STAFF: To Glove or Not to Glove, That is the Question
In my career, I have heard lots of conflicting opinions on glove usage in restaurant kitchens, and it spurred me to do some additional research. Here is what I learned: There is simply no consensus on gloves! So, we thought a little pro and con for both sanitation methods would be in order.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Taco Bell ‘Crunchwrapping Paper’
Taco Bell Canada debuted crunchwrapping paper, an ultra-limited edition wrapping paper that looks and smells like ingredients in its Crunchwrap Supremes… because who doesn’t want their Christmas gift to smell like tacos? The taco-smelling wrapping paper sold out on Amazon.ca in less than a week.
Let it Snow…. Wait!
Walmart Canada has pulled its “Let it Snow” Christmas sweater after realizing that it depicts Santa doing a line of cocaine. The sweaters were sold by a third-party via Walmart and the description is basically exactly what you’d expect. Walmart Canada has other provocative holiday seaters on their site, however, including Santa being whipped by a lingerie-clad Mrs. Claus and Santa sitting on a toilette, among others.
Dill Pickle Lip Balm
Do you love dill pickles? Do you want your lips to taste like them all the time? Well they can… kinda. BluePoppyBath has created dill pickle lip balm for under $4. The ingredients don’t actually include any pickles or pickle juice, alas. It’s also currently sold out but there is a waitlist should this be your jam.
PAY NOW, OR YOU WILL SURELY PAY LATER
Why it matters to you: Investing upfront in properly on-boarding new employees costs more now, but saves even more, later.
Perhaps the most important experience a new employee has with your organization is the orientation. This crucial aspect of the employee experience has been bungled by restaurant operators for generations. The “Welcome aboard, here is your apron and a POS swipe card…good luck” approach still pervades our industry in spite of overwhelming evidence that the process of inviting a new employee on-board is crucial to their future success. Even more powerful is the recently pervading belief that your responsibility to inform, educate and prepare your employees for their work doesn’t end with their initial orientation and training. In fact, huge players like Chik-fil-A and Texas Roadhouse have proven that the road to success is built of the bricks of developing their staff over time as well as preparing them for immediate productivity.
There are likely myriad reasons you don’t put enough effort into planning your staff’s experience while working for your organization…and all of them are valid until you examine what happens when you don’t. Exploding turnover rates in a time when unemployment is effectively zero are proof it’s not enough to insert a candidate into a roll and hope they survive their first few weeks. If you want to actually grow your business and reduce your expenses, then it’s imperative you have programs in place to not only welcome new employees, but also to shepherd them through their entire experience working for your organization. It’s really just a pay now or pay later scenario, given just how expensive it is to recruit, hire and train a new person. But you could always just continue to complain and hope it fixes itself.
[Source: Upserve]
NICE PACKAGE
Why it matters to you: Don’t forget the importance of packaging food for delivery so it doesn’t get ruined before it arrives to the consumer.
Often forgotten in all the hype surrounding off-premise dining and delivery is the challenge of delivering your products to consumers in an appetizing and sustainable manner. Everyone that has rushed to add third-party delivery has faced the task of determining how they will package their products for consumption. The goal is to assure the product doesn’t degrade significantly in the time it takes to get from your kitchen to the consumer’s door.
This solid post on Toast POS reviews some of the simple things you can do to better treat your product as it awaits delivery. Simple things like not dressing a salad before delivery or separating sauces in general will contribute to a fresher and far more appetizing product. For hot items, you can pierce the container, this will allow excess moisture to escape the package rather than turning your food soggy.
In addition to packaging the individual items, you need also consider keeping hot and cold foods in separate bags. It may raise your cost of goods a tiny bit, but it will also ensure neither product loses appeal as it travels to the guest. Oh, and include simply reheating instructions. This small convenience will assist guests in making sure your products are consumed to their best advantage and make you look thoughtful and respectful. If you are committing to driving off-premise sales, these steps are crucial to achieving the best guest experience you can deliver (pun intended).
[Source: Toast POS]
