To read part two click here Labor cost is another issue that is going to affect restaurant operations. We can’t just look at labor as bodies and do we have enough. We are going to have to redesign our entire operations strategy to minimize labor and operating complexity so we can operate with fewer people …
technology
Running Restaurants is Getting Harder – Part 2
To read part one click here Food trucks are another segment of the industry that have prospered from wireless technology. Until recently it was incredibly expensive to take mobile credit card payments. Now it’s comparable to hardwired credit card payments. Mobile technology has made it easier for food trucks to service customers. It used to …
Running Restaurants is Getting Harder – Part 1
If you are a restaurant manager responsible for one location or thousands of locations, then you need to keep reading. Is running restaurants getting harder? Profitability is being squeezed from every direction. From $15 hr minimum wages, increased competition, commodity prices, and technology to name a few. When I came up in the industry in …
The Hidden Benefit Of A Consumer App
I heard an ad on the radio today for Subway’s new app. It’s another app aimed at making the dining/user experience better at Subway. There are a ton of apps being developed in the industry right now in this space. Interacting with the customers in a digital way to make things quicker and easier thus …
Using Data to Make Hiring Decisions
I caught an article on Hospitality Technology talking about restaurants using data to make hiring decisions. The article, Hiring Seasonal Millennials: How Restaurants Can Rely on Big Data to Build a Better Workforce, suggests rather than the traditional hiring methods of scanning resumes and gut instinct that restaurant managers should look to data to take the …
The Customer Experience & Mobile Apps
I saw an article on the Missouri Restaurant Association website where SmartBrief talked to Maya Mikhailov, chief marketing officer of GPShopper. She brings up some great points around restaurants and retailers using data and apps to interact with customers. Data is being used all over the business to help influence decisions and drive sales. Here are some …
Prices Are Starting To Rise
A couple of interesting stories came out today in the restaurant industry. One, which is not such good news for Subway, being that Jarrod’s house got raided this morning in connection with an investigation into child pornography. That will certainly bring on some unexpected brand damage. The other being that Starbucks is raising prices on …
More Tech Is An Expectation From Consumers
NRN.com posted an article highlighting early results from a survey currently being conducted by Technomic out of Chicago. The survey focuses on how certain restaurant brands are performing as it relates to using technology to better the consumer experience. The four categories the survey focuses on are; loyalty programs, free WiFi, online ordering, and mobile …
Operations, Data, & Reporting in Restaurants Part II
Yesterday we explored the importance of operations data, different ways to capture operations data, and where it could be used to make better decisions. If you didn’t see, yesterday’s blog post clicks here. A quick summary of yesterday’s post, the restaurant industry needs to be collecting and analyzing operations data with the easily available register and …
Free mobile app to reduce wait times
I caught this article on Fast Casual about another consumer mobile app aimed at speeding up guest turn around times. Split is an app designed to allow consumers to pre-order takeout, pay bills and split checks from their smartphones. They boast that it’s free. I’m guessing it’s free for consumers, but restaurants have to pay to …