GUESTS: Restaurants, Don't Forget About Gen-X
Have you had enough of the constant concern our industry is required to have for the sentiments of Baby Boomers and Millennials? Take it from this Generation Xer, we are all with you. And now with the whole “OK, Boomer” meme trend, we are feeling even more ineffectual. Well, I’m here to tell you, it’s time to pay attention to my Gen X cohort (39 – 54-year-olds). We’ve still got it and we want you to pay attention to us.
DID YOU KNOWS…
The Cost Behind Influencer Marketing
A new analysis by marketing firm Izea looked at the growing costs of sponsored content on a range of platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. It found that the costs behind influencer marketing have exploded over the past five years and that brands are more than willing to spend big bucks to promote their posts.
The Urgency Behind America’s Healthcare Cost Crisis
There is a pronounced racial divide when it comes to people who know a friend/family member who died because they could not afford treatment. 9.6% of whites say they know of such an instance compared to 20.3% of nonwhites. Unsurprisingly, responses were drastically different by level of annual household income with 18.5% of people earning under $40,000 saying they know of someone who passed away under such circumstances.
NYC Expands Delivery Probe
NYC has been at Grubhub’s throat this year. In October they demanded the delivery company review and refund all erroneous fees collected from restaurants for phone calls. Grubhub is refusing to give any refunds and instead “look at how we can better communicate with our restaurant partners.” NYC says it’s inquiry is moving beyond just Grubhub but the entire third-party delivery sector.
TIPPING THE SCALES
Why matters to you: Tools to measure your business should include scales and timers.
While there are a variety of things independent operators can learn from the chains, controls are by far the place where their leadership delivers a best practice. During my career in the industry, I worked for two of those national chains -- Pizza Hut and Hops Brewery. Each had some serious systems to turn out their product quickly, consistently, and with high quality. What they both also had in common was the use of tools to ensure their work stayed on par. For Pizza Hut, everything was weighed and measured. Back then we made our own dough from scratch on site. This required each pizza base to be measure and stretched in preparation for service. Not to mention the weighing of the ingredients that went onto the pizza. There are myriad scales available for multiple purposes, but all of them provide the operator with a method to facilitate the consistency that any good operators craves.
At the brewery we used scales as well, but we also relied on timers. Everything from timers over the fry station to timers in the prep area assisted us in preparing and turning out food that was cooked the exact same way each time. The point of these devices is to take the human error out of your product production. Yes, it adds a layer to the production that might cost some valuable time, but if it also improves the consistency of your product in a manner that more than makes up for the few seconds of extra time each portion control step requires. And not having these tools makes you work much harder controlling employee execution. As a manager you have enough to do, so why not make it easier on your team to perform, even if it adds a few seconds here and there to their efforts.
[Source: Modern Restaurant Management]
DON’T GO IT ALONE
Why it matters to you: It’s time to de-stigmatize conversations about mental health
A full year has passed since Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide and Momofuku’s David Chang has written book that addresses his own struggles with depression. Following the loss of Bourdain, Chang was open about his own mental health challenges, but in this book he dives far deeper into his personal truth. Chang points specifically to his Korean heritage and cultural upbringing as major impediments to addressing his own mental health. Cultural proscriptions regarding the discussion of mental health issues are not exclusively a Korean problem, but Chang believes it stops many from that community having the difficult conversations that surround caring for your own mental and emotional well-being. Let’s face it, while there is less stigma in discussing mental health in Western culture, it’s still fairly taboo in normal conversation.
Unfortunately, that approach causes so many to suffer in silence. Our industry is particularly tone deaf to the realities of mental health. We surround ourselves with plenty of opportunities to self-medicate and there is some weird honor in “toughing it out” even when you feel like the world is crashing down around you. First and foremost, as a leader, you need to be checking in with your team about how they are feeling emotionally. If you can deliver to your team members a safe outlet to begin addressing their own issues, you are fulfilling your most basic responsibility to the people you lead -- empathy. There are resources available like Chef’s With Issues that can provide support for those in our industry that can’t manage the strains of our business. So, please, if you are struggling, seek help. While you aren’t alone, if you don’t engage support it can sure feel that way.
[Source: Eater]
