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Employee Management
Culture at its Core
How to use your company ‘bible’ to build a stronger company culture You can spot the companies that have a well-defined company culture the minute you walk in the door. There is something about the way the restaurant’s staff interacts with cust...
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Employee Management
When an Employee Sues
How to address wage and hour claims Whether you own one pizzeria or 100, employees notice when you’re violating minimum wage and overtime laws. One manager requiring employees to arrive at work 10 minutes early before clocking in can spark a labor ...
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Employee Management
Mike’s Monthly Tip: Effective Orientation and Training
What is your training program? Is it jumping into the fire and trying to not get burned? Is it “just follow this guy for a few days?” Maybe it’s not as abrupt as that, but is it the best investment it could possibly be? The truth is that traini...
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Employee Management
Feedback: Check it Out
Surveys concentrate on dining experience, but it’s just as valuable to learn who your customers are Every other Friday, kids in baseball uniforms bustle into your restaurant, stomachs rumbling, coach leading. No deductive reasoning needed; you have...
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Employee Management
National Pizza Month — Let’s Do This!
Ways to celebrate National Pizza Month It’s October and you know what that means — National Pizza Month. Pizzerias across the country celebrate the month-long tribute to America’s favorite food. Fun fact: Did you know National Pizza Month was c...
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Employee Management
Fun Fund-Raising
Pizza restaurants raise money for charities, but receive beneficial kickback marketing, too In December, Papa Murphy’s in Stanwood, Washington, donated an entire day’s sales to a local woman who suffered serious injuries and burns and lost her tw...
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Employee Management
Cut It Out
Coupons are still a viable marketing tool, if used wisely Don’t tell Peter Wiley the paper coupon is irrelevant. Wiley, one of the co-founders of Kettering, Ohio-based Rapid Fired Pizza, says the chain sends out coupons in postcards, local discount...
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Employee Management
Winner, Winner
Are you successfully promoting your victories? “To the victor go the spoils.” The spoils of victory are the bonuses and treasure you get for winning. In the olden days of war, the winning army pretty much got to loot the countryside and take what...
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Employee Management
Man on the Street: Culture Vultures
I know I’m supposed to write about pizza, but I can’t stop thinking about burritos. As I write this, the food world is in an uproar over a controversial pop-up eatery in Portland, Oregon. A pair of friends discovered incredible handmade tortilla...
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Employee Management
Video Stars: DIY Video Production
The average pizzeria can produce its own successful videos We’ve all heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but did you know that a video is worth one million? A recent study concluded that one minute of video is worth 1.8 mil...
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Employee Management
Fire Up the Feedback
Do you give smart employee reviews? Are you updating your pizzeria’s Facebook and Twitter pages more often than providing performance feedback? Just like you, your employees want a constant stream of likes, comments and constructive redirects. With...
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Employee Management
The 411 on Cheese Prices
How cheese prices are set, why the figure moves so much and strategies to better manage costs Gary Cooney certainly knows how the volatility of cheese prices can impact a pizzeria. The man behind Chicago’s seven-unit Waldo Cooney’s Pizza chain, C...