August 4, 2016
Today's Special
This Week in eSports... Should eSports be in the Olympics?
This week in eSports: South Korea pushes for eSports acceptance into the Olympics, Wendell Lira quits pro soccer for pro gaming, and Turner Sports is happy with the first season of ELeague.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Sorry, no cash, plz
Healthy food restaurant Sweetgreens went cashless at a handful of their restaurants in January and the results have been positive. Co-Founder Jonathan Neman thought it was a “harebrained idea” at first, until he realized other industries (like airlines) had been doing it for years. Instead, Sweetgreens is pushing for debit/credit card and mobile apps for payment. Among the benefits — faster service and robbery deterrent.
A reason to smile?
The medical benefits of flossing are unproven, according to the AP. Last year, the AP asked the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture for evidence that flossing prevents gum disease and cavities (why did they ask? who knows), but when the Feds issued their latest guidelines this year, the flossing recommendation had been removed, unceremoniously. Coincidence?
Ba da da da dah, they’re loving it
McDonald’s sales dwarfed every other quick-service chain in the US, topping $35 billion. Here’s an infographic that compares McD’s to everyone else. Spoiler: It’s ridiculous.
HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW
Why it matters to you: #InstagramStories is ripe for great social media marketing.
Tuesday evening Instagram launched a new service to their app -- #InstagramStories. It’s basically a Snapchat rip-off that allows you to post content that will disappear in 24 hours. These posts don’t appear in your profile grid or in a follower’s feed. Instead, a small circle with your profile pic is displayed above the main feed of the app. Viewers click it and see the photo or video you’ve uploaded.
So how can bars & restaurants use #InstagramStories for their social media marketing? The possibilities are numerous. For example, you could have your head chef do a short video explaining the specials for the day. Or you could upload a photo with a special code that will give diners X% off their meal. People would need to be your followers to get the code and it’s only valid as the #InstagramStories post is live.
NOTHING BUGS HER
Poor Hope Solo, she is just a lightning rod for people’s ire. One would guess that’s what you get when you are successful, beautiful and outspoken. Brazillian fans, attending the USA Women’s Olympic soccer match against New Zealand only wanted to taunt Solo for her recent comments about the Zika virus and traveling to Rio for the games. Solo posted ashot of herself wearing a beekeeper’s mask and holding a giant bottle of insect repellent in anticipation of her trip to Rio. Have no fear, our girls won 2-0 and will face world #3 France in their quest for their next gold medal.
See this Instagram photo by @hopesolo * 33.2k likes
I’M FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND I’M HERE TO HELP
Why it’s important to you: Always ask anyone claiming to be an official government representative for proper identification.
This one will leave you scratching your head…an 18-year-old Michigan man named Nicholas M. Fuhst entered the Hooter’s in Kochville Township, MI, identified himself as an undercover cop, and requested a list of all of the people on the staff. Yes, you read that right. After reviewing that list, he asked for more information on some of the employees. Fortunately, any reputation for not being savvy ascribed to Hooter’s girls was ill-placed because it was a server (not the manager, ugh!) that realized something was amiss and she called the police.
Honestly, when you see the kid’s picture you will be even more incredulous as to how he convinced anyone that he was an undercover cop. Worse, when the real cops went to arrest him, they found multiple knives, lighter fluid and zip ties along with the list of Hooters employees, on which he has circled several names.
We are taught to have an inherent trust of anyone that is a government official. Remember the fast food restaurant hoaxes earlier this year? You know, the ones where a caller, claiming to be a firefighter, directs the restaurant to bust all of their windows because of a gas leak or CO2 build up. As a manager you are responsible for the safety and well-being of your staff. So being a skeptic is probably the best way to insure you don’t get hoodwinked.
OH SHOW ME THE WAY TO THE NEXT WHISKEY BAR [Song]
Why it’s important to you: Whiskey is the hottest adult beverage segment, are you leveraging it?
Single-malt whiskey has been hot for a long time. Countries like Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Japan and the United States have been producing single malts with great success, but now new players are joining the fray, making whisky a global affair. The English, known for gins and beer, are now seeing a resurgence of single malt distillers. It’s been 120 years since the Brits have distilled whiskey, but there are now two credible operations creating very good English Whiskey…or is that Whisky (this link is a shameless plug for our recent Under 60 Seconds on whiskey). The French, Australians, Indians (largest consumers of whiskey, btw) and even Taiwan. Maybe a cool international whiseky menu is in order to show your guests that you are always ahead of what’s hot and what’s not.