FastCasual.com linked to the results of a quarterly survey by RealPeopleRatings.com, which tracks brand image and customer perception.
The survey names Subway and Cici’s Pizza as tops in customer service in their categories this quarter.
I've posted before about how customer service makes or breaks the restaurant experience, especially when you're juggling kids. How about you? Had any especially good or bad retail service experiences lately, at a Subway or CiCi's or someplace else? Where?
Ooooh, the butterflies. I think my heart actually skipped a beat. Two of our friends—a couple, actually—both got iPhones last night, and I got to play with one this morning.
In the wake of all the hype, I half-expected something to go wrong. It sounded too good to be true. Surely the buble would burst. But? The iPhone did everything the commercials promised. It really is amazing—sleek, light, so very fast, and capable.
A Boston Herald reviewer says:
For it's not just cool; this phone is important, in the same way that Apple's first Macintosh computer was important. The Mac showed us a better way to interact with computers, and forced the entire industry to follow its lead. Here we go again. (Read full review.)
I had the same feeling, and after playing with one, for ever so short a time, I can say: It's true. It's all true. And all over again, I'm all giddy for the beauty and vision that Apple manages to attach to everyday tech tools.
This from a kid who was raised on MS-DOS and PCs. My dad had the foresight to insist that I learn to
use computers, long before they hit the mainstream. In the early 1980s we had two Atari PCs (and the game consoles. of course), complete with a cassette-tape drive for backup and one of the earliest personal modems on the market.
When I got to Duke in 1987 and saw lots of kids unpacking Macintosh computers, I sniffed, "Hmmph, toys," and went off to write fifty-page papers on a Brother typewriter that displayed SIX lines of type at a time—or to use the PCs in the computer lab at the library, wondering all the while why everyone else was on the Macs.
The joke was on me. In the mid-90s, as I edited copy on a PC, I noticed how incredibly fast and efficient my co-workers were on Macs. Their fingers flew, and they seemed at one with their computers, as if the Macs were an extension of their thoughts, a participant in the creative process.
I started taking an already obsolete Mac SE named Homer home with me each night—it was easy, because the SE was one big rectangular box with a handle—to learn the Mac OS and keyboard commands so I could work as quickly as those Mac users. Soon I switched to a Mac, a move that coincided with my introduction to the Web—and as cliched as it sounds, my world has never been the same.
Now, nearly fifteen years later, the iPhone. Just think: How old are your Quicksies? Baby A just turned three. She won't ever know a time when a phone didn't do all the iPhone does.
So now let's tie the phone into parenting and restaurants, since that's what I'm supposed to be talking about here. I remember about nine years ago, when QSR Magazine was still pretty new, a tiny handful of companies popped onto the restaurant scene, wanting to advertise their technology for pushing coupons to consumers' mobile phones. I scoffed at the idea, thought it would never take hold.
Again, the joke's on me. Have you seen the iPhone commercial where the guy homes in on neighborhoods in San Francisco, then looks up restaurants in that area? What if, at exactly that moment, a text message dropped in his inbox, with a coupon for that place or another one nearby? Now that Google Maps and GPS are seamless with the mobile phone experience, the whole notion makes a lot of sense.
Haven't had enough of the hype? Visit David Pogue's iPhone diary vlog. Or visit Seth Godin's blog to read about the guy at Verizon who turned down the iPhone deal. (Who's kicking himself now? And can I get in a kick, since TWH and I get Verizon phone accounts for cheap through his company?)
Got an iPhone story? Comment and share. C'mon, let me use your iPhone vicariously....
P.S.—Just read this on CNN: "In San Francisco, customers sang "Auld Lang Syne" following a countdown, as if heralding a new era in telecommunications." It's silly, but that gives me chills. Geek that I am.
We had waited our turn at the DMV, browsed the Grand Asia Market next door, and were on our way to Trader Joe's (love that place!) when Baby A said she really, really needed a drink of water, no, she needed a drink of milk. Pleeeease, Mommy, I really need it now.
I bit my lip to keep from saying, "See why I told you to take drink of water before we left?," and chided myself for not taking a bottle of water with us on this hot afternoon. McDonald's was the only place around with a drive-thru—important, because I didn't want to get Baby A in and out of the carseat again. I needed to get on to TJ's.
So we went to McDonald's for the first time, and Baby A pointed out "that clown man," which she knows from TV. More than that, she was mighty confused about the ordering process. It didn't help that there was one broken-down ordering place, then the working one, then two windows.
Baby A: "Mommy, why do we have to pay two times?"
Me: "We don't. We pay at this first window, then we pick up our order at the second one."
Baby A: "Oh. Why?"
Me: "The restaurant thinks that will make the line go faster. Do you think it's helping?"
Baby A, looking thoughtful: "Ummmm. Yes. Yes, I do."
This from a three-year-old's first impression. Want a more scientific view on this topic, and all things drive-thru? See the QSR Drive-Thru Study.
And isn't it nice I was able to get her a cold, fresh, kid-sized drink of milk, in two minutes, without getting out of my car, for 99 cents? Yes, I have my lazy moments. Would've been cool if it were organic milk, but on a hot afternoon I'll take what I can get.
UPDATE: (6/28/07) I remembered this morning that Baby A didn't learn about McDonald's and the Ronald McDonald character from PBS. That was Chuck E Cheese that sponsors a spot on PBS Kids in the morning. Ronald has ads on cable channels, where A. loves to watch "Little Einsteins" and "The Wonder Pets" (which, if you haven't seen it, is just about the most adorable show EVER).
So I've edited this post to take out the reference to McDonald's on PBS. My strong opinion remains that ads DO NOT belong on public television, and I won't vote for a candidate who wants to take public funding away from public TV and radio.
[Image courtesy of McDonald's media web page]
I've got what seems like a thousand projects going on simultaneously right now—what happened to "slowing it down a little" and "taking some time for me and Baby A this summer"? Oh, well, it's a good problem to have. Right?
Right.
So while I was doing some research for a magazine article, I came across the Green Restaurant Association, and I thought I'd share the link with you here. Want to find green restaurants near you? Go here.
Do you run, or are you getting ready to open, a quick-serve restaurant or chain? Find out how you can make your place greener. Some great publicity can result...hey, free advertising!
I posted a while back about how the FDA decided not to require that growers/packers label cloned meat as such.
Here's my take: Ick. And ick. The FDA says the government can't tell the difference between meat from cloned animals and meat that came about in the, uh, regular way. Yo, FDA, here's a hint: THE CLONED MEAT CAME FROM CLONED ANIMALS. THAT ARE CLONES. We don't know enough yet. From what I understand, clones still tend to be sicklier and die earlier than their—um—parents? I'm not ready to guess what's going on at an atomic level.
And I sure don't want to feed my daughter cloned meat.
Turns out I am far from alone. The Food Marketing Institute found in a recent survey that U.S. consumers are highly uncomfortable with food from cloned animals (scroll down). Here's the highlight:
Looking at the potential future of food, consumers are not yet comfortable with eating products from cloned livestock. Six in 10 (61 percent) are not comfortable, including 31 percent who are "not at all comfortable." If such products are sold commercially, more than eight in 10 consumers (84 percent) believe cloned foods should be labeled as such. In fact, six in 10 hold this view "strongly."
Too bad the government is not listening to average Americans. How's about a little transparency, at least in the things we feed our families?
Question: How many of you read the BabyCenter site pretty much weekly while you were pregnant and the first few months after the baby came along? Yep, I did, from the due-date calculator to the nursing and first-foods advice and developmental milestones lists. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems Baby Center was one of the first comprehensive parenting web sites, and one of the first to feature popular parenting blogs.)
Then Baby A started crawling, and "Lord, what is she into NOW?" became much more pressing than "Wonder what developmental stage is next?"
So yesterday I found this intriguing BabyCenter page of parents' comments on families and fast food. There was one especially good tip:
We've also found that if you ask nicely, most places will put your order in the special box with a toy, and the kids are really happy then!
That's a good one. Have you ever tried it? What other good tips have you come across lately? Comment and share.
According to the blog StarbucksGossip.com, the coffeehouse chain is dropping the bottled Jones Soda product to make room in the fridge cases for a new line of salads.
Read the comments at that link for an interesting glimpse into what a national (no, international) chain rollout looks like—the selection of different products for different markets, how info gets out to the front-line workers, and so on. I love this site.
Apparently the salads are fairly protein-dense, not too lettuce-y, which helps make them worth the cost (a reported $5 to $6), heartier for lunch, and more able to sit in the refrigerator at the office without wilting and getting all gross. See, Starbucks and all the other chains so intent on breakfast right now want you to (1) buy coffee, (2) buy breakfast, and (3) grab something for lunch, all in one stop. Smart, huh?
And by that I mean environmentally friendly cleaners, equipment, and supplies.
Each year the National Restaurant Association holds a huge show in Chicago for restaurants and hotel companies. The most recent show featured plenty of new green-focused exhibitors, multiple green education sessions, and a well-attended special demonstration of new environmentally friendly products and ideas.
Cleaners so safe the demonstrator squirts them straight into his mouth? Furnishings made from recycled materials? High-voulme composting methods? Sounds great to me—anything to keep this place in better shape for our Quicksies and their kids. Here's hoping the interest at the show carries over into actual orders.
[Photo thanks to the National Restaurant Association's show news site, at the link above.]
A friend—okay, a barista at my favorite coffee shop, and anyone who serves me espresso is a friend—passed along a great article from the New York Times. It's called "Don't Point That Menu at My Child, Please," linked here.
Please read the article (even if you have to register) rather than accept my little summary. It's worth it. But...basically the writer decries the fact that restaurants everywhere, along with grocery stores, approach our kids with the expectation they'd rather eat the usual kid's menu of chicken fingers, mac and cheese, cheese pizza, grilled cheese (pattern here?), and fries, rather than smaller versions of what's on the regular menu:
"In short, I came to the realization that America is in the grips of a nefarious chicken-finger pandemic, in which a blandly tasty foodstuff has somehow become the de facto official nibble of our young. [...] It pains me that many children now grow up eating little besides golden-brown logs of kid food, especially in a time when the quality, variety and availability of good ingredients is better than ever."
Righteous.
Now I'd like to offer some hints on avoiding the usual kid's menu, even in the fast-food or casual dining setting. 'Cause sometimes you just want something different for your kids—you know?
• Try the unusual fruit bowls for kids at California Pizza Kitchen. Then share some of your own, grown-up pizza with your child. Presto: yummy, solid lunch for cheap.
• Visit Chipotle, where there is no kid's menu, and share a Burrito Bol and some of their unstoppable guacamole and chips with your kids. Again: yummy, nutritious, cheap. In the picture above, Baby A is proudly making her own "baby burrito" at Chipotle, spreading guacamole (ours) on a plain tortilla (hers). It cost, like, 50 cents.
• Go to Wendy's or McDonald's and get one of their premium salads—the ones with diced chicken, pecans, and fresh fruit, like mandarin oranges. Give some of the toppings to your kids, even the really young ones. Baby A loved those things when she was just over a year old. Add a fruit and granola parfait and it's an inexpensive, healthy meal.
• Try smaller versions of regular menu items, like the Bambino Burgers at Good Times or the simple taco at a place like Taco Bell or Del Taco. They're ideal for the three-to-ten age range.
• Go to a Thai, Chinese, or Japanese quick-serve place, like Pei Wei or Panda Express, and make a small plate for your child from yours, with rice or noodles, meat or tofu, and veggies. We've been doing this with Baby A for, gosh, two years now. And she just turned three.
In short, think about how you can adapt the regular menu items for your kids. The choices
And, restaurants? Get ahead of the curve on changing kids' meals. I think you'll find plenty of support.
Remember a when I posted a month ago about Shrek helping to sell healthier Happy Meals for McDonald's?
Well, let's just say the company is lovin' it. Comparable sales for May were up 8.7 percent (7.4 percent in U.S. locations).
McDonald's thanked the "Shrek the Third" promotion, along with strong breakfast sales and successful new products, for the strong results. I hope that means awareness of the healthier Happy Menu options—like Apple Dippers, milk, and side salads—is growing, too, but McDonald's didn't break down the exact sales figures.
I just got an report from a Goldman Sachs analyst who follows McDonald's, titled "Ogre-whelmingly strong May SSS." Hee hee. Who says Wall Street analysts can't have senses of humor?
Just found this Family Matters site and an interesting podcast on managing kids' behavior in restaurants. I'm getting ready to listen to the podcast—listen here if you're feeling the need to regulate the kiddos in restaurants. Here's a summary:
Kids in restaurants? Should they stay or should they go? It's a topic that generates a lot of heat from diners. Caroline and Jacquie talk with Cleveland Plain Dealer food and restaurants editor Joe Crea. He offers some suggestions on what parents can do and what restaurants can do to include children and make it a pleasant and rewarding experience for all parties.
Based on our experience at Chipotle at lunch today, I'm willing to visit the topic myself. Yes, we took four trips outside to stop Baby A's whining, bossing, and loud conniving.
Used to be that everyone expected some unruly kid behavior at fast-food restaurants. Today, though? Quick-serves are installing carpeting, padded seats, cool sound systems, even televisions. The bar has been raised a little, and, well, it's never too early to talk about respecting others and the meal table.
Remember, you can listen to Quick Serve Kids podcasts here. Sheesh, it's time to do a new one....
There's this great research firm in Chicago called Technomic. Basically, they know everything about restaurant and culinary trends, and if they don't know, they're probably in the process of finding out. Smart minds and nice people, those folks.
A couple months ago, Technomic announced that natural, organic, and local ingredients were about to boom in retail channels. The other day, the firm said that's true, SO true, for the foodservice channel, too.
Menu offerings with organic and natural ingredients currently represent a small percentage of overall sales, but that percentage is growing rapidly.... Sales of organic and natural products are expected to grow at a 15 to 20 percent compounded average annual growth rate from 2007 to 2010.
This isn't just a trend, Technomic added, but a societal shift. It's here to stay. Yay!
Want to go ahead and let your family enjoy this trend? Panera and Chipotle were among the first mid-sized chains to bring organic, all-natural, and local ingredients to the menu. If you're lucky enough to live near an O'Naturals location in the Northeast, or an Organic to Go spot on the West Coast, that's great.
Point is, your options are almost sure to increase as more quick-serve and fast-casual restaurants jump on this trend. This is one time when following the crowd is good—for us, our kids, the air, the soil, the animals. As The Wonderful Husband likes to say, "It's alllllll good."
Have you noticed? Cool design is everywhere. You can't even shop cheap without running across great design, smart marketing, and one designer name after another.
We're used to it now. We expect it. And quick-serve menus are keeping right up with our heightened expectations. I was struck by this comment in a Quiznos news release a day ago:
"Baja Chicken really captures the mood of summer with a smoked flavor that conjures up the experience of a weekend at the grill," said Chef Zach Calkins, Quiznos director of culinary development. "Specifically, the flavors in the Baja Chicken's two sauces, the Smokey Baja and the mild chipotle mayo, have been aligned to work together to create a complex first layer of flavor. What really makes this sandwich pop, though, is the cilantro which takes the place of lettuce, bringing a fresh bright flavor to the final layer of the sandwich."
"Aligned?" "Complex?" "Pop?" Our little Quicksies are never going to know "twoallbeefpattiesspecialsauce etc. etc." It's going to be fresher ingredients and complex flavor profiles, even if it comes between two buns at a $3 price point.
Have you noticed this change?
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First came the job: founding editor of a magazine for fast-food industry executives. Then came marriage.
Then came the baby in the baby carriage—and a new perspective on the world in which that baby will grow up.
Now I'm using my fast-food (quick-serve) industry expertise to filter restaurant news and information to other parents. Join me and other parents as we figure out how to raise our Quicksies to make good choices in a world where fast food is part of life.
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