BUSINESS: How to Prep Your Restaurant for Flu Season
Winter is coming and with it flu season. Each year, 31.4 million Americans visit the doctor due to flu symptoms. And with bars and restaurants being a hub of human activity all-year round, there’s a good chance that someone will drag in some unwanted bugs into your location. The question is: What are you doing about it?
DID YOU KNOWS…
Has Beyond Meat Hit a Wall?
Beyond Meat shares are down more than 10% this week after investment bank Oppenheimer gave the stock a Market Perform rating with little upside potential at the current valuation. Since its widely followed IPO in May, Beyond Meat has been on a rollercoaster ride, as our chart illustrates.
Measles Make a Comeback
In 2018, the WHO estimated that 140,000 people died of measles worldwide, the highest number since 2013. In 2000, as many as 562,000 people were dying of the disease. This number was significantly reduced by vaccination programs. Despite vaccines being a safe and effective way to combat the disease, fewer people and fewer children have been vaccinated in recent years, contributing to an uptick in deaths attributed to measles.
FIFA Free Agent Spree
FIFA has released a report about the amount of money being spent on agents and intermediaries involved in international soccer transfers. The data shows that global spending on commissions has reached $653.9 million, nearly 20% higher than last year. Clubs from Italy, England, Germany, Portugal, Spain and France accounted for 80% of the total. As part of a wide-ranging reform of the transfer system, FIFA is planning to place a cap on agents' fees.
F’ING CHIPOTLE STEPS IN IT AGAIN
Why it matters to you: The burrito chain is now requiring wellness checks when someone calls in sick.
Since The Daily Rail began publication in January of 2016, we have been documenting Chipotle’s gaffes, gripes and ghoulishness; but even we are surprised by this latest stupidity. In a recent comments at a Barclay’s conference Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol revealed that, “We have nurses on call, so that if you say, 'Hey, I've been sick,' you get the call into the nurse, [then] the nurse validates that it's not a hangover — you're really sick — and then we pay for the day off to get healthy again."
Ok, so we all know our staff is capable of calling in sick for something as nefarious as being hungover, but is that issue really so rampant that you need to call it out to the world? In my 25+ years in the industry, it simply wasn’t.
That being said, couched in those comments is a valid concern of not wanting a sick employee coming to work and making others, including guests and staff, sick as well. That aim has merit, but once again a leader shows little or no regard for the people he leads by requiring that their staff “prove” their illness. Who would wager against any of their corporate staff being required to undergo the same qualifications if they were to call in sick? This is an example of a detached approach to manage the livelihoods of people you neither know nor respect. If you are a real leader you never talk down to the people you employ, but rather you do everything you can to elevate them. Brian Niccol might do well to embrace his field staff rather than insulting them.
[Source: Business Insider]
AND ANOTHER
Why it matters to you: Is it time for you to open another location?
As 2019 comes to a close, many of you will be looking back on a solid year of revenue and growth and wonder if you are ready to open a second location. There are myriad questions that need answering before you embark on expanding your brand, and this infographic might help you navigate that decision. The infographic utilizes a flowchart approach to guide you through the questions you will face as you embark on this journey. It begins by asking yourself hard questions about whether you are ready and able expand with questions like, “Will your restaurant suffer if you aren’t there?” If you have someone that is qualified to be there in your place or your restaurant won’t suffer then you can continue on to the next questions.
Also included are questions about financing, the durability of your systems, and whether your concept will translate to a new location. The diagram also asks you to enumerate what makes you special and will your brand identity be changed if you expand. All of these questions deserver answers before you invest in something as risky as a restaurant. Remember that 20% of new restaurants fail within the first year and only 50% survive through their first five years. With odds like that, it is incumbent on you to be sure before you spend your own or other people’s money on expansion of your brand. All that being said, if you are ready, then we encourage you to get a move on. There is no more liberating enterprise than expansion for small operators, if only because you are forced to be in your restaurant less by definition. Which ultimately means you can maybe have a normal like…well sort of anyway.
[Source: Modern Restaurant Management]
