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The Hospitality CEO Blog

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Do You Have Crabs?

Do You Have Crabs? 0

Avoid crabs in a bucket: Have you ever watched crabs in a bucket? Just when one of them is about to escape, the others grab hold and pull it back down. The crabs do not want to see the other crabs make it out. By their very nature, they keep each other from winning. Unfortunately, [...]
QFO: How long after opening will a restaurant begin turning a profit?

QFO: How long after opening will a restaurant begin turning a profit? 0

I wish this level of thinking would die a slow miserable death. It’s caused more confusion and uncertainty than just about any other myth in the business. Restaurants that are successful today are profitable from Guest one. It’s by design. And it doesn’t matter what parameters you want to talk about. Anyone who says otherwise [...]
The Speed of Success

The Speed of Success 0

You need to push into growth right now or you’ll drown in your own irrelevance.

The Case Against Behavioral Interviews

The Case Against Behavioral Interviews 0

There are lot of lousy management practices out there. It is astonishing how many of them have taken hold, and how deeply! Even in the awesome companies that are walking the Human Workplace path, we run into crusty and talent-repelling HR and leadership practices that have no place in the modern working world. How did [...]
Billionaire Servers To Finally Pay Their Fair Share

Billionaire Servers To Finally Pay Their Fair Share 0

Stop the presses. No need to raise the debt limit. Biden is going after those billionaire waitresses’ tips. IR-2023-19, Feb. 6, 2023 WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service today issued Notice 2023-13, which contains a proposed revenue procedure that would establish the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) program, a voluntary tip reporting [...]
U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule To Amend Tipped Employee Regulations

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Final Rule To Amend Tipped Employee Regulations 0

On December 22, 2020, the Department of Labor announced a final rule revising its tipped employee regulations to address amendments made to section 3(m) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 (CAA). That amendment prohibits employers from keeping tips received by their employees, regardless of whether the employer [...]
WHT: The Ultimate In Transactional Thinking:

WHT: The Ultimate In Transactional Thinking: 0

I order from Domino's Pizza.  It arrives an hour late and cold. So how do you tell them? Simple. Go to their website (I ordered there). Click on a "There's An Issue" and a list of excuses for their bad service pops up. Choose your excuse and then hit enter. You are then prompted to [...]
QFO: Why do you think there is a poor employee management structure within the hospitality industry?

QFO: Why do you think there is a poor employee management structure within the hospitality industry? 0

Whoa boy buckle up… Poor leadership Transactional thinking Short-term thinking No thinking A complete misunderstanding about the dynamics of growth. A complete misunderstanding about the import of mission. A complete misunderstanding about marketing. A complete misunderstanding about training and Coaching. A complete misunderstanding about influence. A complete misunderstanding about community. On and On and On… [...]
More Minimum Wage Facts

More Minimum Wage Facts 0

The money to pay for an increased minimum wage can only come from four places: other minimum wage workers, in the form of layoffs and reduced hours; higher wage workers, in the form of static or reduced compensation; investors, in the form of lower profits; or customers, in the form of higher prices. Most often [...]
Covid: An Opportunity To Revisit Drive-Thru Thinking

Covid: An Opportunity To Revisit Drive-Thru Thinking 0

Covid has, if nothing else, sped up the thinking about how we deliver the Guest experience. It's never made sense to me that an operator dedicates less than 20% of his unit's resources to something that delivers 50-65% of his sales. [stm_post_about_author][stm_sidebar sidebar="573"] Digging Deeper [stm_news loop="size:3|post_type:post" posts_per_row="3" view_style="style_2" img_size="medium"][stm_spacing lg_spacing="60" md_spacing="60" sm_spacing="60" xs_spacing="60"]Are You [...]
Meme Madness

Meme Madness 0

While I agree with the general sentiment that you should treat employees (and any other human) like they make a difference (especially those who do) ideas like Goodnight's (and I'm a fan) fail to add the most critical yet basic truth: it takes two to tango. This occupies half the time I spend with operators [...]
It’s Over! Now What?

It’s Over! Now What? 0

With today’s crisis, you’re probably wondering . . . is my business built to last? Let me tell it to you straight: if you keep doing what you were doing before this crisis, your business will probably not grow after this crisis. I’m talking about . . . Working longer hours hoping it’ll give you [...]
Inside The Box Thinking

Inside The Box Thinking 0

For the longest time, I didn’t believe in the rants of gurus who said to think outside the box. I mean, I was looking around and seeing that no one had actually exhausted their inside the box thinking first. Which should be a prerequisite right? How can you move beyond something that isn’t even working [...]
What Is The Employee Experience?

What Is The Employee Experience? 0

Q: Who creates and delivers every single guest experience? A; The Front-line employee. Understanding this means the imperative is to create a meaningful and differentiated experience for the employee first. so that they will create a meaningful and differentiated experience for your guests. Traditional roles, responsibilities and resources are no longer enough in a world [...]
Core Values Don’t Change

Core Values Don’t Change 0

This is a list (in no particular order) of our core beliefs for building great businesses out of good businesss. We predicate all of our operational philosophies and client outcomes on these beliefs. The Guest Experience is the most important (only) product you offer. Attracting “A” level talent is a function of great operations. Recruiting [...]
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