LEADERSHIP: Four Ways Restaurant Managers Can Lead with Empathy
Management is tough. Not only do you handle scheduling, inventory and other operational tasks. But you also have to manage your staff and your restaurant’s guests. Here are some ways to navigate those difficult personal situations.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Hurricane Florence Hits the NCAA
Hurricane Florence is slated to hit landfall this week and it’s led to a bunch of college football games being moved or canceled, impacting TV lineup as well. Two Top-25 games have already been canceled. Be sure to log into your SportsTV Guide account to make sure you have the most up-to-date sports TV schedule available for your area.
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Americans Still in The Driver's Seat
The automobile remains the king of the morning commute in the US, though the situation is starting to change. A Gallup poll conducted in 2007 found that 85% of Americans drove themselves to the office while 6% took a ride with someone else. Just over a decade later, the vast majority of Americans still count on their automobile to get to work, but fewer than in 2007. The most recent edition of the poll found that in August 2018, the share commuting to work alone by automobile dropped to 77% while the share riding with someone else remained unchanged.
The Most Ridiculous Things Overheard by Servers
The server-guest relationship is always an interesting one. There’s typically a certain distance between the two even though they interact closely. This sometimes allows servers to hear some truly weird things said by guests– everything from ordering burgers raw to invisible bands to how to pronounce a server’s name and more. Enjoy!
OR TRY IN THE LATE NIGHT [SONG]
Why it matters to you: If you’re looking for extra revenue you might try capturing the late-night crowds.
While a lot of restaurants have looked toward breakfast or the business lunch crowd, others are turning to the munchy late-night crowd to increase their bottom line. Many towns and cities have no real late night food options, meaning there could be a niche just waiting to be served – especially in areas with an active nightlife. A big part – and, arguably, the main part -- of late-night eats are crave-able foods and comfort foods.
Simple, greasy foods often top the late-night craving list, so when building your late-night eats menu think about items like fried chicken or wings, a burger or sliders with fries, mac & cheese, nachos, and a big one lately has been breakfast sandwiches. Feel free to poll your guests about what they want, however, so you’re not offering anything they’re not interested in in. Launching a late-night menucan especially be beneficial to restaurants near an active nightlife. If you’re not, you’ll definitely want to consider delivery. Be sure you get the word out properly, so your community knows about your new late-night program.
And since California is slated to have a 4am last call in a few years, local restaurants and bars should be planning their new menus soon.
[Source: Restaurant-Hospitality]
DOESN’T SOUND SO IMPOSSIBLE AFTER ALL…
Why it matters to you: White Castle expands their impossible slider nationwide and we are not surprised.
As you may remember, the Impossible slider made its way into a few White Castle locations back in April and now they’re expanding distribution. The Impossible slider “easily exceeded” their sales expectations and White Castle will offer it in all 377 of their locations. This situation was certainly aided by the flexibility of Impossible Foods being willing to pre-portion their “meat” into patty sized, ready to cook portions. If that is all it took for this much plant-based success it was a small hurdle to overcome.
What does this really mean for independent operators? We think it is high time we all have plant-based options (specifically burgers) on our menus. There is clearly a massive demand for plant-based burgers, so we’d be fools to not hop on the train. Healthier twists on classic comfort food are a relatively failsafe option to offer. It’s easily recognizable but still fits your guests’ dietary needs. From plant-based burgers to cauliflower crusted pizza, and more we’ve got to step it up with our healthy options. Nobody said health food had to suck.
[Source: Table.skift]
