Tuesday, June 6, 2017
MARKETING: 6 Tips to Absolutely OWN Your Social Media
We love to rave about the power of social media, but your restaurant can’t just merely exist on social. You need to own it. Here are six ways of to truly realizing the power of your social media following.
DID YOU KNOWS…
What Gets Stolen from Restaurants? Everything.
*Sigh* Gone are the days where restaurant owners just had to worry about their silverware being lifted by some sticky fingers. Now everything is fair game. Beer glasses, champagne buckets, lamps, a tree. Here are some bizarre things stolen from restaurants.
8 Wine Slushies to Serve This Spring
Spring is here. Summer is coming. That means Slushy Season is upon us. Here are some cool wine slushie ideas, compliments of VinePair. We’d like one of each, please.
Twitter Engagement Higher When Streaming the NFL
Twitter’s CEO says it’s engagement for NFL streaming was up three or fourfold as compared to a game on TV. It makes sense. If folks are already on Twitter to watch the game, why wouldn’t they use it to talk about the game? This bodes well for the company’s Stadium concept, where it plans to stream news, sports and entertainment 24/7.
BUSINESS: BWW Shakes Board & CEO to Retire
Why it matters to you: The struggles of casual- themed dining are impacting everyone.
For 21 years, CEO Sally Smith has led Buffalo Wild Wings with professionalism, vision, and style. At the most recent shareholders meeting, it was announced that Ms. Smith will be retiring at the end of 2017. When she took over in 1996, BWW sales were $15 million annually; now they measure them in the billions.
If you had invested $1000 then, you would have experienced a 1700% increase since.
Unfortunately for Ms. Smith, the world of big business doesn’t care about yesterday and is focused on the most recent returns. That’s where the main antagonist, Marcato Capital, comes in to the story. The private equity firm holds a 9.9% share in BWW and have pushed for change.
Marcato’s main complaint is that the company holds too many restaurants and wants BWW to sell them to qualified franchisees. They have a point, because it appears that the franchisees are more profitable than the company operations. That being said, Ms. Smith deserves a better end to her tenure and has been and incredible steward of the company’s growth, brand value, and profitability over a 21-year period. Everything ends, but we wish this had ended better for her. Best of luck to you, Sally. You made us all better!
HUMAN RESOURCES: New Moms Face Challenges in the Beverage Biz
Why it matters to you: Women make up 53% of our staff and these issues matter to them.
We all know how tough our business is on staff. Long hours, high pressure work, and capricious customers all add up to a work environment more stressful than that of a neurosurgeon.
Now add to that being pregnant, nursing or raising children on your own, and you can see how issues surrounding new moms in the workplace need to be acknowledged. Simple things like daycare (or maybe more appropriately nightcare) can be huge impediments to a successful career in the beverage side of the hospitality industry.
It’s a commonly understood fact that most restaurants don’t willingly offer more than the legally mandated time off dictated by the Family Medical Leave Act, let alone paid time off. Since the business is mostly at night and typically children’s schedules are best managed on a more traditional clock, the challenges are compounded.
If you have women that are pregnant or considering getting pregnant, have an open and honest conversation about what you are willing to do to support them. Even if you aren’t able to do more than the legally required benefits, at least your team will know. In the end, you spend more time with staff than family in many cases, so don’t miss the opportunity to take these issues by the horns.