Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

At the same time, after Yuehailou's success in the cultural exhibition hall, the owner Zhang Yuehai began to think about how to further enhance the customer experience. He convened a meeting of the restaurant's managers and chefs to discuss new development directions.

Zhang Yuehai said: "Our cultural exhibition hall is well received by customers, but we cannot be satisfied with this. We must continue to innovate and launch more themed activities related to local culture, so that customers can have a deeper understanding of our culture, while also increasing their sense of participation and loyalty."

A manager suggested: "We can hold a traditional food cooking competition, invite customers and chefs to participate, and let customers experience the preparation process of traditional food. This will not only increase the fun of customers, but also show the skills of our chefs."

The chef nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. We can prepare some local specialty ingredients and let customers and chefs use their creativity to create delicious dishes. Finally, we can select the best works and give them rewards."

Zhang Yuehai decided to adopt this suggestion and began to prepare for a traditional food cooking competition. They posted notices of the competition at the entrance of the restaurant and in local newspapers, attracting many customers to sign up.

On the day of the competition, the restaurant of Yuehailou was bustling with activity. Customers and chefs were divided into several groups, each with a chef as their guide. Everyone gathered in front of the stove, preparing their own dishes carefully.

"This dish will taste better if you add more seasoning," a chef said to a customer.

"The heat must be controlled well, not too high or too low." Another chef was also instructing the customers.

Although the customers are not professional chefs, they are full of enthusiasm and creativity. Some customers use local specialty ingredients to make novel dishes that are eye-catching.

After a fierce competition, the judges selected the best works. A customer won the first prize and said happily: "This competition is so interesting. Not only did I learn a lot of cooking knowledge, but I also tasted delicious food. I will come to Yuehailou to eat often in the future."

As for small restaurants, they are constantly improving their services and dishes while also beginning to focus on brand building. Some small restaurant owners realize that only by uniting together can they better promote their own specialties.

In a small restaurant that is a bit old but full of warm atmosphere, several owners sat around a small round table and enthusiastically discussed the establishment of a small restaurant alliance.

The owner of this small restaurant, Lao Zhang, spoke first: "Brothers, although our small restaurants are small in scale, we have our own characteristics. Take my restaurant for example, my home-cooked dishes are deeply loved by nearby residents. Think about it, if we can unite, we will definitely be able to better promote our brand and attract more customers."

Lao Li, the owner of a small noodle shop nearby, nodded in agreement: "Lao Zhang is right. Although my noodle shop is not big, my noodles are all handmade and taste especially good. If we unite, our strength will definitely be much greater than it is now."

Another snack bar owner, Lao Wang, also said: "That's right, we can't underestimate ourselves. Through the alliance, we can showcase our respective characteristics and let more people know that our small restaurants also have good things."

Lao Zhang went on to say, "Moreover, we can jointly develop some standards to improve the quality of our service and dishes. Customers are becoming more and more picky nowadays. It's not enough to just have good food, the service must also keep up."

Old Li thought for a moment and said, "Yes, we can formulate some service standards. For example, waiters should be warm and considerate and should not be indifferent to customers. Also, the hygiene of the store must be good so that customers can eat with peace of mind."

Lao Wang added: "The quality of the dishes is also very important. We can purchase the ingredients in a unified way, which can not only ensure the quality of the ingredients but also reduce costs."

Lao Zhang's eyes lit up: "This is a good idea! We can buy together. With a larger quantity, the price will definitely be more favorable. And we can also exchange cooking methods with each other and improve our cooking skills together."

Old Li said with some concern: "But, will there be a lot of trouble in forming an alliance? For example, what should we do when everyone disagrees?"

Lao Zhang waved his hand: "This is not a problem. We can formulate a charter to clarify everyone's rights and obligations. With a charter, everyone will have rules, and when problems arise, they can be solved according to the charter."

Lao Wang also said: "Yes, we should make decisions democratically. Everyone can raise any questions and discuss and solve them together."

After a heated discussion, everyone agreed to form a small restaurant alliance and began to formulate the alliance's charter and standards.

In the next few days, several bosses gathered together again to seriously discuss the specific content of the charter.

Lao Zhang took a pen and paper and said, "First, we must clarify the purpose of the alliance, which is to develop together and improve the competitiveness of our small restaurant."

Old Li nodded and said, "That's right, we also need to write that we operate with integrity and cannot cheat customers."

Lao Wang went on to say: "Service standards are also very important. The waiters should serve with a smile and solve customers' problems in a timely manner."

They discussed each item one by one, carefully recorded them, and after repeated revisions, they finally worked out a relatively complete charter.

After the charter was drawn up, they began to actively promote their brand. Lao Zhang suggested: "We can make some posters, write down the characteristics and advantages of our alliance, and post them in various small restaurants and nearby streets."

Lao Li said: "We can also distribute some flyers to let more people know about our small restaurant alliance."

Lao Wang also said: "We can put some advertisements in newspapers. Although the cost may be a bit high, the effect will definitely be good."

Everyone took action. They asked someone to design a beautiful poster with the words "Small Restaurant Alliance, delicious and affordable choice" printed on it, and some tempting food pictures. After the poster was posted, it attracted a lot of people's attention.

At the same time, they also produced a large number of flyers and sent people to distribute them in nearby streets and communities. The flyers detailed the special dishes and preferential activities of each member store of the Small Restaurant Alliance.

"Hello, this is a flyer from our Small Restaurant Alliance. You are welcome to come and taste our delicious food." A waiter enthusiastically distributed flyers to passers-by.

A passerby took the flyer, looked at it, and said, "This small restaurant alliance sounds good. I'll try it out if I get a chance."

In order to increase their popularity, they also contacted local newspapers and published an advertisement. The advertisement introduced the background, purpose and characteristics of the Small Restaurant Alliance, which attracted the attention of many readers. As the publicity continued, the Small Restaurant Alliance became more and more famous. Some customers began to specifically look for member restaurants of the Small Restaurant Alliance to eat.

In Lao Zhang's restaurant, a customer said: "I came here because I saw your promotional poster. The food here tastes really good and the price is affordable."

Lao Zhang smiled and replied, "Thank you for the compliment. Our small restaurant alliance is to provide customers with delicious and affordable food."

Driven by the alliance, the business of various small restaurants has improved significantly, and everyone has participated more actively in the alliance's activities.

However, they also encountered some problems during the development process. For example, some small restaurants were not strict enough in implementing service standards and food quality standards, which caused dissatisfaction among customers.

After learning about the situation, Lao Zhang quickly called everyone to a meeting. He said seriously: "Since we have established an alliance, we must abide by the alliance's charter and standards. If anyone does not implement it seriously, it will affect the reputation of our entire alliance."

Lao Li also said: "Yes, we can't ignore quality for the sake of temporary benefits. We must be responsible to our customers in order to achieve long-term development."

After discussion, they decided to strengthen the supervision and management of member restaurants, conduct regular inspections of small restaurants, and rectify problems in a timely manner.

During an inspection, Lao Zhang and Lao Li came to a small restaurant. They found that the sanitation of the restaurant was not very good and the service of the waiters was not enthusiastic enough.

Lao Zhang frowned and said, "Look, why is the hygiene so bad? Clean it up quickly. Also, the waiters should be more enthusiastic and not be so cold to customers."

The owner of the small restaurant quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I will pay more attention next time. I will make the corrections immediately and ensure that this problem will not happen again."

Through continuous efforts and improvements, the Small Restaurant Alliance has gradually been on the right track. With its own characteristics and advantages, it has won the recognition and love of more and more customers.

As some new business areas have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, members of the Small Restaurant Alliance have keenly realized the huge potential they contain.

In the back hall of a small restaurant, several bosses sat together and held an alliance meeting. Lao Zhang sat in the middle, looking focused and serious. He looked at everyone and said, "Now these new commercial areas are developing very fast, and we can't miss this opportunity. Think about it, those new places have a large flow of people and consumer demand is also growing. If we can open a store there, we will definitely expand our market share. But we can't expand blindly, we have to plan it well."

Lao Li nodded slightly and said in agreement: "Lao Zhang is right. We can't just rush in on impulse, we have to think it through. The rental cost of the new place is a big problem. If the rent is too high, our profits will be squeezed. There is also the flow of people. We have to choose places that really have potential, not just look at the surface. And we have to ensure that we can maintain the quality of our service and dishes in the new store, otherwise the reputation we have worked so hard to build will be destroyed."

Lao Wang continued: "I think we can first send some people to these new areas to do market research and understand local consumer demand and competitor situations. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle."

The other members nodded in agreement. Lao Zhang concluded, "Okay, that's it. We'll immediately organize people to conduct market research and get first-hand information as soon as possible."

So the Small Restaurant Alliance took action. They selected some experienced and smart employees, formed several research teams, and went to different new business areas.

On the streets of a new commercial area, research team members Xiao Zhang and Xiao Wang were busy observing the surrounding situation.

Xiao Zhang looked at the people coming and going and said to Xiao Wang, "You see, the flow of people here is quite large. But we need to see what type of consumers these people are and what their consumption habits and preferences are."

Xiao Wang nodded and responded: "Yes, we also need to pay attention to the competitors here. See how many restaurants there are and what their dishes and prices are like."

They walked into a nearby restaurant, pretended to be ordinary customers, ordered some dishes, and observed the service and environment of the restaurant while eating.

"The environment of this restaurant is pretty good and the service is quite thoughtful." Xiao Zhang said in a low voice.

Xiao Wang went on to say, "But their dishes don't seem as distinctive as those of our small restaurant alliance. We can work on this aspect."

After a period of research, each group brought back a wealth of information and gathered together again to share their research results.

"The commercial area we went to has a large flow of people, and there are many office buildings nearby, so there are a lot of office workers. They have a great demand for fast food and work meals," said a member of the research team.

Another member continued, "The area we found has relatively few competitors, but the rent is a bit high. However, if we can create a unique feature and attract enough customers, there is still room for profit."

Everyone discussed the information carefully and eventually discovered several new business areas with potential.

However, just as they were preparing to open a store in a new area, the problem of tight funds came into view, and some members began to hesitate whether to continue with the expansion plan.

At an emergency meeting, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy. Lao Zhang looked at everyone and encouraged them: "Difficulties are only temporary. We can't give up just because of a little difficulty. Think about it, we have encountered so many difficulties along the way, and we have survived them all. We can definitely do it this time too. We can find a way to raise funds, such as borrowing from a bank or looking for partners to invest."

Lao Li also said: "Yes, we must believe that our alliance has development potential. As long as we work together, we will definitely be able to overcome difficulties. Moreover, we have done so much market research, and these new areas must have great development prospects."

Everyone started discussing ways to raise funds. Someone proposed a specific plan for a bank loan: "We can prepare a detailed business plan to show the bank our development prospects and repayment ability."

Some people also suggested looking for partners for investment: "We can look for some investors who are interested in the catering industry and let them see the advantages and potential of our small restaurant alliance." (End of this chapter)