Have training apps had their day? I think they probably have. We’re ‘apped out’. Of course, apps still have an important place for things like health & safety, risk assessments, food safety regulations and HR compliance. But beyond that, if you want your team to genuinely go above and beyond when looking after customers, especially in customer-facing roles, then the training needs to be human too. When I started Silent Customer back in 2008, the

BYO – so there’s a thought… Conversations about an unlicensed local sushi bar encouraging customers to bring their own wine sparked debate about whether this should make a comeback. With costs spiraling and eating out becoming more of an occasional treat than a regular pastime with friends – and with more people staying at home – could corkage on BYO help make going out feel more affordable again? Would offering BYO give customers the impression

Order-at-the-table-apps should generate more engagement, not less. Tim Martin wrote an article about how apps are reducing customer engagement. But I actually see them as a fantastic opportunity to do the absolute opposite. I’m sorry, but how is having a stressed or disengaged server pressing buttons on a handheld device at your table any better than you inputting your own order into an app? No – apps are a great opportunity to save money on

Do GM’s have a parental role? In a word – Yes. Adults are really just grown-up children. We might not throw ourselves on the floor anymore, but we still have our versions of tantrums. Most of us keep them inside; a few make their displeasure known. Either way, angst and tears rarely help anyone. Remember Super Nanny? The meltdowns were almost always for the same reasons: 📍Parents hadn’t set clear expectations 📍They hadn’t modelled the