GUESTS: 3 Tips for Properly Implementing a Restaurant Service Surcharge
There are a few main ways of offsetting rising labor costs, especially caused by local minimum wage increases. One of them is a service surcharge, but they’re not without their own pitfalls you’ll want to avoid. Here are a few tips to help get it right.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Per Capita Champs of the Olympics
In theory, Norway should also top the Pyeongchang's per capita medal table with ease given its population of 5.3 million. In actual fact, the tiny Principality of Liechtenstein which is squeezed in between Switzerland and Austria manages to top that particular medal league by virtue of a single medal win and a population of just 37,340. Tina Weirather won a bronze medal in the women's super-G, equating to 26.15 medals per million of the population according to Bloomberg.
Bake Goods & Pizza Worth Going to Jail Over
A 60-year-old mobster who was under house arrest for racketeering is back in jail after going beyond the boundaries of his “release conditions.” The mobster, amazingly nicknamed “Porky”, was allowed by a judge to leave his home to go attend his aunt’s wake. However, Porky’s love for baked goods and pizza got the better of him; instead of returning home he visited two pizzerias and an unnamed bakery. Next time just order delivery.
McD’s Drop the Ball Again?
Seems like the entire nation (or at least the Rick and Morty nation) have been waiting for the rerelease of their infamous Szechaun sauce. It came out again last night and it’s leaving some with wondering what the hype was about. “It tasted mainly like corn syrup with maybe a tiny bit of Worcestershire thrown in” is a rave review, right? Oof.
FAST-CASUAL…CHEESECAKE?
Why it matters to you: Cheesecake Factory joins the realm of fast-casual dining with a new concept restaurant.
Grab-n-Go/takeout restaurant concepts have been an emerging tactic of chain restaurants looking to increase sales while minimalize overhead costs. Cheesecake Factory's president said takeout was at least 12% of their Q4 sales in 2017 and they only expect it to trend upward. Because of this, their next move is a fast-casual concept. Many full-service restaurants are trying these concept stores in the wake of the surge of demand for more efficient takeout/delivery programs. It was only a matter of time before the larger chains tried it in one form or another and Cheesecake Factory is the latest to try it out.
These smaller stores make perfect sense for the industry trend of takeout and delivery-heavy programs. There is far less overhead which leaves significant room for profits to soar if done correctly. No servers to pay, minimal dining room costs; just some cooks, a counter person and delivery drivers really. If you were in charge of a publicly traded multibillion dollar chain wouldn't you try out a higher margin option? They aren't exactly a mom & pop, so we can't fault them!
NEW APP SLICE ONLY TAKES A SMALL ONE
Why it matters to you: While companies like UberEats want 30%, Grubhub and Seamless get 13%, Slice only asks a flat $1.95 per order. Pizza only of course!
You ever want to order a few slices or a whole pie, but the delivery charge turns you off from the whole thing altogether? How about offering delivery to your customers but you have to charge minimums for it to be worth your while? That’s where Slice (hopes) to step in. Whereas the other major players take a large-percentage cut, Slice hopes to corner the pizza-delivery marketplace by offering reasonable fees and more limited options (just pizza). People tend to order more food at a time from a pizza joint, so by limiting the fee to the flat $1.95, this model will not hurt the restaurant by skimming too much off of the bottom line. Someone orders six pies? Slice still only takes its’ $1.95.
Is this model the way to go in the future in order to keep independent restaurants afloat? Could be. This model certainly is far better margin-wise for the little guys and could absolutely change the game moving forward for the better. No more skimming 13-30% off of your restauran’s’ bottom line. If Slice is rolled out correctly and keeps this model, we should see more and more pizzerias embrace them with open arms. Good luck!
