LEADERSHIP: 5 Tips for Becoming a Better Restaurant Manager
One of the most important things in running a business is good communication. As hard as it is contriving restaurant management strategies, it might be even harder to delegate particular tasks to different people. If you are a restaurant manager, having strong communication skills is paramount to a successful restaurant and career. It starts with creating a solid plan and continues with your ability to keep the team on track, being flexible, and showing superior leadership.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Wear Your Fears for $10K
Natty Light’s latest contest is a Halloween costume contest in which it’s asking drinkers to wear their fears. But they don’t want spiders or snakes. They want “adulting” fears like living with parents, bad credit, or crippling student debt. In exchange, they’re going to award one lucky winner $10,000 so they can face their fears. More details on entering here.
Government Funding for University Research
The US is way behind when it comes to governmental funding of university research. The decline has occurred despite the U.S. boasting world-leading research universities that have played a crucial role in driving American technological supremacy since World War II. The analysis found that the U.S. only came 28th worldwide for university research funding as a share of GDP in 2017 with the 12 leading governments investing nearly double the U.S. amount. Back in 2013, the U.S. was ranked 24th. The Nordic countries currently lead the pack.
Popeyes Chicken Sandwich Returns
It’s been two months since Popeyes ran out of its fried chicken sandwich, causing some chaos among fast food lovers. The good news is the wait for its return is about to end. The bad news is that only 150 locations will relaunch its fried chicken sandwich. Popeyes is hiring an additional 400 employees just to deal with increase in volume they’re expecting from the limited re-release.
IS YOUR POS A P.O.S.?
Why it matters to you: New tech solves problems, but you have to know which ones need fixing.
If you aren’t familiar with them, Toast POS is a tablet-based ordering system. Full disclosure, they are not and have never been, a sponsor of our newsletter. However, we do regularly take from their excellent blog to keep you informed via The Daily Rail. In a recent post, their editors wrote a thoughtful review of the whys and hows of upgrading your technology. The article breaks down an intimidating process into bit sized actions that can de-mystify the process of choosing new tech – everything from choosing the problem you want to address to getting buy in from the various stakeholders it will impact.
For example, the post suggests you stop, listen, and learn about what challenges your restaurant is facing that technology can address. Specific examples of choke points were given to illustrate this. The idea is to not take on technology because it’s new, but only because it solves a problem that needs fixing.
Additionally, the post focuses on the idea that new technology impacts EVERYONE on your team. Once you are resolved to fix a specific issue, you’ll need to get your team, top to bottom, on board. Nothing can undermine a successful launch than a staff that is disconnected from the solution. Oh and someone will have to pay for this; consequently, you’ll need to sell them on the solution and the problem. This is especially true with POS systems. Most established operators have been using the same POS for 20+ years. Unfortunately for those operators, POS has evolved multiple generations since its explosion in the ‘90s. It’s now cheaper, easier to deploy and capable of amazing integrations that will help you grow your business. No matter what solution you hope tech will fix, following a structured path to choosing it will be the difference between success and failure.
[Source: Toast POS]
WINTER IS COMING [Video]
Why it matters to you: Holiday events maybe your best defense against the long winter to come.
The holiday event season is rapidly approaching and with it a unique part of the year that can be both profitable and great marketing for your restaurant. Unlike a la carte dining during the holidays, which can be capricious and catch you off guard, you know exactly how many people you are serving and when they will need that service for events. That’s why the time is now to be prepared and to seek those events.
Remember, January is only two months away and you won’t have the holiday impact after the New Year. We suggest you start by reading this blog on seven steps to higher holiday sales to help jump start your efforts. The blog takes you step by step from using last year to better understand this year’s potential to how to create some special offers for the season.
By taking a measure approach to the holiday’s you are both preparing and you can challenge yourself to do better than the year before. The key is to know when to hit your contacts with messaging that targets their holiday event needs and following through to book them at your venue. It also suggests involving your team in a brainstorming session to find more event bookings. By democratizing the process you bring in fresh ideas and share the load. This is too important to go it alone and your team will likely deliver some great ideas. Remember, the holidays are your last chance this year to give you sales a serious boost, because winter is coming.
[Source: Running Restaurants]
