Over the last half century, MUFSO attendees have had the opportunity to listen as hundreds of the country’s best and brightest shared their observations about business in general and the restaurant industry in particular. While speakers often addressed particular issues of the day, much of what they said often proved to have broader, more timeless applications. The following quotations give some hint of the kinds of ideas that were expressed by participants of the various MUFSO events around the country.
“When a country backs an industry that does not make its own way, it is subjecting our people to an additional tax. This is unfair. A true believer in capitalism would not advocate such favoritism. If an industry cannot make a profit, it should be permitted to fail. It should not remain operable, artificially, just to keep full employment.”
—Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, commander of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-power program, 1982, Washington, D.C.
“The 1990s have shown us that the good old days are gone. The industry as a whole will become stronger when complacency is punished in the marketplace. Today, significant market share increases come only at the expense of someone else. Some of our colleagues here today will not be here 10 years from now.”
—Michael Quinlan, chairman of McDonald’s Corp., 1998, Chicago
“People forget what a place of hospitality is supposed to be for. It’s a vibrant, living thing—a gathering place. How do you give a place life? Through the food or the product and through promotion. We must give more than just a dining experience. We must give away fun and excitement.”
—Michael Hurst, vice president of Marina Bay, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 1979, Miami Beach, Fla.
“Too many operators are willing to settle for bodies instead of good people, and pretty soon you rationalize that these people are doing a good job. Then you’re really in trouble because the poor workers drive away good workers, who must carry an unfair load.”
—Robert Gaudrault, president of Friendly Ice Cream, 1975, Toronto
“Service describes the degree to which you deliver technically on your promise. Hospitality describes how you make the recipient of that service feel.”
—Danny Meyer, founder and president of the multiconcept Union Square Hospitality Group, 2007, Los Angeles