Communication in a Crisis with Andrew Freeman

Hey, Facebook Live. Donald Burns here, the restaurant coach. And I am so honored to be joined by my good friend, PR consultant to the restaurant, God himself, Andrew Freeman. Man, you're in San Francisco. And how's San Francisco getting rocked.

I mean, like, it is something. Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Donald. It's a pleasure. You know, obviously, I wish it was under different circumstances where we could be talking about the year we were supposed to have that, you know, we're not having now, San Francisco. You know, honestly, as you. As everybody knows, it's the sort of one of the culinary capitals of the world.

And.

And then, yeah, we were all, you know, previous this. We were, you know, definitely fighting the good fight for restaurants. The Golden Gate Restaurant association certainly was, because, you know, it's. It's expensive to run a restaurant in San Francisco. So then when this happens and you have to pivot so quickly, you know, we've had a really beautiful pivot from. By a lot of people, but it's just been, you know, quite frankly, devastating to the industry. I think the stories of resilience that are coming through right now across, not only in San Francisco, but across the world are pretty amazing. But it definitely has been probably the most challenging time, I would say, in our lifetimes, you know, professionally, and something, you know, that nobody expected. So we're doing the best we can here in San Francisco, and everybody's trying to figure it out, but it's day by day.

Yes, yes, definitely. Definitely.

Yeah.

You know, and you and I go back a way a while ago. I mean, we first met when I did some consulting for Kimpton Hotels.

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

Can you believe last month we were in Madrid speaking at Hospitality Innovation Plant, with everybody having a great time, enjoying a bunch of food, wine, living it up.

We were talking about. We were toasting what event, what a great year it was going to be.

Oh, I know.

And how busy we all were and how much we had going on. And, you know, our friend Kelly Jones was opening food halls all over the place. We were opening restaurants and hotels and. And I remember we had, like, on our last day was the first time we heard about it, that something was going on in Italy and China. But we, you know, at that point, we didn't have. I. I just. Nobody could have imagined what this was going to become. But, yeah, now I understand where we had. The convention has been turned into a center for, you know, dealing with the sick. Yeah. So it's just. It's been. It's been overwhelming. I can't Believe it was only a month ago. Not even a month. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I talked to Ava just the other day and she said that the IFIMA people, they turned that place, that convention center into a mobile hospital in three days, which is amazing.

I just have to say, like, you know, one thing about our world is we do come together and, and I think some of the efforts that, you know, we're doing, the restaurant industry is doing to support the front lines with Jose Andres and, you know, feeding the front line. I mean, it's pretty amazing that even in these crazy times of absolute, you know, devastation for a lot of these restaurants, they're still focusing on how they can help, you know, and that's what the beautiful spirit of a restaurant is really all about.

Definitely, definitely.

Yeah.

This is where the essence of hospitality really comes to the forefront. Being a host, being there for other people, about serving is what this is all about.

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

So how have you been holding up?

Well, you know, I mean, I would say that I'm, you know, I've been through, you know, interestingly enough, we're Old Donald, right? So here we go. So, you know, we've all been, you know, we've been through 9, 11 and earthquakes and fires here in the Bay Area. And you know, resilience is, I think the warrior spirit comes out in all of us. And I, that's what I've been really working with our restaurant clients and hotel clients. Like, you know, we have to be warriors right now because, yeah, we're in battle, you know, and I personally, my agency, you know, has definitely had been impacted. Obviously we, you know, we're hospitality based, so we support hotels and restaurants.

And.

Just like I'm telling my restaurant and hotel clients, you have to stay in touch. Like, you can't just go completely dark. So, so we've been trying to do is offer the very best deals we can. In some cases gratis, just because we, we don't. These, these people have been long term clients and relationships that I've had for many years and I, you know, to abandon them right now because they can't pay has been hard. But you know, obviously I've had to make some adjustments and I have this lean, mean team whose daily sacrifices that are like, you know, I get my gratitude for the folks that are working with me right now goes beyond anything that, you know, I ever thought. And then, you know, with the Carbonate team, our sister company, they, they've, they've been lucky in the fact that they were able to pivot very Quickly. And so they, you know, they haven't had to adjust as much as AF&CO have, but, but we're all focused on, you know, obviously trying to figure out how, how, how to help them get the aid that they need, you know, because it's so confusing. You know, there's so much, there's. And then also how to start focusing on the future. You know, the. We're going to come out of this. We're going to come out, out of it in a completely new way, ways that none of us have ever even imagined. And I think everybody's just starting to look at that now. Like, what is. I'm calling it. You can call me a Disney princess, but I'm calling it a whole new. I'm calling it world. And. Because that really is truly what it is. It's a whole new world.

It is. It is going to change the whole dynamics of everything. I mean, paradigm shifts is going to be totally different. I mean, if restaurants didn't have delivery or take out before, they're going to have it now.

Yeah, we were talking about how, you know, up till now it hasn't been profitable for them, but they've been doing it for brand extension and all the, you know, all the convenience for their guests. They're all going to figure out how to make it profitable. That's going to be a positive, you know, note that comes out of this. You know, I think they're all going to do these meal kits and these takeouts and. Because, you know, because if, you know, if anybody thinks that the day that we get, you know, out of shelter in place, the world's going to come back the way it was, you know, so we're talking to the restaurants now about, you know, how are you going to reconfigure your dining room for, you know, spatial distancing and should you have a little community store, should you continue with the delivery and takeout? You know, should you continue with virtual series? Like, it's going to be a slow rise to whatever the new normal, if you will. Because, you know, and that's the hard part, because until we know that we can get out, it's sort of like, how do you even start to, you know, you have to plan for it. Because I always, I'm telling our, a lot of our hotel clients, like, you have to be ready to go because you're gonna have to build up reservations again. Like, you're gonna have to. And then the consumer and working it like we would never normally told, you know, restaurant customers all of our, you know, all the methods we use to keep a restaurant clean and safe. I think now it's going to be part of the conversation in a new way. You know, so. So that's one side. The other side is we're all going to have such cabin fever that there's going to be this sense of, like, I can't wait to get back out. I just want to get back out and know that I'm going to be okay. You know, I heard this morning that LA is going to quote, unquote, mandatory face masks.

Are they really?

Yeah. China has done it and it's evidently brought down the cases. So, you know, but, you know, the interesting thing about that is, like, you can't eat through a face mask. Right. So I was like, you know, you know, take a bite lift. Take a bite lift. But. But I think we're going to see, I think, novelty. And I mean, even in three weeks, the way the restaurant industry has pivoted has been, you know, incredible. Yeah.

Meal kits, like you talked about, meal kits, I see, are a huge new thing. I know pizza places are doing, you know, pizza kits. I know there's people doing, you know, taco kits. Take home taco kits. It's been really great. People have been very, very creative about how they keep the revenue going.

Yeah. And, you know, I, you know, I. Sadly, you know, I think some of them might not be able to continue to do it and ride through it because the longer this happens, you know, a lot of it was just to keep the brand alive and honestly, keep some employees on board, you know, because, you know, because they, you know, try. Because the other thing, too, is when they get the green light, starting from scratch and not being able to keep at least your sous chef and your manager, it's going to be. It's going to take them longer to get going. Right. So I think, you know, the longer we're sheltered, the harder it's going to be to maintain it because, you know, they're not making money. I mean, everybody's just saying, like, if we could just break even, we'll keep our, you know, doors open, our lights on. It's important for our communities, you know, to be here for them. But, you know, I think the longer it goes, the harder, because, you know, there was also all this. I mean, we did it, but all this press and excitement, you know, for the. For all the millions of people that are sheltered in place, that they could order from their favorite restaurants and they could do all that. But keeping that momentum going and that, that excitement about it, you know, is going to be harder the longer this goes.

Definitely. So what would be something you do, you know, so I always look to you as like my communication guy. Like, you know, how do restaurants communicate to the public and how do we keep our brand out there? What would be some of your let's do it like a do's and don't list?

Yeah, right. Well, I mean, you know, and my, you know, obviously some of this is just financially based. Some restaurants made the decision to go into what we're calling hibernation, which means that, you know, turn the lights off, turn the gas off, you know, close the doors, board it up and wait this out. And then other, you know, some are doing, you know, recipes or whatever. But so I'd say that depending on what you can afford to do, the one thing you should definitely not do is not communicate to your database over the course of this run. You have to, you know, stay in touch socially. And so the restaurants that have decided not to do takeout and delivery, they're doing a weekly recipe share. They're, they're actually letting their guests know where else they could get takeout and delivery because they're, you know, good neighbors policy. Right. You know, so be a good neighbor, you know, would be the first thing like, you know, if you're not going to do it, share, share what other people are doing because you know, you want to be an industry player, do partnerships, look at who else is struggling with you. Right now we have a restaurant here in San Francisco called Canela that partnered with a florist. So every time people go in to get their, their curbside delivery for a meal kit, they can also get flowers or wine or whatever it is. So look at interesting partnerships. That would be another do, you know, extend the brand, I'd say for all the restaurants in the world, assign somebody to stay up on all the aid packaging that you can find right now because you know, the first come, first served, right. The people who get there is really key. And, and it could be a full time job because there's so much, you know. So I'd say have somebody designated to handle all the funding. That would be a do. And then, you know, if you're going to do takeout and delivery, change the way your restaurant looks. The storefront is crucial. Big signs we're open, you know, blinking lights, you know, whatever it takes to get people to know that you're there and you're open because you know, it's a lot of it is going to Be impulse buys. Not, not. Not because they're walking down the street. But if they're taking a run and they run past your restaurant and they see you're open, it's important to look at your visual merchandising for how you're going to do all this. That there's the don'ts. You know, honestly would just be. Don't stop communicating like so, you know, even in hibernation, some of our clients have kept us on, you know, for very. Just to do their social media to get their recipes done to help them with that. And then if you're. And the more advanced you are, do what we're doing right now, do, do Facebook lives with your. Your guests, do a quick cooking demo. Do, you know, you can, you know, just pivot things based on your comfort level. You know, that's what I'd say. We're looking at partnerships right now with, you know, I. I'm lucky in the fact that I. Our agency works with the Golden Gate Restaurant association and they're the leading charge in the Bay Area for driving the legislation and the opportunities and everything for the restaurants to survive. So I. Because of that, I've got a lot of the inside information that our amazing executive director is sharing. But the other side of that is like, we're organizing a weekly SF Restaurants Rising webinar that's just going to share data. And then we're also going to do a Shepinar series. There's a. A great company called Avital Tours, a V I T, A L Tours that are. That was a tour company that focused on culinary adventures. They pivoted to virtual cooking classes. Chef Anders, they're called. And they're doing it for team building and for, you know, for companies, you know, that are going to also ship this, you know, shipped a lot to. To online stuff. The one thing that I, you know, I think is really interesting too is that don't make the assumption that the rest of the world knows what you're. What the restaurants are going through.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

You know, you know what I mean? You know, it's really interesting. A lot of my friends who aren't in. In the industry like I am think, you know, this is a hassle. They're working from home. It's boring. They're not going to be able to get their hair cut, you know, or their nails done. That's me. And, and so. But they have no idea of the impact this has had on the hospitality industry. So getting the public educated on ways they can help is Key. So, for instance, if you started a GoFundMe page for your employees, it's really important you communicate that out, you know, to your guests. Everybody keeps saying to me, like, how can we help? How can we help? Well, you know, there, obviously there's the national funds that you can donate to, like save restaurants. And, you know, every state is going to have a fund eventually. But the biggest way you could help is pick your five favorite restaurants, go to their websites and see if they have a GoFundMe going for their employees and support them that way. You know, I always say, you know, there's that thing that, what I put up on Facebook and I think Brian Duncan shared it with me. You know, do you remember the restaurants that you used to see at all these charity events, you know, that were supporting your charities? Well, they're the charity now.

They're the charity now. Yeah, definitely.

They're the charity now. And I think if you want to, if you want to keep the restaurants alive in your communities, you have to support them. You know, their restaurants are the culture of our cities. They're where deals happen. They're where the socialization goes. I remember one of, I remember our dinner, Donald, in Spain, that late night dinner where it got pretty rowdy. You know what I mean? Yeah. And I think about craving those kind of experiences again. Right. So, you know, if you said if you want to have those experiences again at the restaurants that you love, you have to support them and you have to get on board because it's going to be really tough to bring. I think the new statistic is 65% of the restaurants will make it back and 35 won't. So you think about what that's going to do to, you know, the other thing that's interesting. Sorry, I'm rambling, but the other thing that's interesting is that restaurants and communities make the communities. Right. So if you think about the neighborhood you live in, if those restaurants go away, then it's also going to start to have an impact on real estate, you know. You know, so it, the trickle down effect of hotels and restaurants not being able to operate the way they have been is going to have, you know, a ripple effect. So, yeah, it's dominoing. And, you know, again, I don't want to be doom and gloom, but it's a reality, you know, It's a reality.

Being realist, you know.

Yeah, yeah.

So I always like to ask this question. How long you think this is going to last?

How long do you think, think this whole thing will Last.

Well, people are gonna start going back.

This is gonna sound like doom and gloom for a minute, but I. I will. And then I'll. Then I'll clarify. I think when we get the green light that it's okay to go out again, we will go out with a caution, you know, and I think, you know, sadly, I think the airlines are gonna struggle most with that because they're gonna have to figure out, like, literally filling the plane at 50% capacity and distancing everybody. And, you know, fortunately, our friends at the cruise lines and, you know, I think hotels will have an easier. A bit of an easier comeback as long as they're assuring guests that they're, you know, they're. They're cleaning appropriately. One of our clients that did stay open is Pineapple Hotels, and they put out an email yesterday that if somebody's going to stay with them, they won't occupy that room when that person leaves again for 72 hours.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. Now, granted, right now they have the space to do that because of. But if you think about thinking in that way, they're going to clean it, and then they're going to let it sit for 72 hours to make sure it's, you know, clean. As clean as possible. So, you know, so to answer your question, I think, you know, once we know we're allowed to go back out, and I do think it's going to be with a lot of restrictions at the beginning, it's going to sort of ebb up. Now, the. The. The bit of the concerning part is that the word on the street is that we might have to go into quarantine again in the fall for. Because, you know, there's a likelihood this might come back. And. And so, you know, I think we're going to be prepared for it if we have to do it this time. But I think that, you know, I think it's going to be. I think it's going to be an interesting six months, you know, to. The big answer is when we can all get vaccinated. That's when the world will come back to complete normal, because everybody will be like, okay, I'm vaccinated now, so I can go to an arena again. I can go to a concert again. But I think everything's going to open and it's. It's. It's going to be like, I keep going back to. It sounds so corny, but this whole new world, it's like, it's going to be the way. Even, like arenas, if basketball or one of the Sports comes, baseball comes back. Right. Baseball has a little bit easier because it's outside mostly, but I think it's going to be like, sell half the arena and let everybody spread out. You know, it's going to be the wash, you know, hand washing on the way in, gloves, masks, whatever it is. We're going to have this. It's going to be a slow rise. I just want people. But I will tell you this, there's going to be people like me that are going to be like, I'm going to be as safe as I can, but I am going back to, to a restaurant. I want to see my friends, I want to support the chefs, you know, so we're all, we're looking at what we're calling the restaurant stimulus package, you know, about, you know, here it like, because we know that. We also know that restaurants and hotels won't have the same money they had prior to this all happening. And that'll be a rise. So we're pivoting to come up with, here's for this, this amount of money, we'll get your small social going again. We'll get your website updated, we'll get the word out via, you know, the media that you're open again, you know, and we'll just package it and, you know, and sell. So that's what we're working on right now. Cool.

What would be the first restaurant you go to?

Oh, my gosh. You know, I would go to any of my clients because I want them to survive. Yeah, that's how I feel. So I'd probably, you know, every night my, you know, me, my life was, you know, but first of all, I never cook. So this, so this shelter in place.

Oh my gosh.

I am eating like, you know, just, you know, I'm doing the best I can, like, you know, to stay healthy. But I live my life in restaurants. And so, so the minute I can get out, you know, even though I'll be on a budget too, because we have been impacted, you know, I will go and have a appetizer and a cocktail for 20 days straight at every restaurant that's open just to show them my support. And I believe that those kind of campaigns will start to happen, you know, restaurant months and, you know, because all we can really do is once they're, they're open and they're green lighted, we have to drive the public into them to get them back up on their feet.

Exactly. So as soon as you could take a trip, what's the first place you want to go? For on a trip to.

Do you want to know, you want to know the really sad, effed up reality of this whole thing? My two best friends are turning 60 in October and we had a magnificent Italian trip planned.

Not going to Italy. You're not going to Italy.

And so I, you know, so I want to say that I'll be one of the first people that I'll feel comfortable once I know it's okay to, to, to travel again. But I think it's going to be a car trip to the beautiful Napa Valley or Sonoma where I can drink a lot of wine, sit outside, relax. And I will say this. One of our predictions is drive in vacations. Driving to places is going to, is going to be like, people listen, everybody's going to need a break, right? They still have summer vacations planned. Granted, we all have a lot less money. But I also feel like the travel companies are going to be offering amazing deals to get that moving as well. But I think a lot of people are going to feel way more comfortable getting in their car and driving someplace and then going to a place where there can be a lot of relaxation, meditation, outdoor, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I think we're going to pivot the 60th anniversary to a wine tree trip.

Oh, very cool. So, you know, if people don't know Andrew is the kind of go to guy for trends in the United States, you know, our news agencies, restaurant brands all look to Andrew and say, you know, they act, they go to him in December and say, hey, what's the big Trends coming in 2020? And Andrew looks into his crystal ball and makes these predictions. And then you presented that when we were in Spain at hospitality. What would you change now?

Well, so it's so funny, you know, my, my partner in crime, Candace McDonald, who runs our agency, Carbonate, she and her team are working on trends right now. Like just the impact, really the impact of this. We had a conversation yesterday and tomorrow there'll be on the Carbonate Group website, carbonategroup.com There'll be a thought capital piece about how the trends have changed since this is opened. I will say that, you know, some of the basics, like the new popularity of canned food, you know, is something that is definitely going to be interesting.

I think fans coming back.

I bet you, I bet you it is. There's, there's a lot of talk around, you know, carbs making a comeback, right, because of pastas and bread baking and all those things. The virtual reality concept that we sort of touched on at the trend report you know, I thought, you know, that's going to be. That's. I think that's going to be cultural for our industry. Following this. Obviously making money on takeout and delivery, you know, where you can make it profitable, is going to become, you know, very important to this. And, you know, and then we're. And I was mentioning drive in vacations, but also just, you know, there's, you know, you know, I just think. I think the whole concept of talking about health and wellness as it relates to restaurants.

Yeah.

So some of the. And then partnerships, really creative partnerships, because, you know, we're going to want to support each other, like the restaurant supporting the arts, because they've been really hit. You know, however, you can partner up. So I think the, you know, the real plan partnership. So. Yeah. So tomorrow you can download a thought capital. There's three thought capital pieces. One is about how to pivot the business. Yeah. And so there's. And then the. The trends.

And it's a. And I put the website link up on the page there, carbonategroup.com. they can go there and get it.

I think they're being uploaded as we speak. Oh, cool.

Yeah. Candace is awesome. I had the pleasure of having. She was with us two years ago in Spain when we did Innovation Plant. The first year we did Team usa and. Yeah. Let me ask you a question.

We were all supposed to be at the restaurant and bar show in Vegas.

We were supposed to be doing a presentation. Yeah. But now I got June, so.

Yeah. Yeah, we'll still be there. Yeah, I hope so.

I think it'll still go. I think June. I think by June will be okay.

Okay. I hope so.

I don't think it's gonna be as crowded as it was, but.

Oh, no, I think. I think that's intentional. I mean, that's what I mean. I think that. I think none of us are going to feel comfortable going into, like, you know, the crowded, crowded spaces right away. So I think they're gonna have to make it intentionally lighter. Yeah.

In fact, I mean, I've already talked to you about, you know, I'm doing an online summit in May called conquer. It's the C19 Online Restaurant Summit. I know Andrew's going to be a speaker. I was gonna hope that you could, you know, kind of sweet talk Candace into doing a session.

I will sweet talk her into it.

Good, good, good. Yeah.

But the one thing about Candace right now is, like, she's a superwoman because she's got five kids, as you know, and they're five kids. Five kids.

I did not know she had five kids. She's not looking to have five kids.

Yeah. And she. Well, she. And she had four of them while working with me, so that's not mine. They're not mine. But she is Wonder Woman right now because she's got all five kids and they're all under the age of 10. Oh, wow. From three to 10 at home with her and her husband. And so it's homeschooling and, you know, so she is really a pretty, Pretty incredible lady.

No, she is an amazing woman. Yeah, she is a. She is a. She is a creative strategist mastermind. She's awesome.

Yeah. I have to say I'm blessed with a team that is just. They're die hard hospitality folks, so they've made major concessions to me to help me ride through this, and I'm very, very. I'm blessed.

You know, I love your team. I've been to your office before. It's an awesome team. I love your team. Cause they're always quoting my book.

Oh, yes, that's right. Yes. Yeah.

What would Donald do? What would Donald say?

Well, we always crack up too, about, like, you know, you know, I make fun of you with this. Like, you know, your third book can't be. Your restaurants still sucks. Like, because if after three books, You.

Know, first one, your, Your restaurant sucks. That was good. Then of course, you know, your restaurant still sucks. Now the third one, I'm like, yeah, man, I really can't keep going with that.

Absolutely.

Restaurant really, really, really, really, really sucks. Probably close. I mean, that would be the third one.

I mean, time for a reconcept.

Time to rethink your. Rethink your career. Definitely terrible. But yeah, it's the truth. So what should restaurants be doing right now? I mean, a lot of restaurants are either, like you said, they're closed, you know, closed down. Some are doing takeout and delivery. But what should they be doing now to get ready for kind of like, you know, I'm gonna say it's like, it's gonna be like a reopening.

Yeah. Well, you know, here's the thing. You know, you're there, you know, really realistically, I think right now, um, you know, everybody had to focus on cost control. Right. Cause, you know, honestly, the, the, the business, even the ones that are doing delivery, like, I mean, I've heard a couple of success stories, you know, for sure. And, you know, and that was all about, like, how do we get on every platform right away? How do. So that's one Thing. If you're doing it, you got to get your, got to get the word out on every platform, every, everywhere you can. Right? You know, because the more people that know you're doing it, the better. You know, you have to keep, you have to incent your group of people to continue to come back to you, just like you would with a regular restaurant. So for instance, run a contest once a week for complimentary dinner, you know, just to keep, you know, dinner delivery. Just to keep things. You have to really think like, if my business is takeout and delivery, how do I pivot the model that of the way I'm doing to really say I now, this is my new business for now. And, and how am I going to market this business in every possible way? Right? So that, and that starts with the delivery partners. That starts with your website. That starts with, you know, are you going to do takeout and delivery or just take out like the partnerships, all that. Like you have to look at everything and I know you're operating on a really lean, mean team. So that's the hard balance. One of my restaurant clients said they're working harder now than they ever worked even pre, like even when they were opening the restaurant because, you know, they're doing it all themselves. So right now, if you're going to do the delivery and takeout model, that's what you should be doing right now. And then put an hour aside, a week or two hours aside to start to think about what the other side of this is going to look like for you and, and how you're going to come back and you know, put funding is going to be really tight as we all know. So when you do get that earmarked funding, you've got to put some aside for, you know, the marketing and PR because there's going to be, so there's going to be a lot of clutter, right? Everybody's going to want to know that, everybody's going to want the public to know that they're reopened. You know, so, you know, there's gonna, you're gonna have to break through that with, you know, some traditional and non traditional ways. You know, obviously with Google and the different search engines and things like that to, you know, to, to rise to the top. Now they're all. The best part about this is open table Google, you know, Yelp. Well, Yelp right now is, you know, but you know, I think that they're reevaluating what they put out there, but they're all on board to help, you know, so you have to. So the other thing I would say is like, take advantage of every resource you can get your hand on. Not just for money, but for promotion, you know, promotion of your restaurant and promotion of what you're going to do. So to answer your question, focus on delivery and takeout as your new business model for now. Put a marketing and PR plan together for your relaunch, you know, and have that set and ready to go. Because you want to get there first. You want to let people know we're opening on this date or we're going to be, you know, whatever it is, or we're going to. So. And then finally just stay in touch. Stay in touch, you know, with, with.

Your people, you know, you should, you know, because I think virtual, you know, in this new world here that we're seeing is really new things. I'm pivoting a lot of my brand, my business to kind of the virtual conference, virtual online training, stuff like that. You know, maybe you and I should work together and we should maybe do a program for basic PR for restaurants that we could offer people that are at a pretty decent price.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, because some of them, you know, as much as I don't want to say this because this is my business model, some of them will need to do some of this themselves to, to get started.

Smaller restaurants that maybe aren't at that point where they can afford a, you know, a big, A big name PR firm yet.

Right. You know, I will say this, though. It's interesting with the clients that we that have, you know, sort of gone into hiatus or put us on hold, several of our smaller restaurants are the ones that kept us on because they're, they were like, we're going to be so busy. Like, we really need you. You know what I mean? So, like, he, like our one, our. One of our clients who's just been doing really, really well, just said like, if I have to focus on that now and I just have to get the doors open and get them food made and get, you know, so he was like, you're going to be the last cut I'm going to make because you're my connection to the public. You know what I mean? So, you know, I'm giving myself a shameless plug here. But, you know, you should, like, you have to like, the last thing you should cut is unless you, unless you can do it yourself. You know, the last thing you should cut is you, you know, getting, you know, just having that connection to the public and somebody who knows how to do it. You Know, do it, do it well. Yep.

So Ron, Bo, you know, you know, we both know Bo really well he has for us. Do you think brands should be building safety and information messages now for the relaunch and what are they doing to manage food differently, manage dining differently, pick up differently, etc. This is the big PR stuff I think people should be working on now. What do you think?

You're absolutely right. Bo, how are you? You're we. He was in Spain with us. He's a crazy man. Anyway, to answer your questions, yes to all, I would say, you know, we've been talking. This is a really interesting conversation we were having yesterday. Should chef food photos now be showing them wearing gloves? We would have never done that in the past. You know what I mean?

Or not.

Yeah, we would have never done that in the past. Obviously don't show crowded dining rooms right now. So the, you know, so all the ways you're going to market are going to be around social distancing safety. And, and so your plan should include that messaging. Absolutely. Not to the point that, you know, we've sterilized this environment for you, but just that we, we're taking all the precautions and we were thinking about that yesterday. We have a client, Chowbotics, which by the way is doing really, really well because they're the salad making robot. And so they're going into a lot of the hospitals and grocery stores, places where there were salad bars. And they were talking about how they're changing their marketing messaging to show how the ingredients are transferred into the canisters and their hands and, you know, all that, you know, I think that's really key. So I think as you look at your marketing approach for both hotels and restaurants, it's going to be, how are you going to portray this safety? Some of the car companies have done this amazing. I can't even believe how fast they reacted. But the Hyundai TV commercials right now talk about safety and, you know, and wellness and all that. So I think safety, safety, health, wellness. And yet this idea, like you, we, the, the social, socialization is so important to our lives. But it's just going to be like, how do you feel comfortable in the environment? So, so to beau, to answer your question, you should absolutely be working on it right now because it, if you wait too long, you're gonna, you're gonna get behind in the comeback, right?

Definitely. Yeah. And this thing will, I mean, this thing will end like, like everything in life. It's a cycle.

Oh, I think about, I think about, you know, when Our grandkids and we're long gone. This is, this is history. We're in, we're in a. We're, we're living history right now. This is the plague. This is the modern day plague, you know, that we're going through right now. And you know, the world has survived and so will we. But I think I'm going to be posting a blog to my website tomorrow called A Whole New World. You know, just. Yeah. So I'm editing it right now, but you can find it on the website tomorrow. We'll also share it on our social channels. But it's my sort of just my take on what, what hap. What has happened in the last three weeks, you know, and how I see the pivot, if you will. I haven't gotten into the tips for what to do yet that's next, but I think just the fact that we have to get our minds around it.

Very cool. Yeah, I've been putting up tons of content. I've been using this downtime as a chance to regroup and refocus. So it's been really, really great.

I wish I could say that it's interesting. I wish I could say that we've had a lot of downtime, but it's been a lot of putting out fires. Right. And in my blog, I equate it to an earthquake. Like, you know, we didn't, we sort of got a few right takes, but we had no idea the level of the destruction that this earthquake was going to do. But now, you know, it's. Now it's sort of rising from the ashes to sort of rebuild. And, and so, you know, I think everybody was in shock the first two weeks, so there wasn't a lot of productive, you know, they've got, they switched to delivery and takeout, but there wasn't a lot of productive thinking about what is this going to look like when it, when, when it, when it is indeed, you know, when we're, when we're moving past it.

Right. Yeah. The only reason I've had downtime is I spend so much time on the road working, hands on, like, you know, I'm usually on the road four weeks out of the month.

Yeah. Are you doing a lot of those social happy hours and all that stuff? Is that your.

Tons of, tons of zoom calls, tons of tons of content development. A lot more, you know, shifting my focus. I'm also, I think starting Monday, I don't want to crowd too much stuff online, but I'm doing a Bruce Irving who runs Smart Pizza Marketing he's holding a little pizza summit Online. Pizza Summit 2020, could be three days and stuff like that. So. And I have to say, he gave me the ideas, like, you know, yeah, we should do a pizza. We should do a summit too. So that's why we're doing the Conquer online in May. And I figured since, especially since the NRA show got canceled, like, well, because that's usually a great show for everybody. And I like to go there to get, you know, inspiration and get some ideas. And since that was shut down, I was like, you know, what can we do to kind of fill the void? And I came up with this Conquer summit and I'm out. Bo's going to be a speaker on it. I know Kelly Jones could be on there. I got most of team from USA is already committed. I'm still trying to, you know, twist Brian Duncan's arm.

But, you know, it's interesting. One of the things that I, you know, that I also want to mention is that, you know, as you start to look forward, think about, you know, new, like you said, like, what you've learned from this and the new, you know, the new opportunities that'll be presented to you because, you know, something. We're gonna. Whatever, whatever happens, something good is going to come out of all of this, right? We, you know, we may not know it yet, but I definitely think that, you know, that's, you know, it's just really important that you start to so use this time to evaluate your brand. You know, use this time to think about how you're going to pivot your model and what that's going to look like. You know, that's, you know, that's what I think everybody should be doing right now. Because, you know, it's just. It's just. It's, you know, I keep thinking about, like, what are going to be the learning lessons that we're going to take away from this and how are we going to apply them to our business?

Exactly. No, this is exactly the time to kind of reevaluate. And for a lot of my clients, this is a good reset, you know, an opportunity to, you know, maybe things got a little sideways, maybe, you know, your culture got a little. Maybe a little toxic. Who knows? Or you weren't doing things the way you should have been doing, like not running your numbers 100% the way you should have been running them, or keeping track of certain key performance indicators or KPIs. Now's the time to really jump on and get back getting some good habits again.

Yeah, and also, you know, I will say this. You know, restaurants are usually incredibly generous, and it's okay to be a little selfish right now because you are like, there's nothing more important than bringing yourself back and taking care of your employees. And so, you know, even with the. The few people that I had to say goodbye to, like, my dream is to get that they'll all be available when I'm ready, and they'll be able to come back, you know, because it was probably one of the hardest days of my life, you know, that. And especially because we had to do it virtually. There's no, no, no way to connect with people, you know, so. So I think this need for connection, I think we're all going to be a little, like, kooky, you know, when we come out of this, we're gonna. We're all gonna have, like, really long hair. We're all gonna be really hairy. You know, we're not like, Donald, you haven't been able to go to Orange Theory. Like, I mean. I know, I know.

Drive me crazy. Right now.

Like, all of our habits are just being shattered, you know, and so, you know, and we're all trying to stay healthy, I just think, which is great, you know, doing. And thank God for the gyms that are doing online workouts and all that. But I think it's just. It's not the same. You know, you're alone in your house, in your living room. You know.

I'm trying hard to work out at home.

So I definitely, you know, what I would say is, like, you know, getting back out there. And then also I think naturally, you know, really, I think the industry is going to support the industry first, so we'll probably be the first ones eating in everybody else's restaurants. You know, I think the general public, you know, might be a little behind because, you know, they're probably a little more fearful than we are because we want to go back out. But, you know, there's a lot of interesting opportunities, and I think having a regular share of those opportunities is going to be really key.

Yep, it's going to be.

Yeah.

One thing I have to say that came. A good thing that came out from all this is that I. Last year I had a restaurant mastermind group, but I had to shut it down because I was traveling so much. Now, since my business model has totally changed, I'm going to be reopening my restaurant masterminds, and I'm hopefully to have some, you know, great friends on there and speakers consultants like you and Bo and Craig Shelton on there. So I'm going to be reopening my restaurant Masterminds in mid April. So if people want to get some information on it, in fact, you know, I'm going to make it. I'm going to make some sweet deals for the people that contact me at first to get them on board. And basically, you'll get. You'll get quite a bit of time for free before you have to recharge. I'm kind of riding this out with you, so I'm looking forward to that. Hey, I want to do a book giveaway.

Hey, Donald, can I mention one more thing before you do that? Because this is in my mind right now. So for the restaurants and restaurants that are open, you should be thinking of it the way you would think of a normal restaurant. For instance, Easter's coming up, Passover is coming up. So different holidays, springtime things. So promoting meal kits, dishes, you know, treat it like we're having. Four of our restaurants are all doing Passover Seder menus. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah. And what's kind of cool about that is they're suggesting that everybody orders it, and then you go onto a zoom and you do the Seder together online with the same food. So I think the same thing for Easter, you know, so I would just say, like, get in the mindset of, like, looking at the calendar for the fun days, you know, and doing just crafting your takeout and delivery menus around holidays and everything like that. So I just. I wanted to get that point in because I know Bo had asked. So now back to the book giveaway.

No, so anyway, I was going to say I'm going to add on to that. You know, Cinco de Mayo is going to be really sad, me drinking at home, tequila by myself. Okay.

You think about, like, if you. You got 10 friends and you'll have margaritas, you know, like a recipe from a great restaurant and somebody's guacamole dip and. And everybody orders Mexican from their local Mexican place and you have a Mayo party.

Oh, put up a comment. I think. Honey baked hams. Yes, Honey baked hams, absolutely.

Yeah, I think. But, you know, that's really interesting. I'm hoping. I'm hoping we're out by May 5, but right now in San Francisco, it's May 3. So Cinco de Mayo could be our, like, our release from hell. You know what I mean? Like, what are you doing the first day?

Yeah. You know.

Yeah. Anyway, I'm sorry to interrupt you.

That's all right. No, you're Fine. All right, so book giveaway. I'm gonna give away my second book. Your restaurant still sucks. First person who can answer this question correctly in the chat. What, what, what hotel group did Andrew and I first meet at? If you know the answer put up on there, first person to answer correctly gets a book. No one answers.

Should I. Should I give somebody a hint?

The hotel stays in San Francisco. How's that? How's that, right?

Yeah, absolutely.

That's like the biggest, right?

Huh?

There's only like a couple big, huge restaurant brands. Ron says I would, but. Yeah, Ron already has a copy of my book, so he can't.

He's not. That's right. I think a lot of people.

Diane Lester. Diane wins. Diane.

Oh, hi, Diane. That's nice. Okay. I know Diane. I know Diane. That's great.

Message me your address and I will get a book look out to you signed. Of course. Thank you for playing along. Awesome. Yes. Andrew and I met back at Kimpton Hotels in the, in the years gone by.

Oh, my gosh. That was a long time ago.

Long time ago.

Yeah. Yeah.

Diane said thank you. Awesome. Message me on Facebook your address and I'll make sure you get a copy of the book.

Okay.

I want to say thank you so much, Andrew.

Thank you for doing this, Donald. It's great. It's a great way to connect with people and I really appreciate you having me on. On.

Thank you. And then, of course, if you need to connect with Andrew, you can always go to af and co and co.com got tons of information on there. Look out for his new blog tomorrow. And if you're looking. Tomorrow, I said. You said Carbonate is putting out some stuff too, right?

Carbonate group.com. they're putting up three thought capital pieces around, you know, the whole COVID 19 crisis. Yeah.

The biggest thing you can do right now, don't. Don't go dark, don't go quiet. You know, keep communicating. In fact, I tell all my clients, up your communication. You got people that you're being positive. Don't get all gloom and doom on people.

You know, you wake up every morning, you say, I, you know, I forgot what day it is because it's all melting into one. But you know, you got it. You got to stay focused on. On the future.

Yeah, definitely. Definitely, definitely. All right, well, Andrew, again, thanks for stopping by. Be safe out there. Stay healthy, and I will speak to you soon.

Thanks again, Donald.

Thank you.

Bye. Bye.