Monday, July 17, 2017
Today's Specials:
MARKETING: 5 Ways to Rapidly Build Your Restaurant Email List
Getting people to join your restaurant email list is one of the smartest digital marketing decisions you can make. Optimizing your website is important so here’s what to keep in mind.
DID YOU KNOWS…
DraftKings and FanDeul Breakup
Fantasy Football giants DraftKings and FanDuel announced that their plan to merge is officially off. Last year, both Fantasy Football companies agreed to work together to increase investment growth but faced challenges with antitrust. Both companies are still fighting independent legal battles.
How to Eat Sushi
Eating sushi has been a tradition in Asian culture since the beginning of time. According to Tokyo’s top sushi chef, many people do not eat their sushi the correct way. Take a look at how chef Naomichi Yasuda recommends eating sushi based on Asian tradition. Fair warning: You’re probably doing it wrong.
Burger King Goes Prosthetic
BK’s marketing team is trying to make up for their Google Device hacking stunt earlier this year. The chain has turned their efforts by giving away 1,000 free prosthetic hands to disabled people in Argentina. With the help from Argentina tech start-up, BK gave away free limbs so people could eat burgers with two hands.
CASH OR CARD?
Why it matters to you: Visa is offering $10,000 in benefits to select restaurants that go cashless.
A number of restaurants are going paperless for long term benefits. One underlying factor that is making many establishments switch to only accepting card payments is encouragement from credit card companies. Visa is now offering as many as 50 restaurants and food vendors $10,000 each to upgrade their payment systems to accept things like contactless payment (chip readers), as well as smartphone payments. Visa’s long term goal is to cut into cash sales so that the company can profit more over the exchange. Visa’s headquarters will begin accepting applications from interested establishments in August. One restaurateur told the Wall Street Journal that he believes his managers save about 23 hours per week not having to count cash or run to the bank.
Although many restaurants now have an incentive to switch to card-only payment systems, cash transactions are still relatively high. A study published last year found that roughly 64 percent of Americans aged 16 to 36 don’t even own a credit card; mostly own just a debit card. Visa understands that restaurants are one of their biggest money makers; however, not all payments will be made using a Visa credit card. It is important to weigh the options before going cashless by analyzing the existing diner transactions. If most transactions are made via cash, long term adjustment will be made more difficult.
DOL TAKES THE ‘STAGE’
Why it matters to you: How did you come up in the restaurant industry?
Making your ‘bones’ in the restaurant industry has always been more about the experience than education. So, when the Department of Labor announced a new initiative inspired by President Trump’s own reality TV series, we all thought, great idea. Of course, apprenticeships are paid positions that allow a young pre-professional access to the real world experience that will make a career, turns out the Department of Labor (DOL) is somewhat selective in how they view these arrangements. Take Staging for example. This is the custom where an aspiring chef or sommelier can work in a successful kitchen for no compensation other than the experience.
There is no shortage of ambitious restaurant folks that would jump at the chance to spend time in a kitchen owned by a well-respected and accomplished chef. Unfortunately, it appears the DOL doesn’t think that falls within our compensation laws. One such chef, Blaine Wetzel of the Willows Inn in Washington State, was fined by the DOL and ended his program because of the illegality of Staging. Wetzel has considered a more educational approach where the person would pay for a ‘class’ to gain the exposure to his kitchen, but clearly, asserts he didn’t use the Staging program to reduce his labor. For chef’s like Wetzel, who came up via staging, it’s like giving back and now he has to find another way.
