Posted by Walker Thompson on Mon, Aug 30, 2010 @ 09:56 AM
Is there something to reading the latest news on a Monday morning? Sitting back with a cup of coffee and your trusty Google Reader seems to set us in the mood for the work week. Great data comes not from just our application, but from others as well... Here are a few that piqued our interest...
What does it take to be a successful enterprise? Well, after reading about Panera Bread's top-100 fastest-growing enterprises perhaps you should ask them. Panera is one of only two restaurant concepts to make the 2010 list. Read more here...
The fast casual restaurant category accounted for estimated sales of $23 billion in 2010, up nearly 30 percent since 2006. According to the article, "restaurants in this market claim to combine the quality of family casual with the convenience of fast food. At $6–$12 per ticket, pricing falls between fast food and casual dining. Fast casual restaurants distinguish themselves from fast food through their modified table service, higher food quality, greater attention to healthful foods, and, in some cases, availability of beer and wine." Read more here...
Ever heard of a pop-up restaurant? You sit and served only what the chef prepares, but is this another trend or fad? Read more here...
We'll keep the list going... But if you find something of note or interesting to share, post a comment.
Posted by Walker Thompson on Wed, Aug 18, 2010 @ 05:31 PM
As restauranteurs we have to do two things very well: find great product and serve it. Both of these tasks involve human interaction and that means managment duties, fortunately or unfortunately. Thankfully we have web-based support mechanisms like inventory management tools and labor scheduling functionality. The features of theses solutions create a lot of effeciencies, true. We get help configuring our businesses so we are notified when schedules are not consistent with our sales goals or if inventory is low. And although we are serviced by these tools, again thankfully, one question that digs deep into both of these matters is the human side... How do we know we are working with the right people?
Now, if someone had a perfect answer to finding the BEST vendor or MOST MOTIVATED employee then no one would ever be fired. Alas, there are solutions gaining ground to solving this ever persistent challenge. Yet, the challenge remains...
Two studies, one from academia and the other from professional management consultants, tallied up the "human resources" concerns in and about the restaurant industry.
In the study "Job Satisfaction, Life Satisfaction and Turnover Intent of Food Service Managers," Professor Richard Ghiselli of Purdue University's Hospitality Tourism and Management Department discovered working conditions impacted restaurant manager to the breaking point. Ghiselli uncoverd an exodus. By the time many restaurant managers reach their forties, they have probably left the industry.
And...
According to the 2005 Datassential Operator Survey, when “decoding the profit and loss puzzle for your restaurant customers, it’s important to keep in mind that labor is nearly as large an expense as the food itself.” In fact, hiring and retention has replaced food prices as the top worry for restauranteurs”, says Hudson Riehle, Senior Researcher at the National Restaurant Association.
Lastly, in the popular Fohboh.com blog, the situation is summarized very well. Imagine the following case:
Number of restaurants in chain: 100 restaurants
Average employees per restaurant: 75
Total employees (operating): 7,500
Turnover rate: 100%
New employees: 7,500
Cost per new employee: $2,500
Total potential cost annually: $18,750,000
Total cost per restaurant: $187,500
Projected sales per restaurant: $2.8mm
Estimated cost per restaurant: 6.7%
Cost per 1% of turnover: $187,500
So what's the answer? Like we started with, use web-based tools and stay tuned for enhancements to the WhenToManage suites of services. Secondly, take time to read these great posts by management experts in the restaurant industry. They talk not just about the technology side, but emotional part of our brains...
In this post, Dr. Jerry Newman, the author of approximately 100 articles on human resource issues and the best-seller
My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons in Leadership Guaranteed to Supersize any Management Style, details how to motivate top talent.
In this post, the author describes how to use social media and other ideas to hire great employees.
In this post, famed marketing guru Seth Godin, describes the Toxic Employee - watch out!
And finally we leave you with a quote from John Quincy Adams, which summarizes leadership very well...
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
Posted by Walker Thompson on Fri, Aug 13, 2010 @ 06:57 AM
Sometimes funny, but mostly about what makes the retail and restaurant industry tick, each Friday the WhenToManage team plays on our company name with a WhenTo(DO). This week's WhenTo(DO) is all about the time-to-interaction with a diner or WhenToGET-BACK-TO-THE-DINER! We all know the story here: customer walks in is seated and waits and waits and waits... And who likes to wait? Diners are hungry, thirsty or on a lunch break and truly have limited time. Sure, at the post office, we all turn into professional wait-ers, but in the restaurant business it is service, service, service.
If you haven't heard of a New York Minute, then I suggest you listen to this Eagles' song; you will understand how fast it truly is. And if you don't have time for that, then know a good rule of thumb is (at least in the US) for diners to be greeted within 60 seconds after being seated. Any longer and the potential for an irritated diner grows with each passing second. Interestingly, in Germany and according to German-way.com, you might wait forever. Entering an Austrian, German or Swiss restaurant requires a diner to find their own table. Sometimes a sever may suggest a table, but they’re usually too busy ignoring the people who are already seated.
Alas, we are across the pond... So this WhenTo(DO) begs the question: how do you teach this sense of urgency to servers, and do they understand your "New York Minute" requirements? The answer is make sure you state it consistently, train it and then manage it... We've created a series of report options for operators and managers to know more about table turn times and the resulting server performance.
Using one of our standard reports a manager can drill down into table turn times by employee. In this demo report, you can see that we are looking for an average turn time of about 50 minutes. We see exactly what tables were seated in this time frame, the check average, number of guests and even an option to go to the item level. Armed with this information, a manager can make station adjustments, improve training, optimize floor plans and help drive table turns. The goal here is to monitor and reward great customer service - your diners will.
Thank you to http://www.flickr.com/photos/batega/3775180564/ for the great picture.
Posted by Walker Thompson on Mon, Aug 09, 2010 @ 04:59 PM
Over the past 30 or so years, the concept of Data Management consisted of getting data in and not much more. Now, through technical evolutions, getting data in wasn't so much the problem and Data Management evolved into Information Management or what data should we look at. Yet, another computing change altered the course of the data stream and Information Management evolved into Knowledge Management or now that we can look at the data, what do we improve. So the shift was dramatic: data in = no problem; data review = got that done; data listening = what the heck does that mean? Well, it means just about everything to a business looking to improve their operations.
Knowledge management is probably an understatement. Perhaps the better way to say it is try-surviving-without-it management. Visualize the following situations:
- A long-time restaurant owner wants to launch a new variant of his famous burgers. To do this he has to know past successes in order to know the best time to launch the campaign.
- The VP of Marketing of a large chain has a feeling that something is wrong with his latest promotion and needs to review the latest sales figures.
- A restaurant manager is overscheduling and losing money each day on labor costs as a percentage of sales. She needs to research previous labor schedules.
Situations like these are common, and without listening to your data, impossible to understand/improve/move forward. The data is the lifeline of any business whether one wants to arrive at a marketing decision or fine-tune a product launch. So what's the importance of listening to your data? Well, maybe that's not the right question. Instead, you should ask yourself what's not important about listening...
Merely analyzing data isn't sufficient from the point of view of making a decision. It is more than that; just like listening is more than the act of hearing. Consider it this way, when you listen to your data, knowledge is gained because the data is the supporting mechanism (data + analysis + engaging = listening). Listening to your data can offer the following benefits:
- Breaking a macro picture into a micro one to fine tune your preconceptions.
- Acquire meaningful insights and basing critical path objectives on real information.
- Turn passionate operators into better business people through the use of information when they want it, how they want it and where they want it.
We fully support the concept that knowledge should be managed and include discussions about processes that facilitate the use of information to influence decision making. Said another way, we help business listen to their data...
Posted by Walker Thompson on Wed, Aug 04, 2010 @ 09:15 PM
Newsworthy data stories come in many forms. As you can imagine, we follow the data "news", but other articles and blog posts pique our interest too. Below are a few restaurant and retail technology stories, and some clever stuff too...
VSR Innovative Solution Award Winners Announced at RetailNOW
The Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) and VSR launched these awards in 2008. This past spring, the association invited the channel community to nominate the best multi-vendor retail and/or hospitality technology solution providers. Read more here for details, you just might find a solution to drive sales and improve operations.
Another Seth Godin Goody: Learn To Train Your Customers
"Yes, you can train them," says the marketing guru! Reward them in the right way, you will... Read more here...
Foresster Marketing: Are Location-Based Social Networks Fadding In Or Out?
Visit this Wired Magazine story to learn about why only four out of every 100 online adults have ever used a social service that tracks their locations — and only 1 percent use such a service more than one time per week, according to Forrester.
Finally, A Must Read Blog: Stuck Serving... Funny Stuff!
Everyone in the service industry has a few hundred stories to tell. It is partly why we do the work we do. So many funny reads here... Enjoy!
Posted by Jeff Schacher on Tue, Jul 27, 2010 @ 06:26 PM
Did Lee Iacocca, former turn-around CEO and Chairman of Chrysler, capture how to create a great team in one influential remark? "Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate and reward them. If you do all of those things effectively, you can't miss." Perhaps yes, or no, but who can argue with those principles?
When you really look at it, isn't his point: build great relationships? Motivations and listening are a key part to any relationship. Based on the right rewards, employees become motivated to perform. Perhaps they are monetary, or more intrinsic, such as a feeling of importance. To know any of this, listen. Without listening how would you know what motivates an employee to work that extra shift or, more importantly, add creativity to a guest experience that results in pleasurable dining. According to Inc Magazine, being more effective in an organization, requires active and engaged workplace listening. So, are you as engaged in actively listening all of the time? Hard for some of us, but we have an app for that...
The growth of workplace productivity tools has turned the once unknown project or process into the known. We can now listen to the dining room remodeling process, by engaging gantt charts via project management tools. We can communicate with vendors about orders on upcoming special events (I guess they listen in this example). But what about your employees? How can a busy restaurant operator listen "to it all of the time"? The trick is employee engagement. Below are just a few examples of how to engage your employees, through listening...
- Pass it on... Managers should be ready to listen to employees and should not be reluctant to pass any grievances or problems faced by their employees to their superiors who have the authority to take the necessary actions.
- Speak your mind and heart... As a manager, speak up and say what you think. As obvious as this point seems, people have a difficult time articulating their needs, wants and desires.
- Actions speak louder than words... an employee’s experience of your organization’s actions influences them much more than communication, but communication creates the linkages and can play a central role in many of those experiences.
Next Blog: The secret is listening to your data