Monday, January 30, 2017
Today's Specials:
PROMO: OWN the wing game with Frank’s RedHot
Frank’s RedHot King of Wings program allows you access to buzz-building promotions throughout the year that help you engage patrons and turn your fans into true fanatics. Get access to trending recipes, insights, social media support and RedHot FREE STUFF! Look for info on upcoming the RedHot & Ice Cold Promo featuring Dos Equis. Learn more.
BUSINESS: Is Your Restaurant Raising These Red Flags?
Running a restaurant is tough, so we shouldn't be making our life any more difficult than it already is. Here are four common red flags restaurants raise, scaring away repeat diners.
HACK: Schedule Staff at :15 & :45 [Restaurant Hack]
Smart staff scheduling can relieve a lot of restaurant pain. Too many of us schedule servers at the top of the hour. Why not have your restaurant's servers start times staggered?
DID YOU KNOWs…
WHEN BIGGER ISN’T BETTER
If the rumors are true and Charter Communications partners with Verizon, it might be the end of choice for residential and commercial telecom customers. This infographic by Statista shows just how few players there are in the market remaining after years of consolidation. Less choice inevitably leads to higher prices, unfortunately.
DOES THAT LINE COME WITH A SIDE OF CHEESE
Bartenders are in a great position to both hear and use cheesy pickup lines at their job. So, it should come as no surprise that they have some great ones to share in this post on Thrillist. Our favorite was, “Are you, Angelina Jolie? Because I would love to raid your tomb.” Which one was yours?
Super Bowl 51: Flying Elvis vs. Rye-se Up
Bet you didn’t know that your favorite NFL team has its own signature cocktail? Yup, it’s right here, and you can see what pairs best with watching your team play on a Sunday. For the Super Bowl, it’s the Flying Elvis for the Patriots, while the Falcons have the more traditional Rye-se Up. Go team!
CHILI’S CHILLS ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD
Why it matters to you: Politics by definition is not inclusive.
Franchisees are independent business owners, but that only stands if they don’t reflect poorly on the Franchisor. That’s exactly what happened with a Chili’s Franchisee in Indiana and Kentucky when they offered a discount tied to donations for Planned Parenthood. What was intended as a community promotion turned into an online threat of boycotts from Pro-life supporters. That’s when Chili’s corporate stepped to put the mix on the promotion with this statement, “While our franchise partner had the best intentions; we have received growing feedback and concern from community members regarding the Give Back Event. This feedback does not reflect Chili’s focus on bringing communities together, and the event was never intended to be viewed as a partisan event or political statement. Therefore we, along with our franchise partner, have decided to cancel the event.”
It’s further proof that politics is toxic for any restaurant operator. Anytime you engage in non-neutral promotions; you are picking winners and losers. Unless you are prepared to alienate potential guests based on issues completely unrelated to your food, you should assiduously avoid them. You can have your views, but if you express them through your restaurant, you must be willing to live with the repercussions.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Why it matters to you: Did Starbucks employment of mobile ordering drive too much business?
When do sales increases lead to bad results? For Starbuck’s it’s when you increase sales so much that you drive away business. As they have pushed mobile ordering their sales, have increased, but this past quarter, their total transactions actually dropped. Their new CEO Kevin Johnson described it like this, “When those orders come in at that volume, it’s creating congestion at handoff,” Johnson said. “If the line looked too long, customers decided not to do the transaction.”
Their experience isn’t new. Operators frequently get surprised by volume changes and have to adjust, but in this instance, it’s more about the power of mobile to drive business that should have your attention. Increasingly we have been hearing about operators winning when embracing it. The key is to realize we live in an on-demand world and respond according. Click here to access our recent webinar on new digital technologies you should be considering.
