Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

After some efforts, they finally solved the funding problem by taking out a bank loan and looking for partners, and began to prepare for the new restaurant.

During the renovation of the new store, Lao Zhang and Lao Li often went to the site to supervise in person.

Lao Zhang said to the decorators: "We must pay attention to details. The decoration style should be warm and distinctive, so that customers will feel comfortable as soon as they come in."

Lao Li also reminded: "Also, the kitchen equipment must be selected with good quality to ensure the quality of our dishes."

Finally, the new small restaurant opened smoothly in the new commercial area. The small restaurant alliance paid more attention to brand building and marketing. They launched some special packages and preferential activities, attracting many new customers.

At the door of the new store, waiters enthusiastically distributed flyers to passers-by.

"Hello, our small restaurant alliance has just opened and we have many special packages and promotions. You are welcome to come and try them." The waiter Xiao Li said with a smile.

A passerby took the flyer, looked at it, and said, "This small restaurant alliance sounds good. It has special packages and discounts. I just happen to have nowhere to eat at noon, so I'll give it a try."

At the same time, they also strengthened employee training to improve their service level and professional skills.

At an employee training session, Zhang said seriously: "Now that we have a new store and more and more customers, our service must keep up. Everyone should be warm and thoughtful to make customers feel at home."

The training teacher explained the service skills and professional knowledge in detail: "When serving customers, we must pay attention to verbal expression and body language, so that customers can feel our sincerity and enthusiasm. Also, when preparing dishes, we must strictly follow the standards to ensure the consistency of taste."

However, market competition is still fierce, and some new small restaurants have begun to emerge, bringing new pressure to the small restaurant alliance.

When Lao Zhang and Lao Li were inspecting the new store, they saw several new small restaurants opened nearby and couldn't help but frown.

Lao Zhang said: "It seems that the competition is getting more and more fierce. We can't take it lightly."

Lao Li nodded and said, "Yes, we have to find a way to deal with it."

In order to cope with the competition, the Small Restaurant Alliance decided to further innovate its dishes. They invited some local food experts to train and guide the chefs and develop more local specialties.

In a training classroom, food expert Mr. Liu is explaining to the chefs how to prepare local specialties.

Teacher Liu held up the ingredients for a special dish and said, "Look, this is a local specialty ingredient. We can use it to develop new dishes. For example, we can combine it with other ingredients to create a unique flavor."

The chefs listened attentively and asked questions from time to time.

"Teacher Liu, are there any particular requirements for the processing of this ingredient?" asked a chef.

Teacher Liu patiently replied: "This ingredient needs to be specially processed first to remove some odors, and then cooked with other ingredients, so that it can bring out its best taste."

After a period of training and trial, the Small Restaurant Alliance launched a series of new special dishes.

"We must continue to innovate in order to gain a foothold in the market," said Lao Zhang at an alliance meeting. "Only by continuously launching new dishes to meet customer needs can we remain invincible in the fierce competition."

……

As market competition intensified, some large chain catering companies began to enter the local market. These chain companies have strong financial strength and advanced management experience, which brought great pressure to Wang's full-line hotels.

The boss Wang Jianye realized that in order to gain a foothold in the competition, he must further improve the competitiveness of the restaurant. He once again convened a meeting with the chef team and management staff.

Wang Jianye said seriously, "We are now facing new competitors. As we all know, these chain restaurant companies are coming with great momentum. We can't just sit there and wait for death. We must find a way to deal with it. What ideas and suggestions do you have?"

A manager said: "Boss, I think we can strengthen brand building and improve the popularity and reputation of our hotel. We can use advertising and public relations activities to let more people know the characteristics and advantages of our Wang's entire hotel series."

Chef Zhang said: "We can continue to innovate dishes and introduce more distinctive and creative dishes to attract customers. Customers are becoming more and more picky. Only by constantly introducing new delicacies can we meet their needs."

Wang Jianye nodded in agreement: "Everyone's suggestions are very good. We must take a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, we must strengthen brand building, and on the other hand, we must continue to innovate our dishes. At the same time, we must also improve the quality of service so that customers can have a better dining experience here."

In order to strengthen brand building, Wang's entire chain of hotels began to increase advertising efforts. They placed advertisements in local newspapers and television stations to introduce the hotel's special dishes and high-quality services. At the same time, they also held some public relations activities, inviting local celebrities and entrepreneurs to taste the hotel's food to increase the hotel's popularity.

In terms of innovative dishes, the chefs actively explore new cooking methods and ingredient combinations. They conduct in-depth research on local food culture, combine it with modern cooking techniques, and launch a series of innovative dishes with local characteristics.

"This new dish is so creative. It retains the traditional flavor while also adding new elements," a customer exclaimed after tasting the new dish.

In terms of improving service quality, the hotel has strengthened the training of waiters, requiring them to serve customers more enthusiastically, attentively, professionally and meticulously.

"The waiter's attitude was very good and made me feel very comfortable," said another customer.

However, the development of Wang's full-line restaurants was not smooth sailing. In the process of expanding advertising and innovating dishes, they also encountered some problems.

The increase in advertising costs has brought certain economic pressures to the hotel. Some managers began to worry that the high costs would affect the hotel's profits.

"Boss, advertising costs are too high. Should we reduce some advertising?" asked a manager.

Wang Jianye said firmly: "No, advertising is an important means for us to increase brand awareness. We cannot give it up just because it is expensive. We must find ways to reduce costs in other areas and improve the effectiveness of advertising." In the process of innovating dishes, not every new dish can be recognized by customers. After some new dishes were launched, customers responded mediocrely.

Chefs began to reflect on whether their innovation direction was correct. "Are our innovations too radical? Customers may still prefer traditional flavors," said one chef.

Wang Jianye encouraged everyone: "Innovation is risky, but we cannot be afraid of failure and dare not try. We must carefully analyze customer feedback and constantly adjust and improve our innovative dishes until we meet customer needs."

……

With continuous investment in advertising and the introduction of new dishes, the restaurant's popularity has gradually increased, but it has also attracted malicious attacks from some competitors.

One day, Wang Jianye was checking recent operating reports in his office when suddenly a manager ran in with a panicked look on his face.

"Boss, this is bad! There are rumors circulating in the market now, claiming that although the ingredients of our Wang's entire restaurant chain are advertised as green and pollution-free, there are actually quality problems." The manager said anxiously.

Wang Jianye was furious and worried when he heard this. He slammed the table angrily and said, "This must be a malicious smear by our competitors! Our food supply base is our pride and the foundation of our existence. We must not let these rumors affect our reputation."

Wang Jianye immediately decided to call an emergency meeting of the staff. In the meeting room, the atmosphere was solemn and tense. Wang Jianye looked at everyone seriously and said, "Now someone is maliciously slandering us, we must take action as soon as possible. Everyone knows that our food supply base has always been planted and raised in strict accordance with green and pollution-free standards. We can't let these rumors ruin our efforts. Do you have any good ideas to deal with this crisis?"

After thinking for a moment, a manager suggested: "Boss, I think we can invite some authoritative food testing agencies to test our ingredients again and make the test results public to reassure customers. This way, we can use facts to dispel rumors."

Chef Zhang also quickly said, "Yes, Boss. We can also invite some old customers to visit our food supply base and let them see with their own eyes how our ingredients are grown and raised. The reputation of old customers is very important. If they can speak for us, it will definitely make more people believe in us."

Wang Jianye listened to their suggestions, nodded slightly, and said, "Okay, let's do as you say. We must act as soon as possible and not let the rumors continue to spread."

Wang's entire chain of restaurants took prompt action and invited the most authoritative local food testing agency to conduct a comprehensive test on the ingredients. The staff of the testing agency carefully sampled and tested each ingredient.

"We will conduct testing strictly in accordance with the standards to ensure the accuracy of the results," said the head of the testing agency.

At the same time, the restaurant also began to organize old customers to visit the food supply base. On a bus heading to the base, old customers were talking about it.

“I don’t know whether this rumor is true or not. I hope all Wang’s restaurants are really as good as they advertise.” said an old customer.

"I think all Wang's restaurants are always good, there shouldn't be any problems," responded another old customer.

When the old customers arrived at the food supply base, they were pleasantly surprised by the scene in front of them. The green vegetable fields were full of vitality, and groups of healthy and lively poultry were leisurely foraging for food. The person in charge of the base warmly welcomed everyone and introduced in detail the planting and breeding process, as well as how to ensure that the food is green and pollution-free.

"We carry out planting and breeding in strict accordance with organic standards. We do not use any pesticides or chemical fertilizers to ensure that every ingredient is safe and healthy. We also adopt an ecological cycle approach to allow planting and breeding to promote each other and achieve sustainable development." The head of the base said proudly.

Old customers listened to the introduction while carefully observing the surrounding environment.

"The vegetables here look really fresh, without any trace of pesticides," said a regular customer.

"These poultry are also very healthy, unlike the poultry in some places that are grown with hormones," said another old customer.

During the visit, old customers asked questions from time to time.

"How do you ensure that these vegetables are not contaminated during transportation?" asked an old customer.

The head of the base patiently replied: "We have special transport vehicles and packaging equipment to ensure that the vegetables remain fresh and uncontaminated during transportation. And we will deliver the ingredients to the restaurant in the shortest possible time to ensure the quality of the ingredients."

Old customers expressed their appreciation and trust. "Seeing the situation here, I have more confidence in Wang's All-in-One Restaurant. I will continue to eat here in the future," said an old customer.

As the test results of the food testing agency came out, Wang's All-inclusive Restaurant publicly reported the test process and results through newspapers and television stations. The test results showed that the ingredients of Wang's All-inclusive Restaurant fully met the green and pollution-free standards and had no quality problems.

"We have proven that our ingredients are safe and reliable," Wang Jianye said in an interview with a TV station. "We will always adhere to our quality standards and provide customers with the best catering services."

Through these measures, all Wang's restaurants have successfully resolved the rumor crisis. But Wang Jianye also realized that they can't take it lightly and must continue to strengthen the control of food quality and the maintenance of the restaurant's reputation.

At the same time, with the development of the economy, people's consumption concepts are also changing. Some customers are beginning to pursue more personalized catering services. Wang Jianye keenly noticed this change and decided to launch customized catering services.

At a staff meeting, Wang Jianye said: "We need to meet the needs of different customers and provide more personalized services. Only in this way can we stand out from the competition. Everyone should be prepared to meet this new challenge."

After the launch of customized catering services, they were welcomed by some high-end customers, who booked customized services from all Wang's hotels to enjoy a unique dining experience.

In the reservation office of Wang's All-Inclusive Hotels, the phone kept ringing.

"Hello, this is Wang's Quanxi Restaurant. How can I help you?" The waiter Xiao Li answered the phone enthusiastically.

"I would like to book your customized catering service. I have some special requests," said a customer.

"Okay, you can tell me your requirements in detail and we will try our best to meet you." Xiao Li said.

The customer put forward his own taste and needs, as well as the requirements for the dining environment. Xiao Li carefully recorded it and conveyed it to the chef team and the service team. (End of this chapter)