ENTERTAINMENT: Baby is Born to Golf & Brazilian Ping Pong (Feet Only)
Each week, CHIVETV is kind enough to provide us with a preview of their upcoming content. Today we are featuring a couple of really entertaining clips. First there is a baby that was clearly born to golf. Check out his first 1 putt. Also, you’ll be holding your breath as four Brasileros play ping pong with a soccer ball and only their feet. It’s a rally you really don’t want to miss. Click here to see all the action and to learn more about how CHIVETV can deliver more of this entertaining content to your guests.
DID YOU KNOWS…
WE BEAR-LY EVEN ATE A SLICE!
How many times have you been eating some pizza out on the patio of your favorite steakhouse in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and then out of nowhere a black bear cub comes up to eat with you? All of the time right? No? Maybe that is just this server who shared the story here.
THEY GO TOGETHER LIKE LAMB AND TUNAFISH [CLIP]
Sometimes there is nothing that scratches the itch like a fast food favorite combo straight from our childhood memories. For a lot of people that means dipping their fries into a Wendy’s Frosty, a tried and true classic. Well, now you can get that combo for free delivered straight to your door with Postmates! You may want to add some items to make the delivery fee worth it though…
WHAT A GREAT SIGN!
Starbucks is opening its first signing store in the US in Washington, DC this fall(there is one in Malaysia that was the world’s first). This contributes to their goal of expanding their customer accessibility and employment opportunities as a company by the inclusion of deaf employees and sign language. Awesome job Starbucks, this is an area we could all greatly improve upon.
GOING DIGITAL MEANS MORE EMPLOYEES?
Why it matters to you: McDonald’s argues that adding digital ordering kiosks will mean more employment opportunities at their locations. Are they right? We’ll examine.
Most people at this point have ordered from a digital kiosk in some form or another at this point. It feels slightly more foolproof in some ways as you can plug in exactly what your order is down to specific, nitpick-y type requests and they will be spelled out for the people fulfilling your order. So, when McDonald’s said that they’d be adding more digital kiosks but that it would also mean more employees per store we were admittedly a bit confused. How would that work?Apparently with the introduction of these kiosks they are pivoting the roles of their cashiers in some instances. Many former cashiers will now run your food directly to your table, McDonald’s say that this will improve the guest experience because people will interact with their employees on a different level than ever previously seen in their establishments.
This we can actually get behind and understand on an operational level, moving your restaurant into the future while simultaneously not losing sight of what makes us special: our teams. The people who work in our establishments, as we all know, are the heart and soul of our brands and even when introducing new tech we should be aware of that and do right by them. Sure, sometimes a position will get phased out but ultimately the repurposing of labor (sometimes when we may not even have to) can keep morale up and leave your team not feeling like they should be concerned for their livelihoods. New tech is great, it is the future, but keeping our souls should always be at the forefront of decision making whenever possible.
[Source: Skift]
PICK IT UP [CLIP]
Why it matters to you: DoorDash added free in-store pickup to their app which made us think, how can we all improve our in-store pick up systems?
DoorDash recently added a no-fee in-store pickup option to their users that like their app/system but occasionally may be able to just pick it up themselves. Why use the app for this and not just go direct to the source? We don’t know… Any who, this got us thinking about how we could all improve our take out programs as an industry. Generally, a customer calls in and orders, waits x amount of time then shows up, pays and waits around usually before grabbing their food and leaving. Not too painful but it could all be better, see: Chipotle’s system. Chipotle was testing shelves in-store where their digital orders are placed for storage out of the way of everything so that people can just cruise in and grab their paid-for order and leave. Now, how this is possible without losing orders to theft we aren’t sure but we’d guess there is someone who keeps an eye on things to prevent this but that isn’t the point.
Our point is that Chipotle’s system may be the future of all take out in some evolved form down the line. All orders are prepaid so that your host or cashiers aren’t tied up by non-dine-in folks, they aren’t in the way of other customers waiting for a table or to order, and with that ease of ordering/pickup will sure come more business because customers will know that they can get a meal easily and fast. Sure, there are bugs to work out but if we all put our heads together we’re sure we can reach a great solution that will become the new standard. Even everyone collectively introducing a way to pre-pay will be an immense step up and should be a first step in the improved digital strategy of any establishment.
[Source: Skift]
