April 4, 2014
CEO Newsletter
This past week I experienced firsthand what it feels like to be on the receiving end of NOT experiencing
insanely great hospitality. I was on a cruise with my family and the ship itself could not have been better
appointed or laid out, so the actual physical facility had no impact on our negative experience. It was the
service level and policies throughout the ship which were the real issue. It seemed that at every turn the
management and staff were trained to disappoint. Smiling was a lost art, service was painstakingly slow
and upcharging was taken to a whole new level.
The lesson for us to learn, and it really is an extension of last week’s message, is to make sure that our
hospitality ambassadors are never in the mode of just showing up. Are you obsessed with ensuring that
we have the right training and development programs in place? Please follow up and challenge every
member of your team to be better and we will provide insanely great hospitality and always Make It
Better To Be There.
E3 moments of the week …
We are continuing to get our venues featured in the local press! Media day at Tropicana Field drew 50
media outlets, almost every outlet in the market, for the showing of our new offerings and branding in the
newly renovated ballpark. The former Everglades BBQ restaurant has been redesigned – The Porch in
Center Field is an open deck overlooking center field featuring a 40-foot long bar specializing in local
made craft beers from St. Petersburg and Tampa and fans will also get a taste of the deep South with
comfort food classics. Great job by John Cirelli, Executive Chef Marc Spooner, Bill Tracy and our team
in Tampa – and here’s to a great season! Have you executed your venue PR plan?
Sophie’s at Saks is soaking up the spotlight with recent placements online in the Windy City Times, with
Editor Andrew Davis dishing about the restaurant’s menu and atmosphere, and especially impressed
with Chef Aleman’s jumbo crab cake categorizing it as one of the best cakes in Chicago, and Forbes
online with their reporter naming Sophie’s “Chicago’s newest, most fashionable dining spot.” This is just
what is needed to draw in new diners and keep the public’s attention on the restaurant!
The 2014 MillerCoors Annual Distributors Convention was recently held at the San Diego Convention
Center. To bring a unique food experience to the 2,500 attendees our team worked with MillerCoors and
Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri to spice up the Opening Reception and incorporate a few of his famous
signature recipes. Two thousand servings each of his Bacon Mac and Cheese Burgers and Buffalo
Chicken Nachos with Signature Donkey Sauce were served to the beer loving crowd. Kudos to
Executive Chef Jeff Leidy, Nancy Murgillo, Executive Chef Daryl O’Donnell and our team at the
convention center!
A great tweet was sent by a guest at the Orange County Convention Center, “Your team has great
customer service! A catering (?) manager saw me yawn and bought me a latte! #its the small things”.
Keep on the top of your mind that every day, every event, every interaction – all are opportunities to
provide insanely great hospitality – and make it happen!
Onwards!
Tanja Davis April 7, 2014 at 11:05 am
I too just returned from a cruise and instantly found myself focusing on the quality of the customer service. Unlike your experience, mine was wonderful. It is my belief that employees need to be “Always On” when it comes to representing the company and themselves because they may never fully understand the impact they have on guests.