The Restaurant Biz Blog

WhenToGO-MOBILE

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 on the mobile front, or when should your restaurant go mobile? According to the technology website cnet.com, in the first quarter of 2010 over 314.7 million mobile phones were sold, a 17 percent increase year over year. Clearly, mobile is on the rise and now you're thinking: what does it mean to my business and how do I "use" it??? Good question, but one that doesn't have an end-all-be-all answer. The smartphone and mobile space is clearly evolving. Not to mention, all the "pads" that will soon launch. So the answer is stay on top of the trends! As committed and former restaurant executives, managers, cooks and servers, we also have some ideas on how mobile can help, and our software does just that, help...

WhenToWATCH-A-YOUTUBE-VIDEO

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 WhenToWATCH-A-YOUTUBE-VIDEO? Sure many of you out there in restaurant land have wasted time watching youtube videos (or Vimeo). Who hasn't? There's some funny stuff out there, but great video content exists. Many times the authors only want to help educate and inspire; so they're not all a waste of time. In this post, we've added a few videos that made an impact on us. Go ahead, sit back at your desk, or dinner table, and watch, you'll find something in these clips that might make you think about marketing, data and ideas...

In this video watch author Malcolm Gladwells' incredible TEDtalks.com presentation about the impact of multiple spaghetti sauces...

Another must is from the frequently mentioned marketing guru Seth Godin. In this video, Godin talks about tribe and impact building networks increases sales.

So you see, and hear, not all youtube videos are just for wasting time. Many of them have great things to teach and tell us. When you're not busy, or can make time for knowledgeshare, be sure to take a look around to see what amazingly free content is out on youtube.

Are You Listening To Your Data?

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...

Restaurant Energy Saving Tips

Earth Day 2010 is fast approaching so lets take a look at ways to save our natural resources as well as saving you money.

Most restaurants are energy intensive facilities where significant energy-saving opportunities exist through wise operation and equipment selection.

Use the following tips to help reduce your restaurant's demand for energy. Some of these tips require capital investment, while others require only changes in operation and maintenance. Most of these tips are based on two principles:

Turn it off if it does not need to run. For example, by eliminating one hour per day of broiler idle, you can save $200 annually.

When it is time to purchase new equipment, choose the most efficient equipment that you can. Look for the ENERGY STAR label on appliances and lighting.

Lighting

• Switch to fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lights use 1/4 to 1/3 of the energy that standard incandescent lights use, saving up to $34 per year per lamp on your lighting bill. And, because fluorescent lights do not generate heat like incandescent lights, for every watt saved in lighting, you can also save a watt on air conditioning. If kitchen areas have old four-foot, T-12 technology fluorescent lamps and magnetic ballasts, they should be replaced with more efficient electronic ballasts and T-8 lamp technology. Your local utility may have incentives to assist with this.
• Use compact fluorescent lighting. If you use dimmable swag lamps at the tables, consider replacing them with dimmable compact fluorescent lighting. Dimmable compact fluorescent lighting costs more initially, but will last as much as ten times longer than incandescent lighting and is available in a variety of color temperatures to enhance the look of the table service.
• Convert exit lighting to LED technology. Replacing your old incandescent exit lighting with a low energy LED retrofit kit can save $22 per year per sign, a savings of up to 88 percent.
• Install lower wattage lamps. In areas where it is impractical to use fluorescent lighting, consider relamping fixtures with high efficiency halogen lamps that use lower wattage. Switch to high-pressure sodium or low-wattage metal halide lamps for outdoor lighting.
• Install occupancy sensors, timers and photo sensors. One of the best ways to lower your energy costs is to turn things off when not in use. Install occupancy sensors in non-essential areas such as walk-in coolers and storerooms, photo cells on parking lot lighting and timers on other outdoor lighting.

Water Heating

• Fully load the dishwasher. It takes as much heated water to wash a partially full dishwasher as it does a fully loaded one. Install low-flow pre-rinse spray nozzles.
• Set the water heater thermostat no higher than it needs to be: 140 F for hand washing. Consider using chemical sanitizers instead of higher water tempratures in dishwashers.
• Consider gray water heat recovery. If your dishwasher is a continuous fill and drain, consider installing a gray water heat recovery system. This system will recover some of the heat from the drain water and use it to reheat the supply water to the appliance.
• Monitor water bills for sudden rises in use, and contact your water company should this occur.
• Regularly check for, report, and repair leaks.
• Install low-flow faucet aerators and showerheads.
• Use dry methods for outdoor cleanup.
• Install toilets that use 1.6 gallons per flush or less.

Kitchen Ventilation

• Retrofit exhaust hoods with a two-speed blower. When the entire grill/fryer is not being used, you may be able to lower the ventilation rate over the appliance and reduce both make-up air and the energy needed to condition it.
• Locate exhaust hoods on walls. Wall-mounted exhaust canopies require lower air velocities to do the same job. Lower air velocities mean smaller fan motors and less make-up air to heat or cool.
• Install "smart" exhaust hood controls. Most kitchens operate at less than 25 percent capacity during the day, but the exhaust hood runs at 100 percent capacity. These controls sense when the exhaust hood needs to be on, based on exhaust air temperature and smoke load using a temperature and an optical sensor.

Heating and Cooling

• Use the thermostat factory set points. Leave the thermostat settings at 76F for cooling and 68F for heating. Each degree of heating or cooling can cost an additional four to five percent in energy costs. Leaving the thermostat at the factory set points will maintain comfort without breaking the bank.
• Use the "night setback" feature of the thermostat. Set the thermostat to bring your restaurant to temperature no earlier than needed.
• Conduct regular maintenance on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems at least twice a year.

Maintenance

• Clean air conditioning and refrigeration condenser/evaporator coils every three months.
• Check the refrigerant charge and fix leaks if necessary.
• Regularly clean or replace air filters on ventilation and heating/air conditioning equipment. Clean grease traps on ventilation equipment.
• Check freezer and walk-in seals for cracks and warping. Replace if necessary.

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Interested in learning about how we can help you manage your labor? Join us for a demo of our labor scheduling system.

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Why I love the Shake Shack

Does "free" still work?

Global Warming or Global Marketing?

I saw this on NRN this morning.


So my first thought was... do restaurants really care about global warming or do restaurants care about their guests who care about global warming? The tough thing about the restaurant industry is that it's hyper-local. The people eating in your dining room are your neighbors in most cases. Large chains have a challenge to be both local and widespread in appealing to their guests, but at the end of the day it's all about attracting your neighbors.

What better way to attract your neighbor than clinging on to an issue that your neighbor cares about? But then you have to figure out a way to let your neighbor know you're supporting it.

It's easy for the big chains...


But even the independents can get in on it...


Taking a public stance or featuring a promotion on any issue can be risky, it has to be sincere and can't be too gimmicky.

Guests can look at it two ways, they can be cynical and see the restaurant promotion as a typical marketing ploy, but I think most will appreciate the fact that their neighborhood restaurant is bringing attention to a cause they support. But the ultimate success of any campaign will be determined by how well a restaurant knows its neighbors.