One of the biggest problems we find when we’re trying to help struggling restaurants is that they can’t really “see” their business. Their managers work hard, often 70 to 80 hours per week. They enact policies to cut staff when its slow or they endlessly pursue cheaper ingredients and/or portion control, but efficiency often proves …
Every day, local and national news agencies report on the state of the labor market. Governments anchor their discussion on unemployment rate, citing moving average trends or comparing today to a year ago. Business owners lament generational work ethic variances. Progressives blame a lack of career advancement opportunities while Conservatives blame liberal child rearing strategies …
Restaurant Gig Labor – A Solution to the Great Resignation Read More »
The service to customer-expectation cycle has been spiraling down for decades. When service goes down, customer expectations go down with it…then service-offered achieves a new low and is met again with a new lower bar to clear. Each generation blames the next for their sloth, self-loathing, and stunted ambition. I was born in the mid-sixties …
The Great Restaurant Labor Shortage…Will Be Over Shortly Read More »
“The restaurant kept running out of food.” “The manager gave us free mimosas for seating us 45 minutes after our reservation, but they never made it to our table.” “It took 25 minutes for a server to greet our table.” “Apparently water and iced tea refills are forbidden on Mother’s Day.” These are all lines …
Mother’s Day: The One Day Restaurateurs Cannot Afford to Mess Up Read More »
Ray Camillo – Founder & CEO, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting It’s that time of year! July…halfway through the year… the beginning of Q3. Somewhere in December most restaurateurs compile a list of things they want to accomplish for the year, vowing to use the “down time” after the holidays to regroup and get ready for …
Ray Camillo – Founder & CEO, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting There has been a lot of chatter lately about the first few dozen states cutting short the pandemic unemployment benefit in an effort to get folks to return to work. In a May 2021 article from NBC News by Dartunorro Clark, the topic is polarizing …
The REAL Reason for The Great Restaurant Labor Shortage Read More »
Michael Maxwell – Partner, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting Technology has made many changes in the restaurant industry. One of these changes involves how we create and edit menus. Using technology such as tablets and software for menus is convenient both for restaurants and customers. They also make it easier for customers to …
Evolving Technology’s Impact on Menu Development & the Surprising Benefits Read More »
Mike Krebs – Project Manager, Blue Orbit Restaurant Consulting As more hospitality businesses continue to reopen and grow during the COVID life environment, we are all trying to figure out how to hire and retain staff. This is a great time for owners to review some of the aspects of their business to make sure …
It is possible that we have all underestimated the importance of a smile in connecting with others. We spent months craving the experience of dining in restaurants and once more interacting with humans only to discover that it is not the same when all those humans are wearing masks.
By January 2020 the restaurant business was getting crowded and hyper-competitive. Since about 2009, on the heels of the worst recession in most people’s memory, restaurants around the country struggled and failed. Panera Bread, Chili’s, Cheesecake Factory, Seasons 52, and Red Lobster were suspiciously still standing while higher quality mom-n-pop concepts were crushed to dust by the downturn. The sub-prime mortgage business disgusted the public.