Category Archives: Bright Ideas

Providing even more variety?

As you know, we get tons of feedback each month.  One common request has been for us to offer 4, 8 or 12 ”half-meals” at a Let’s Dish! session.  Unlike traditional “splitting”, where dishers get two of each half-sized meal, “halving” (so to speak) would provide more variety by allowing dishers to make just one half (not two halves) of a regular, full-sized meal.

We’re all for variety, and this seems like a pretty good way to achieve it.  But halving is not without its potential snafus, as our whole operating systems (online and in-store) revolve around a meal for 4-6.  (For example, there is no place on line to indicate you want to make half-meals, and once in stores you’ll see our chicken breasts come 6-to-a-bag).

But we’re currently developing a “work-around” test, i.e., a relatively simple way to accomplish our objective of increased variety.  Our tentative plan (probably to start in November) is to create a “promo code” (likely “HALVES”) that customers enter on checkout at letsdish.com.  It will “discount” a traditional 4, 8 or 12 meal session to just $13.50 per dish.  Once in store, customers will dish half-meals, rather than splits or fulls.  They’ll have to ask staff to help them split some of the proteins, but hopefully that help will be provided quickly and efficiently.  Most other ingredients (veggies, breads, etc) can be halved easily by the disher.

We’ll start this as an experiment (more info forthcoming), in hopes that it will give dishers a chance to “halve” your cake and eat it too!

About Jeremy

We appreciate your feedback!

As regular dishers know, we send a survey to every customer following their In-Store, Dish-n-Dash or DishDelivery session.  You may not realize that we get over 1000 completed surveys each month… and we read every single one!  Your feedback has been essential in helping us develop some of our new services and programs, including:

And you bring up questions that make us think:  Should crying babies be permitted at sessions?  Could you have splitters’ utensils at the stations instead of just “fulls”?  How much more would it cost to provide all (or some) organic ingredients?  [Feel free to post a comment on these — or other — issues below].

But we have to admit, our favorite part of reading comments is seeing how important our service is in making your busy lives a little easier, healthier or simply more pleasant.  Just look at a few of the actual, unedited comments that came in this week:

  • “I’m so glad a friend took me to ‘Let’s Dish!’ As a working mother with two small children this has made our evenings less stressful and more enjoyable. My husband likes the meals and I like that everything’s already done. I wish I would have known about this when I was pregnant!” - Amanda
  • “I’ve only been in twice and both times have been phenomenal!  I told the staff that my dishing experience was quickly becoming the highlight of my month.  The food is fabulous and requires so little thought on my part - which is wonderful when entertaining - and every time I go, I am greeted with such a friendly staff and a fun experience.      Let’s Dish is the greatest invention ever!!!” - Savannah
  • “I am a total convert- love how this simplies my life at dinner time every day and frees me up to spend more time with my kids! ” - Chari

So please keep the feedback coming.  What we’re doing well, we’ll strive to do more of.  And where we drop the ball, we appreciate your letting us know!

About Jeremy

Customer entering ratings

Parent/Kid Sessions Featured on ‘Kid Baltimore’ Blog

Judging by the popularity of our Parent/Kid sessions, we knew we were onto something. But even we were surprised and delighted to find we’d been “secret shopped” by Joyce Hesselberth of the popular “Kid Baltimore” blog. “Restaurant-quality food”, she wrote after bringing her daughter to dish on July 31st; “directions are super clear, and the ingredients are beautiful and fresh.” And when she invited the extended family to their first meal? “Disappeared before I knew what happened,” she beamed.

As Joyce noted, Let’s Dish! Parent/Kid sessions are a great chance to efficiently combine kid entertainment with household chores. Overall, the meals are “a big hit” she says. And we couldn’t agree more. Check out the complete Kid Baltimore write-up here. Or sign up for your own Parent/Kid experience (one kid, age 8+, per parent please!). Happy dishing!

About Jeremy

RECOMMENDED LINKS
>
1 Dish? 6 Dishes? 11 Dishes? We’re Flexible.
> Bring your kids with you to dish this summer!
> Wow the crowds at home and on vacation!

Maeve (now 5 1/2) and Charlotte (now 4) cook together.

Click to continue reading “Parent/Kid Sessions Featured on ‘Kid Baltimore’ Blog”

Which Pie’s For You? Buy One / Try One at 50% OFF

Man, we love getting emails like the one below. While I personally am a documented aficionado of our S’mores Pie, Julie W makes a strong case for the creamy cool richness of Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie. Which is better? See for yourself! Just print this blog post and bring it into any MD or No. VA Let’s Dish! location and get 50% OFF any pie when you buy a pie at regular price.

Dear Let’s Dish!,

Your Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie is the bomb! I served that wonderful pie of yours to my parents last night for dessert and they were practically licking their plates clean! I think that Let’s Dish! needs to rename this desert as Awesome Frozen Strawberry Margarita Pie because it’s so delicious! Thank you again for sharing this wonderful and yummy desert with me and my family! It was a big hit!

Cheers, Julie W.

Let us know which summery pie you like best — make a comment on this blog post! Talk about a delcious dilemma….

About Jeremy

Offer expires August 15th, 2008, and cannot be applied to previous purchase or combined with other offers. Must present coupon to redeem.

RECOMMENDED LINKS:
>
1 Dish? 6 Dishes? 11 Dishes? We’re Flexible
> Walk-in Wednesdays now available

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Click to continue reading “Which Pie’s For You? Buy One / Try One at 50% OFF”

More Freedom from Your Freezer

Solutions to Fit Your Busy Lifestyle

Everyone loves meals you can cook straight from frozen.  Schedules change, the dog needs to be walked, you haven’t had your coffee.  Sometime you forget to start thawing a meal in the morning.   Who could blame you?

Not us, that’s for sure.  You’ll now find on our menus a greater selection of meals that cook-from-frozen. 

And for meals we recommend you thaw first?  Well, we are now are providing on our website “alternative cooking methods” — whereby almost all of our meals can be cooked from frozen (with a few minor adjustments in procedures).  Log in to your account and check the My Cookbook page to learn how you can get it onto the table faster – with little to no compromise in taste.   Look for the “Freezer Freedom” newsletter link at the bottom of the page.

Click to continue reading “More Freedom from Your Freezer”

Now More Ways to Get a FREE Dish!

Introducing DishPointsYou know about DishRewards. That’s the program we launched this spring, where you earn DishPoints (good as cash on www.letsdish.com) for doing all the things you love: dishing, recommending Let’s Dish! to friends, hosting parties, dishing some more, etc. DishPoints stack up quickly (we’ve already given away well over a million of them!). Real customers like yourself are earning $40, $50, even $60 OFF their sessions. In fact, you probably already have some DishPoints. Log in to letsdish.com and check your balance today!*

But what about our Ready Made customers? If you shop the convenience of our retail freezer, you probably want in on the action too. That’s why we created the Ready Made Rewards Card. For every purchase of $25 or more, you get a dish stamp. 10 stamps and you get a FREE dish. Essentially, it’s a Buy 10, Get 1 FREE offer! You can even see a menu sampler of dishes available in the ReadyMade freezer online. Check out the details in store and grab your card today!

Ready Made Rewards CardAbout Jeremy

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*You do need your own Let’s Dish! account to have your qualify for DishPoints and the DishRewards program. An account will automatically be created for you when you place an order under your own name and email. If you don’t have one, you can sign up in less than a minute, click here to get started!

RELATED LINKS:
> Learn more about DishRewards
> Log in and check your DishPoints balance
> Visit the Ready Made menu sampler to see the delicious Let’s Dish! meals available right now!

Walk-in Wednesdays now available!

Walk-In WednesdaysWe have gotten thousands of customer suggestions and requests over the last few years, and none as often as the request to be able to walk in and dish at Let’s Dish! store without an appointment. We’ve heard your feedback and are excited to launch Walk-In Wednesdays!

Now on Wednesdays, you can walk into any of our participating Maryland or Northern Virginia locations and dish anywhere from 1 to 13 meals at a time.* No appointment necessary. You heard right. No appointment necessary!

We are thrilled to try out the new walk-in idea, and summer is the perfect time for it - when everyone’s schedule become more hectic and planning a dishing session can seem nearly impossible. We think you’ll be excited too (hey, you’ve been begging us for it)!

If Wednesday is your regular dishing day, don’t fear - you can still sign up in advance if you wish, just like you normally would. That will guarantee that all the food you ordered will be waiting for you when you get there.

Check the online calendar for your store’s Wednesday hours and stop by to dish!

About Emily

*Participating Let’s Dish! locations include Baltimore and Columbia, MD, and Alexandria, Ashburn, and Fairfax, VA. Menu items are subject to availability. Only customers who make 4 or more meals will have those meals counted toward DishRewards.

RECOMMENDED LINKS
> 1 Dish? 6 Dishes? 11 Dishes? We’re Flexible.
> Bring your kids with you to dish this summer!
> Wow the crowds at home and on vacation!

Bring your kids with you to dish this summer!

Kids like cooking?  Take ‘em dishing!School’s out, now what?

That’s the question on many parents’ lips this time of year. Camp, the pool, vacations, etc., are all fantastic ways to spend your summer. But what about those times when the kids are out of camp and tired of the pool or god forbid it’s raining? Why not bring your child with you to Let’s Dish!?

Dishing is a great way for kids to learn about the things they eat and feel more involved in dinner time. It may also help those picky eaters to try new things. They can pick out dinners from our monthly menu and then help to make and cook them! Dishing can also be a fun bonding experience for the both of you.

This summer, we’re adding more “Parent/Kid Sessions” (specially marked as such) to our calendar for you to choose from. Kids 8 years of age and older are encouraged to come to these sessions and dish with a parent. We ask that you help ensure that your child is well behaved and mature enough to handle basic food safety procedures (hand washing, etc) while in the session. Children must be accompanied by a parent at the food stations while dishing. If you have any specific questions about brining your child to dish, contact your nearest Let’s Dish! store.

This summer, when that inevitable question of “what else is there to do?” comes up, you’ll be ready!

About Emily

RECOMMENDED LINKS:
> “Let’s Dish!: The savings might surprise you.
> “Kid-Friendly Let’s Dish! Meals featured on WUSA9â€
> “Wow the crowds at home and on vacation!
> “FREE Delivery for New Moms!

DishDelivery to the summer vacation rescue!

Let’s Dish! was featured on Beltway Gourmet this morning as WBAL’s Doug Roberts talked with us about preparing meals for vacation. Roberts asks the question: “While the rest of your gang is having lots of summer vacation fun, how much time are you going to spend planning and shopping and preparing all those meals?

DishDeliveryOur answer: DishDelivery!

Roberts lets folks know that all they have to do is head to Let’s Dish! for meals and “you’re good to go!” In his interview, he features our Baltimore store, but don’t dismay - DishDelivery is offered at all our Let’s Dish! stores in the mid-Atlantic, so you can order and *finally* get that relaxing summer vacation!*

Co-owner Rick Corcoran explains how it all works and why this has become one of the most convenient ways to “dish” and benefit from healthy, delicious and already-prepared meals at home or on vacation. Order online and have your meals delivered to the beach - it couldn’t be easier! And, Julie Linz was in Timonium to dish on a crumptious salmon recipe on May’s menu.

The real proof of the convenience of DishDelivery is shared by Let’s Dish! customers, Tracy Pohlhaus and Kay Carney. Traci is having her meals delivered to the beach house - and going green with her saved space by downsizing the car they use to get there. Kay echoes her sentiment: “Now I don’t even have to go and pack the things in my car…they’ll bring them right to me! How much easier could it be?”

So, take a listen and find out more about our NEW delivery option. It’s DishDelivery to the summer vacation rescue!

We RecommendBeltway Gourmet on WBAL AM 1090
(Dave Durian and the Morning Team, Interview by Doug Roberts)

Alexa’s Signature
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RELATED LINKS:
> DishDelivery for Mother’s Day: Make your Mom’s day even brighter
> Learn all about DishDelivery
> Sign up for a DishDelivery now
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*Let’s Dish! locations referred to in Food for Thought post are: Baltimore, Bel Air, Columbia, Gaithersburg, and Rockville, MD and Alexandria, Ashburn, Fairfax and Leesburg, VA. Let’s Dish! is currently offering corporate programs, including delivery, in the mid-Atlantic region. For more information, please email Food for Thought.

We Recommend: Cutting Down on Catalogs

For a fresh idea on spring cleaning, here’s a great article from the The Wall Street Journal on how to cut down on the catalogs you receive in the mail. It’s not only going to save you time and clutter, but your sanity as well - who needs all that sorting! Plus, you can “do right” by those trees - it’s the green thing to do.

We at Let’s Dish! are also committed to saving your sanity as well by making sure all the information you need to “dish” is online at www.letsdish.com. Did you know you can find:

  • Monthly menus for up to two months
  • Nutrition facts, cooking instructions, ingredients and dietary modification options for each dish
  • Special offers and events for your local Let’s Dish! store
  • A chance to earn unlimited discounts when you Refer-A-Disher to Let’s Dish!
  • The opportunity to opt in to receive promotions and news via email

So, while you may occasionally receive a coupon in the mail (and we’ve heard you don’t mind these little postcards), we’ve put in all on letsdish.com for you. It’s information at your fingertips - at the office, at a friend’s house, or even at home in your jammies!

Click to continue reading “We Recommend: Cutting Down on Catalogs”

Tip of the Day: How To Keep Food Fresh

Consumer Reports is a valuable resource for so many savvy shoppers out there. But did you know they give advice on more than cars and electronics?!

Follow the link to read their “Tip of the Day” on how to keep food fresh, posted on the Consumer Reports Home and Garden blog. And, don’t forget, to keep your Let’s Dish! meals fresh, always follow the label instructions and be sure your packaging stays sealed in your freezer and fridge when thawing. As you can read, all foods - including meat, poultry and fish - can maintain its flavor and freshness if you use the proper storage.

Click to continue reading “Tip of the Day: How To Keep Food Fresh”