While I of course am partial to my company's service, Restaurant Intelligence Agency, I am a campaigner against the waste in any kind of PR. Restaurants, in any economy, cannot afford waste. And yet I see it all the time.  Here are some tips and hints for reducing the cost of your PR.

1.  Don't use your publicist as a personal assistant.  Sure, they may be good at the job (after all, publicists are brilliant and multi-talented), but as personal assistants, they are way overpriced.  What qualifies?  Fetching you stuff because it seems convenient, taking dictation, making plane reservations (and restaurant reservations!), looking stuff up on the Internet, etc.  Those are not favors they are doing you because they like you, you are paying for that time. Paying dearly.

2. Learn to type. Really. I recognize that you are not an office worker but you are in business and business runs on email these days. Phone calls and voice mails for anything beyond chit chat or tossing an idea around are collasal wastes of time becuase they interrupt the flow of work, require a bunch of extra chat time, and often need written follow up when key facts are included.  And they aren't searchable when someone needs to refer back to the conversation.

3. Actually be where you are supposed to be for interviews and photo shoots.  The time a PR person wastes when you are not doesn't just include all the time they spend tracking you down because you are too lazy to manage your own calendar...it includes all the time they spend venting about your irresponsible behavior after.  And yes, you are docked for that time, too (whether directly or not).

4. Don't constantly call your publicist to vent randomly about a bad review or a journalist you believe doesn't like you unless you are willing to hear about positive steps you should be taking to make sure it doesn't happen again.  Seriously, get a shrink for that or vent to your better half.  Again, you are paying for the service of listening to your crazy rants.

5. Don't ask your publicist to get journlaists back in the door for a dinner just because you feel they haven't been lately.  If you want media to come back in, make it meaningful, which means make it newsworthy.  Otherwise, it is just a social dinner.  Honest.

6.  Answer your damn email.  Really.  Do you have any idea how much time it takes to keep track of all the work other people aren't doing becuase they are "too busy" to answer their email. And really, Obama can answer his own email.  So can Obama's chef. You can't?  Really?

7.  Stop judging your PR firm on the size of their report.  It makes them do whatever kind of busywork they can dream up in order to fill the report and busywork is just another name for your money getting flushed down the toilet.  Judge on quantity, not quality or you'll get quantity, not quality. 

7a.  BONUS!  Set up a google alert for your name, restaurant name, restaurant address, restaurant phone and any event or promotion you run.  Then tell your PR firm to stop wasting your money clipping reports and sending them to you.

8.  Set up your calendar in Google and be diligent about keeping it updated.  Let your publicist add to it directly, instead of making them chase you down every time a photo shoot needs to be scheduled.  It will save a lot of time.

9. Don't ignore your publicist when she tells you that an event or promotion needs more lead time to have impact.  Seriously, the release is sent out RIGHT NOW because you are excited about an idea you had for a promotion starting tonight is garbage. You are paying for work whose only outcome is that you feel cool.  Whoopie.

10.  Don't EVER tell your publicist to send out a release with a mispelled word just because you think you are right and Food Lover's Companion is wrong.