Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Today's Specials:
WATCH: Six Restaurants that Might Get a Bad Yelp Review
We get it, sh*t happens; and some of these restaurants know firsthand. Here are six restaurants that had either given their best effort and had unfortunate luck, or just got it SOO wrong. In the future, these establishments should prepare for the wrath of Yelp.
GUESTS: Are Your Customers Winterspreading?
Winterspreading. It's a brutal seasonal epidemic that hits the restaurant industry every winter. Is there anything we can do?
DID YOU KNOWS…
Harassment Fighting Coasters
A new initiative in Toronto aims to fight sexual harassment in bars through drink coasters. Each coaster consists of eye-catching with unique artwork with ideas and thoughts to help combat sexual harassment of staff and guests. The project is called ‘On the Table.’
Trump Makes History
When Donald Trump is inaugurated on January 20, he will become the oldest elected president in U.S. history. Here’s how old our other post-WWII presidents were when they took office.
Airbnb Turns Investor
The San Fran startup, Airbnb, is turning from investee to investor. They led a $13 million funding project for Resy Network, a restaurant booking app, which competes with companies like OpenTable. Airbnb will use Resy’s table-booking services in an attempt to become a one-stop shop for travelers.
NO “FINS” ALLOWED
Why it matters to you: What are you doing in preparation for the next big game?
The Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins yesterday 30-12 in the race to the Super Bowl. In anticipation for the game, one famous Pittsburgh sandwich shop temporarily stopped serving fish for the game. Primanti Bros in Pittsburgh, PA, is open 24 hours and offers an extensive menu of sandwiches many including fish. In response to the game last Sunday against the Dolphins, they refused to serve “anything with a fin.” Football fans tend to be superstitious and after the Steelers’ recent win, apparently for good reason.
This is a great example of how a restaurant can rally along with their customers for the same team. Clearly, this restaurant knows their clientele and did not hesitate to think of new ways to support their customers supporting their favorite team.
WHY ELON MUSK IS AMAZING
Why it matters to you: Musk manages multiple companies and his Twitter account like a boss.
What happens when you tweet at Elon Musk with a complaint about Tesla? He answers almost immediately and provides a solution in under a week. A Tesla owner complained he was unable to charge his car at one of the charging stations because of other owners leaving their cars unattended, fully charge to shop.
Musk’s response was to add an idle fee for fully charged cars, discouraging owners to leave their cars unattended while charging. If this doesn’t illustrate the proper way to handle a customer complaint, we don’t know what does. There’s two take homes from this story: one is to listen to your customers and two, is stay on top of what people are saying about you on social media.
A TALE OF TWO RACISTS
Why it matters to you: When people are openly racist to someone always gets hurt.
In two unrelated stories, racist behavior has caused strong reactions from both a community and a major national corporation. Let’s start with an Ashburn Virginia server who received a horrible note, in lieu of a tip, “Great service…don’t tip Black people”. Turns out, the server is so well respected that when regulars saw her reaction to the note, they took the pic and posted it. The response to the post so far has been amazing. Her manager identified her as a real professional, guests poured into the restaurant after viewing the check image online and gave her money just to make it right. But the best part was her individual reaction, when she said, “[The customer] didn't hurt me. He only hurt himself. He only makes me stronger”.
Then you have the Dairy Queen franchisee, James Crichton, from Zion Illinois with a history of racist remarks. He had a confrontation with a guest where he called her the N-word. The incident was serious enough that the police responded. They even later verified the offended guest’s assertion that she was described by the DQ owner with that racial slur. However, that was all the police could do because the owner is within his first amendment rights to use whatever language he chooses. Consequently, Dairy Queen International stepped in and closed the restaurant immediately pending an ownership change. Crichton has since apologized, but it’s likely too late. Besides who wants their Blizzard with bigotry mixed in?
Hero Image courtacey of bgr.com
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.