Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Finally, the Zaozhuang branch of Wang's full range of restaurants opened grandly amidst the attention of the public.

On the opening day, the sunshine in Zaozhuang City was exceptionally bright, casting a warm glow on the streets.

At the entrance of the hotel, big red lanterns were hung high, and red ribbons were dancing happily in the wind, like burning flames.

Surrounded by colorful flowers, the fragrance of flowers is everywhere, attracting many bees and butterflies to fly among the flowers.

In the open space in front of the door, there was a bustling crowd of people, with laughter and joy intertwined.

Wang Jianye, wearing a neat black suit, stood tall at the door of the store with a confident smile on his face. He greeted every passerby enthusiastically, his eyes full of expectations for the future.

Chen Yu stood aside, wearing a simple dark blue business suit. From time to time, he raised his hand to adjust his glasses and glanced at the people around him vigilantly. Although he had a smile on his face, he felt a little uneasy in his heart.

Master Li was wearing a clean white chef's uniform and his hat was worn straight on. He had his hands behind his back and his fists slightly clenched, ready to deal with any situation that might arise at any time.

Although before the opening, they placed large advertisements in local newspapers, arranged for employees to distribute flyers in busy areas, and aired carefully produced advertisements on the radio, but facing the upcoming unknown, their hearts were still like taut strings, hanging in mid-air. It was really hard to predict whether Zaozhuang's customers would welcome this unique cuisine that blends flavors from many countries.

In the early days of its opening, the restaurant attracted many customers like a magnet with its novel dishes and high-quality services.

The decoration style of the store is unique. Decorative paintings that incorporate elements from many countries are hung on the walls. Unique lamps emit soft light, and the neatly arranged tables and chairs create a different dining atmosphere.

The waiters are dressed in uniform, with warm smiles on their faces, shuttling between tables and providing thoughtful service to customers.

The chefs were busy in the kitchen, creating one fusion dish after another under their hands, with rich aromas filling the entire restaurant.

While tasting the delicious food, customers were full of praise for the creativity of the dishes.

However, the good times did not last long, and they soon felt tremendous pressure from the "Zaozhuang flavor".

"Zaozhuang Flavor" is a large and established restaurant in the local area. It has been operating locally for many years and has accumulated a solid mass base.

Upon learning that all Wang's restaurants had moved into Zaozhuang, Liu Dashan, the owner of "Taste of Zaozhuang", could no longer sit still.

He knew very well that once this restaurant specializing in fusion cuisine was established, it would have an impact on his own business.

Liu Dashan called together the key members of the store and held an emergency meeting in the conference room.

The atmosphere in the conference room was solemn.

Liu Dashan sat at the head of the conference table with a frown on his face and a gloomy expression.

He slammed the table heavily and said, "Everyone knows that Wang's full-line restaurant is going to open a store in Zaozhuang.

If we allow them to develop their fancy fusion dishes, our business will be in danger.

If you have any ideas, please share them. ”

Marketing manager Xiao Zhang pushed up his glasses and spoke first: "Mr. Liu, I think we can start with the price.

They are a new store, so the initial investment is definitely huge. We can launch some special dishes to attract customers so that they don’t have a price advantage.

Take our signature spicy chicken for example. It used to sell for NT$58 per serving, but now it’s on sale for NT$38. This will definitely attract a lot of price-sensitive customers.”

Chef Li also added: "Yes, we still need to work on the dishes.

Aren't they doing fusion cuisine? Let's make the traditional Zaozhuang cuisine more authentic, highlight our characteristics, and let customers know that our local cuisine is the most appetizing.

I plan to reorganize our traditional dishes, work harder on the selection of ingredients and cooking techniques, and take the taste of the dishes to a higher level.”

After listening to this, Liu Dashan nodded slightly and said, "Well, what you said makes sense.

Xiao Zhang, you should plan a price promotion as soon as possible and make it attractive enough. Master Li, you and your brothers in the kitchen should study it carefully and optimize our signature dishes.

In addition, we also have to pay attention to their movements. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle.

I heard that their business is pretty good in the early days of opening, we have to act quickly."

Soon, the special dishes launched by "Zaozhuang Flavor" attracted a large number of price-sensitive customers.

At the entrance of the "Zaozhuang Flavor" store, there is an eye-catching special offer poster with words such as "Special offer for signature dishes, limited time offer" written on it.

Inside the store, customers were bustling around and the waiters were extremely busy.

At the same time, their traditional Zaozhuang cuisine has been optimized and its reputation has been further improved.

Customers have shared their dining experiences at "Zaozhuang Flavor" in local food forums and social groups, praising the dishes for their authentic taste and affordable prices.

For a time, the customer flow of all Wang's restaurants dropped significantly.

When Wang Jianye learned about the situation, he was extremely anxious.

He immediately called Chen Yu and Master Li to the office to discuss countermeasures.

The atmosphere in the office was depressing.

Wang Jianye sat behind his desk, brows furrowed, fingers tapping on the table.

He said seriously: "As everyone has seen, 'Taste of Zaozhuang' has brought us quite a challenge.

We can’t just sit there and wait for death, we have to find a way to deal with it.”

Chen Yu sat aside, crossed his arms over his chest, and after thinking for a moment, he analyzed: "Boss Wang, I don't think we can follow them in a price war, this is not our advantage.

We want to highlight our differentiation, such as our innovative fusion of dishes and high-quality dining experience.

I suggest that we launch a membership system to provide members with exclusive discounts and services to increase customer stickiness.

Members can enjoy a 8% discount on dishes and receive a free special dessert on their birthday.

In addition, we can regularly hold member-only events, such as food lectures, inviting professional food critics to explain the food culture of various countries; new product tasting events, so that members can taste our newly developed dishes first."

Master Li sat on the sofa, nodded slightly, and added: "Yes, in terms of dishes, we can further optimize existing dishes based on customer feedback, and speed up the research and development of new dishes.

We can launch some new products that combine Zaozhuang's specialty snacks and fusion cuisine concepts to meet the diverse needs of customers.

I have been researching recently and am planning to combine Zaozhuang's vegetable pancakes with Korean seaweed rice rolls to create a new staple food.

The combination of the rich fillings of vegetable pancakes and the convenient format of kimbap may be very popular. "

After hearing this, Wang Jianye nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's do as you say.

Chen Yu, please implement the membership system as soon as possible; Master Li, thank you for your hard work in dish development.

We must stand out in this competition.

Our goal is to make all Wang's restaurants take root in Zaozhuang and become the first choice for customers."

Chen Yu acted quickly and led the team to design and launch a membership system.

They carefully made exquisite membership cards with the logo of Wang's entire hotel chain and the words "members only" printed on them. Membership system posters were posted at the restaurant entrance and in prominent locations inside the store, detailing the rights and interests of members and how to apply.

In order to attract customers to apply for membership, they also launched an activity of giving away exquisite gifts for customers who signed up for membership within one month of opening.

As soon as the activity was launched, it attracted the attention of many customers.

A young customer walked into the restaurant holding a promotional poster and asked, "How do I apply for this membership system? Are there really so many discounts?"

The waiter smiled and replied: "Hello, it is very simple to apply for membership. You only need to fill out a form at our front desk and pay a membership fee of 100 yuan to become our member.

After becoming a member, you can not only enjoy a 8% discount on dishes, but also participate in our member-only events. ”

After hearing this, the customer was very excited and applied for a membership card on the spot.

As the activities continued, the number of members gradually increased.

Chef Li led his team of chefs to study day and night, and after many attempts, launched a series of new dishes.

Among them, a dish called "Zaozhuang Style Roll" was very popular.

The chefs encountered many difficulties in the process of developing this dish.

When I tried it for the first time, the filling contained too much moisture, resulting in the "Zaozhuang Style Roll" being too soft and mushy, and having a poor taste.

The chefs were not discouraged. They carefully analyzed the problem and readjusted the recipe of the filling, reducing the water content and adding some sticky ingredients.

In terms of production technology, they borrowed the rolling techniques of seaweed rice rolls while retaining the spreading method of vegetable pancakes.

After repeated experiments, we finally successfully launched the "Zaozhuang Style Volume".

This dish uses pancakes to wrap rich fillings. It has the spiciness of vegetable pancakes and the convenience of seaweed rice rolls. It also adds a special fusion sauce for a rich taste.

After tasting it, customers gave thumbs up.

A customer shared on social media: "The 'Zaozhuang Style Roll' at Wang's All-Inclusive Restaurant is so delicious! With one bite, you can feel the mellowness of Zaozhuang cuisine and taste the exotic flavors. It's really great! I strongly recommend everyone to try it."

The launch of new dishes and the implementation of a membership system have gradually restored the popularity of all Wang's restaurants.

There was a constant stream of customers in the restaurant, and the waiters were busy and serving the customers in an orderly manner.

In the members-only area, customers enjoy exclusive services and discounts with satisfied smiles on their faces.

However, the "Taste of Zaozhuang" did not stop there.

When Liu Dashan learned about the new measures taken by all Wang’s hotels, he was so angry that he stamped his feet.

He paced back and forth in the office, muttering, “Humph, they are quite resourceful.

In this case, I will fight back from the service side."

So, he invested money to train the store's service staff to improve service quality.

He hired a professional service trainer to provide a week-long closed training for the waiters, providing all-round improvement from etiquette standards to service skills.

At the same time, he launched a takeaway service to expand his business scope.

He cooperated with a local food delivery platform, opened a "Zaozhuang Flavor" store on the platform, and put the store's signature dishes online.

In order to attract customers to place orders, he also launched preferential activities such as discounts on purchases over a certain amount and reduced delivery fees.

Faced with the counterattack of "Zaozhuang Flavor", Wang Jianye and his team fell into thinking again.

In the conference room, everyone sat together and the atmosphere was tense.

Chen Yu frowned and said, “They launched a takeaway service, which is indeed a new challenge.

We have to think of ways to prevent them from grabbing market share.

Competition in the food delivery market is fierce now, so we need to highlight our unique features to attract customers to place orders.”

At this time, Chef Li, who had been focusing on his work in the kitchen, came up with an idea: "I think we can take advantage of the fusion characteristics of our dishes and launch some packages suitable for takeout.

For example, combining our specialty barbecue with Zaozhuang's local specialty cold dishes is not only convenient for customers to carry, but also allows them to taste multiple flavors at once.

We can design several different packages to meet the needs of different customers.

For example, the family package includes barbecue, cold dishes, main dishes and soup; the single-person package includes a barbecue, a cold dish and a snack. "

Wang Jianye's eyes lit up: "This is a good idea! Chen Yu, you will be responsible for connecting with the food delivery platform and putting our takeaway packages online as soon as possible.

At the same time, we should pay attention to packaging design to highlight our brand characteristics.

The packaging should be exquisite and practical, which can not only ensure the temperature and taste of the dishes, but also allow customers to remember our brand at a glance.

In addition, we can launch some promotional activities on the food delivery platform to attract customers to place orders.”

Chen Yu immediately took action and communicated and negotiated with the local food delivery platform.

He introduced in detail the featured dishes and take-out packages of all Wang's restaurants, as well as the restaurant's brand concept and service purpose.

The person in charge of the food delivery platform was very interested in their takeout packages, and the two parties quickly reached a cooperation agreement.

Chen Yu led the team to design exquisite takeaway packaging, which was printed with the logos of all Wang's restaurants and pictures of special dishes, as well as warm blessings.

In order to ensure the quality of the dishes, they have specially formulated production standards and delivery procedures for takeout dishes, requiring chefs to prepare dishes strictly in accordance with the standards and delivery staff to deliver the dishes to customers within the specified time.

After a series of efforts, take-out packages from all Wang’s restaurants are now available on major food delivery platforms.

The exquisite packaging and rich dishes attracted many customers to place orders.

On the first day of opening, sales of takeout meals exceeded 100 orders.

After receiving the takeaways, customers left positive reviews on the platform: "The takeaway meal here is so delicious! The grilled meat is tender and juicy, the salad is refreshing and delicious, and the packaging is also beautiful. I will order it again next time."

At the same time, they also held a number of food culture activities in the store, inviting customers to participate in the food preparation process.

At the event, chefs personally guided customers in making fusion dishes, and customers were enthusiastic and actively participated.

A customer said excitedly after participating in the event: "This event is so interesting. Not only did I taste delicious fusion dishes, but I also learned how to make them.

I can try making it at home in the future.”

Through these activities, customers’ sense of participation and identification with the hotel are increased, further enhancing the restaurant’s popularity and reputation.

In this fierce business war, Wang's whole series of restaurants gradually gained a firm foothold in the ZZ market through continuous innovation and hard work, and formed a situation of competing with "Zaozhuang Taste". (End of this chapter)