The Future of Restaurant POS

By Jamie Hooker

 

If you’ve been to a Chili’s or Olive Garden lately, you probably noticed the tablet at the end of your table. Your server explained that if you wanted to order drinks, appetizers or desserts, you could do so through the weird device you’ve never seen at a restaurant before. “Why can’t I just ask you for that? This is weird,” you thought.

More restaurants are following suit after Chili’s and using tablets at each table as their new POS (point of sale) systems. Before you totally reject the idea and pledge never to use one, let me tell you the benefits. Waiters and waitresses get busy, and might not have time to visit your table as frequently as you would like them to. Ordering from your table is a good solution when you need a drink refill or you’re ready to move on to the next course. The only course you can’t order from the table is your main course (I’m guessing restaurants don’t want to completely replace their servers). Another benefit of the tablets is you can use them to pay for your meal too, instead of waiting for the check.

These tablets are the future of restaurant POS, and eventually will be the norm.  What does that mean for your servers? Will that job no longer appear on college student resumes? It’s hard to imagine a restaurant without a server right now, but later down the line it may be a reality. Some people prefer the restaurant experience as is, sans tablets, with interaction between your group and your server. That’s how they make their tips after all, isn’t it?

These new POS systems aren’t only for ordering food and paying for it. Some have games available for purchase on the tablet, which can be especially helpful if you have a restless child. This serves as another form of revenue for the restaurant, and the system almost pays for itself.

With technology comes change, and what we know to be the classic restaurant experience is slowly shifting. What do you think about using these tablets at restaurant tables? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Meetings: You’re doing them wrong

By Jamie Hooker

You probably don’t go through a day of work without hearing the word “meeting” at least three times. Meetings are a huge part of the workplace and can either be productive or pointless, depending on how you plan them. Here are some pro-tips to follow when you are planning and attending a meeting.

What’s the meeting for anyway?

When you call a meeting, make sure you do for a good reason. Have a specific topic or make a list of points you want to go over with your team ahead of time. Does what you want to talk about merit a meeting in the first place? Sometimes a simple email to your team is an easier way to keep everyone in the loop instead of pulling them away from their desks, which can stop productivity. Once you decide a meeting is necessary, make sure to stick to your agenda so the team doesn’t get off topic.

Mix it up a bit.

Consider holding your meeting somewhere besides the usual conference room. Our living room at Snackbox HQ can double as a meeting space and can be a nice change of pace (also, it’s comfier). If you’re office doesn’t have another space big enough for your team, take the meeting outside if weather permits or to the nearest coffee shop. Physically getting out of the office can boost moods and encourage more participation.

Will the real PR pros please stand up?

Bear with me on this one! Holding a meeting where everyone is standing sounds horrible at first, but could be beneficial to time management. Stand-up meetings are best for those beginning-of-the-day meetings for quick updates and getting everyone on the same page. Keeping everyone on their feet (literally) will keep the meeting short and sweet.

Pin that for later.

Staying on track with your agenda can be hard, especially when a lot of creative people are in one room. It’s easy for a productivity meeting to turn into a brainstorming session. Allow a couple of minutes for new ideas to be discussed, but then “pin” the ideas to talk about at the end of the meeting or in a separate meeting all together. It’s good to still encourage good ideas but you don’t want to get sidetracked.

Next time you’re planning a meeting, remember these tips and your co-workers will appreciate you!

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Email Etiquette Tips

By Yahaira Hernandez

 

Much like learning how to handle a business call, mastering email etiquette comes with experience. I practiced email etiquette while attending college when I emailed professors. Since then, my performance has improved thanks to a career that heavily relies on electronic communication.

To this day, I learn more about email etiquette by communicating with different people every day. Surely, you know how to create an email that appears professional and friendly, and with the following tips, your emails can inspire others to follow better email techniques.

Courteous Greeting and Closing

By beginning your email with “Hi, John” or “Good morning, Sarah”, the person you are communicating with will always appreciate the friendly greeting. As for the closing, be sure your signature sits below one or two simple and pleasant words like, “Best regards” or “Thank you.” These words are key when creating any formal email.

Spell Check

Typos happen or misspelled unique names, but it’s extremely important to carefully construct emails and documents without spelling errors, especially in our line of work. My name for example, is very unique, not everyone knows how to spell “Yahaira” but unfortunately for me, many devices autocorrects my name to “Sahara”, causing me a little annoyance when I see it in an email. To avoid spelling errors, be sure to run spell check or review your email before hitting “Send”.

Respond in a Timely Fashion

Some people may work under strict deadlines, that’s why it is very important to respond to an email anywhere between 24 hours or less. In our industry, we work very closely with reporters, some of whom receive thousands of emails a day, so we make it a priority to follow up with extremely busy people if a couple of days pass without a response. By responding quickly, you are helping yourself and others get closer to checking an item off your to-do list.

Check Your Tone

To avoid sounding demanding or rude, read your email out loud to ensure the tone is that which you desire. Words like “please” and “thank you” go a long way in an email. If you are emotionally charged when writing an email, make sure you step away and wait to reply until you are calm and ready to write an email.

Properly Addressing Emails

Make sure you don’t reply all unless everyone needs to see your email. Use the “CC:” field only when it’s important for those who need to see an email. If you’d like to “BCC:” someone, let all parties know you are doing so, so that everyone sees your intentions are proper.

A perfect example is an “introductions” email. The first person to reply should acknowledge putting the connector into the BCC field in order to avoid cluttering up their inbox with the back and forth of getting acquainted and setting up a time to meet.

 

With these tips in mind, I hope you construct emails even more carefully. People like myself, will really appreciate the formality of each email that comes their way. Have you ever received an email with one or more email etiquet

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Five Things Franchise Marketers Need to Know

Marketing professionals thrive on the opportunity to work with franchises. Not only are franchises spread across a large area—but since franchises grow from the ground up, marketing pros have the perfect opportunity to measure growth by the their campaigns are organized.

In theory, marketing for a franchise sounds easy-as-pie, but there are five basic things that every franchise marketer needs to know no matter how big or small their franchise is.

1.)  Know what can damage your brand:  We’ve all heard the term “ by failing to plan, you’re planning to fail” and that applies now more than ever.  A crisis communications plan should be firmly in place before you ever have to use it. With franchises being so widespread, the chance of a crisis happening is a likely possibility. Consider all possible crisis scenarios, from tainted ingredients to employee fatality. Brainstorm the best way to handle any situation, and implement it into your plan. The more you prepare now, the less stressed you will be later.

2.)  Know your marketing mix: Editorial calendars are imperative in making sure all of your marketing efforts sink together. Using an editorial calendar helps you fine-tune strategies and areas of focus on a month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter basis. Implement your in-house strategies, as well as your agencies strategies (if you’re working with one).  This will help future planning run smoothly and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

3.)  Know your competition: Knowing your competition is extremely important—especially in the franchising realm.  Pay attention to your competition at all times—not just during the launch of a new product. Set up news alerts using keywords in order to track their successes and their failures. The more you know about your competition and what is and isn’t working for them—the smarter you become. Make it a point to learn from their efforts.

4.)  Know your franchisors: Think outside of the box when it comes time to telling your franchisee’s story. The beautiful thing about working with franchises is the diversity that comes along with franchise owners.  Everyone has a story to tell, and franchise owners are no exception. Take the time to find out what their story is and what makes them unique. Encourage them throughout their story telling and find the proper marketing avenues to share their story.

5.)  Know your audience: Being knowledgeable about your company is one thing—but knowing and understanding their audience is key when it comes to creating marketing materials. The more you know about the people you’re marketing to, the better your efforts will be. Build competitor lists, track previous placements, and research what age groups or types of people contribute most to the overall profit. Once the research has been done, the creativity can flow and you can build angles around what you have found.

Remember to take into consideration your customer’s interests and motivations when it comes time to planning a marketing campaign. Thinking about the customer first and implementing these five marketing tips will ensure success.

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How to Travel Like the Fashionista You Are

By Yahaira Hernandez

 

Many people (including me) love to travel in our yoga pants and sweatshirts, mostly because it’s comfortable to move around in from place to place. But it’s times like these that we can feel the inner fashionista dying to overcome our fashion blunder.

Below are some fashionable tips that you can use to show off chic looks and on-the-go beauty tricks for your next trip.

Ballet Flats

Instead of sporting boring walking shoes, you can wear ballet flats to keep you comfortable and elegant as you walk to and from travel destinations. They are very easy to put into a carry on bag considering they don’t take up much space. Plus, if you are running around in heels, you can easily switch shoes to rest your feet.

Beauty Products

Carry travel sizes of your favorite beauty products is a great way to keep you looking refreshed. Did you know that breathing cabin air leaves you dehydrated? By carrying a mineral water facial spray, you can keep your skin well moisturized. Also, two basic beauty products to pack are foundation and mascara, foundation can instantly hide dark circles and mascara can make your eyes look bigger and bolder.

Dry Shampoo

Dry Shampoo is a lifesaver! I personally use it every time I travel, it saves you time and freshens your hair. It can be hugely helpful if you have somewhere to be after a very long day or if you accidentally wake up late and have no time to wash your hair. Yikes!

Basic Colors

Pack solid colors like black or white tee shirts to wear with colorful blazers or shoes. You can also pair bold accessories like scarves and jewelry to enhance your classy look.

Versatile Heels

Make sure to pack gorgeous heels that can pair with multiple outfits. Our team loves leopard print (a great patterned neutral) or a nude shoe – not only is nude a great neutral, but it also helps elongate the leg!

So tell us, dear reader: What is your fashionable travel tip? What do you carry with you to ensure you look your best, even when you’re at your most exhausted?

 

 

 

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Conference Call Business Etiquette

By Yahaira Hernandez

 

For some folks, being on a business call comes as naturally as riding a bicycle, but a conference call is another ball game. Why is that? When you are on a business call, you are in a more controlled situation, whereas when you are on a conference call, you are trying to juggle a conversation with multiple people that may all be as talkative and attentive as you are.

Whether you are experienced or not, conference calls can be intimidating for several different reasons. You may get easily distracted during these calls, or you may have the bad habit of calling in late, and so on and so forth. These happenings are quite common but learning how to successfully participate in a busy conference call can make a world of difference in the way you present yourself during a business meeting.

By following the guidelines below, you can soon enough handle your upcoming conference calls like a pro.

 

Be prepared—Have your alarm to set to remind you 15 minutes before your call begins and set up a second alarm 5 minutes before, that way you can get situated and you can prepare all of your documents in front of you and you can also avoid feeling unprepared or embarrassed for stepping out to get something.

Call in to the conference line early—Try your best to avoid being late, especially if you are expected to contribute to the discussion. You don’t want to be the reason for holding up a call or keeping people waiting.

Be courteous when you call in late—If you call in late and you hear someone speaking, wait until they finish to introduce yourself and apologize for running late. The callers will appreciate your actions much more than if you were to suddenly jump in during a discussion and say, “Hi, this is David.”

Build an agenda—Whether you are the “leader” of the call or not, it’s always smart to prepare a list of bullet points you could use to bring up a question or topic during an appropriate part of the discussion.

Use the “Mute” button—If you know there will be a lot of noise or loud distractions, be sure to press “mute” when you are not speaking, this will help the discussion run smoothly and without any outside interruptions.

 

With these five etiquette tips in mind, you should have no problem having a smooth conference call. Keeping the proper etiquette during a conference call will surely make your meeting run in an efficient manner and will make everyone much more productive.

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Business Meeting Etiquette

By Yahaira Hernandez

 

Picture yourself at a business meeting, you are deep in discussion with your bosses and coworkers when all of sudden you notice a loud ringtone coming from across the table. The person grabs their phone and shuts it off. This scenario is just one of many poor etiquette habits that commonly occur during a business meeting.

Not everyone enjoys sitting at a business meeting, it can be long and boring but you have to display proper etiquette from beginning to end. Sure, mistakes happen, and your colleagues may forgive the first one but ongoing mistakes can make you appear unprofessional.

To maintain a proper and professional image while in a business meeting, you can follow these guidelines:

  • Arrive Early—Make sure that you’re on time and prepared with all of the equipment and documents you will need during the meeting, you don’t want to keep people waiting once the meeting has begun.
  • Make Introductions—If you or someone else is not acquainted with the group members, introduce yourselves.
  • Over-communicate—Tell your colleagues details like how you brought your laptop so that you can take notes, or that you will have to run to your office for a business call after the meeting ends. This way, you avoid any negative attention to your actions as you type away or rush out of the room.
  • Silence or Turn Off Your Phone—Keep your phone in your pocket, not on the table as it can distract others if it lights up or buzzes. Turn your phone off or set it on vibrate during a meeting, unless it’s an emergency, then you can excuse yourself and step outside to take a call.
  • Sit Appropriately—Make sure your chair is adjusted to the same height as everyone else in the room. Before the meeting begins, find a comfortable position so that you don’t fidget during the meeting.
  • Follow the Agenda—Bring up discussion points or questions during the appropriate time. At the end of the meeting, people are ready to leave and move on with their day, try to avoid saving all of your questions until the end.

 

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Fun Fundraising Ideas

By Dana Sotoodeh

‘Tis the season for giving! It’s a new year and the perfect time to start planning charity fundraising ideas for you and your team. Not only do you get to give back to your community, but you get to bond with your team and make a difference!

We often see the same kind of fundraising campaigns. Although they always raise money for a good cause, they often seem a little redundant.  It’s time to put that creative side of yours to use and incorporate some fun fundraising campaigns into your New Year plans.

Team Snackbox brings you a few fun charity fundraising ideas that will get you excited about giving back.

1.)         Food Fundraising– Whether you decide to have a homemade bake sale or a night out at a local restaurant, people will always respond when food is involved. People always need to eat, so setting up a fundraiser that involves fresh baked goodies or dinner at a delicious restaurant will usually always get good responses.  The key to making fundraisers like this successful is making sure people are aware of the day and time ahead of time. If you choose to meet up at a local restaurant and donate part of the proceeds to a charity, make sure the time is reasonable enough for people who work to make.

2.)         Make your own Color Run- People love getting active for good causes, and color runs are growing by the numbers each year. Instead of having everyone sign up for a national color run, put on your own. All you need is a place with a trail and colored powder, which can be easily purchased online. You can provide granola bars or bananas for after the run, and charge a sign-up fee to benefit the charity of your choice.

3.)         Benefit concerts: You don’t need to have contact with a Grammy-award-winning artist in order to pull of a benefit concert. Live music is always popular and local artists are always willing to put on a show to promote their music. Research popular local artists and reach out to them via social media if you can’t find their direct number. Most bands or artists have Facebook or Twitter pages that they interact with on a daily basis. Charge an entry fee and donate the money you collect to the cause of your choice.

 

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The In’s and Out’s of a Successful eNewsletter Campaign

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By Dana Sotoodeh

We see it all the time especially around the holidays—our email is overflowing with messages about the same deals. Nordstrom’s Labor Day Sale, Dillard’s President’s Day Sale— what’s really the difference? Unfortunately, if you are scrolling past these frequent emails, the messages aren’t doing their job. They say a happy customer is an engaged one, so Team Snackbox is here to coach you on a few ways your email subscribers can gain interest in your e-newsletters and stop scrolling past your name.

1.)   Catchy Subject Line: Let’s start with the basics. The first thing your subscribers see when they open their inbox is your subject line. The key to getting your e-newsletter noticed begins with getting your subscriber to click it. Draw the reader in with creative and persuasive titles. The chances of keeping them entertained are much higher if they are genuinely interested in your subject line. 

2.)  Incorporate your personality- Subscribers want to feel like they can relate to you or your company. If you’ve been sending out the same e-newsletter and only changing the day of the sale or special, chances are, you’re getting overlooked. Incorporate a conversational tone into your e-newsletters. This makes the subscriber feel comfortable with you, and in result, boosts the chance of them opening and staying engaged in what you have to say. It’s important that your brand has it’s own unique voice.

3.)  Social Media Friendly: Let’s face it—if your e-newsletter isn’t social media friendly, it’s probably not going to go very far. In this day and age, information should be able to be shared quickly, and on various social media channels by the click of a button. Include Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook widgets within your e-newsletter. Not will your subscriber be happy about how easy it is to share your information—the more shares they do, the more popular you look. It’s a win-win.

4.)  Keep it Simple– Too many e-newsletters will overwhelm your subscribers, and none will make them lose interest. Keep your newsletters to the point by focusing on the quality of your product and offering small promotions or give-a-ways. This keeps subscribers engaged but not annoyed.

5.)  Update Content: Try and include at least one or two new pieces of content in each days e-newsletter. People don’t want to read the same thing day after day. It’s important that your content is constantly changing so that subscribers don’t lose interest and so that they understand what level of growth you and your company are on. The more new things going on, the busier you look—and busy is a good thing!

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How to Create a Design Space to Inspire You

By Dana Sotoodeh

 

Are you tired of that gray cubicle of yours? What about that fluorescent lighting that’s giving you a headache by 2:00? We don’t blame you. At Snackbox, we believe in curating the most creative and inspirational workplace possible—and it doesn’t have to be pricy! Surrounding yourself with things that inspire you amps up your mood and increases your productivity! Don’t know where to start? Team Snackbox is here to let you in on a few ways to create a design space that really inspires you.

 

1.)  Color, Color, Color– Blank walls and desk faces can get boring and depressing. Color is proven to lift moods and spark creative energy, and we could all use a little of that. Whether it’ hanging a vivid painting, or even purchasing neon-colored sticky notes, a little color goes a long way. Stick your pens and pencils in a colored pencil holder or bring a bright coffee mug to work. The possibilities are endless.

2.)  Let the Light In– Fluorescent lighting is so “blah”. If you’re lucky enough to have a window, make it a point to open the blinds and let natural sunlight in. Natural sunlight improves mood and will boost your energy levels. If you don’t have control of the lighting in your office environment, bring a cute lamp from home for your desk space. Although the fluorescent lighting will remain overhead, at least your workspace will be lit with the light you choose. For a little more “UMPH” to your workspace, pick a lamp with a fun lamp base.

3.)  Rock Out- When we say “rock out” we don’t mean at obnoxious levels (unless your boss is cool with that), but we do mean to listen to tunes that boost your mood. At Snackbox, we created a “mood booster” playlist of songs that get us through the week or even the day. Music has large effects on mood; so don’t be afraid to make a work playlist that keeps you energized.  

4.)  Find Inspiration- We often lose track of what motivates us to succeed at doing the work we do. It’s important to remind yourself why you are doing what you’re doing and strive to meet those goals every day. From writing a sticky note with inspirational quotes, to creating a small “inspa” board for your workspace, these little reminders will motivate you to push forward. Find what works for you and implement it into your work environment. You will be surprised how much it helps!

5.)  Calm Yourself- Work has a tendency to get extremely stressful pretty often. There’s a few remedies that can help calm you down when you get too stressed. Keep tea bags in your drawer, for hot or cold tea mid-day. Tea calms nerves and gives you a caffeine boost so it’s a win-win. Not a tea drinker? Therapeutic hand lotion or candles often calm nerves. The more “homey” your workspace feels, the more comfortable you will be spending ample amounts of time in it.  

 

 

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