Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Today's Specials:
GALLERY: The Most Accurate #ServerLife Tweets
We found a collection of spot-on tweets from people in the service industry that collected their everyday struggles using the ServerLife hashtag. Many of these really speak to the difficulties we face from all positions. Let us know which your favorite is!
DIRECTORY: Loyalty & Rewards Vendors
Looking to start (or revamp) your restaurant’s loyalty & rewards program, but not sure what vendors are out there? Use our Loyalty & Reward directory on NextRestaurants, which lists more than 40 companies that can help you give your guests the rewards they deserve.
DID YOU KNOWS…
It’s Pi-Day!
Today is 3/14, which means Pi Day! Do you have pie on your menu? If so, today’s a great day to promote your pies on social media (and email) and have a little math humor in the process.
RIP American Sports Network
The American Sports Network (born 2014) will be shutting down at the end of the month. The ASN aired college sports and some local sports coverage to certain parts of the US. The ASN’s content will go to Campus Insiders.
Order Pizza Anywhere with Pizza Hut Pi-Tops
Pizza Hut has unveiled hi-tops they’re calling Pi-Tops. They’re sneakers that use Bluetooth and geolocation to deliver pizza wherever you are. All you gotta do is hit the Pizza Hut logo on the shoe’s tongue and bam. Instant pizza delivery! Check the video out here.
BYO-Fish?
A new Asian restaurant in Casper City, WY wants to let patrons bring their own caught fish for their meal. The restaurant will offer a few prep options for guest’s fresh catch and cook it up for them, but they’ll need to sign a waiver first.
NEGATIVE YELP REVIEWS STRIKE AGAIN!
Why it matters to you: No one is immune to a one-star review, even the president.
Since before the election, negative reviews have been pouring in on review sites for Trump owned restaurants. Many of which are funny, referencing political snafus and direct jabs at our president’s appearance. Trump supporters, equally have been trying to bump up ratings, but at this point, negative reviews are far out-pacing positive reviews which have meant an overall ratings decline for the establishments.
Clearly, these reviews are politically motivated, a way for people who oppose Trump’s policies to hurt his business. For their part, Yelp does try to protect the integrity of businesses with monitoring and software that determines whether to rely on certain content. But, as we can’t help but wonder if Trump had actually divested from his businesses, would this even be an issue?
LADIES IN THE KITCHENS
Why it matters to you: Female chefs may run your kitchens in the near future.
Female chefs have become much more prevalent in recent years, and that trend is only expected to rise in coming years. According to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), for the first time, ever female students outnumber males with 51.6% enrolment. The Vice President of CIA stated, “women-owned food business is growing at a fast rate, which offers more and more opportunity for women to have a work-life balance.” She also suggests the influence of strong female restaurant role models paves the way for younger aspiring chefs.
Many of our establishments have already seen an increased in female kitchen staff which has provided a more diverse team. The restaurant industry is evolving to make the BOH environment more accommodating for a sustainable career for men and women. Many fine-dining restaurants have begun offering paid parental leave which is a trend that may catch on in the near future.
DON’T SCREW UP LIKE DOMINOS
Why it matters to you: Franchisees and Franchisors are in it together or so says the Attorney General of New York State
The relationship between Franchisee and Franchisor is a well-established structure that allows a business owner to grow their brand by allowing others to invest in their model. Franchisors vary in their commitment to controlling their own brand both a marketing and operation level. Most franchise agreements include rules about specific direction that a Franchisee must accept the franchisor. Thus you have the State Attorney General of New York, Eric Schneiderman, suing both Domino’s local franchisees and the national chain Franchisor over wage theft and abuse allegations.
Most of the Franchisees’ have already settled directly with the state, but now the AG is turning his attention to the last holdout, Domino’s corporate. He alleges that they not only forced their franchisees to us a flawed payroll software but also put a low priority on a known bug that miscalculated everything from hour wages to driver transportation cost reimbursements. In most people’s minds, they don’t separate a national brand from the local ownership and it turns out neither does the government. This proof positive that you if you are a franchisee or independent business owner it’s still on you to make sure you are complying with the law.
