STAFF: 5 Strategies to Transform Your Servers into Sellers
Among the most powerful metrics in our entire industry is check average. This simple number defines how much each guest spends while visiting your restaurant. Even small increases in it can have a substantial impact on your sales and profitability. Unfortunately, as easy to understand as check average is, few operators take substantive steps to improve it. While there are lots of little things you can do to drive it upward, there is only one way to truly impact that number -- suggestive selling.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Cities with the Most Vegan Options
Hayes & Jarvis recently conducted an analysis of TripAdvisor listings in the world's 50 most-visited cities to determine the ones with the highest percentage of vegan-friendly restaurants. Ireland's capital Dublin was named the world's most vegan-friendly city with 21.2% of its restaurants classified as either vegan or providing plant-based options.
Immigrants Lead the Novel Prizes in Science
Since 1969 (the year the economics prize was added), a majority share of Nobel Prizes in the science categories have gone to U.S. institutions. Many of those scientists hail from all over the world and out of the 277 laureates exclusively affiliated with U.S. institutions, 87 had been born abroad according to the Nobel Prize Foundation website.
Pasta Straws
Want to get rid of plastic straws but hate the idea of paper straws? You may want to look into “Stroodles” – pasta straws that have debuted in Italy. The straws are flavorless and biodegradable bucatini-like pasta. The straws are also vegan-friendly and easily resize to any drink. A box of 12 straws goes for about $4, a box of 100 straws for about $15.85. The straws breakdown overnight, compared to the 60 days of paper straws. However, they’re not suitable for hot drinks.
LEAVING MONEY ON THE TABLE
Why it matters to you: Are you missing out on a government program that pays you to hire classes of people?
For the last several years, discussions surrounding the cost of turnover have dominated our industry’s consciousness. With some estimates reaching as high at $5000 per new worker, you would think operators are scouring the market for ways to mitigate that expense. Alas, you would be wrong. In fact, you might find it strange to learn how few restaurant operators embrace the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). What is the WOTC, you ask?
The WOTC is a Federal tax credit available to employers for hiring individuals from certain targeted groups who have consistently faced significant barriers to employment. These folks include veterans, long-term unemployment recipients, and people that receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.
The tax credit is returned on your Social Security tax liability. In fact, the PATH Act of 2015 retroactively allows the credit for anyone that began their employment with you after December 31, 2014 and until January 1, 2020. It might be worth a look to see if any of your current or former employees are considered included in targeted groups. All you have to lose is a little time researching, but you could gain back a significant tax credit that will directly to your bottom line. So, don’t wait; do an informal review and see how much of credit you might be eligible for this year.
[Source: National Restaurant Association]
BARISTAS BRING THE HEAT
Why it matters to you: Employees are publicly sharing their wages and it might be good for business.
Restaurant employees -- like their counterparts in most industry -- often gossip about their wages, but a group of Philadelphia baristas have taken it to another level. This group of concerned employees crafted a shared Google Sheet where other café and coffee shop employees can post their salaries. This isn’t a trend exclusive to our industry, but it is a chilling truth that we don’t want our employees to learn they are earning dramatically less than the restaurant down the street. Of course, this is a hard-kept secret at best as employees in your restaurant are definitely sharing with each other what they make hourly.
There is a way to ensure this doesn’t cause you a shock in your operation. Start by learning for yourself what other operators are paying for various positions. This will first help you determine if you are offering a competitive wage in your market. For example, the average barista in Philadelphia is earning about $10/hour plus tips, but Starbuck’s baristas are getting closer to $13. If you were to learn that your competitors were paying 20% more than you for the same position, would you act to change that? Certainly, if you are struggling to staff, that increase might be the only way to get there. Frankly, this type of sharing might be disruptive at first, but once you know the benchmarks, you can respond as you see fit. It’s far better to know than to learn you aren’t competitive by losing staff and eventually money.
[Source: Philadelphia Inquirer]
