Week 9 EOC: Tipping

With the restaurant industry growing more and more, that calls for more employees--  tipped employees, such as waitresses, bussers, servers, and carhops. Over 10 million people in the United States are working at a federal tip-wage, only 2.13 an hour.

However, the concept of getting rid of the tip-wage has come to the mind of many. If the tip-wage is cut and all employees within the food service industry are put at minimum wage, this can cause a problem. "The federal minimum wage for the latter is $7.25, but the federal minimum wage for tipped workers has remained stagnate at $2.13 since 1991, with no adjustment for inflation." (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/05/minimum-wage-tip-map-waiters-waitresses-servers)

With a tip-wage being diminished and workers being put on the state-level minimum wage, jobs can be lost. In the food service industry, labor cost is one of the most important factors of the industry. Having more employees at a minimum wage level will deeply affect the staff situation-- employees may notice a cut in hours, or even be laid off. 

Within the industry are different components that qualify an employee as a "tipped employee".
A tipped employee must make over $30 a month in tips to qualify as one. As the tip-wage is set at a federal rate of $2.13, an employer must make up for the lost wages if an employee is not making the equal amount to the federal minimum wage. " A tipped employee engages in an occupation in which he or she customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips. An employer of a tipped employee is only required to pay $2.13 per hour in direct wages if that amount combined with the tips received at least equals the federal minimum wage. If the employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct wages of at least $2.13 per hour do not equal the federal minimum hourly wage, the employer must make up the difference." (https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/wagestips)

As the industry grows, more employment opportunities open up. However, industry growth can be brought to a halt if tip-wage is taken away. Within the industry, rumors about the tip-wage being taken away can cause job loss and cut hours. With many youth working in the industry as a starter job, employers are required to pay a set minimum wage on the tipped employees. "The 1996 Amendments to the FLSA allow employers to pay a youth minimum wage of not less than $4.25 per hour to employees who are under 20 years of age during the first 90 consecutive calendar days after initial employment by their employer. "(https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm)

Week 8 EOC: Three Quotes

1-Examples of competitive advantages include a convenient location, specialty food, personalized service, takeout service, delivery service, ambience, and entertainment. (pg 13)

2-In some cases, industry standards or norms can also be very valuable in helping managers establish their own operation’s service standards. If service standards are not carefully identified and documented for future reference, the standards may not be known and followed by all. (pg275)

3-Value is the difference between what customers get when they buy a product or service and what they pay to get it. All customers desire good value. But good value is not the same as low price. (pg 6)

Implementation, Evaluation, and Control

Without implementation, evaluation, and control, our business, Comfort house, our managers would not know how well our business is doing. "Once a marketing evaluation is completed, it is important to use the information obtained to identify how to improve the success of both the plan and the business. If, for example, an establishment falls short of an external or internal marketing goal, managers need to determine the cause and what needs to be done to correct the problem." (pg 14) We took advantage our our promotions and incorporated them into our evaluations. We are able to see returning locals and even returning tourists.

Distribution

Distribution can refer to many parts of a business-- distribution of product, distribution of services, and so on. "Samples often induce an immediate purchase, allowing the establishment to quickly sell an item. Depending on the portion size of the sample, the product, and its distribution, samples may be costly or provide a poor return on investment." (pg 161)
We are hopeful, and confident that if Comfort House distributes samples along the streets of Downtown Las Vegas that our product will become recognized and popular. Not only will our product be recognized, but our service as well. "Experienced managers working in the restaurant and foodservice industry know that the top complaint is not bad food; it is poor service." (pg 305)

Promotion

Only being open for a month does not allow our business to have many promotions. However, we plan to give the first 50 people their first meal free, just for coming in! As most restaurants have, we plan to offer a ten percent discount for all military veterans, firefighters, and police force personnel. One way we plan to promote our month-long business, is sending our employees around downtown and handing out flyers for our grand opening. "In the restaurant and foodservice industry, promotion is the means used to communicate to customers." (pg 27)

We hope to see many people try our new restaurant, but more so we hope to see people return for a second meal!

Price

Price is " What a customer gives up to obtain a product from an operation" (pg 26)
With popular, easy-to-cook foods, we have established a fair price for the experience and the food. We have developed a healthy price that, with generous portion sizes, allows our company to make a profit as well as keep guests happy with price. "Value is the difference between what customers get when they buy a product or service and what they pay to get it. All customers desire good value. But good value is not the same as low price." (pg 6)

Product

Product is the most important part of an establishment. Deciding what you're going to sell is crucial to your business. At Comfort House, we chose hot foods for the upcoming cold season. "A fad is a short-term increase, sometimes quite large, in the popularity of some product or service. In contrast, a trend is a long-term change." (pg 12) Hot foods are a trend in the cold season because they keep people warm, and that is why we believe it is important to give our patrons a chance to keep warm while enjoying the experience of our city. Along with the product, we ensure that service quality is brought along with our great product. "Even when an establishment’s product quality is high, its facilities are attractive, and its prices are perceived to be fair, poor service quality most often will result in customers who will not come back or recommend the establishment to others." (pg 43)