Posts Tagged ‘restaurant’

Working in a Restaurant Wonderland

The holidays are here! It’s a busy time of year for most people, involving traveling, visiting family, cooking dinners, shopping for gifts, hanging decorations, etc. And this stuff isn’t cheap. Whether you braved the crowds on Black Friday or not, shopping for presents for everyone on your list adds up quickly. Not to mention the cost of gas to drive to Grandma’s house or buying those last-minute flights home.

Hey, I’m no Grinch. I’m not trying to bum you out about the holiday season. But it’s pretty safe to say that everybody could use some extra cash during these early winter months. Not all of us have jobs that offer holiday bonuses, and there are still quite a few Americans out there without a job.

I want to discuss seasonal employment as a means of extra income, but don’t go thinking of retail hell just yet. Not all holiday work has to involve dealing with aggressive shoppers or sorting through never-ending warehouse merchandise.

You really don't have to cook that holiday meal if you don't want to!

As it turns out, restaurants are super busy during the holidays, too. The food service industry isn’t what you usually think of when you think about seasonal work, and that’s because most people assume that everybody is eating family dinners at home on holidays. But that’s not entirely true. Here’s why:

For one, there is more to “the holidays” than Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There are a whole bunch of days in between, and they are busy. People spend that time all over town shopping for gifts, and when people are out and about, they tend to eat out. Nobody wants to go home and cook after shopping ’til they drop.

Some folks actually do go out to eat on holidays! Instead of buying groceries and slaving over the stove all morning, some people choose to pay someone to do the work for them. While a homecooked meal might be a necessity in your home, it turns out that going out to eat for a holiday dinner is becoming more and more common. In fact, about 10% of us eat Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant!
Did you have your Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant?

Holiday parties and get-togethers are very popular this time of year, whether it’s an office party or a group of friends reuniting to exchange gifts before they leave to visit family. Sometimes family members arriving from far away will need to eat while on the road, and will seek an easy dinner solution when they reach their destination. The National Restaurant Association found that 78% of people prefer to spend their free time with friends and family in a restaurant than in a kitchen. Therefore, most of the time, holiday parties and gatherings take place in a restaurant or bar, or have food catered from a favorite eatery.

‘Tis the season for indulgence. After a while, spending all that money on gifts for other people causes shoppers to feel a little more extravagant when it comes to themselves. And when you’re spending right and left, people reason that one dinner out won’t hurt. After doing all of these good holiday deeds, giftgivers feel like they need a little reward, like a nice meal.

Restaurants can be a good back-up plan. Say your turkey caught on fire in the oven. Instead of subjecting everybody to a charred bird, you decide to order some pepperoni pizzas as a last resort. Crazy things can happen during the holidays, and even if people don’t frequent restaurants on those important days, it’s nice to know that they have your back.

You know you want one.

Craving the mashed potatoes from KFC? Or how about the cheddar biscuits from Red Lobster? Maybe a ham from Boston Market, or even some after-dinner hot chocolate from Starbucks? Some consumers are finding that restaurants can help take care of the burden of cooking a huge meal. Purchasing restaurant side dishes is a huge time saver. Or if they are really pressed for time, some are even buying take-out for their entire holiday meal. Many restaurants cater to this idea and have great holiday menu options, and even holiday meal packages. Sound crazy? Well, it’s way more common than you might think: Over half of us use at least some restaurant takeout for our Thanksgiving meals.

Nobody needs to know that you didn't cook it!

The National Restaurant Association estimated that 14 million Americans ate their Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant last week. They also found that about 16 million Americans ordered some take-out as part of their Thanksgiving meal.

How do 5% of people not know???

So it’s easy to see why restaurants are bustling during the holidays. And as you might imagine, they tend to need some extra help. Current restaurant employees are also busy, occasionally getting sick during this cold and flu season, leaving to visit family and taking time off. A lot of restaurants need seasonal employees to assist with the holiday rush and to relieve some of the burden on their current staff.

If you need an extra job fast, the food service industry rocks because it is so fast-paced, and you will likely get hired quickly so you’re available during this peak season. And nothing beats having cash in time for Christmas. If you work for tips, you’ll take cash home at the end of every shift. You won’t have to wait for a paycheck and worry about not getting paid until after Christmas. Taking money home every day will allow you more freedom in your holiday spending.

While a seasonal job might only be a means to make extra cash, you might consider sticking around after the holidays. I recommend treating the job as if it were a permanent thing. You don’t want to act as if it’s a temporary gig, or that will show to your customers, co-workers and your managers. If you work hard and express enthusiasm for your job, you might just be offered a more permanent position.

But if that doesn’t happen, don’t fret. Let your employer know that you would be happy to return if they ever need help during another peak season. Restaurants tend to be busiest during both the summer and the winter holidays, so you could gain guaranteed repeated employment for those parts of the year. If you keep up the good work, you’ll be a shoe-in if a permanent position opens up.

And if you aren’t interested in staying, that’s not an excuse to be forgettable. Make sure you act like you’re part of the team, because you might be looking for seasonal work again next year and those connections could really come in handy. The NRA found that about 20% of all seasonal employees return to their seasonal jobs at some point.

So get out there and make some extra holiday cash! Don’t let yourself go broke just in time for the new year. Check out WyckWyre.com to find the perfect food service position to finance those holiday festivities.

Tags: dinner, employee, employment, extra income, food, food service, holidays, jobs, managers, restaurant, seasonal employment, service industry, shopping, tips, work, WyckWyre
Categories: Applicant Blog, Blog No Comments »

Posted: Thursday, December 1st, 2011

Restaurant jobs: Good for Ohio, Good for You

You might already know that restaurants stimulate the economy and provide lots of jobs all over the country. But let’s take a look closer to home at what restaurants do for Ohio. If you’re living in the Buckeye state and you’re looking for a job, here are some reasons why working in the food service industry might be just what you’re looking for.

Jobs in the restaurant business are not always difficult to come by since there are so many restaurants, whether they are chains or independently owned shops. I discovered some info on the National Restaurant Association’s website. They found that in 2009, there were over 21,000 restaurants in Ohio. These many restaurants help to provide jobs by employing almost 525,000 people in the state. That’s a lot of jobs! In fact, this number is actually 10% of all total employment in the state. That means that one in every ten Ohioans works in a restaurant, so it’s obviously a pretty popular profession.

And it is that way for a reason. There are many jobs available in this prospering industry, and it is projected that by 2021, the restaurant industry job growth will increase by 5.2%. That’s 27,500 more jobs in just ten years.

Restaurants do so much to stimulate the economy. Many people go out to eat and spend money, whether it’s a little or a lot, whether it’s fast food or fine dining. In 2011, it was estimated that restaurants generated $16 billion in sales in Ohio. Each of these dollars that was spent in Ohio restaurants resulted in an extra $1.14 in sales for the state economy.

But this money spent also stimulated job growth. Every $1 million spent in these restaurants created about 32 Ohio jobs. So whether you just frequent restaurants or you work in one, you are a vital part of the Ohio economy.

I found an interesting podcast (presented by the NRA and Food News Media) on the Ohio Restaurant Association’s website. It is titled “The Dish on Jobs.” You can listen to it on iTunes; click here to download. The podcast discusses how foodservice jobs are beneficial to the economy and how it is expected to grow. It discusses this subject on a national scale.

Here are some interesting points highlighted in this 17-minute podcast:

13 million people are currently employed in the restaurant industry in the U.S.
The restaurant industry is the nation’s second-largest private sector employer
Employment growth in the restaurant industry is expected to reach 14 million jobs by 2021
About half of all American adults have worked in the restaurant industry at some point in their lives
About half of the people who work in the restaurant industry are younger than 30 years old
Job growth is prosperous because new jobs in the restaurant industry are always being created

The foodservice industry is not one to be overlooked, as you can see. If you are job searching, a restaurant job might be where to look. There are plenty of restaurant positions that are available now! Check out WyckWyre.com to find the best fit for you.

Tags: economy, industry, job growth, jobs, National Restaurant Association, Ohio, podcast, restaurant, U.S., WyckWyre
Categories: Applicant Blog, Blog No Comments »

Posted: Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

The Illest Advice for Dealing with Sick Employees

So today I’ve been struggling to fight off a bad cold, and even though I feel miserable, I figured I should at the very least be somewhat productive and write a blog from home. And since being sick is on my mind, I thought maybe that could be my topic of the day: Being sick in the workplace.

As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, I had worked in the restaurant industry for many years. I was a prep cook in high school, a server in college and a bartender after college. In some of the places I’ve worked, if I wasn’t feeling well, they would send me home until I felt better. In others, going home wasn’t an option and I was forced to tough it out. I know that different restaurants have different policies on sick days, and most part-time workers don’t get paid sick time off from work. Especially in the food service industry. Check out the chart below.

I came to a loose conclusion that if a part-time restaurant employee chooses to go home from being sick, they have obviously weighed their options of making money or not. Most people would like to make money, unless they are so sick that it’s worth it to them to go home. Yet despite this, some employers will not let you off the hook for being sick. Whether it’s a matter of the employee being unable to find someone to cover their shift, attempting to call off too close to the start of a shift, or an employee suddenly falling ill at work, sometimes staying or going home isn’t an option without consequences.

I decided to take a look at the pros and cons of keeping a sick employee at work. And to be clear, I’m not talking about an employee whining about having a sudden “headache” on a Saturday night shift so they can get out of work and party. Unfortunately, there are times when employees try to lie to get out of work (we’ll talk about that later). But in most cases, an employee’s genuine sickness can be obvious to co-workers and managers, too. I did some research on the Occupational Health and Safety website and found that CCH conducted an unscheduled absence survey in 2007. The results stated that 87% of employees that are ill and come to work have short-term sicknesses like the flu or a cold. We all know that those illnesses tend to have pretty visible (and audible) symptoms.

To better illustrate what I mean by sick on the job, here’s a personal story from one of my first restaurant gigs. On my way to work I was feeling crummy, but I went in anyway. My managers were not exactly what you’d call sympathetic people, and I knew calling off right before my shift could get me fired (it had happened to others before). Upon starting my 7-hour shift, I began feeling worse and worse. I told my manager that I was feeling like I had the flu and he told me to get back to work. I did. Two hours later, I had to start making quick trips to the staff bathroom to vomit. When I gathered up the courage to tell him that, he acted as if I was lying, and told me to get back to work again. So I did, and eventually finished my shift.

I made it through (barely), but the fact that my job was preparing fresh food, such as salads, made me feel even worse just thinking of who I could have passed my illness onto. Each time I went into the bathroom to be sick I could see my skin had a greenish undertone. I had dark circles under my eyes and I looked terrible. It was visibly obvious to everyone in the kitchen that I was sick, but my boss wasn’t buying it. I don’t know what he had dealt with in the past, but I was certainly not an employee who had missed work more than you could count on one hand, and I had been there for over a year.

Years later, while serving at a different establishment, my manager noticed me sniffling and coughing a bit. He told me to go home and come back when I felt better. He said if I still wasn’t well by my next shift, we’d find someone to cover for me; no big deal. And that was that. I went home to recuperate and was back to work two days later.

I always wondered why my manager at the first restaurant refused to let me go home when I was obviously so ill. I think that perhaps he didn’t want to call around to find someone to replace me, but who knows. All I do know is that my germs were undoubtedly spread to the food I was preparing, and to my co-workers, despite my best efforts to cough and sneeze in the crook of my elbow, and by wearing rubber gloves and washing my hands obsessively. But what could I do? I was afraid if I went home that I’d be fired. And I wasn’t alone. The same CCH study also found that 49% of employees that come to work while sick do so because they are worried about getting in trouble if they don’t come in.

So now, without further ado, here’s my pros and cons list for requiring that a sick employee complete their shift:

PROS:

CONS:

Not having to find someone else to cover the shift, which means no disruption in work flow.
Showing your employees that you’re a serious and firm manager.

Sometimes an employee will want to stay and work if they need the money, no matter how sick they are. Forcing them to go home might be the safer choice, but it could anger your employee.

Not giving in to excuses from employees who frequently try to take time from work.

No dealing with sick leave if applicable.

It could be a liability for an employer to keep a sick employee at work if the illness turns out to be serious.
Germs will spread! If one employee is sick, your entire staff could wind up sick, and you can risk catching it as well.
The germs can also spread to the customers. Anyone who is sick should never be allowed to prepare or handle someone else’s food. Would you want to eat your dinner if you know the cook who prepared it had a bad cold?
Employees who are ill at work will feel disenchanted and dehumanized when told to suck it up and get back to work. This could result in bad work morale because employees with no sick days have no options when they have fallen ill and are forced to work.
A sick employee isn’t in top form and therefore, can’t do their best work. Mistakes are more likely to be made, which could cause more work in the end and frustrate customers.
An employee that’s feeling groggy could end up hurting customers or co-workers by making clumsy errors, like spilling coffee, dropping knives or forgetting to clean up a spill.

Cold and flu season is upon us. You may have a very structured sickness policy in your workplace, while some restaurants prefer to take things on a case-by-case basis. Do you tend to keep sick employees at work? Maybe seeing this list will make you think twice. I was hard-pressed to come up with decent pros to forcing an ill person to continue working. It seems like to me, and on the websites I researched, that the cons outweigh the pros.

However, what if you suspect that employees are calling in sick for reasons other than sickness? Another CCH survey found that two-thirds of employees who call in sick right before their shift are taking off work for reasons other than illness. So how can you be sure? Maybe have your employee come in. If you can see it for yourself, send them home. Otherwise, they can get to work, but keep a close eye on their behavior to see if the symptoms only appear when you’re around. Or you could always let them stay home and demand a doctor’s note upon their return.

And before you think that employees are generally taking too many sick days, take a look at the chart on the left. Compared to the rest of the world, we in the U.S. tend to push through and continue working, maybe even when we shouldn’t. After all, we’re human and getting sick is a very real thing that happens to even the most hardworking of us. It isn’t likely that people in other countries get sick more often than us, but perhaps that our culture tends to view sick days as a bad thing, as being lazy. When in fact, we need those lazy days in order to get well.

Do you have any points, either pros or cons that you’d like to share? Or any experiences that have helped you form your decisions? Share them with us below! And let WyckWyre.com help you find lots of healthy employees to help out during this winter season.

Tags: call-in, day off, employee, employer, illness, job, manager, policies, restaurant, shift, sick, sick days, time off, WyckWyre
Categories: Blog, Employer Blog No Comments »

Posted: Friday, November 11th, 2011

Are You a Good Tipper?

So I was watching TV the other day, and I came across a program called, “Oprah’s All Stars.” (Don’t judge me; I was just flipping through the channels.) Anyway, the show features advice on various topics from Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and Suze Orman. What made me pause on this station wasn’t the majesty of Dr. Phil’s rockin’ ‘stache, but rather the topic: Tipping in restaurants.

There was a guest on the show that asked: “I hate the idea of tipping – why should I tip?” He seriously didn’t know why a customer was expected to tip, explaining that servers are just doing their job and they should not receive extra awards for it. The guy had never worked in a restaurant, and apparently no one had ever clued him in. But then I thought – *gasp!* – he isn’t the only one. There a lot of people who have never worked in a restaurant and might not understand why tipping even exists. Or there are even people who have worked in restaurants and somehow the facts have eluded them. Well, never fear, for I am here to inform y’all.

If you have ever worked for tips, whether you were a valet, a server, a bartender, a doorman, a delivery driver, etc., the thought of someone saying that they shouldn’t have to tip you for you doing your job makes you cringe. I spent many years waiting tables and bartending – this particular guest had me yelling at the TV! (Don’t worry, Suze later set him straight by making him work in a restaurant for a day. He learned his lesson.) So I decided then and there that this week I would sit down and clear it all up for everyone.

Here’s the deal: The reason tipping is in place is because the employee is providing a service to you. However, they can do an exceptional job, or really leave you steaming. The tipping system allows you, as the consumer, to decide if the job was done right. Have you ever gotten angry at a customer service representative over the phone for being rude? Or at a fast food worker for keeping you waiting too long? Well those workers aren’t working for tips and get paid no matter what. And although tipping doesn’t eliminate the occasional bad dining-in experience, it helps to provide an incentive for the person serving you to do well.

With the hope of a tip, you are getting seated faster, get your drinks faster, your order more accurate, refills when needed, and hopefully a better experience overall. While it might look like an easy job to wait tables, it really isn’t. It entails hours of standing on your feet, dealing with very difficult people, accuracy, efficiency and a whole lot of organization. And it all has to be done as quickly as possible with a smile on your face no matter what your mood.

Tipped employees know that if they aren’t going above and beyond, they are paid less. And if they are making very low tips, that can be bad news. Do you know how much tipped employees are generally paid an hour? The guest on Oprah’s show assumed that servers were paid the same amount as every other minimum wage non-tipped employee, but that isn’t true most of the time. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Not exactly enough to earn a living on, but tipped employees get way less than that. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is a mere $2.13 an hour. I’m not kidding! A waitress could work a 10-hour shift and only have about $22 to show for it on her paycheck. And that, my friends, is why tipping is vital. If you stiff someone on their tip or you tip below the expected percentage, not only are you telling them that they did a terrible job, but you also basically had them work for you for next to nothing.

A tip is a chance for you to rate the service you received. But it also has to be relative to your experience. If you come to a restaurant with a party of 20 people and you all want different meals and people change their minds about their order and then everyone wants the check divided 20 ways, that is adding a lot of extra work for the server. That extra work is causing them to take time away from their other tables and responsibilities. Reflect that you acknowledge their extra effort in your tip.

Here’s a quick list of some other tipping situations to keep in mind:

More work: Let’s say you check into a hotel with 9 heavy suitcases because you just had to have a complete wardrobe for your trip to L.A. If the bellhop takes all of them upstairs for you, don’t give the same tip as you would if you only had 2 bags.
Coupons: Always tip based on the amount of the total before any discounts. Your meal might be free, but the server still had to place the order and deliver it to you. Their tip shouldn’t suffer.
Bad weather: There’s a blizzard one night and you’re hungry so you order a pizza because you can’t stand the thought of going outside. Well guess who did have to brave the cold? Your delivery guy. Show you’re grateful for his efforts and adjust the tip accordingly.
Messy kids: If you take your child out to eat and they make a mess of the table, either with their food, their drink or an accident, do your best to clean it up, but realize that the server has to finish the job. You should tip higher in these situations. Always.
Difficult orders: If you want your steak cooked just so and you send it back several times and then change your mind and order pasta, you just ran your server crazy. More tip!
Low budget: Wanna go out to eat, but you only have $20? Don’t order an $18 meal. If you don’t have enough for the meal and a decent tip, you don’t have enough to go out to eat.

So after all of this, how much should you tip anyway? Check out the freakishly long chart below for the numbers.

She's also a great Tipper.

This should be easy to remember: 15-20% minimum unless the service was below reasonable expectations. And you can never tip too much – there’s no such thing. If the service was the best you’ve ever experienced, tipping 25%, 30%, or even higher is a good way to ensure that you receive that same exemplary service next time. You’ll be remembered as a great tipper.

If you can’t do the math in your head, guess, but round up just in case. Make sure the amount seems appropriate. And, it’s never alright to tip less than $2 on a restaurant or delivery bill no matter how cheap the total is. Anything that low isn’t worth your server or driver’s time. (Side note: A delivery charge doesn’t actually go to the driver, so don’t consider that part of your tip!) Most cell phones come with a tip calculator, or they can be downloaded. There are some really great apps that even split up checks for you and help you calculate how much each person in a party should pitch in for the bill and for the tip.

I hope this has opened some eyes out there! Next time you are dining out, pay extra attention to appreciate the service you receive. And make sure you tip in a way that shows that appreciation, or Suze Orman will find you.

For those of you who work for tips, please tell us your stories below – I know you’ve got ‘em! And if there are any other points that I’ve missed about why tipping is important, share them. I know this subject sparks discussion so let us hear what you have to say.

And I definitely don’t want anyone to think that being a tipped employee is a bad thing. I was one for many years because I loved it, and most of the time people know how to tip and they do it right. In fact, you can make pretty good money working for tips. So if taking cash home from work every night seems appealing to you, check out WyckWyre.com to find a place where you can become a tipped employee, too.

Tags: bartender, bellhop, customer, delivery driver, doorman, employee, job, restaurant, server, service, tipped, tips, valet, WyckWyre
Categories: Applicant Blog, Blog 1 Comment »

Posted: Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Havin’ A Gas, At The Gastropub…

This blog was submitted by Gene Philbin from Maines Paper & Food Service

The term gastronomy, now more than ever, is becoming a familiar word in the English language. Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between culture and food. I attribute its new-found popularity to social examples like Top Chef, and Food Network.

The term “gastropub”, in my opinion, is an establishment, which provides copious amounts of micro brews, imports, and unfamiliar hop and barley offerings, paired with “bar food” taken to levels above any kind of food you will see. From the very simple, Pomme Fritte(homemade French fries) to a spin on the classics like Kobe Sliders, or a Duck Confit Cheese Steak. It’s taking what’s familiar, making it homemade, and putting a great twist on it. At a gastropub you may also find small plates and snacks. Such as Homemade potato chip, Warm Olive Plates, artisan Cheeses, and so many more options. For now the term has NOT been thrown around loosely, because it takes a special kind of mind to create the dinning experience that is to come with dinning at a gastropub.

Did you know Beef Carpacio was invented at a place called Harry’s Bar in Italy many many MANY years ago? I wonder if that meant that Harry’s was the first gastropub. He certainly did think differently. Much like Chef Dave at AuRants in Dureya Pa. Essentially one of a few “gastropubs” in Northeast Pensylvannia. Chef Dave’s creations blend world spices, wild meats, unique preparations, and just a touch of crazy all blended together to make an unbelievable dining experience. Have you ever had a Hot Dog in a bar? I have. It is usually cooked on a flat top, thrown on a bun, served with rippled (yuck) chips, with a squirt bottle of ketchup (sin) and yellow mustard. Now, have you ever had a Hot Dog, 4OZ’er, wrapped in bacon, fried in Duck fat, placed in a locally baked sesame roll, topped with Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese. If you have, then you are apart of the elite group of smart diners that frequent AuRants on 941 Main St Dureya, Pa. This is a perfect example of what a gastropub should be. Knowledgeable bartenders that can describe the complexities of the I.P.A or Belgian Ale you are about to pair, with Nori Seaweed and Orzo Dusted Tuna, with some amazing blend of soy and Sriracha.

One of my favorite, and world-famous gastropubs, is The Blind Tiger in New York City. A simple, but amazing example of what a gastropub should be. Over 120 bottled beers, and well over 20 draughts of micro brews and imports. You will NOT find any miller lite at this pub. Set on Bleeker Street in Greenwich Village, Blind Tiger is a perfect example of great food as well. Roasted bacon, apple, onion cheddar melt, artesian cheeses plates from a local cheese store, cubano’s and a variety of great sandwiches using fresh, local and unique ingredients. This is exactly what it should be. It is really a simple formula, but slightly complicated at the same time. For the chef/creator of these recipes, it most definitely takes a creative mind and a unique personality to come up with these awesome creations.

When you are in a bar or restaurant that decides to wrap something in bacon, that may normally not get it, don’t just call it a gastropub. It needs to be powerful, different, unique, delicious, creative, fun, a little weird, and excite your palate like no other meal ever has…

Tags: Food Network, gastropub, restaurant, Top Chef
Categories: Blog No Comments »

Posted: Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

The Facebook Hiring System

It wasn’t so long ago that when a new restaurant opened, they would post a “Now hiring” sign out front or would run an ad in the newspaper Help Wanted section. Well those days have changed and they have changed thanks to technology and Social Media.

Recently in my neighborhood, a new Bagel shop began construction. They posted a large sign out front that reads, “Opening Soon, Now Hiring so find us on facebook”. They aren’t accepting walk-in traffic or paper applications. So just think for a minute how brilliant that is.

What this has done, is it has forced the dozens, if not hundreds, of applicants to visit the Bagel Company’s facebook fan page. I would imagine that a large majority “Liked” their page, after all what better way for a potential employer to notice you? This in turn helps build their facebook fan base. Of course this is just the side effect of directing applicants to their page but what a great strategy.

Here’s the best part, what better way for an employer to learn about a potential employee than through facebook? Here an employer gets a true snapshot of the person applying.

My 17 year old daughter applied for a Bagel job via facebook and when she met the owners for an interview she was told immediately that “she appeared to be a nice, sweet young lady”. My guess would be that the owners spent some quality time reviewing the applicant’s facebook profiles in advance similar to reviewing a resume. Fortunately (for a million reasons), my daughter’s page is pretty vanilla and her pictures are very tame, hence the “nice, sweet young lady” comment.

As more and more businesses and Universities use Facebook and other social media as a character reference tool, are you prepared? Is your page suitable to be used as a resume (whether you want them to or not) or is it too spicy for an employer to handle?

We’d love to hear how you’ve used social media as part of your hiring system or how it’s effected your job search.

Tags: applicants, facebook, hiring, hiring system, now hiring, restaurant
Categories: Blog No Comments »

Posted: Monday, October 11th, 2010

Are You A Slave To Your Restaurant?

I’m sure that some of you can relate to this story about owning or managing a restaurant. I always knew that I would someday open a restaurant and even included my future profession in my High School yearbook profile.

I was super-passionate about getting the restaurant open and had some pretty grand plans. I worked hard on creating a really special menu as well as restaurant design. I hired only the “best” employees and then I open my dream restaurant.

It quickly became evident that this crazy dream of mine became like a big ball and chain around my neck. I became a slave to my business. I spent the next few years working IN my business not ON my business. What I mean by this is I never took the time to create the systems needed for my Managers or other staff to run the restaurant in my absence (which ultimately meant that I never took time off).

This is a huge mistake and seems to be the norm in the restaurant business. So what should I have done? I should have taken the time to create systems and standard procedures so that I didn’t need to become the babysitter. I should have trained all of my employees based on these procedures also known as the foundation of the restaurant.

Today, there are many web based software applications that can further allow you to work ON your business not IN your business. WhenToManage.com is the perfect example with their web-based Inventory Management, Labor Scheduling and POS Intelligence Reporting. All of their products allow you to effectively manage your restaurant from any browser or smart phone regardless of location.

Although I am still passionate about the restaurant industry, I would think twice about opening another restaurant unless I was willing to start out with the foundation of systems and procedures in place. I would allow myself to take time off and when I did I would not be consumed with the operations of the restaurant.

Tags: procedures, restaurant, restaurant industry, restaurant systems, WhenToManage
Categories: Blog 1 Comment »

Posted: Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

WhenToLet-Computers Do The Work For You

This blog was originally posted by Walker Thompson on www.whentomanage.com

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 automation front or when you should invest in learning technology so in the future you’ll have more time, sanity and profits!

Remember the ledger? If not, imagine a 2′ long, 1′ tall and 3″ thick book with a lot of little green lines and pencil markings all over it. The ledger was the domain of accountants and it was a tough one. Hours and hours with pencil and 10-key calculating machine would’ve been your life. Ledgers from years before would be laid out in front of you as you try to determine sales and profits and debts from previous years. Your kids would spill juice on 1989 and boy would they hear about it! Your eyes would be small slits by the end of a day of calculating and your brow semi-permantly creased because of the constant forrow. If that isn’t enough to scare you about the past, go back and re-read that you actually had to use a pencil – what is that? Point being that the good-old hardcopy days are over as QuickBooks made life easier by allowing a computer to do the challenging financial audit work. YAY!!! So now that you’ve made that leap, time to make other ones as well…

Investing in technology isn’t really that hard, especially when you consider the story above. In the restaurant industry we are bombarded with marketing and advertising gimmicks that may/not work. So consider what is important to you and keep a firm grasp on your return on investment (ROI) with these purchases. However, when it comes to operations, we got this! Getting inventory in and enabling a work force to get it out is what we do best… That said, investing in the following might be your first order of business:

Point of sale system (POS). Likely you already have something like this, but if you don’t, get one!
Invest in an inventory management system. Tracks your variance, allows you to make orders directly with vendors and manage what’s on hand, or not (at least the system should do this, we do!)
Can’t say enough about online labor scheduling! Why use an excel spreadsheet? The moment it is published one of your employees will have a conflict, you know this. Online labor scheduling allows you to more effectively communicate with your employees and create shifts that actually fits with their life!

So to answer the blog title here… INVEST NOW! Why complicate your operations with old mechanisms that you know are taking the life-force out of you? STOP THE LEDGER WORK… In all seriousness, with online/web-based application growth comes easier-to-use services. What’s more, your work force will expect that you have some sort of communication and/or web-based solution that will help them manage their day. Thus, you aren’t just investing in your business, you’re doing it for their sake too!

Tags: employee schedule, inventory, management, reporting, restaurant, restaurant management, small business
Categories: Blog 1 Comment »

Posted: Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Restaurant Reality TV, A Must Have

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I can’t wait for the new fall restaurant reality TV season to begin. I find such comfort in knowing that in just a few days I’ll be able to watch Gordon Ramsey reduce a naïve young Chef to tears on Hell’s Kitchen. I brim with anticipation waiting to see the quick-fire and elimination challenges on the new Top Chef, Desserts.

One might assume that I have no life or that watching television draws us away from reality and in a sense it does. However, to the participants of the shows, it’s very real. I love watching these guys make a fool of themselves and I find myself asking, “do they really think they could be the next Top Chef?” Granted, some of these guys can really cook and are super-talented.

What I love is the fact that I can sit in the comfort of my living room and cheer for the ones I want to win and squirm with the ones I don’t. I can cry (ok maybe I need a life) with those who almost made it and curse at the jerk who made it and shouldn’t have.

So, I’ve often wondered how I would do as a contestant on one of these shows, it looks pretty easy while sitting in my armchair, right? For me however, my reality is that I’m pretty sure that I would crumble the first time Chef Ramsey called me a “F*&%#* Cow” and I’d be in therapy if Padma told me to “pack my knives and Go!”. So with that said, clearly, I wasn’t cut out for the restaurant reality TV world except of course as its number one fan!

Tags: Hell's kitchen, reality tv, restaurant, Top Chef
Categories: Blog No Comments »

Posted: Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

The Annual Restaurant turnover rate is 113%