Thursday, January 5, 2017
Today's Specials:
MARKETING: Restaurant Blogging 101: The Who, What, Why & Hows
Restaurant blogging works. Every time you write a post, it increases your chance of being found online, as well as a great way to tantalize and entertain your current followers. Here's more.
LIST: Five Ways Your Restaurant Can Be More Green
The polar ice caps are melting, the weather is wonky, and scientists warn that mankind will soon be the cause of the sixth mass extinction the world has seen. Now more than ever we should be aware of our impact on the environment.
DID YOU KNOWS…
It Takes a While to Get Out…
Here’s a hilarious Heinz ketchup commercial out from India which pokes fun at itself and it’s slow moving condiment.
That’s a Lot of Tacos
Americans love Jack in the Box tacos. Like a lot. As in 554 million a year or 1,055 every minute. And yet, people who eat them even admit that they’re vile meals. So why do they sell so well? We might never know.
Inauguration Protest
So far fifteen DC-area restaurants will be donating some of their inauguration day profits to groups whose cause are opposite of that of President-Elect Donald Trump. Everything from Planned Parenthood to Human Rights Campaign.
NO GLASS THIEVES ALLOWED
Why it matters to you: In what ways can you ensure your guests aren’t stealing?
Restaurants lose thousands of dollars a year in stolen items from their establishments. A new beer garden in Washington DC is making an attempt to prevent glass thieves with a rather controversial method. The Midlands Beer Garden in Park View has instructed their bouncers to check guests’ bags upon exiting the establishment to ensure none of their glasses are stolen. In response to this rather intrusive policy, multiple negative yelp reviews have commented that the bag check is too aggressive.
There are multiple ways that we can ensure our guests are not walking off with our glassware. One German beer garden had so many glasses stolen that they implemented a system where they held guests’ IDs in exchange for using their unique glassware. Other common methods include adding an extra dollar per glass that customers will get back if the glassware is accounted for. Bottom line is to try and find a method that solves the problem without offending your other guests.
CANCER TIPS?
Why it matters to you: It’s your job to monitor what your servers tell guests
Here’s a story that will enrage even the most cynical among you. An Olive Garden server was heard bragging about receiving $100 tips from guests. A little digging revealed that he was in fact, telling his guests he needed money to cover cancer treatments, thus eliciting sympathy and generosity from his guests. This story is so horrible, especially if you have had experience with the destruction that cancer brings to the lives it touches. But that’s not the only sore spot this exposes.
We put so much trust in our staff as they interact with our guests. This is the worst case scenario where an employee entrusted with guest service acts reprehensibly. Guests also put their trust in their servers to care for them while they are dining and it creates a personal relationship. Anyone willing to exploit that beyond the measure of good service is more rotten than the cancer they claim to have. If anything, this story should motivate you to listen in more often as staff interact with guests and follow up to verify what guests are being told. None of us want to be the manager that’s staff does this, to be sure.
NEW HOSTS OF HOSPITALITY
Why it matters to you: Good service is a hallmark of our industry; would you opt-in to this new role?
Fast-casual is the fastest growing section of the restaurant industry, and we’ve all become aware of the appeal of speedy service and higher quality products at a lower price than fine dining. More and more, a new staple of the fast-casual restaurant is a new staff position. Enter “the line manager”, “the floorwalker” and “the culinary liaison.” All of those positions are new, except they aren’t. Somewhere in between a manager, host, and server, these staff members provide a pleasurable experience for new and old guests alike.
When there isn’t someone immediately available to answer questions or engage a guest visiting for the first time, chances are they’re likely to walk out in a fast casual setting. This role is essentially a guest experience coordinator that ensures a smooth operation on the floor where there are no servers or hosts. This new role is an answer to the question of how to offer better service with a reduced front of house staff.
In today’s restaurant news: how to leverage social media influencer marketing, the restaurant industry collapses under COVID-19, how Congress has failed the restaurant industry, and more.