Additional Training

To All Employees:

SIGN UP NOW FOR ADDITIONAL TRAINING

It is now and always has been the policy of this company to assure its employees that they are well trained. Through our Special High Intensity Training Program (SHIT), we have given our employees more SHIT than any other company in this area.

If any employee feels that he or she does not receive enough SHIT, see your immediate supervisor.

Our management people are specially trained to assure you that you will get all the SHIT you can stand.

Eroding Financial Performance

Friday, 03/31/06
Restaurant plans changes to stand out from rivals and halt earnings skid
By NAOMI SNYDER Staff Writer, Tennessean.com

After years of eroding financial performance and heavy turnover in top management, ...O'Charley's Inc.'s leaders are promising a new day and a smaller restaurant.

The company's new prototype.. is a167-seat restaurant that will serve as the model for the company's future restaurants. ...will have curbside-to-go service, updated technology, more booths and fewer tables. Existing restaurants will be retrofitted over the next three years with many of the same elements on tap for the new store, although older units won't necessarily be pared down in size.

The moves come at a time of heavy competition among casual dining chains, and efforts to cut its costs by slimming down restaurant size is one way that O'Charley's is fighting back. Meanwhile, there are more restaurants competing for limited growth in food dollars, some analysts say. Popular restaurants ... are giving people more options for dining out...

Casual-dining chains including O'Charley's Inc., Applebee's International Inc., and Ruby Tuesday Inc. all saw profits drop last year amid lackluster same-store sales and higher costs for food and energy. O'Charley's Inc. saw its earnings cut nearly in half last year....O'Charley's could have a tough time distinguishing itself from other chains in the casual-dining field, including Applebee's.

O'Charley's Chief Executive Officer Gregory Burns...
"I hear too many times from a lot of folks, a lot of our guests, that (we're) all the same,"... "I don't want to be the same. I want us to be best of class." The new restaurant prototype will be part of O'Charley's attempt to remake itself. "When you look at a brand that's 35 years old, I don't think we have kept up with our guests as they've evolved," said the chain's new president, Jeff Warne...

Introducing curbside-to-go service, ... allow O'Charley's customers to pick up food without getting out of their car. Attendants will deliver food to a designated parking area at the rear of the restaurant building. Updated computers in the kitchen are designed to keep track of which food must be prepared and when. O'Charley's also is adding extra training days for employees and introducing modernized uniforms and a new plate design...

...putting a renewed emphasis on service. "It's not a program; it's not a checklist,'' he said. "We want to live and breathe this notion of hospitality.''

Some , analysts remain skeptical however, about the company's financial future in the face of tough competition for diners' dollars.... said Oppenheimer analysts... "It has been our experience that companies experiencing problems take awhile to generate the improvements that lead to higher sales and earnings."

Scribble Signs

I saw a sign the other day with the improved logo. Ours has overlapping script letters so that the OCH are all scribbled together so they can not be easily read unless you already know the name of the place. The new signs only overlap the OC. It is an improvement. It still does not present the name clearly to the public. Look at the signs of the other restaurants from the more successful food companys. Their logos are simple and in many cases tell you what kind of food is inside. O'Charleys is neither.

The old signs are blurred at night from the excessive use of lines, colors, and neon. Whoever designed it did not know much about visibility. The corp execs who approved it do not know either. From a short distance away it is not readable at night. The new signs improve on the readability, but still are a waste of sign space.

KISS (keep it simple stupid) simple concept, simple food, simple guests, simple signs.

This company's marketing department reminds me of a student project.

ServSafe Failure

The International Food Safety Council was formed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The Council promotes food-safety education and certification. Their ServSafe program has become the industry standard in food safety training and is accepted in almost all United States jurisdictions that require employees certification. The ServSafe program provides information on all aspects of handling food, from receiving and storing to preparing and serving. Food safety is non-negotiable. Serving safe food is NOT an option. It is our obligation. Proper training in food safety incorporates mutual respect and trust among customers, employees and vendors.

O'Charleys, Inc. required all managers to become ServSafe Certified last year. Information just learned shows that of the 80-100 who took the class in the Atlanta area, only 2% failed. Yes, our own Stacey Ford was in that 2% and singled out to all stores by Phil. The other managers all know he is a joke.

Why in the world is he still GM here?

Hint for Mr. Thoughtless

This Sunday is a day of recognition for Mothers everywhere. It is also a day on which Mothers who work here will sacrifice their own personal day to work. Just in case the status quo is maintained by Mr. Do-Nothing, here is a hearty Thank You to all our Mothers on staff. Your efforts are appreciated as you juggle your families and work. It is like you have two full time jobs.

Hello? How's it going?......

"Hello? How's it going? I'm at a restaurant. Sure, I can talk." Don't you despise hearing these words at your table. You know that you and your tasks are going to be ignored for the next minutes. So you wait. Or maybe you ignore the guest the way they are ignoring you. Then when they hang up they expect you to be right there on the spot. How rude.

These people talking on their cell phones actually talk in a louder volume than they do in normal conversation. It would be nice if restaurants started bearing down on cell phone use. Some have started this trend by installing phoneless, soundproof phone booths. When a hostess sees someone on a cell phone, they say: "Ma'am, theres a cell phone booth right over there." This kind of forces proper etiquette on the guest. They protect some customers while providing a service to others. Of course there will always be the ones, expecially with the walkie-talkie phones, who use their phones to make themselves important (to who?).

T.G.I.F.

Friday's gave their guests the finger last week. A real finger that is. In Indiana, a Friday's kitchen manager injured himself. While applying direct pressure to his injury, nobody noticed that part of his finger was snugly nestled next to the lettuce and tomato and french fries with a hamburger. They served it. The body part was described as "only a small piece of his finger," which made everybody feel much better. The company spokeswoman said they are "very, very sorry."

Friday's can handle this type of tragedy. I am not sure O'Charleys could.

Sick Building

The roof here has had leaks for ages. Over a year ago it was determined that water was coming in and down the walls of the glass house and lounge. Look how they put plants in the walkway to catch water each time is rains. Just look at the wallpaper. What has O'Charleys done to remedy this problem? Nothing! Can you imagine how much mold has built up over the months and years. This place is becoming a cesspool with bugs and bad germs. The company brags about how much $Volume it does. It surely can find the funds to fix a sick building. Do we have something like Legionaire's Disease lurking in the walls? Doesn't anybody in corporate care about the health of the employees and guests? I suppose they are waiting until another lawsuit forces them to take action. That seems to be the company M.O.

Toxic

I wonder how many toxic substances our bodies are exposed to every day at work. Some are as simple as excessive cold or heat to our skin. Surely everone has been burned by the bread oven or the potato oven.

There is also the exposure to germs from other people. Sometimes bacteria enters through breaks in the skin or from touching our eyes, nose, or mouth. Of course everybody washes their hands every time they touch their face or hair so we do not contaminate the guests.

How many of us touch the soup cheese or bacon with our hands or make salads ourselves when we are out, contrary to the rules.

There is the bleach we use and breathe. For me the worst offender is the spray used by the cooks to clean oven and grill parts. It burns my eyes and gags my throat. I know it settles on the food we serve because it is used when we are still open for another 2-3 hours.

It is something to think about. We are damaging ourselves inside and out by our own actions and by the conditions here.

Duh, What Problem?

Rather than deal with the fact that Phil's Buford store has major management problems, O'Charleys pretends we are in Egypt. Denial is not a river in Egypt. Corporate, the area director, the gm and everybody else in a position to fix this restaurant are in denial and intentionally sticking their heads in the sand.

They would rather write people up, fire people, and threaten employees who they think comment on, or even read, this web blog. What country are we living in? Chux now wants to control what you read when you are at home. What would this country's founding fathers think about this? What does the ACLU think about this?

The Chux mentality is that they should quiet those who know about the problem with the management of this restaurant. They would rather do this than admit that an unqualified person was made gm and has floundered for well over a year.

Admit your mistake and fix this establishment. Demote and transfer, or fire, the one responsible. This blog is not responsible for the problems. This blog is a result of the problems. This blog should be appreciated and thanked by the stockholders of CHUX and upper management for atempting to save them some money. Why do they cling to this poor excuse for a gm at store #304?

Shredded Cheese, Shredded Cabbage, Shredded Numbers

Has anyone noticed exactly what measure management is using to ensure that our social security numbers are no longer being offered up on top of the public trash. They say we are now secure. We know for fact that on at least two ocassions people found the payroll printout on top of the trash without intentionally looking for it. Is there now a document shredder in the office of this restaurant and every one in the chain? There sure should be. How about asking Mr. No Action so you know your number is safe. Don't let the Jellyfish slide out of the situation that is his fault.

Promises Promises

We hear it all the time at O'Charleys. Business is booming. You can make money in any section. I will take care of that. Gotcha Doc. I hear you. This shift will be real busy. Etc, Etc......

At what point did you stop listening to Stacey? He talks out of both sides of his mouth. Enough doubletalk is enough! He says what he thinks you want to hear. He does not remember what he told to whom. He is not sincere. His listening skills are non-existent. He obviously cares about no one but himself. The man's word means nothing.

The issues of Trust and Confidence are vital to a successful working relationship. It does not exist here.

Gas Gives Me Gas

The increase in gas prices is making a dent in sales, tips, and personal expenses. It is getting harder to upsell, to sell appetizers and desserts. More people than ever are drinking water, and it is not because they are trying to be healthy. They are going to be more selective when they eat out. That means trouble for this O'Charleys. Memories of bad food or bad service will keep guests from returning even more than we already experience. This ship needs to sail in a positive direction with a new captain.

Tipping News

from "Restaurant Business" magazine, October 1, 2004:

"Race Matters"

"It's a scenario many a restaurant host faces every day. Servers have developed a code word for them, and when they walk into the restaurant, none of the waiters wants them seated in their sections. According to a recent Cornell University study, some servers call them Canadians, while others refer to them as moolies or cousins. "The code words vary, but they all mean the same thing: African-American diners. And servers don't want them for one reason--they're convinced they'll be tipped less than 15%. "And plenty of them are convinced. Another recent servey, "Racial Differences in Restaurant Tipping," involved interviews with 99 servers in Maryland and Florida and revealed that 75% of them believed that blacks routinely undertipped. the race of the servers themselves, moreover, had no bearing on the responses...... "Cornell professor Michael Lynn...perhaps the country's foremost authority on tipping...conclusions said that the reasons minorities seem to tip less are sociological, not racial: that many blacks were simply unaware that 15%-20% was the norm for good restaurant service. (the study also found that nearly a third of whites fail to tip 15%, as well.) "Low tipping can lead to higher turnover as servers seek their fortunes elsewhere. It's been shown to lead to poor service, which can damage repeat business. "...the issue of minority tipping, and the problems it wreaks throughout the industry, continues to run unimpeded...is a taboo subject if the industry ever had one." by Michael Malone

"How much of a tip should you leave in a restaurant?"
62.6% of black respondents said less than 15%
38.8% of white respondents said less than 15%
source: Michael Lynn/Cornell University