Independant Restaurants VS. the Soulless Chain's

What does a Soulless company chain have over an independent restaurant as far as quality?
Nothing, as they produce very little fresh and instead rely on massive amounts of
pre-prepared frozen food, laden with salt and sugar while marketing to the masses and somehow convincing them there food is good.
While employing low skilled low paid employee’s that receive very little actual culinary knowledge or training besides how to use a microwave.
They also tend to re-heat pre-cooked food that was prepared at a central commissary kitchen, sometimes states away. then shipped to that location.

As an independent restaurant partner/chef I will know my purveyors and maybe even the farm the food came from. We are part of the community and actually take pride in the fact we employ culinarian's instead of just people wanting a job to execute food we actually cook from scratch every day.

What does a Soulless company chain have over an independent restaurant as far as consistency?
A lot unfortunately as most Americans will visit an “Olive Garden” before the little Italian restaurant on the corner that painstakingly makes there pasta and sauces from scratch sometime using age old recipes.

Why?.. Mainly because the food in the chain is the exact same as they ate before & before that as well ! Not because it’s “better food” but because they are used to it and the prices seem reasonable. As Americans we have been dumbied down into thinking that food needs to be in large portions to be considered good for our buck. What they don't mention to customers is the insane amounts of sugar and sodium that is some cases is used to mask the taste of otherwise bland overproduced food.

I have to admit it’s tough getting people away from these chains as well as even my own Mother simply adores Red Lobster and at 73 y/o that is unlikely to change despite them doing so little from scratch.

How do I combat this way of thinking? Quality and exceptional customer service to start with as well as the ability to change. What was that I said, ability to change? See what most customers don’t realize is as an independent making adjustments to my menu based on factors such as seasonality, adverse market demand, food cost and food trends is relatively easy compared to that of a corporate chain. My food is consistent, just not the same day in and day out, instead it’s just consistently delicious and hopefully that still means something in today's market.

In the corporate setting food chains employ food scientists and mass marketing giants to get you in their door. They will spend thousands of dollars on advertising to convince you they are “fresh” while bringing in 90% + frozen food. They continually “roll-out” the great new menu items with fantastic fan fare & flare while all the while it’s just a sauce added to another bland severely overcooked chicken breast of with a pre-frozen side dish, reheated for your enjoyment! but hey…..it’s new right ;-)

What does a Soulless company chain have over an independent restaurant as far as retention of employee’s?
Very little. An independent restaurant for the employee’s as well as owners becomes an extension of our immediate family. You go through countless hours of prep, sides the weeds and two hour waits only to clean it all up and do it again the next day! This leads to a bond most outside the restaurant industry will never understand.

One striking difference between a professional wait staff and what I politely call a "corporate clone" is easy to spot…just ask for your food a little different from what the menu states and you will see the clone’s eye’s flutter as he/she scurries to find a manager or Kitchen Manager for permission to change an item while leaving the guest to guess as to weather there wish will be granted.

Ask the same thing of a professional waiter/waitress in an independent restaurant and you won’t see them flinch while they relay you’re request to the Chef. What does this have to do with retention? Through this the waiter feels “empowered to take care of the guest” and if you let them they often times do just that! Yet when an employee has to ask permission to take care of the guest the guest tends to suffer as well as their tip.

What I do for the FOH I do for the BOH as well in cross training at every position which leads to empowerment for them as well. This is done through daily specials coming from different line cooks as well as family meals where the employees are asked to contribute family recipes or just something they would like to try. In example I also take my time and explain to new cooks why we are sauteing the fish for this menu item instead of frying it. This teaches as well as reinforces my vision to the cook for that item.

In closing these are just some of the ideas I have of how to compete with chains and if you have some ideas of our own please let me know I would enjoy hearing from you.