The extra customers you bring in will more than offset the small percentage looking to pull one over on you. Time and time again Corky's has sold catering events for 1000+ Guests, and the guarantee was a major factor in closing the sale."

There is a lot of "me too" advertising in the world today. You need to think about some ideas that can help your restaurant stand out from all the others. It needs to be something that your competition cannot duplicate. Something that will give your restaurant a personality and Guarantees Extra Value and Outstanding Food and Service for every guest.

The one person that affects all of the areas that we just discussed is the owner/manager of the restaurant. Few businesses are more competitive than the restaurant industry and the people in your market area need to be aware that the owner/manager of your restaurant is directly interested in ensuring their complete satisfaction. The owner/manager understands that to reach their potential in business, the restaurant needs to differentiate themselves from the competition. The information below is how Big Dave Ostrander describes how he came up with his "Ultimate Pizza Guarantee:"

"I had a blinding flash of the obvious about seven years ago. It came to me in a dream. I scrawled a note to myself in a sleepy stupor, and rolled over. The next day I refined the Big Dave's Ultimate Pizza Guarantee. I not only guaranteed my product; I guaranteed my competitor's pizzas. We all make mistakes. I know that we mess up 1.5% of everything we make. My competition is also human and has an error factor like I do. I hoped that when things went wrong they would remember the guarantee. It goes like this ...

BIG DAVE'S ULTIMATE PIZZA GUARANTEE

• I feel a strong commitment to quality. I believe that no one needs to settle for an inferior pizza. Therefore, if you ever purchase an unsatisfactory pizza from any pizzeria in our area, call me at once on my personal line, 517-739-9660 and I will immediately exchange the uneaten portion of their pizza with a Big Dave's Pizza, of the same size and toppings ... for FREE!

BIG DAVE OSTRANDER

(Limit, 1 Guarantee per address) "The first year I promoted the Ultimate Pizza Guarantee I enjoyed over 300 conversions. Every new customer is worth, at a minimum, $500 in sales a year. They in turn have an average life cycle of seven years, and will tell all their friends. If they recommend Big Dave's to only five friends, in their circle of influence, and they recommend us to three of their friends, the annualized sales are amazing - $10,500 to be exact. And, your investment is only three or four dollars maximum. Oh, by the way, I personally delivered the pizza to the new convert, whenever possible, and brought back the competitors pizza for my crew to analyze and reconfirm that they are working at the best place in town. Three days after we gave them their free pizza, an amazing thing happens to them - they got a hand written thank you card in the mail, along with a refrigerator magnet and three Big Dave Pizza Bucks. Guess where they ordered their next pizza from?"