DSR Live!

DSR Dave has a few suggestions on how to achieve the margin you need to make, and keep your customers in business plus making money. Miesse explains it takes some work, but it’s worth it to get your calculator and your customer’s scales out and start weighing the yields and portion sizes.  Breaking things down to the basics is a must if you’re going to have any chance of helping your customers which ultimately will help you. Pack sizes on the same kind of product are one of those ...

Owner/operator, Chad Beardon of Click’s Steakhouse in Pawnee, Oklahoma tells how he runs his day-to-day operations.  Since 1962, Click’s Steakhouse has been serving up steaks, seafood, and burgers, plus breading their own mushrooms and onion rings, along with making their own desserts.   Chad talks about:  ...

If you’re looking for ideas on selling any specialty products, listen up. Chef Kyle Bernstein, was on The Food Network’s “Chopped” and is also a DSR at a Petrossian, a Specialty Distributor in NY who specializes in caviar, smoked fish, foie gras, cheeses, chocolates and more.  She does a lot of phone sales, but is also out on the streets for making cold calls, sampling product and wait staff training.

Mike Mahr of Feesers Food Distributors, Harrisburg PA, is the latest inductee into the AFDR DSR Hall of Fame.  Mahr was a Chef for 30 years in his own kitchens before expanding his experiences and expertise into dozens of his customer’s kitchens.   Staying active in the ACF (American Culinary Federation) helps this DSR of the Month keep current with trends and new products. Mike like...

As a local Mom & Pop restaurant, Bouser’s Barn Restaurant & Catering buys from five (5) distributors and takes on the big chains that have all the resources!  This Union City, Indiana restaurant has been part of the local scene since 1963 when Keith Bousman’s mother started a small pizza and sub shop.  They decorated the place with hometown memorabilia because that appealed to their local customer base.  One booth is named “Hang o...

Ms. Kile gives DSR Dave and guest hosts Steve Dahl and Bill Hornung great insights into what DSRs need to be working on with their hospital customers.  Carolyn gives many great examples of the kinds of products she needs to run all the different operations inside of one hospital.  Kile not only manages the in-patient services, she also helps with the cafeteria, upscale special functions, elderly feeding meals, Head Start program...

Mr. Hirsch had been in the food industry for 28 years making his way and making a difference.  He was a founding board member of AFDR (Association for Foodservice Distributor Representatives) and wanted to give back to the industry in which he had found such success.  Hirsch won many DSR sales awards in his career, and is the only DSR to win the most prestigious “DSR of the Decade” award at Ben E Keith.

Art Goodwin has been running his independent restaurant since 1979 in Circleville, Ohio, and says that he’s had three or four really good DSRs in that time frame.   Goodwin also explains that he could never buy from just one distributor because NO distributor carries all the Branded products that he uses in his operation.  Art says that DSRs are always trying to sell him “their version” of the Branded item he wants, but there’s nothing like the real thi...

Martin Bros. DSR, Todd Hauser a.k.a. President of AFDR, explains how he moves a prospect from price shopping to taking money to the bank. If you show a prospect right off the bat that you’re there to help them make money (DON’T ACT LIKE A SALESMAN), in most cases they won’t treat you like a salesman and will open up and accept some of the help you’re offering. Hauser says that many of the times he’s done this with...

Know and build on your personal “Brand Identity” to make yourself more valuable to your customers. Guest host Tom Shea from Upper Crust Enterprises Inc. and DSR Dave discuss how DSRs need to have their own twist that separates them from the DSR herd.  What special value do you bring to your customers?  Shea will explain how building your own “brand” will separate you from the DSR crowd.   DSR Dave agrees with Tom, that almost all of the really good DSRs he’s worked w...