Smart operators should be forward-thinking, innovative, and optimistic.

If you remember last month’s column, I said I was done with, “What do I do to get sales in bad times?” And I am. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of all the gloom and doom.

I have an idea: Let’s all be optimistic. Let’s believe it will all come back and start looking at what we can do to be ready for the surge of business we will have when it does. Look at things from the inside out.

Can’t you just see all those smiling faces across the counter, waving their money, and chanting your menu? And I bet you can’t wait to rehire that off-duty policeman to direct traffic in the drive thru. The first sign will be when McDonald’s starts running “You Deserve a Break Today,” referring to the crew, not the customer.

So let’s get started. And I’m not suggesting you do everything, but maybe something strikes you as making sense for your store. I’ve done a lot more reading for you, and I have some experts’ thoughts and some of my own to share.
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Now that you have the time, you can study your menu and get rid of the unprofitable and low-sales items that are just clogging up the works and making it difficult to serve the customer efficiently. With lower sales, it will be easier to identify these puppies too. That’s one off the list of Honey Do’s.

Take advantage of the job losses recently and go looking for new employees who will be a great asset to the restaurant when those sales come back. The available pool has never been bigger or more qualified.

Stop the gimmicks. I bet you’ve been using coupons, BOGOs, premiums, games, and discounting. How about just great advertising?

When McDonald’s first ran the “Two All Beef Patties” song, there was no promotion attached, just real people saying the seven ingredients of the sandwich and having fun. The first weekend it aired, we practically ran the stores out of meat and buns.

Challenge your marketing people to come up with great advertising for when the sales return. Then you can let your crew do its job and not waste time explaining those intelligence-quotient–busting promotion rules that the Supreme Court can’t interpret. Just make sure the copy is in simple English and has a strong call to action. Don’t be afraid to ask for the order.

Another perk of the down economy: Construction costs are down. Six months ago you couldn’t beg a construction guy to talk to you. Return your calls? Yeah, right! Today, they have signs on their trucks advertising a free house if you buy the windows and doors. If you have thought about capital improvements for your restaurant, now is the time. When it all comes back, the only place you will find these guys is the corner tap. That’s where they pull the name of the person they might work for that day.
I want to let the sunshine in, follow the yellow brick road, and stop following the S&P every tick of the way.

Even when the economy recovers, people will be obsessed with value, just as they were in the ’30s. So you be ready. They might be less reliant on expensive beef and more on alternative sources of protein. Take a hard look at your value meals and menus. Should you continue? Have you set a price unrealistic for your new menuboard? Again, you have the time to study this now for implementation later.

And now quality. I love the KFC cook in the kitchen. I love it when the chef comes out front and says hello. He has to be confident of his quality to come talk to me about it. You might want to look at healthy food, too, since it will not go away, even when that great day comes.

This is the time to really look at your direct competition and come up with plans to grab those customers when they come out of their rabbit warrens again. What is competition doing and what did they do when the going was good? You can bet they will do it again. Can you preempt them?

Try some new media. Take 20 percent of your advertising budget and try something interesting, be it the Internet or that little neighborhood shopper that has been knocking on your back door for months.

See if you can come up with a “yearner.” Something like the McDonald’s McRib. Don’t have it all the time, make them yearn for it. It could be a special condiment or sauce. It doesn’t have to be an entrée, just something special to your restaurant.

Watch the tone and overall customer experience in your restaurant. You know, the customer is always right and should be respected.

Optimism. It’ll be better, Bunkey. You just wait and see. In fact, go outside right now and shout, “I’m a happy person, and everything is going to be okay!” Didn’t that make you feel better? The neighbors will get over it.

A Peaceful Life and Happy Trails.