Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Today's Special:
TECH: How Text Messaging Improves the Restaurant Dining Experience
With up to 95% of Americans owning a cellphone and 77% of restaurant owners having a smartphone, just about everyone can be reached today on a mobile device. Here are four ways restaurants can improve the guest dining experience through text messaging.
DID YOU KNOWS…
NFL Beer Pride
Drinking Bud Light is a staple during football season. Now they’re letting us drink our team pride as they continue their tradition of NFL-themed packaging. This season, team beer will be available in cans and aluminum bottles and will feature your team’s logo with its catch phrase. Think the Patriots’ catchphrase will be 28-3?
Waste-Free Grocery Store
Ottawa has officially opened the first zero-waste grocery store in the Canadian town of Hintonburg. Nu Grocery sells a variety of products and encourages shoppers to bring their own (or purchase) reusable containers for the store to effectively produce zero waste.
Top 10 Ad Spending Industries
Each year, US companies spend around $200 billion to advertise their products. This infographic shows the top ten ad spending industries that, if combined, would account for nearly 80% of advertising dollars spent in Q1 of 2017. Can you guess which industry spends the most ad dollars?
IOU NEVER
Why it matters to you: Celebrity restaurant under fire for stiffing servers with an IOU system.
Some restaurants use an IOU system to keep track of orders that were either returned or dropped by accident. Workers at celebrity chef-run restaurant in Toronto have accused management of charging them for mistakes using an IOU system. Former employees at Fring’s Lee claim that the restaurant decreased their tips for mistakes including spilling a drink, bringing the wrong item to a table, or sending the wrong order to the kitchen –a practice that is illegal under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act. Two bartenders at the establishment analyzed their receipts proving that the restaurant withheld their earnings based on minor infractions.
On their receipts, a total amount was listed followed by a subtracted IOU which they never received. As a means of policy, some restaurants are legally allowed to subtract infractions such as dine-and-dashers from the server’s overall earnings. However, many places have made the practice illegal citing that the restaurant must pay rather than the server. CBC Toronto spoke with six former employees who all confirmed the restaurant used an IOU system even though it was illegal. As for Lee’s restaurant, a spokesperson says the practice has ended and that the docked tip money was used for staff events. Overall, this practice is viewed multiple ways and is approached differently depending on the restaurant operator. Let us know what you think –Is it okay to deduct staff tips based on infractions?
HOW TO USE SEXY HASHTAGS
Why it matters to you: Tips to create meaningful social media content to drive traction.
Interacting with customers is a great way for restaurants to get their brand known while also advertising their new attractions. As of June, more than 50% of businesses on Instagram produced an Instagram Story, and 20% of those organic stories received a direct message back from customers. That engagement from brands directly to their customers likely leads to an increase in sales and brand awareness, all of which can be beneficial in the long term. CNBC looked at some of the enticing ways to grow your business using social media, counting down five important concepts. The article examines the use of hashtags, emojis, and other essential aspects of attracting guests using Instagram.
Glen Gilmore, a professor at Rutgers School of Business, recommended restaurants use “sexy hashtags” as a means to attract customers. Instead of using generic hashtags such as #lunchspecials, you need to make your customers excited by using more specific language like #pizzalovers or #foodporn. One way that many restaurants find their social media base is to research what competitors are using and making sure the image quality is comparable. "You can't just hijack a hashtag and think it's going to work," said Gilmore. "You have to achieve the quality that goes with it, as well." Crafting meaningful social media content will definitely take practice, but once the routine is down, your business operations are likely to notice a big difference.
