To the editors,
I can sympathize with “Shocked and Stunned” (June 2009) but wish to give him some hope. I think I saw that same fellow having a clandestine cigarette in the basement of the Denki Building … perhaps he was only behaving oddly on the 20th floor because he felt compelled to do so by draconian regulations.
Best,
Mark Gresham

To the editors,
The Club lives on bread alone – or more correctly on food and beverage sales – and yet it appears that decisions on menu offerings are not subject to rigorous, objective analysis of sales data. It is human nature to express personal (emotional) opinion on F&B. But it is rare to hear the call to let the data decide the fate of a particular item(s). F&B Committee, please take note.

While I have heard, anecdotally, that the menu is, in fact, driven by items’ sales revenue, profit contribution and unit sales, there is not in place a formal, monthly ranking analysis of the “Billboard Top 50” and a “pop” and a “drop” scorecard. This would normally be generated by the POS system in the form of a graphic bar chart. In Japan, Seven-Eleven credits its sparkling success to its sophisticated inventory-control system, which eliminates, if I recall correctly, as much as 70 percent of new items annually – creative destruction. Thus you will find excellent products/quality at the outlets, albeit a bit pricey.

The Club has seen three new chefs – two executive and one sous – over the past 18 months. One result has been the disappearance of some longstanding favorites on the Correspondents’ lunch menu. But recently, a few oldies are re-emerging, e.g., the June 8 weekly menu has revived moussaka and Hash and Eggs. Some would scoff at these proletarian plates. But an owner would look at the “data first.” Compounding the issue is that over 90 percent of the F&B is consumed by Japanese members while a handful of non-Japanese, volunteer members are influencing the F&B selections.

Putting the “data first” can produce better outcomes for the Club. This only fosters the creative energies of the chefs/cooks to experiment with new dishes which can be quickly evaluated over several months, fairly and objectively. “Too many committees can indeed spoil the broth.” Using the No.1 Shimbun as a vehicle to display the F&B charts, graphs and tables would make it Club-centric, something long overdue, in my humble opinion.
Sincerely,
Greg Carley