Technology Toolkit

The ability to reach our customers online is an amazing tool that has become available to us in the last few years. However, the ability to reach our employees online has only just become a prospect that many smaller restaurants and Hospitality businesses are willing to consider. Many large corporations, like JC Penney\’s and even the Hospitality king, Carlson, have been doing this for years. It is the perfect way to improve your relationship with the employees that are so valuable to you and your restaurants success.

Reaching Out

One way to reach out to your employee at home is through a company, or even better, a single restaurant newsletter. It is an excellent way to keep the employee informed about fun events, policy changes, or restaurant news. You can take the concept much further than just an informational email, however, and many owners and managers are having great success and fewer sick days or employee turnover because of it.

Fun and Games

With just a little bit of computer shrewdness, or a small investment, your restaurant can run an employee friendly website that is filled with interesting content as well as employment news and policy. Games and contests are extremely popular and the ability to post and see each other\’s families or vacations is an attractive prospect for just about everyone. Social networking has made this kind of interaction popular and it is here to stay.

Training and Education

Perhaps the most important aspect of internet interaction between you and your restaurants employees is internet training. For starters, the employee can learn the importance of food inventory, as well as many other aspects of their jobs, like how to earn better tips and first aid safety. Promotions and management training courses have proven to be huge in other markets so why not with restaurants, lounges, and other forms of hospitality?

Scheduling and Tax

Many employees will benefit from being able to see their schedules and tax information online, cutting down on the many human resource questions that employees always have, especially at tax time. Job postings and bidding can be done online and in person as well as the opportunity to cross train for another position. The internet has done a lot to shorten the rift between owner, management, and employee. Making parts of it fun and entertaining can only strengthen the relationship and show the employee that working in the restaurant business is not always a stressful proposition.

Employee Participation and the Bottom Line

The most looked at part of any restaurant run employee-website other than the schedule should be the tips and tricks section. Helpful information on how to handle stress or tips on how to prepare for employee performance reviews is something that benefits everyone from the owner to the latest new employee. You will be pleasantly surprised at how much participation you will find your employees are willing to give to a well thought out employee website. The bottom line, however, is the increase awareness of how the business is run and how the employee can benefit both themselves and the restaurants in which they work with their input and participation in food inventory control and customer satisfaction.

There are many varieties of waste compaction equipment. There are large refuse, heavy duty, low emissions, drum and stationary compactors. These can have varying engine, holding and pushing capacities. Conveyors of different inclines, constructions and textures are also available.

Large refuse compactors may be fitted with a tooth type design. These teeth come as one piece and are made of materials that are very strong and resistant to wear. Some models have a 536-hp and the capacity to lift as much as 120,000 pounds. Further, they may be equipped with a 17 foot blade for leveling and can push with a force of 99,000 pounds. Usually these compactors are controlled with an electronic joystick steering mechanism. Load-sensing technology is optional and assists in steering and control of the blade.

Heavy duty compactors are designed for heavy industrial use. They may weigh 11,500 pounds and operate at a pressure of 2400 psi. Its electric motors have a 30-hp. Some models can achieve a 92,300 pound ram force and a 32 second cycle time. Its pump can handle around 63 gallons a minute and the tank capacity reaches 180 gallons.

Drum compactors compact waste considered hazardous or low-level between 55 or 85 gallon drums. Most units achieve a force from 20,000 up to 85,000 pounds. This high efficiency reduces typical disposal costs by up to ninety percent. Some 55 gallon drums are crushed into three to seven inch thick shapes. This great reduction in volume lowers costs of disposal. Also, it prevents any contaminated containers from being reused.

Low emissions landfill compactors are available. These have modified engines to produce fewer emissions and an increased efficiency cooling system. Engines normally have around 498 net hp at 1800 rpm. The machine runs quietly and produces minimal pollutants. Blades may be programmed to lower automatically when the machine shifts forwards or raises in reverse. This helps further improve efficiency.

Stationary compactors vary in size from one third of a cubic yard to ten cubic yards. The waste is deposited into a large opening, around eighty by one hundred and twenty inches. The large size of this opening allows for exceptionally bulky refuse to be processed. The trash is compacted and stored in containers or transfer trailers. These are then picked up and brought to a disposal site.

Conveyors are available to assist processing waste. These come in many forms and have many unique features. They can be made of stainless steel or carbon. They can be intended for horizontal or inclined positioning, or with a combination of alternative settings. Belts can be made of rubber or of PVC and can be flat or cleated. There are conveyors that are portable and conveyors that are meant for stationary use.

Waste compaction equipment can be purchased in a wide variety. Compactors are created for processing large or heavy refuse. Certain models are designed specifically to handle hazardous wastes. Others are meant to remain stationary instead of maneuvered around with the help of a joy stick. Low emissions models take pollution and efficiency into account. Conveyors are also available in many forms to help with the tasks associated with processing compacted waste.

You can’t please everybody—even your customers. There will be times when your ears will be burning from a lot of nasty phone calls from irate customers. However, these situations should not dampen your spirit. In fact, you should consider them an opportunity to showcase your excellent customer service. You can definitely rise above the disappointments and frustrations.

Here are some things you can do to better manage your angry customers:

1. Know that it’s not really you. You may definitely hear customers cursing at you for such a bad service, but you should know that deep down they are more frustrated on the system or the product or service they received. Simply put, they are not angry at you. That should be already enough to calm you down and learn to understand their predicament.

2. Listen intently. Your customers should be treated like friends—that is, if one of your friends feels sad or disappointed over something, you give him or her your listening ear. You should listen very closely to everything your customer is saying. If it helps you remember, you should take down some notes.

3. Never interrupt. You really don’t want people to cut you off when you’re talking, do you? This is especially true if you want to express everything that you’re feeling. If the customer starts to talk, just listen and never interrupt. Occasionally you can say “Okay” just to let him or her know that you’re still on the other line.

4. Breathe in and out. If you feel your blood boiling and the claims are getting into your nerves, take very deep breaths. You can bring the receiver a little farther from your mouth and nose to avoid being detected. You can also do this after the customer has finished talking.

By breathing, you take a momentary pause and prevent yourself from saying something you will regret very soon. It will also relax your nerves, making your head much cooler and yourself calmer.

5. Be knowledgeable. Most of these customers don’t just call to vent out. They also want solutions done to their problems. To be of great help, you should be knowledgeable on what you’re doing. Study several training materials. Learn more online.

6. Don’t pretend. Don’t lengthen their agony. If you feel they have talked to the wrong person or you cannot solve the case on your own, transfer him or her to someone who can help the customer the most.

7. Utilize some subliminal messages. How can subliminal messages be helpful to you in dealing with angry customers? The subliminal messages can help ease your mind. They can also change the way you see things. Subliminal messages such as “I value my relationship with my customers” or “I have the ability to provide quality service” can definitely inspire and motivate you to do the best you can to help out and not get affected by other people’s frustrations and anger. You can recite the subliminal messages before reporting to work or during breaks.

Most people do not realize just how intense the restaurant business can be. Employees find the work environment stressful and the pace is almost always set on maximum in the more successful establishments. As a manager, you may find that hiring quality employees is hard enough, and keeping them is harder still. If you are a restaurant manager and are tired of dealing with staffing as if it had a revolving door attached to it, try a little positive reinforcement and watch as your staff solidifies.

One Or Two Bad Eggs

Positive attitudes in the fast-paced restaurant business are often hard to maintain with one or two individuals carrying the load while everyone else grumbles, moans, and groans. Some people just never seem satisfied until they drag everyone else down to their level of misery. You know the type. They are the ones who groan at the mere mention of food inventory or any other phase of the restaurant working environment. Some of these gripers are not salvageable and no amount of positive reinforcement can save them from their inevitable doom, however, most of them can be saved. Here is how.

• Meet with each employee individually and reinforce the positive attitude within them with positive affirmations about their performance and worth.

• If the employee needs to be counseled for poor performance or attendance, start and end the conversation on a positive note.

• Use positive affirmation devices like posters, personal notes, and challenges.

• Always maintain a positive attitude. As a manager, your mood will often influence the entire team so stay upbeat. If you can do this in the face of adversity, so will they.

Calling In The Calvary

Recruit help from those employees who have a positive attitude. By bringing them into your confidence and letting them in on your plan to create a winning team, you will motivate them to help you by working with other staff towards that common goal. The making of a positive environment is a team effort. It has to be by the very nature of the goal.

Reward Reaping

Positive rewards for work well done will help promote a positive level of competition that will help to make the work load even out. Cross training employees so that they can help in areas where it is needed the most and then sending positive praise towards those who do will generate good will throughout the staff and make everyone happier.

Roll Up Your Sleeves

No one can be positive and upbeat all of the time. When the stress level gets high, some employees will become the devils advocate. This is why it is important to have others on staff that knows when to work to counter act those negative feelings with positive reinforcement, praise, and affirmations. However, nothing makes more of a positive impact on a stressed out staff than when the manager rolls up his or her sleeves and jumps into the fray with a positive, we will win the day attitude. If you are willing to work with the crew to change a stressful period and make it a we can do situation, the employees will respond in kind. This kind of management never fails.

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