STAFF: Gamification of Restaurant Staff Sales [INFOGRAPHIC]
If you’re looking to boost check totals, you should give suggestive selling a go. This infographic demonstrates both the realities of our industry’s performance in suggestive selling and the incredible opportunities we are running right by. As much as 80% of you acknowledge that you aren’t doing enough to suggestive sell to your guests. This translates into an enormous upside for operators that put effort into improving their sales execution.
And don’t forget to register to download our free eBook on suggestive selling – Gamifying Your Restaurant Sales.
DID YOU KNOWS…
‘Pour Your Own Beer’ Ends Poorly
At the Washington Capitals home opener, fans had the chance to use one of the shiny new “Pour Your Own Beer” stations – part of the $40 million stadium renovation. Fans drop $15 for a cup, scan their barcode, and then pour their own beer. Alas, nothing but foam emerged from the taps. Oops!
An Expensive Protest
Newly released documents from the Department of Homeland Security show that the vice president's early departure from the game was an extremely expensive form of protest for the American taxpayer. It costs the federal government $43,000 an hour to fly Air Force Two according to The Huffington Post and the aircraft was in the air for at least six hours across both legs of the journey, meaning costs added up to around $250,000. On top of that, accommodation for Pence's security team cost $64,637.88 in nine different properties. The most expensive of those was the Marriott Indianapolis Downtown which had a bill of $25,151. All in all, the cost of Mike Pence not watching that NFL game a year ago is estimated to be a minimum of $325,000.
Game of Thrones Scotches
Johnnie Walker has debuted nine Game of Thrones-themed scotches, one for each of the major households on the show, plus one for the White Walkers. The limited-edition scotches are available nation-wide and probably won’t be enough to hold us over until season eight starts next spring.
A GHOST OF A CHANCE
Why it matters to you: With $10 million from Google, will Kitchen United remake the industry?
Innovation is coming for our industry and there’s nothing we can do about it. Nothing is better proof of that than a recent investment into start-up Kitchen United that provides delivery-only kitchens and support services to restauranteurs. They are called ghost kitchens and imagery is perfect. The basic premise is you bring your recipes and marketing. They manage all the BoH functions for you, including delivering to your customers. That’s an oversimplification, but maybe not that much of one.
This means if you are in one part of a city and want to make your menu available to another, you can work with Kitchen United to develop and deploy your menu for delivery-only to that new demographic. It reduces your need for investment and the obvious economies available when you concentrate operations centrally. Think about how Dunkin’ Brands fulfills their donut and bagel products to their units and you’ll get the idea.
Is this the end or the beginning? Well, it’s the future, but maybe not the end of our past. People will always want to gather, interact and be social. This new paradigms will just make it easier for them to access the foods they like at a price the consumer can afford. It’s up to you whether you want to get on board.
[Source: TechCrunch]
JUST A MISUNDERSTANDING [Song]
Why it matters to you: The restaurant industry really doesn’t understand the sports themed segment, even a little.
If I read one more article on the sunset of the traditional sports bar, I’m sure I’ll scream out loud, a la Albert Finney in the movie Network. Ok, so I wrote one too, but still! The most recent tripe about how the sports-themed segment is no longer about chicken wings and loud sports fans is enough to make you want open your window and let it all out. This article on FSRMagazine perfectly illustrates how ridiculous most national commentary is about what’s happening with sports bars.
We have been supporting those soon-to-be-defunct sports bars for the better part of 25 years and what the pundits get wrong is that the demand for the sports bar hasn’t changed. People want to gather and they do so around sports viewing. One observation in the post is accurate that any restaurant or bar with even a single TV can be in the mix of sports-themed restaurants.
The key here is why people visit sports bars in the first place. While we can forget the singular value of your location, guests are coming to visit you because your place is an awesome location to watch their favorite teams or a major national event. The blog mentions two of our most exciting subscribers in Glory Days Grill and Arooga’s Grille. What makes these two stand out is they are not only amazing places to watch the games, they also deliver great food in a great atmosphere.
[Source: FSRMagazine]
