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January 2011 Newsletter

Jan 27, 2011

Synergy

Greetings!

Happy New Year! 2011 promises to be an exciting year of change in the restaurant industry. In this issue, we want to keep you current on the latest trends so you can be prepared!

We explore new technology, nutrition trends and issues in restaurant employment.

To your success,

Dean and Danny

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Happy meals in the new age

In our last issue, we discussed the top food trends that you’ll likely see in 2011. Among the top 5 were healthy kids’ menus.

There has been a lot fervor and debate regarding the nutrition factor in children’s menus lately, particularly at fast food chains. Just late last year, San Francisco became the first city to ban toys that accompany not-so-healthy food from McDonald’s Happy Meals. Even McDonald’s had recognized the growing change in consumer tastes and the child obesity epidemic in America. This recognition lead McDonald’s to introduce apple slices as a substitute for fries in the Happy Meals and low-fat milk as a beverage choice in 2004.

It’s now 2011 – how have other restaurants faired in terms of kids’ meal nutrition? As more parents are becoming health conscious, what are their options? According to the National Restaurant Association, about two-thirds of America’s quick-service restaurants are offering more healthy kids’ meal options than they did just two years ago, an improvement that is truly reflective of consumers’ concerns regarding nutrition. Following in McDonald’s footsteps, Burger King, Subway, Wendy’s and Chick Fil-A all offer fruit as side substitutions – from apple fries with low-fat caramel dipping sauce at Burger King to Wendy’s mandarin orange offerings.

Changes to healthier choices will be even more prevalent when laws that require restaurants with 20 or more units to display calorie information come into effect.

It is clear that shifting attitudes in America from parents to the law makes a strong case for a nutritious change. So how do you go about changing your menu? It’s prudent to introduce new items slowly to make sure you know what’s working and what’s not.

Synergy Tips:

– Offer side menu substitutions like fresh fruit and vegetables with low-fat dipping sauces

– Bake items that are usually deep-fried, like French fries

– Offer Bake Sweet Potato Fries as a healthier, delicious alternative

– Offer wheat instead of white bread

– Substitue sugary sodas for low-fat milk and low-sugar fruit juice options

– Offer organic options where you can

Be sure to also keep value pricing in mind, especially in our current economic state.


Turning Up the Heat: Restaurants Must Fix I-9 Issues … Or Else

Recent high profile audits of employers in our industry should cause concern for every restaurant operator. A lack of prompt action by restaurant owners could have unwanted consequences.

The Immigration & Customs Enforcement unit of the Department of Homeland Security, known by its acronym ICE, has changed enforcement tactics. The agency is spending less time using employer immigration raids to find employees in the US illegally, preferring large-scale audits of employer paperwork that is intended to prove the employee is permitted to reside and work in the United States. When these audits disclose irregularities employers are being hit with significant fines in addition to the loss of employees. If more serious issues are disclosed employers are being arrested.

I-9 Audits Triple; Employers Arrested

The publicized firings in January of hundreds of employees in Minneapolis-area Chipolte’s restaurants were the result of an ICE audit that revealed numerous errors in the documents the employees had submitted to Chipotle when completing the Form I-9 required by Federal law. When confronted with the I-9 audit results the Minneapolis employer had no alternative but to require employees to submit new, lawful paperwork or face being fired. When the employees were fired some chained themselves together inside a Chipoltle restaurant and invited media presence.

In fact ICE tripled the number of employer audits it conducted in the agency’s Fiscal year 2010. Since 2008 the number of audits has increased 600%. ICE “pattern and practice” investigations have produced sometimes chilling results, with employers, including restaurant operators, arrested for violations of Federal law. The agency reports that such arrests rose 63% in 2010 while deportation of illegal aliens convicted of crimes as minor as traffic violations was up 52%.

The Immigration Reform & Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) mandates that employers must verify job applicants are lawfully permitted to work. The current mechanism for doing so is Form I-9, which lists which document(s) the job applicant has produced to verify his employment eligibility. Since IRCA’s passage widespread document forgery and the use of random Social Security numbers have put otherwise law-abiding employers in a no-win position; the law requires employers be reasonably satisfied that eligibility documents are valid, but if employers are wrong — the 2,900 I-9 audits ICE conducted found many who are they can be fined or even jailed. One restaurant operator convicted last November had his home and business property seized by the Federal government after admitting to a judge that he was guilty of “harboring and concealing” unlawful aliens.

Challenge to Employers

As ICE’s newfound I-9 audit strategy brings more bad publicity for employers restaurant owners must rethink recruitment, hiring and compliance practices in order to avoid significant disruptions to business as well as fines and possibly imprisonment. The best strategy may be a three-pronged approach: diversifying recruitment sources and concentrating on cutting turnover are two time-proven techniques. The third prong, compliance, requires employers to consider just how much they are willing to invest in ensuring a clean I-9 audit and zero risk of negative publicity such as the Chipotle’s case.

Synergy’s Human Capital Solutions offer a full range of restaurant employer services, including assistance with employment compliance programs. Contact us today for more information.


Technology: Building Sales Through Guest Friendly Order Kiosks

Waiting a long time for your order to be taken at a restaurant – this is an all-too-familiar scenario that is without question one of the worst customer experiences a diner can encounter. To combat this and to encourage fast service times, grill and salad bar chain Sizzler has been testing self-service kiosks at their El Segundo location. At these kiosks, customers can simply utilize the touch screen to make their food selections, get seated, and wait for their food to arrive.

 

Results from the test have been showing a lot of promise. Not only have service times improved, but even better, check averages have increased.

Michael Branigan, Vice President of Marketing at Sizzler USA, noticed a 15 to 20 percent average check lift. Further, ordering time was cut in half, which is crucial during peak meal periods. An added plus is that the kiosks are easy to use for any age consumer whether they are 18 or 70 years old. The general manager at the El Segundo location has stated that there has been much positive reaction to the new kiosks.

With the success at El Segundo, Sizzler plans to roll out these new kiosks to 5 more Sizzler locations in California.

The brand of kiosks being used is the EMN8 Inc. kiosks — they have an easy interface, attractive food images, videos and suggestive text which is all great for upselling.

Synergy’s team is available for a free consultation on the implementation of systems described above.


Tip of the Month!

Get sweet with Agave Nectar!

With significant lower glycemic index than refined sugars, agave provides sweetness but not the blood sugar spike of other sweeteners. This makes it a wise choice (when used in moderation) for diabetics.