It's Worth Noting

A new Texas roadmap for must stop BBB joints & Cafes

I've always thought it would nice to have a map to reference when traveling across Texas to find the must stop BBQ joints and cafes.  I couldn't find one, so I've created it.  I'm just getting started, but I'll continue to update and am open to suggestions.  These spots are all worth a slight detour when you're traveling anywhere nearby.

http://www.itsworthnoting.com/blog/texas-roadtrip-bbq-cafe-map.html

Are you expanding at the expense of consistency?

During the past few months, our family has been traveling to and fro through small towns in Texas. Good or bad, I've become accustomed to the pleasure of a homemade cappuccino early in the morning. Since my cappuccino maker doesn't travel easily and these small towns have limited options, we recently decided to give McDonald's coffee a try. I've ordered four coffee drinks on two different occasions now. Three were latte/cappuccino varieties and one was plain drip. The only drink that was prepared correctly was the plain drip, but that was after a ten minute wait for them to brew a pot. The other three drinks were all incorrect. Flavored instead of plain, unsweetened instead of sweetened, etc.. 75% ordering failure rate and I bet the corporate office would consider the 10 minute wait for the one correct order a failure too. I'll round down and call it a 99% failure rate. It was enough for us to call their customer service number for the first time.

McDonald's has made its name and fortunes on being consistent. Regardless of what you think of them, you know what you're going to get each time. Same food, same menu, etc.. Have you ever been apprehensive about how that Big Mac was going to taste? No. Their business is delivering the same experience no matter where you are. As you consider expanding the products or services you offer, can you assure customers that the results will be consistent and in line with what they've come to expect from you? Your customers may quickly grow tired of being asked to roll the dice. We'll skip the McDonald's next time and head across the Louisiana border where the casinos offer better odds.

Save some cash when dining out

Having scoured the internet for a good source for local dining deals, e.g. kids specials, 2 for 1, etc., I've come up empty handed.   So, I've decided to create a simple site to compile local dining deals.  If it proves popular, I'll expand into other cities.  Right now, it's focused on Austin, TX and surrounding communities.  As I and others come across good deals, I'll tweet and update the Austin deal calendar on my new Daily Dining Deals blog.

The easiest way to stay up to date on new deals is to subscribeto the blog, subscribe to the calendar and/or follow diningdealsaus on twitter.

I do need your help to make this site useful for everyone.  If you run across a good deal, please share with others by commenting on the calendar post or tweeting me.  I'll update the calendar so the listing are always comprehensive.  Thanks!