September 20, 2016
Today's Specials:
IMPROVE: 3 Ways Restaurants Are Blowing It With Email Marketing [INFOGRAPHIC]
Are bars & restaurants using email marketing efficiently? According to a recent poll -- not even close. Here are three ways you're failing to take advantage of your email list.
LEARN: How One Restaurant Got Creative With Its Promo Nights (And You Can Too!)
Sometimes the simplest (and silliest) ideas are the best. Here's how one bar got super creative for a repeatable bar promotion that’ll turn a guests’ pain into pleasure.
DID YOU KNOWS...
Yarrr!
Yesterday was International Talk Like a Pirate Day and Krispy Kreme once again commandeered the celebration with some free donuts to anyone who dressed (or talked) like a pirate. Not all treasure is silver n’ gold indeed!
Speaking of treasure, if you love pirates check out this collection of pirate tales from one of The Rail’s very own!
S7s Are On Fire
We’ve heard plenty of stories and seen plenty of memes about exploding Samsung Galaxy 7s exploding, but now we have video evidence of some restaurant diners diving away as the phone smokes out. Check out the hot video here.
Live Like Potter
Want to live like Harry Potter? Well, if you have $620,000 you can. The home used in the movies --“4 Pivet Drive” -- is up for sale. It actually looks pretty sweet.
DEAR IDIOT MANAGER, YOU SUCK! SIGNED SERVERS EVERYWHERE
Why this matters to you: As a manager or operator in a restaurant sometimes you gotta be tough, but this note to employees is just absurd.
Thanks to The Bitchy Waiter, servers across the world have a voice. When one bitchy waiter minion noticed an injustice at Scarolies Pasta Emporium and sent it off, it brought down his wrath in the best possible way. The note in question reads:
“Waiter, Waitress, Busboy, Bartender If anyone is caught talking to another staff member during their shift, you will get an automatic 2 week suspension.”
Umm…what?! Seriously?! We can totally understand trying to enforce that your staff prioritizes guests over chit chat, but how can a restaurant work efficiently without communication?
Communication is literally the foundation of a well-oiled machine and quality staff. There are a thousand what if scenarios in which effective communication is key and could even mean life or death for a guest when food allergies are concerned. Restaurant managers take heed. Encourage effective communication. Don’t be a jerk and ensure your demise.
CLOSING TIME [Song]
Why it’s important to you: NYC is considering an ordinance that would mandate schedules be published two weeks in advance.
When polled, restaurant employees have stated that scheduling is the most frustrating part of their jobs and among the top reasons they quit. This omnipresent complaint seems to have reached the ears of the mayor of NYC, Bill de Blasio, as he is set to propose an ordinance that would remake the way operators manage their schedules. The rule that is being pushed, by the same folks that are bringing you the Fight for $15, would require that operators publish staff schedules 2 weeks in advance and pay a premium if a staff person’s schedule is switched last minute or they are required to work a ‘close/open’ shift with less than 10 hours between end and start.
This is truly misguided legislation. Not because employee’s lifestyles don’t matter, but precisely because they do. Operators are already slaves to the schedules they write and the way their staff responds. This rule would make scheduling less flexible and it ignores the fact that many of our staff value that flexibility. Being able to put 3 shifts into a weekend and have time off to boot is exactly why many of our staff welcome the close/open shift. Last minute emergencies and shift switches are a staple in our business and shouldn’t be legislated. Better to encourage operators to adopt better scheduling practices by utilizing services that expedite the process, than force unneeded and difficult to enforce rules on an already complicated process.
DANGEROUS CHICKEN?
Why it’s important to you: Ahmad Rahami’s family owned a fried chicken restaurant in New Jersey.
When authorities arrested alleged bomber Ahmad Rahami, they began the long and difficult process of piecing together what motivates a suspect to this level of criminal terror. That search led them directly to Rahami’s family owned fried chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It appears First American Fried Chicken was no stranger to local authorities with police responding to skirmishes between the business and their neighbors. Litigation with the city and general contentiousness, punctuates their history.
The city of Elizabeth actually enacted a 10pm close time for fast food restaurants specifically to curtail issues that existed at the Rahami’s place. Yet, even after the rule was in place, the Rahami’s stayed open later than 10pm. We can’t know what authorities are hoping to learn, but they have taken over the restaurant and building (where the family also lived) and were seen removing files and taking photos. There will certainly be revelations over the next few days and the restaurant looks to figure prominently in them.