Archive for July, 2007

New Seminar Set For Dallas

August 20th & 21st

Go here for the scoop!

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Federal Government Eases Regulations on E-Receipts Requirements

The Federal Reserve Board’s recent decision to modify its Regulation E and eliminate the requirement to provide a receipt for debit purchases under $15 will benefit both consumers and merchants by making smaller transactions quicker and more cost effective, according to the director of the Smart Card Alliance, Randy Vanderhoof.”Contactless payment adoption at quick service retail stores in the United States took off in part as a result of the payments industry rule changes that waived the requirement of signatures for credit card transactions under $25,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “The Federal Reserve Board ruling will be the start of another wave of locations where consumers can choose payment options other than cash or prepaid tokens or tickets at unmanned machines that demand low-cost, speedy transactions for operators.”

Previously, Regulation E required that a paper receipt be made available to consumers for all EFT and debit card transactions conducted in physical environments, including even those unattended areas like transit, parking and vending machines, where consumers may not expect a receipt. In many of these environments, the cost and operational challenges of receipt printing has limited the deployment of card acceptance terminals. The new rule, effective August 6, 2007, eliminates the receipt requirement for transactions of $15 or less.

Quick-service restaurants, convenience stores and event concessionaires along with vending, parking, and transit operators will all benefit from the Fed’s action on Regulation E, according to Vanderhoof. And the opportunity is significant: parking, vending and coin-operated machines alone represent $37 billion in annual spending, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

Contactless payment already has great momentum in the United States. Leading banks are issuing millions of contactless credit and debit cards to consumers, and many leading retailers now accept them nationwide. The U.S. transportation industry also has contactless credit and debit card pilots in a number of locations, including transit systems in New York City and Salt Lake City, Utah and on the Ohio Turnpike.

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More Proof That Environment Makes A Difference

Seth posts about an NEJM article that says obesity can be contagious - just like the flu! You can read about it in this article from the LA Times.

Could we drill a little deeper and say that the culture you want to exist in your business - or your life - can be realized by simply practicing the right values and behaviors, thereby making them “contagious” to your staff, friends or family too?

Dare we think about the possibilities that could be realized just by acting our way into a better way of life? So now how important is it to hang out with winners - and surround yourself with them too in your business - and jettison those in your life - and your business - that have no business being there in the first place?

If you haven’t read Malcom Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point“ , you should do so.

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Great SlideShare From Andy

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New Labor Laws Go Into Effect July24th

As of July 24^th 2007 every employer in the country at all locations need to have posted the new poster on the new minimum wage.

You may order these posters from a number of different suppliers or download them free from the following sites:

http://www.dol.gov/osbp/sbrefa/poster/main.htm

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/asp/posters/posters.htm

http://www.dol.gov/osbp/sbrefa/poster/matrix.htm

Federal laws require postings on these laws by employers covered by the specific laws:

· Fair Labor Standards Act (the minimum wage).

· Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

· Job Safety & Health Protection (OSHA).

· Equal Employment Opportunity Act (anti-discrimination/anti-harassment).

· Notice to Employees with Disabilities.

· Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (military-leave rights).

· Employee Polygraph Protection Act.

· Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act.

Federal contractors have additional required postings on these laws, topics:

· The Davis-Bacon Act (government construction).

· Equal Employment Opportunity.

· Beck Poster: Notice of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues.

· The Service Contract Act.

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More Data On Why Discounting Sucks!

New research from the Miami University shows that discounting goods can lead consumers to expect permanently reduced prices, which in turn can stifle sales when the items do return to full price. The research, led by Devon DelVecchio, says however that there are a few strategies that can help reduce the risk of creating permanent low-price expectations. A New York Times article by Alex Mindlin reports on these pricing techniques:

The studies found that discounts expressed as a percentage — for example, 45 percent off $20 shirts — worked better [in terms of limiting future low-price expectations] than equivalent discounts that stated the amount taken off — in this example, $9. The two types were equally effective at inducing people to buy.

The reason was apparently that percentage discounts were less easily remembered than cash discounts, meaning they did not readily enter consumers’ memories as a new price. For similar reasons, hard-to-calculate discounts like 43 percent or 24 percent did not drive down consumers’ price expectations as much as simple discounts like 50 percent or 20 percent.

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89% Of Consumers Research Online Before Selecting A Restaurant

AIS Media, Inc., a leading e-business solutions company and the developer of Excerpo® Mail and Excerpo® Storefront announced the results of online polling of America’s consumers concerning the restaurant industry and its approach to the internet and online

“The poll showed that 89% of consumers have researched a restaurant online prior to visiting a restaurant. This result shows the impact that online services and marketing are having on the restaurant industry. Among those who research online prior to selecting a restaurant, 57% of respondents said that they check out the restaurant’s website. This was greatest among respondents in the 25-45 age groups and in the Northeast and Pacific coast.

The poll found that online marketing is working for the restaurant industry. Thirty-nine percent of respondents liked receiving promotional emails from restaurants with the two most popular online promotions being coupons for drink or food specials.

‘With competition at an all time high, and chain restaurants crowding the market, a smaller restaurant needs to look at new ways to market and entice customers,- said Harpointner. ‘Traditional advertising is reaching a diminishing market. Email and cell phones are overtaking most venues of communication and with that, an email campaign is far more effective than telephone book advertising.

‘The key in using email as part of the restaurant’s marketing campaign is to make sure that is a targeted campaign reaching your potential consumer,- continued Harpointner. Mass emails are not effective and therefore should be broken down by demographics. Another major component is complying with the anti-spam laws. The best advice for restaurants launching an email campaign is to use a program that can target your niche audience, comply with existing laws, and allow you to track the results in real time. Emails for restaurants are per dollar a greater return on investment then any other source of marketing.-

‘Technology is changing the restaurant industry completely,- said Thomas Harpointner, CEO of AIS Media. ‘In the past traditional advertising such as the newspaper or telephone book was the way most people selected a restaurant. Advertisements that stood out influenced consumer’s decisions. Today, the Internet is replacing or becoming additional exposure to traditional advertising and marketing. The first contact that many people have with a restaurant is its website. It is critical that a website reflect the restaurant in its look and feel, is easy to navigate, have a simple way for a consumer to contact the restaurant, and have mapping directions to the restaurant.-

‘A restaurant’s website should reflect the dynamics of the restaurant, as well as, the audience that it is targeting,- continued Harpointner. ‘Today’s consumers expect the best in service when frequenting a restaurant and for many this experience begins when they go online. It is also key to keep the website updated constantly so consumers continue to return to it.-

As consumers become savvier in researching restaurants, the poll found that 33% of respondents seek out fellow consumer reviews online and base their restaurant selections on the ratings of fellow consumers. Twenty-nine percent of respondents based their decisions on newspaper reviews. Consumer reviews carried the greatest weight in the Midwest and Pacific Coast.

‘The internet is the great equalizer,- said Harpointner. ‘Customer service and their experience is key in the restaurant industry. Today, a bad experience can be lethal for a restaurant’s reputation. One dissatisfied customer can post a bad review that can be read by consumers throughout the world and can be reposted on various websites and blogs.-

‘Today everyone plans ahead when traveling,- said Harpointner. ‘This includes hotels, tourist sites, and restaurants. Just because a restaurant is close to a hotel does not ensure that guest will frequent it. With a majority of travelers researching dining options prior to leaving for a destination which means if a restaurant does not have an online presence it may never be considered.-

Among respondents, 32% considered directions with mapping capability as being most important on a restaurants website. That was followed by 28% who viewed a menu selection with pricing important, and 24% seeking general restaurant information.

‘A restaurant website should be set up that once the customer arrives at the restaurant all that they need to do is sit down and enjoy their dining experience as they have all of the relevant information prior to arriving,- said Harpointner.”

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Customer Service Story of the Year

Ginger Conlon over at The 1to1 Blog relates possibly the best customer service story I’ve heard in quite some time. So good in fact, I have to replay her post in its entirety here for you. Take a read…

At last week’s Customer Service Week conference Andre Harris told a terrific story about a remarkable employee. Harris is the director of national customer service for Westfield LLC, which operates about 120 shopping centers in four countries (about half of which are in the United States). She was emphasizing how important it is to hire and train what the company calls “WOW people.”

Here’s a digest version of her tale:

A manager came into one of the malls early one morning, expecting to find it deserted. There, scrubbing the floors on his hands and knees was one of the maintenance staff, Bill Ortiz. The manager asked him what he was doing. Ortiz explained that the floor polishing machine had broken a few days before, and until it could be fixed, he had been coming in at 2am – a full five hours before his shift – without telling anyone, to clean the floors by hand. Why was he doing this? To make sure that when customers arrived at the mall the floors would be clean and safe for them.

WOW, indeed.

And what’s even more amazing about this is that Ortiz isn’t even a direct Westfield employee; he works for an outsourced services firm. But, like everyone who works for Westfield – whether for the company or for an outsourcer it partners with – Ortiz is included in the company’s training, rewards, and recognition program. So as a result of being “discovered,” Ortiz was recognized with Westfield’s top annual employee honor as a WOW Star, complete with a $15,000 bonus.

In her keynote Harris explained that Westfield has three tenets that guide its business operations:
1. deliver WOW service
2. offer a quality retail experience
3. connect with the local community

She also revealed Westfield’s five steps for delivering WOW service.

Hear Find out what customers want, need, expect, and value and respond to that 100 percent of the time. Westfield not only has a customer council among its feedback channels, but it also creates action plans around following up on customer feedback.

Hire Customer orientation is a core competency for all Westfield employees. The company asks for customer centricity in its ads and looks for it in the interview process.

Train All Westfield staff and outsourced employees attend eight hours of initial training, on such detailed behaviors as how to interact and engage with each customer group. The company reinforces its 16 standards for success (e.g. “we constantly exceed the expectations of shoppers and retailers”) in daily WOW Warm-Up meetings.

Measure Westfield measures what is important to customers. To do so it uses secret shoppers who rate the mall experience on 25 criteria, as well as using both customer (shoppers and retailers) and employee satisfaction surveys.

Reward The company rewards monthly WOW stars with cash awards. WOW stars are nominated by peers and customers.

Since launching its WOW approach in 2005 annual employee turnover has declined from 96 percent (in 2004) to 63 percent (in 2006), and is trending toward 55 percent this year. This translated into about $312,000 in saving so far. Not to mention the increase customer loyalty the WOW approach is building.

“WOW feels good,” Harris said, “but it also brings in revenue.”

 

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Manager study shows low leadership, commitment to quality concerns

Results from a new study of the characteristics of candidates for manager positions in the quick-service and fast-casual restaurant segments were reported by Batrus Hollweg International during the recent People Report Inaugural QSR Workforce Symposium.

The study, comparing manager-assessment profiles of candidates over the past five years, reveals significant changes in two areas. Today’s manager candidates for quick-service and fast-casual restaurants scored lower on leadership and commitment to quality.

A copy of Changes in Manager Candidate Characteristics, A Study of QSR & Fast Casual Restaurants is available for download through the White Papers section of Insights & Research on the Batrus Hollweg Web site.

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Top Three Issues Affecting the Food Industry

2007-07-12 — The top three issues affecting the food industry directly mirrored those reported by all small business in the U.S. during the second quarter as taxes, general economic conditions and energy / fuel costs were cited as the most critical areas of concern during the second quarter of 2007 according to the latest Small Business Research Board (SBRB) study released here today.

Latest SBRB report indicates 29% of small food industry businesses plan to expand during next 12 to 24 months including enhancements at current locations and providing more services. SBRB report prepared in conjunction with International Profit Associates also shows businesses intend to invest in staff training and hiring.

Owners of small and medium-sized food industry firms responding to the nationwide poll co-sponsored by International Profit Associates (IPA) said health care costs and government regulation, which were tied as the leading areas of concern during the first quarter, fell to fourth and fifth during the current period.

Taxes, general economic conditions and energy / fuel costs also were the top three most cited in the overall poll of all U.S. small businesses. Health care costs, also the number one issue the previous quarter, dropped to fifth during the second quarter.

IPA, with more than 1,800 professionals, is the largest privately-held provider of management consulting services to small and medium-size businesses in North America. IPA is based in Buffalo Grove, IL.

The quarterly poll of small business owners and managers also measured their interest in expanding their operations over the next 12 to 24 months. Only 29% said they intend to expand during this period. The owners said they first intend to expand at current locations as well as provide more services. Adding new products and enhancing customer service finished third and fourth. Growth via the addition of locations or through acquisition tied for fifth.

These projections were made during the same period in which the SBRB Food Industry Small Business Confidence Index (SBCI) reported an increase of more than 2 points from the first quarter to 40.3. The higher food industry SBCI resulted entirely from plans for increased hiring over the next 12 months.

The study clearly indicates that the food industry owners intend to obtain greater efficiency from their human resources.

Improved staff training ranked first among the options for enhancing business efficiency during the second quarter. These same owners also said they would add staff (second) before improving current automated systems (third), enhancing employee incentive programs (fourth) and adding new automation and technology (fifth).

“Like other businesses, such as those in construction and contracting, the food industry must invest in training, especially in respect to their optimistic hiring plans for the next 12 months,” said Gregg M. Steinberg, President of IPA.

 Source: QSR Magazine

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