traditional specialties like the nasi kerabu' and ‘nasi minyak' served with a variety of dishes. My favourite will be the "Sambal Ikan Bilis Petai" Yummy!!! At the Bazaar look out for the stall selling Ayam Golek. Its skewered whole chicken slowly roasted over gas and charcoal in a rotational movement. On normal months its hard to find this dish. At the Ayam Golek stall also look out for their Honey Roasted Chicken Wings. Its yummy Apart from food there are also stalls selling a colourful display of beverages. You will find sugar cane, coconut, soya bean and many more.

Photo Credit :- Phalinn Ooi

Stalls are normally set up at about 3 in the afternoon as they want to capture people that leave from work at 5. And for dessert you will findlots of local kuih like kuih ketayap, onde onde and kuih cara. So the place gets very busy and crowded around 5.30 till 6.30pm. So if you have the chance come early thats when you don't have to rush and get first choice of the goodies. Don't expect to see any dining area or chairs around as the foods were made to be taken away.

So if you are in Malaysia during the fasting month head over to the Bazzar Ramadhan and you will not be disappointed.

The Art o War - Looking out for the Small People

The Importance of the Lower Rankin Personnel
"In all fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect methods will be need in order to secure victory." CHAPTER 5-ENERGY. Verse 5
Never underestimate the importance of the lower ranking staff. They, for instance the clerical staff can let you know when the boss is free or even in a good mood. Most people forget that the secretaries or clerks are an important connection to the bosses. When I go around to meet bosses, I also say hello to their clerical staff. If I'm bringing a gift for the boss, I will try to bring a smaller one for his secretary. In this way when I need information on where her boss is, she can furnish me with that. This is also good if the person is really busy, you can find out where he goes for lunch and just "happen" to bump into him. One must also remember that most offices especially the government ones change bosses often but the secretary remains. So if you are close with her, she will put in good word for you with her new boss. This is what Sun Tzu calls "direct" and "indirect" warfare. The direct is with the boss. The indirect is the clerical staff.

The Importance of Well Rested Staff
Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. CHAPTER VI. WEAK POINTS AND STRONG. Verse 1
In any industry a well rested staff is good for productivity. Employees will be more focused in their jobs. In the hospitality industry that I am attached to, this saying is very important. Reason being is that if the staff is tired and worn out, they won't give their best to the customer. Tired people normally get irritated very fast. So if your staff is easily irritated, then a slightest can make them blow up. This staff is a walking time bomb as when a guest just says some thing wrong, they might lash out at the guest rudely. What I normally do is make here my staff is well rested before the busy season. Give your staff break before the busy period, so as they come to work refreshed.

The Use of Art of War in your Daily Works

Alt of people might think, what has a book with only 13 chapters and was written thousands of years before be helpful in our daily works. Well like all motivational and self help books, you need to see the big picture. Below are some examples of how the Art of War have helped me in my daily life.

Controllling Anger
Verse 12."There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general. One of it is a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults. This means holding your anger." Chapter 8: VARIATION IN TACTICS. I always had a quick tongue and an even quicker anger. I used to say what I feel and do things without much thought. That is the why I was most of the time passed over for promotions. Even though I knew the job very well. Now I'm more controlled now.
Another quote from Sun Tzu goes like this. 5. The general, unable to control his irritation, will launch his men to the assault like swarming ants, with the result that one-third of his men are slain, while the town still remains untaken. Such are the disastrous effects of a siege. Chapter 3. ATTACK BY STRATAGEM

Never Underestimate your competition
Verse 11. The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. Chapter 8: VARIATION IN TACTICS
This means never underestimate, always be prepared. We used to be the biggest hotel with the biggest convention room. So naturally we got the bulk of the business in our area. Now there's a new building coming up near us, same amount of rooms and an even larger convention hall. Luckily I followed this Sun Tzu's strategy. Before any news of this hotel coming up, we built our business with the local community. So we might lose some business to them, we will win back our guest if we continue to be friendly and give them an even better product than the new hotel.

Leading by Example
Verse 8  "At the critical moment, the leader of an army acts like one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the ladder behind him. He carries his men deep into hostile territory before he shows his hand. "  Chapter 11. THE NINE SITUATIONS.
Few days ago, I was watching Battles BC on the History Channel. This time they were showing Caesar's battle with the Gauls. Towards the end of the battle, it looked like Rome was going to lose the campaign. They were attacked from both sides. Then Caesar put on his red cloak and when into battle with reinforcements. Seeing their comander fighting alongside with them with his distinguished red cloak, the Roman army had renewed strength and fought hard. They managed to win the battle. This concept can be used in today's management system. When your area is busy or staff have difficult situation, the staff will be happy to see their manager working alongside them. Not standing around giving orders. I have found that this motivates them to give their best. It also helps when you need to reprimand them for a mistake they have done. The employee will know that you want only for them to improve their performance.
Verse 25 "Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death." Chapter 10. TERRAIN

Pocket Budget App

Some of the self help books that I like to read are books on achieving financial freedom. I like to read and reread books like Richard Clason's " Richest Man in Babylon" and books by Robert Kiyosaki. These are not get rich quick books, but books that teach us how to comtrol expenditure thus obtaining financial freedom. Most of the books teaches that in order to be financial free we need to track our expenses daily. I have been doing that for the past few years. I was shocked when I found out that I was spending unnessarily on things that I could have gotten. You can read one such example here Book Review- Richest Man in Babylon. I normaly use an excel worksheet which I put into my smartphone and keyin my expenditures. But using excel has some limitations. You need to export at the end of each month which can be some work. I came across Pocket Budget from an article in the Star newspaper. Downloaded this app and love it. Pocket Budget is an easy way to manage your finances by tracking of your expenses and incomes. After installing Pocket Budget, you need to put your income either in salary or gift categories. When you have an expense just click on the expense button. Put it in what category. If you want to add some pre set categories, just click add category. Add a description if you want and save. The app automatically calculate your balance. By doing this you know what you have to use until your next salary. This app even generates reports that you can easily view at the end of the month to see where your money went. You can download this app at Google Store just type Pocket Budget.

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Learning through watching Tony Fernandez o AXN Asia

Well this post is not a single inspirational person but an example on the importance of palnning in everything we do. I feel everyone has heard this mantra at a point of their life. The mantra goes like this "If you want to succeed in life, you need to do something you are passionate about". Mine is the Food and Beverage. So much so that my other half says that she is the second wife, my job is my first wife. Thats true. I can't stop working. When I am eating out, I always observe what the wait staff do, how food is presented and so on. Even when we stay in hotels, I like to wake up early and walk around the hotel. My wife always say when we are on holiday why can't I leave my work at home. Even the shows I like to watch are related to the Food and Beverage field. Nowadays after assuming a management position my playlist have increased. I like shows that are related to the management and also marketing field. One such show is the Apprentice reality show with Donald Trump. I not only like to see how they market or complete their projects. You can also get some management and leadership lesson from these type of shows especially from the boss Donald Trump.
Recently AXN started a new Apprentice Series based in Asia. Its on every wednesday and is called of course "Apprentice Asia". The boss here will be Tony Fernandez. Tony Fernandez is really an inspirational guy. From being in the music industry he bought a failing airline for only RM1 (with a heavy debt attached to it and turn it into one of the best low cost airlines. You can read something about him here My Heroes- People who have inspired me. Well lets go back with the opening episode of Apprentice Asia. The teams were divided by gender, each team was given the task of selling fish at a market. The team with the highest profit margin wins the challenge. Should be a simple task for a bunch of professionals but they failed misserable. The ladies team lost about RM100 and the men's team lost RM600.
We will review why the men lost. The main word was STRATEGY. They didn't sit down and plan their strategy. When they arrive at the market they quickly set up stall. They didn't do a market survey, therefore they didn't know whether they were selling higher or lower. They let the buyers who is very savvy with fish prices dictate the price. They didn't do a price list based on a profit margin, therefore they sold at a lower price. One of the participants started calling customers eventhough they were not ready. Even Sun Tzu has something to say about planning, its from the first chapter called "Laying Plans".26. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.
From this show, you will see the importance of planning especially when doing a menu. Even the simplest task like selling fish needs to carefully planned. In a previous post I have elaborated the steps in creating your menu.



Tony DiCorpo is a coffee roaster, barista trainer and coffee business consultant. He has authored many articles on coffee and the coffee business. Tony has extensive experience in business and collectively more than 20 years experience in sales, business management, entrepreneurship and the coffee business. The website to go to get his business plan is www.tonys-coffee-shop-business-plan.com

Romantic Idea- Making Her Feel Beautiful

Alway tell her she's beautiful in your eyes
Most of of us (men) are guilty of this offence me included. We tend to take our wives or girlfriends for granted. When we were dating, we always say sweet things like how beautiful they are. But after a few years of marriage we forget to do just that. Maybe we are busy working hard to feed the family, nowadays we have more mouths to feed. To continue keepinq the flames of love alive, say beautiful things to her once in a while and you will see the difference. Even Zig Ziglar in his book "See You At The Top" said that when his wife came back from the salon, the food she cooked tasted better that day. But you also need to see the situation to say it. Don't say it after she has been doing a major house cleaning, that she looks a mess. Then you are asking for trouble. Maybe this Valentine's buy her a sexy lingerie. Ask her to wear it and drool over her. Or if you have extra money buy a nice dinner dress and bring her out for dinner. Reserve a table where she can be seen and walk with her holding her hand. Make her feel beautiful and special. Then to make the suprise more better, check in a hotel after dinner without any luggage. Just what you are wearing. I will leave the rest to your imagination. I did this for one of our anniversary and boy was she beeming for a week or so. She still talks about how naughty we were.

An Interesting Article for us hoteliers

Here's a review of a book for those in the hospitality industry and thoae thinking on embarking in this industry

What the Hotel Industry Can Learn From 'Heads in Beds' by Jacob Tomsky.

Restaurant Review- Waranee Thai Restaurant

A Gem in Port Dickson

As I have mentioned in my previous post, its so hard to find good and reasonally priced food outlets in Port Dickson. So finding this Gem of a restaurant was great. A friend book this place as a venue to celebrate a birthday. Waranee is a little restaurant hidden away in Kampung Gelam, Port Dickson. If you are heading from Pantai Cahaya Negeri, look for the junction with the Shell refinery on right. At the junction turn left. Drive straight thats where you will come to a row of shophouses on the right. On the left is a row of double storey houses.The signage looks like most Thai Restaurants in Malaysia. The shop is nothing fancy. But food is great and reasonable. A plate of Thai Fried rice is RM5.00.

As for us, we preordered our dinner. The first course was raw vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, young corn served with a very spicy chili paste. Coming from Melaka we love our food spicy, the first course was heavenly. The chili paste was really really spicy. I am not sure whats inside as the owner said it was a secret recipe. After that was Tom Yam Seafood with some really large prawns. For the main course we had spicy lamb, fish cooked in a lime sauce, deepfried fish with Thai sauce, a vegetable dish and crab and mango salad. My favourite was the fish in lime sauce. I miss that alot after coming back from Koh Samui. For the dessert we had the Pumpkin Custard. Every dish that came out was beautifully decorated and tasty.

As I have worked in Thailand for about a year and half, I can fairly say that the food here is authentic Thai. So if you looking for good Thai food in Port Dickson head over to the at Waranee Thai Restaurant. They are opened for lunch and dinner. And closed on Wednesdays

How to Market your Menu

How to Market your New Menu

So you have created your restaurant menu, now you have to market it. You have to let people out there know about your menu and your chef. You need to create a buzz and you need to keep advertising even though you have been long in the market. You might think that you are already well known but with all the new products flooding the market these days, customers might miss you out. That's why big brands like KFC, McDonalds and other fast food chains spend millions on advertisements yearly. Eventhough people know them. Below are some ways that I use to promote my menu. Hope its of some help.

1. Advertise your menu

.

The first and important thing you have to do is to advertise in the mainstream media that you have a new menu.You may need to fork out some money but this will help to create awareness to your restaurant. As mentioned earlier even big restaurants do it.These will include advertisements in newspapers, flyers, banners and brochures. You can also seek help from your staff to help you hand out the flyers around town. My staff was happy to do it for me. If you have a higher budget you can advertise on the radio or tv. Make sure you write something interesting or use an eye catching pictures. Try to go away from the norm, otherwise people will pass it by cause its just another advertisement.

2. Invite the local media to taste your new menu

You can advertise in the newspaper or magazines as mentioned above. You can also go a step further by inviting some reporters to sample your menu. It is always well worth considering inviting the media to your restaurant. To do this you must be really sure that you are ready. You wouldn't want to make a fool of yourself to the people who is going to write about you. You need to put your best foot forward. I suggest you run your menu for one month to work out any hiccups that might occur before calling the press. When you are ready, then only call the press. If you are inviting only a few media people then call up some friends to dine at your place, so the place will look good not like a haunted restaurant.

3. Invite your local bloggers

These days it’s not only the professional food critics that people listen to for advice. Consumers search the internet on information on your place. A recent survey that was done by the hotel I work of how people got to know about our hotel was 45% said that they knew about us from the internet, 40 % was from friends and 4% from the newspaper and magazines. These will show you the power of the internet. Bloggers have their own set of followers and these followers listen to them. Look around at websites of local bloggers. A good way to start is to search for blogs about your competitors, follow them and see what they write. Whether it suits your style. Also note how many folllowers they have. But a word of caution most bloggers write the truth because they have a reputation to uphold to their followers. If your item is not good, don't feature it or you might get some nasty reviews. Once you get a positive review, you can share it with your customers, post it on your site and on your blog and Twitter and Facebook pages.

4. Pictures sell.

In my former hotel where I worked, we created menus with pictures in it. After printing the menus, I used the pictures and created posters of individual food items. Each food item had a catchy tag line like "Sinful Pleasures" for desserts, "What a Hunk of Beef " for beef burgers and "Get Curried Away"for curry dishes. We noticed that customers is more likely to order a dish when he or she sees a picture. So when we needed to clear a slow moving item, we just put a poster of the item. But you need to take mouthwatering shots of your food. Search the net for ideas on mouthwatering images. Follow suit.

5. Upload on your Facebook, Twitter or othe social sites.
Nowadays most business are using the social media like Facebook or Twitter to promote their company or products. If you don't have a Facebook sites its best to create one. Its really easy. You must put important information under the Info tab which includes your restaurant's location, directions, hours of operation and Web address. You can even put your menu in your facebook site. You also need to let your customers know that you have a Facebook site that they can be friends with. This is done by giving out cards with your Facebook address out to everyone. Apart from that you need to also keep your site updated and attractive. Here is when you can get more creative, with the help of the pictures. You can upload the pictures on your site every two days. Do this after you have uploaded your menu. You can feature not just pictures of your dishes, but also the recipe or a video of the chef demostrating how to cook the dish. You can also feature interviews with your customers. Constantly add interesting things, not only trying to sell your product. If you have interesting article on your Facebook page, people will be interested to be friends with.

6.Email
Even though emailing out newsletters or product update is nothing new within the internet world, it is still a great way to build awareness of your new menu to existing and new customers. You won't have to worry about spamming if your customers give you their email address. Normally when someone has given you their email, they are already interested in your place. This gives you a chance to entice them with special offers or highlight to them your new menu. I have wrote in my post "Restaurant Promo Ideas #6- Collect Mailing Address " on ways to get email address from your customers.

7. Create Videos

The use of videos in marketing is still largely underestimated. There is a huge audience on sites like YouTube. Imagine nowadays an aspiring singer can land a huge contract by just a music video on You Tube. But video marketing can also be used as a restaurant marketing tool. You can post your Chef in action, a tutorial on how to set a table or prepare a cocktail. Don't forget to add your link at the bottom. If you video is good and it might go viral and then alot of people will know about your restaurant.

These are some of the ways of promoting your menu. If you located at a busy intersection you can hand out sample of your food for people walking by. Do dropby for more Restaurant Promo Ideas.








Product Restaurant Management Suite - CLASSIC
Website www.restaurantmanagementcenter.com

Cost Only $37

60 days unconditional money back guarantee

CLASSIC restaurant management suite was put together by Andreas Breitfuss and his team to help those people in the restaurant industry. It is a selection of restaurant management tools that when used in combination can help you streamline your restaurant, café or hotel. These pre-designed forms, templates and spreadsheets save you time to concentrate on other areas of the business. There is beverage costing sheet, restaurant requisition sheets, purchase order forms, blank stock take sheets, stock take spreadsheet, stock take financial analysis spreadsheet, wastage sheets, standard food recipe templates, standard beverage recipe. Beverage engineering spreadsheet, menu placement card, menu advertising elements and sample restaurant menus

Top Affiliate Internet Marketing Promotion Business

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In affiliate marketing, the owner of the product or the merchant will provide you with a link which will track the buyers that you will send through an affiliate marketing campaign you have created.

In affiliate marketing, you are required to create a promotion campaign where you sell the products of other people or company and earn a percentage or commission from sales made. Some affiliate programs offer as much 90% commission from each sale. There are literally thousands of individuals and companies worldwide who are looking for people to sell their products for them that is why the one week marketing system really is a great potential to affiliate marketing.



In choosing a product to promote you should select one that you are interested in. If you are into music for example you can choose to promote an eBook that teaches how to play a guitar. The advantage of choosing a product that is in line with your interest is that, you will certainly be excited about the campaign that you are creating.

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Robert Kiyosaki in all his books says you need to create passive income. One the ways he says is though royalty. Well Squidoo is a website that give you money for the amount of visits you get on your page.



Here's a stay home mom that has create passive income for herself using mainly Squidoo. I have her website in my favourite list and found out she knows what she's talking. Have used some of her tips and really works. I'm not earning as much as her but I'm getting there. In the package there is step-by-step information you need to create multiple streams of passive income, and without paying a dime out of pocket.



Here's how it works: Every element of One Week Marketing is broken down into daily items that last . . . yes, you guessed it, a total of one week. :) With my system, there's no worrying about becoming overwhelmed. Just pull up that day's action plan and follow the simple steps and you'll be well on your way to making money.

Personal Financing with Robert Kiyosaki (cont'd)

Cashflow Quadrant
This book is a continuation of the Rich Dad Poor Dad book. In this book Robert Kiyosaki explains that there are four quadrants. It shows which quadrant we are in and which one we ought to be in.

The four quadrants are

E QUADRANT is for employee
These are people who are mainly afraid to take risk. They look for job security and benefits. Thus looking for jobs that offer job security and benefit. They may be highly paid but their financial status is only defined by the employers.

S QUADRANT for self-employed
The people in the S quadrant are self employed. They are specialist in their area. They want to do their own thing. They believe that if they work hard, they will be paid better. They are normally perfectionist and is hesitant on hiring staff. So they will work very hard cause if they don't work , they won't get paid. They are also not able to take leave for long as they are not able to lose any customers.

This is followed by the two Quadrant that we are advised to be in, in order to be financially free. That is

B QUADRANT for business owner
A business owner owns a business that generates money.

I QUADRANT for investor
Investors earn money from their various investments-in other words, money generating more money.

The CASHFLOW QUADRANT is also not a get rich quick book, its only a guide to financial freedom.

Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant is perfect for employees or self-employed individuals interested in finding new ways to generate cash flow. One of thing that is good about this book is the author tells us to start slow and small, gaining experience first. If you're already a business owner or real estate investor, this book delivers tools for even greater success.


Rich Dad's Guide to Investing.
This is the third book in the Rich Dad Poor Dad Series. One of the things that I have found useful in this book is that in come in short chapters of 3-4 pages each, so I usually read a chapter a night before I sleep to digest and ponder each chapter. In this book, Robert shows how to get started and how it does not take money to make money. As with the first two books, this is not a book for those who want hot tips and quick fixes.

What I like about this book, is that Kiyosaki says that if we look properly we can create our wealth out of nothing. Before finding out about Internet Marketing, I thought that this was a lot of bull. I always thought you need money to make money. But with the internet, it has never been easier to create wealth out of nothing. Take Squidoo for instance, you can write about your favourite topic and make money from it. He also says you should make a plan to be financially secure, a plan to be financially comfortable, and a plan to be rich.
As in all his other books, Kiyosaki's book is worth reading again and again.
This book is a must for those who want to be Financially Independent
One final recommendation I have is to buy his Cashflow Games. Cashflow 101 is a board game that will teach you how to get out of the rat race whatever your status is.
I have a computer version of the game and found it really interesting. It really depicts real life, once you start playing.

Personal Finance Planning with Robert Kiyosaki

Who is Robert Kiyosaki?
Robert Kiyosaki is a motivational author in areas of personal finance, investing and business. A fourth generation Japanese American, born and raised in Hawaii. His biological dad was the head of education for the state of Hawaii. He studied in America, joined the Marine Corps, and rose to the position of an officer and also a helicopter pilot. After his tour in the Vietnam War, he joins the Xerox Corporation as a salesman to learn the art of selling. In 1977 he started his first company which was importing nylon and Velcro wallets that became associated with surfers. In the mid eighties he set up an educational company where people could learn his financial philosophies.
He published his No 1 New York Times Best Seller, Rich Dad Poor Dad in 1997. The characters in the book are off fictional people, loosely based on the people in his life. His poor dad is like most people who work hard for money, taking courses to improve their skills which they think will improve their salary and job security. Like most people that are in the rat race, poor dad is stuck paying bills and feeding his family, just getting by monthly. Eventually poor dad falls out of grace with the government and leave, retiring poor and unhappy.
Rich dad is more of a risk taker. Starting slow using his money to invest in real estate and businesses building up his assets leading to abundance of financial wealth.
He later went to write Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant, Rich Dad's Guide to Investing and Rich Kid Smart Kid. All the books have been on the best sellers list worldwide.
Robert later develops a board game to teach individuals about personal financing. The game is called Cashflow 101. As with reading all Robert Kiyosaki's Books, play it with an open mind so as you can learn from this game. This game is also entertaining.
Robert Kiyosaki briefly retired at the age of 47.He is still involved in his Rich Dad Educational Company. His goals are to give people information that will help them make their money work hard for them.

Personal Financing with Rich Dad Poor Dad

Well, I've just finished reading Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki for the 6th time (I like reading good books over again). This is a wonderful book that gives you simple insights on ways of handling your personal finances. It has helped me a lot. I'm not a millionaire yet but luckily someone gave me this book before the current economic downturn. I'm able to weather through.
The insight into the difference between your assets and liabilities is really good and simple to understand, which I found it to be true with purchase of gold jewelry (I have always thought that buying gold was a good investment as gold prices increase but found out otherwise).
It also got me thinking of the purchase of a house too.
You will also find out that specializing in your job is not as good you think, as it makes you more dependent on your job. This I have also found to be true with my job. I've always thought that by specializing in only things related to my work, will give me job security but as what Robert Kiyosaki states that it is not always the case. It's true, believe me.
Read the book and judge it for yourself. Just remember that this is not a GET RICH QUICK book but it gives you ideas that will open your mind to different ways of becoming financially successful. It might not make me a millionaire but I'm sure it will make me financially free and out of the rat race.




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Robert Kiyosaki in all his books says you need to create passive income. One the ways he says is though royalty. Well Squidoo is a website that give you money for the amount of visits you get on your page.

Here's a stay home mom that has create passive income for herself using mainly Squidoo. I have her website in my favourite list and found out she knows what she's talking. Have used some of her tips and really works. I'm not earning as much as her but I'm getting there. In the package there is step-by-step information you need to create multiple streams of passive income, and without paying a dime out of pocket.

Here's how it works: Every element of One Week Marketing is broken down into daily items that last . . . yes, you guessed it, a total of one week. :) With my system, there's no worrying about becoming overwhelmed. Just pull up that day's action plan and follow the simple steps and you'll be well on your way to making money.

CORAL WONDERLAND MELAKA



I found out about this place from a friend who resides outside of Melaka. The Coral Wonderland Melaka is located on the fourth floor of the Hatten Square just across the road from the Hatten Hotel. Thats why we stayed at the Hatten Hotel, I didn't want to brave the famous Melaka traffic jam.







Stingray and Starfish that you can touch



Keep your expectations low cause the Coral Wonderland is quite small unlike the aquarium in KLCC or Langkawi. Buts its ok for a start. The entrance fee might quite steep to some. The entrance fee is RM30 for adults and RM20 for kids.

Upon entering the Aquarium you will be greeted by what's advertised as the  'The Longest Touch Pool in Asia. Not sure if this is true but here you can touch or hold tame fishes like baby sharks, puffer fish, stingray, seahorse, starfish and many more. But my four year old didn't fancy touching slimy fishes.

Most of the displays were little aquariums with explanations of the displayed creatures. Its an educational place for families to visit, the kids can have fun touching the sea creatures. There's also a display on reptiles and bugs.

There's even a quiz paper given by the counter. After you complete it you will receive a key chain at the end of your tour as the reward for the quiz.

The location of Coral Wonderland is

F4-01A & F4-99, Level 4,
Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall, Jalan Merdeka,

75000 Bandar Hilir, Melaka, Malaysia

Operating Hours
Open daily from Monday - Friday
10.30am to 9.30pm
Last Admission 9.00pm

Weekend, Public Holidays & School Holidays

10.30am to 10.30pm

Last Admission 9.30pm

Create your Restaurant Menu

How to Create your Restaurant Menu

Another great marketing instrument that is generally overlooked will be your restaurant menu. As I've mentioned in my Previous Post “Creating Good Customer care Culture”, first impression is important. Preparing the menu takes a lot of work and a lot of planning. You need to do it step by step. And you can't skip any of these steps. Below are the steps.

Restaurant Concept

Firstly, you have to identify what is your restaurant concept and what type of customers that you want to attract. Look around at your area, other restaurant premises and what others are offering. You have to know whether the community are young working adults, families or college students. This will determine the style, quality and portion sizes of the food that you will feature on your restaurant menus. It would be suicidal to open a fine dining restaurant in a community of families who normally dine together.

Market Analysis Market

Market analysis is an important part in planning your menu for your restaurant. You need to know what others are selling, what the locals want. The market analysis also can help you with your menu prices so as to be inline with the income of the community in your area. Its no point to create an expensive menu for a community that are in the middle income category. You will then have an empty restaurant and a fridge full of expensive items.

Consult your Chef

In one episode of Restaurant Makeover, the Makeover Chef tells the Restaurant Chef that "Chefs create menus not owners". This is true, only the chef knows what he is good at. Its no point for the owner to come out with the menu that the chef is not able to cook it well. Firstly consult with your Chef and also review your current menu with him. Take into consideration of your top sellers and the poorest selling items. This is to identify what to remove and what to keep. Also take into consideration the local likes and what others is offering. The items in your menu may be limited to the size of your kitchen or by the equipment that you have. If you want to try something new you have to be prepared to buy the equipment that your chef needs for his menu. Also take into consideration the skill level of your staff both in the kitchen and at the front. Its no point to create a fine dining menu when the staffs are not skilled enough to prepare or sell it. Also the raw items should be readily available or you will have a menu with lots of sold out items.

Menu Pricing
Knowing the costs of your items that you plan to sell means success to your business. By carefully calculating the food cost you can determine the price that you will be selling. But saying that, you also need to be aware what your competitors are selling, so as not to overprice your items thus turning away business. That's where your market analysis comes into play. There are numerous website giving out free templates that you can use for calculating your food. One such site is Menu Costing Templates

Designing Your Menu
As mentioned in my previous post Free Restaurant Menu Templates, that a restaurant menu is an important key to promote what your chef has to offer. In the menu you will list what is available in your restaurant. Splendidly prepared menus will really entice the customer to dine within your place. I’ve learned that beside scrumptious sounding write ups, mouthwatering images will definitely appeal to customers to try something new. Sometimes I feel that the customers usually are not clear on what to order, so they normally will order the norm. Shying away from something unique or different that your chef have conjured up. Thus a picture will give the customer a visual taste of what's coming. In that post I also suggested some free templates sites so you don't have to take the trouble of designing the menu from scratch.

Proofread and print final design Go through the entire menu with a fine tooth comb as error will make you look like a fool and also once printed its costly to reprint again. You could also hire a professional editor. You can do what I normaly do, is to pass around to a few friends who are quite ok in English and ask their opinion. After all the people that is going to read your menus are normal people not restauranteurs. So if they can't understand what you are trying to drive at, how do you expect your customers. After all this is done, sent out your menu for printing. In my next post I will give you ways on promoting your restaurant menu.

 
Product Restaurant Management Suite - CLASSIC
Website www.restaurantmanagementcenter.com
Cost Only $37
60 days unconditional money back guarantee
CLASSIC restaurant management suite was put together by Andreas Breitfuss and his team to help those people in the restaurant industry. It is a selection of restaurant management tools that when used in combination can help you streamline your restaurant, café or hotel. These pre-designed forms, templates and spreadsheets save you time to concentrate on other areas of the business. There is beverage costing sheet, restaurant requisition sheets, purchase order forms, blank stock take sheets, stock take spreadsheet, stock take financial analysis spreadsheet, wastage sheets, standard food recipe templates, standard beverage recipe. Beverage engineering spreadsheet, menu placement card, menu advertising elements and sample restaurant menus