Goodwin & Associates Blog
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Best in Bed
The “ Heavenly Bed, ” fi rst launched by the Westin brand of Starwood
Hotels & Resorts, has transformed the bed, a basic feature of any hotel
room, into a luxurious object of desire, enhancing the revenues of the
chain and leaving many hotel operators to follow suit with copycat linens and
custom bedding of their own.
The strategic process at Starwood began with consumer analysis and product testing. First,
Westin commissioned a study involving 600 business executives who travel frequently. The
results showed that 84 percent said a luxurious bed would make a hotel room more attractive to
them. What is more, 63 percent said a good night ’ s sleep is the most important service a hotel
can provide. Half of those surveyed said they sleep worse in hotels than at home. After testing
50 beds from 35 lodging chains, Westin developed its prototype all – white Heavenly Bed with
a custom – designed pillow – top mattress, goose down comforters, fi ve pillows, and three crisp
sheets ranging in thread count from 180 to 250.
Once the product was designed and tested, the fi rm introduced the bed with a carefully planned
marketing strategy. USA Today ran a story on the front page of its business section. The same day,
20 pristine white Heavenly Beds lined Wall Street up to the New York Stock Exchange in New
York City. Inside the Stock Exchange, Barry Sternlicht, the then Chairman and CEO of Starwood
Hotels & Resorts rang the opening bell and threw out hats proclaiming, “ Work like the devil.
Sleep like an angel. ” Meanwhile, at New York ’ s Grand Central Station, 20 more beds graced one
of the rotundas there, and commuters disembarking the trains were invited to try them out.
Similar events were staged the same day at 38 locations across the United States, tailored to each
city. Savannah ’ s event featured a bed fl oating on a barge down the river with a landing skydiver.
Seattle ’ s event took place atop the Space Needle. And to reinforce the message, a concurrent
advertising campaign asked, “ Who ’ s the best in bed? ”
How Kitchens & Restaurants Can Be Prepared for a Potential Swine Flu Outbreak
The spread of the swine flu virus or what the World Health Organization has termed influenza A(H1N1) has the potential to severely impact the hospitality industry. HospitalityLawyer.com offers the following resources to aid the industry in addressing the potential spread of the virus.
Pandemics and the Hotel Industry by Charles L. Menges & Joseph P. McMenamin, McGuire Woods
With the recent decision by WHO to raise the pandemic threat level from Phase IV to Phase V, it is only rational to be concerned about the problem and to activate your pandemic plan. Basic public health measures, including hand-washing, covering coughs, and staying home from work when sick remain absolutely essential, foundational steps. The value of gloves and masks is frankly debatable, and probably depends on how they are used, but the FDA recently gave approval to the purchase and use of N95 masks by the general public. The industry may well wish to consider stockpiling personal protective equipment such as these items. The general public will probably expect it, workers may demand it, and at least some protection may be provided. No one measure is apt to be a foolproof solution. Rather, taking rational, consistent steps, with constant attention and responsiveness to public health authority pronouncements, would seem to offer the best hope of minimizing the impact that the virus threatens to have.
Click here to continue reading.
Click here to learn more about how a potential pandemic will impact business continuity, contract claims, and insurance disputes. Menges and McMenamin also list suggestions for a preparedness plan.
Practical Pandemic Preparation by Fisher & Phillips
For most employers, protecting their employees during an influenza pandemic will depend on two basic approaches: emphasizing “common sense” hygiene (cleaning hands and decontaminating surfaces) and practicing “social distancing.” Social distancing means reducing the frequency, proximity, and duration of contact between people (both employees and customers) to reduce the chances of spreading pandemic influenza virus from person-to-person. Employers may take additional protective measures, including engineering changes, procedure changes, and requiring the use of personal protective equipment, based upon the specific occupational exposure risk of their job tasks and work place. Use of respiratory protection (respirators) and barrier protection (facemasks) may be components of a comprehensive plan to prepare workplaces for an influenza pandemic, but employers must comply with applicable OSHA standards.
Click here to read more, including a Pro-Active Pandemic Strategy and Checklist.
Swine Flu Frequently Asked Questions from Forensic Analytical
As we are all aware, the global community is in the midst of managing an outbreak of a new influenza of swine origin. Forensic Analytical Consulting Services (FACS) has prepared this bulletin to help our clients, business partners and members of our community navigate through the maze of information available in order to stay well-informed and prepared for contingencies.
Click here for answers to questions such as “Should I wear a facemask or respirator?” and “What about disinfecting surfaces?”
________________________________________
Suggestions for the Hotel & Restaurant Operator:
1. Add sanitizer (and/or sanitizer wipes) to all guest rooms.
2. Housekeepers should wear gloves and safety glasses (a great time to reinforce the need for this policy),
3. All food service personnel should wear gloves.
4. After coughing, sneezing, smoking, etc., all employees must wash hands thoroughly with soap and water. Experts recommend washing hands for 20 seconds.
5. Be sure to use different mops for kitchens, public areas, and restrooms.
6. Make sure all mops are cleaned and sanitized after each use.
Obama focuses on food safety
US President Barack Obama speaks to attendees at the Business Roundtable March 12, 2009 at a hotel in …
WASHINGTON – The nation’s food safety system is a “hazard to public health” and overdue for an overhaul, President Barack Obama said Saturday as he focused on that task by filling the top job at the Food and Drug Administration.
Obama used his weekly radio and video address to announce the nomination of former New York City Health Commissioner Margaret Hamburg as agency commissioner and selection of Baltimore’s health commissioner, Joshua Sharfstein as her deputy. Consumer groups applauded the picks.
The president also is creating a special advisory group to coordinate food safety laws and recommend how to update them. Many of these laws have not changed since they were written early in the last century, he said.
Obama said the food safety system is too spread out, making it difficult to share information and solve problems.
The FDA does not have enough money or workers to conduct annual inspections at more than a fraction of the 150,000 food processing plants and warehouses in the country, Obama said.
“That is a hazard to public health. It is unacceptable. And it will change under the leadership of Dr. Margaret Hamburg,” he pledged.
Hamburg, 53, is a bioterrorism expert. She was an assistant health secretary under President Bill Clinton and helped lay the groundwork for the government’s bioterrorism and flu pandemic preparations.
As New York City’s top health official in the early 1990s, she created a program that cut high rates of drug-resistant tuberculosis. She is the daughter of two doctors. Her mother was the first black woman to earn a medical degree from Yale University, and she credits her father for instilling in her a passion for public health.
Sharfstein, 39, is a pediatrician who has challenged the FDA on the safety of over-the-counter cold medicines for children. He also served as a health policy aide to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who plays a leading role in overseeing the pharmaceutical industry.
Both are doctors and outsiders to the troubled agency and will face the daunting challenge of trying to turn it around.
Consumer groups urged the two to work hard to get the money and authority needed to boost FDA inspections.
“Their resumes are extremely impressive, and both are familiar with the FDA’s failure to protect the public from foodborne illness,” said Carol Tucker Foreman of Consumer Federation of America. Foreman said the agency has been unwilling to make changes that would reduce the potential for deadly outbreaks of food poisoning.
Ellen Bloom of Consumers Union said Sharfstein’s experience is “just what the doctor ordered for FDA.”
Gail Cassell, an Eli Lilly & Co. vice president who once served on a government advisory board with Hamburg, said Hamburg “is a big believer in the fact that policy must be backed up with the best scientific evidence and data.”
“She is very balanced and thoughtful about the actions that she takes and certainly has had the experience of running a very complex organization,” Cassell said.
Hamburg’s appointment requires Senate confirmation; Sharfstein’s does not.
Obama said while he doesn’t believe government has the answer to every problem, there are certain things that only government can do such as “ensuring that the foods we eat and the medicines we take are safe and don’t cause us harm.”
“Protecting the safety of our food and drugs is one of the most fundamental responsibilities government has,” he said.
Obama cited a string of breakdowns in assuring food safety in recent years, from contaminated spinach in 2006 to salmonella in peppers and possibly tomatoes last year. This year, a massive salmonella outbreak in peanut products has sickened more than 600 people, is suspected of causing nine deaths and led to one of the largest product recalls in U.S. history.
These cases are a “painful reminder of how tragic the consequences can be when food producers act irresponsibly and government is unable to do its job,” Obama said, noting that contaminated food outbreaks have more than tripled to nearly 350 a year from 100 incidents annually in the early 1990s.
Separately, Obama announced a ban on the slaughter of “downer” cows, which are too sick or weak to stand on their own, to keep them out of the food supply. These animals pose a higher risk of having mad cow disease, E. coli and other infections.
Obama said he takes food safety seriously, not just as a president but also as the parent of two young daughters.
“No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch,” he said
4th Grader has Big goals to feed hungry children
Can one child make a difference and inspire others along the way? Pinewood Preparatory School fourth-grader Katie Stagliano, winner of Amazing Kids! first-ever “Launch My Dream!” T-shirt design contest, believes she can.
With the help of Amazing Kids!’ “Launch My Dream!” initiative (www.launchmydream.org), Katie is launching her dream to end childhood hunger.
Stagliano’s “No Hungry Children”-themed shirt was inspired after she grew a 40-pound cabbage, which fed 275 people at a local soup kitchen. Now her school, Pinewood Preparatory, and Charleston organization Fields to Families, is planting a school garden, growing food for local hungry children.
“I hope my T-shirt will spread the word that there should and could be no hungry children,” Stagliano said. “It’s important to stop world hunger. If kids grow a vegetable and donate it to a soup kitchen, they’re helping launch my dream. I hope Amazing Kids! can help launch dreams of many more kids.”
Amazing Kids! (amazing-kids.org) is a children’s educational charity and award-winning kids’ website. The debut of her “No Hungry Children” T-shirt marks the first in their line of “Launch My Dream!” CharityWear, hope-inspiring sportswear for kids and adults.
Stagliano is donating her 10 percent of T-shirt proceeds to hunger organizations. An additional 10 percent supports “Launch My Dream” to help kids like Stagliano launch their dreams.
What does the future hold for children like Stagliano with dreams to improve our world? With the help of “Launch My Dream!,” the sky’s the limit.
Guest Survey’s (Online Comment Cards) From Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services
Guest Surveys (Online Comment Cards)
• Cost effective and efficient way to collect guest feedback
• Easily identify trends with cumulative data and custom graphs
• Generate repeat business
• Decrease costs – no more printing, shipping, or data entry
• Cost certainty by limiting the amount of surveys received
• No hidden fees – no charges for set-up, revisions, or maintenance
Most business owners understand the importance and value of collecting feedback from their customers. Traditionally, this information has been collected with printed comment cards that are filled out by the customers. Restaurants place these comment cards on table tops or inside the check presenter, while hotels place these comment cards in every hotel room. This method of collecting feedback can be very expensive with many costs including printing the comment cards, shipping the cards to every location, paying for the return postage, and paying an employee to manually enter all of the data so that it can be analyzed and reviewed. The response rate on these comment cards is traditionally very low and the responses that are received are normally only from friends of employees, very happy customers, or very dissatisfied customers. The integrity of this information is also compromised, as cards with complaints are often intercepted before ever reaching management.
We can now use modern technology to offer “online comment cards” or guest surveys as an extremely cost effective and efficient way to collect guest feedback, identify trends, and generate repeat business. Collecting this feedback online eliminates all of your current costs associates with printing, shipping, and data entry. We provide you with a dedicated web address with your company’s name included at no cost. You can then print that web address on the bottom of your receipts offering your guests an incentive if they complete a quick survey. When the guest goes home and types in the web address, they will be shown the same questions that are currently on your comment cards, which they easily answer online. The questions and methods of scoring are fully customizable to meet the needs of your business. The survey only takes one or two minutes and the guest does not need to login to an online account to complete the survey. Once the online survey is submitted, a coupon is displayed for the guest offering them 10% of their next meal, a free appetizer, etc. This coupon helps to generate repeat business, which will be substantially more money than the cost of the survey. You are actually able to make money through repeat business, cut costs associated with traditional comment cards, and collect valuable guest feedback all at the same time!
We make it very easy for you to get started with a guest survey program. We work with you to customize the questions to meet the unique needs of your business. There are no set-up costs, maintenance fees, or hidden expenses. You only pay for the completed surveys that you receive each month! You even have the ability to limit the number of surveys you receive for each location within a certain time frame to provide your budget with cost certainty. All of the data from your surveys is stored online and presented to you in the way that you want to see it. Our system presents you with graphs so you can easily identify trends within the cumulative data. Contact us today to get started with a program so you too can save money, generate repeat business, and collect valuable guest feedback.
Brian Calderone
Division Director – Mystery Shopping, Exit Interviews, Surveys, & Diversity Initiatives
Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services
P: 603-223-0303 x132 | F: 603-218-6451
bcalderone@goodwin-associates.com
91A North State Street, Concord, NH 03301
www.Goodwin-Associates.com | www.MysteryShopperProgram.com | www.Exit-Interviews.net | www.DiversityInHospitality.com | www.WomenInHospitality.com
Awards look good on the résumé, I am lucky enough to have been quoted in this article in Nation’s Restaurant News
Awards look good on the résumé
By Nora Caley
If you’re a chef and you won an award, it’s a good idea to put that on your résumé. But should you put it the top of your list of qualifications? How important is the award, compared to your education and experience, and for how many years can you bring up the topic of your winning the accolade?
“I think it’s important in terms of showing an individual’s commitment to their craft, but it’s not hugely important for everybody,” says Matt Jansen, owner of Mateo Restaurant Provencal and Radda Trattoria in Boulder, Colo. In a job search, he says, “accolades certainly help the cause, and I think they are a nice bonus and an added bit of appeal.”
He says most job applicants list their awards in a section under “special skills” or “extra information.” Sometimes it’s under the same bullet points where the job seeker writes that he or she was an Eagle Scout or the valedictorian in high school.
Eric Goodwin, president of the recruiting firm Goodwin and Associates in Concord, N.H., agrees that awards are important.
“It is something that certainly catches the attention of hiring managers,” he says. “Companies are looking for very tangible results, specific skills or accomplishments that will add value to their organization. An award illustrates distinguished achievement, pride in one’s work, and the ability to shine and stand out.”
He adds that employers do pay attention to awards, and it can help you get a job.
“In a sea of mediocre résumés that flood the desks of hiring companies, any spark or special recognition can oftentimes be the determining factor on whether or not a company picks up the phone to call you to initiate contact,” he says. “Even with all things being equal in a competitive offer situation, someone who brings more credentials to the table, more historical success, may tip the scale in that person’s favor.”
Don’t keep every award on your résumé forever, Jansen says.
“Personally I think it should have a statute of limitations, although we see examples of people frequently getting a lot of mileage out of something like that.”
If you win a local cooking competition or if a magazine called you a “rising young star,” you may keep that on your résumé for a few months. Other awards can stay on your résumé much longer.
“If you were on ‘Iron Chef,’ you can leave that on your résumé longer,” he says, referring to the Food Network cooking competition and not local versions that some organizations occasionally hold for charity.
Few awards may stay on your résumé permanently.
“If you win a James Beard Award, that’s a timeless category,” he says.
2008 Nation’s Restaurant News. All Rights Reserved.
I need your vote! And 30 seconds of your time!
Hi Everyone,
A friend of mine from Concord NH, who got his first big league hit this year in his first at bat with the Kansas City Royals, is on the verge of getting called up again, and the team is surveying the public for their opinion, and he’s a great kid, and I value very much you taking a quick minute to and give a vote! Pass it along! Let me know if you vote, thanks again!
Please go to the Kansas City Royals Website scroll all the way down and vote for Matt Tupman.
http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc
Thanks, Eric
Front Page Edition of Nation’s Restaurant News, glad Goodwin & Associates can be a resource
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Web-based programs take the pain out of shift scheduling
By DINA BERTA
WASHINGTON (July 21, 2008 ) —When server Anne Lettieri needs to know the weekly schedule for her shifts at The Tombs restaurant here, she checks her e-mail, or she can opt to get the schedule in a text message on her cell phone. If she wants to add a shift at the casual-dining restaurant or swap with someone, she then can send out an e-mail or text message to her co-workers.
Some Web-based scheduling programs send shift information to employees by text messages.
“That’s a big advantage,” said Lettieri, who has been waitressing for the past year at the rathskeller-style eatery near Georgetown University, one of 13 establishments run by multiconcept operator Clyde’s Restaurant Group.
Looking to improve the ease of scheduling for managers and to better connect with younger, techsavvy employees, more restaurants are trading in paper and pencil for Web-based scheduling programs, which can reduce the amount of time managers spend putting schedules together and increase employee satisfaction with their shift assignments.
Since making a switch to Schedulefly.com, a Web-based scheduling program, The Tombs’ executive manager, Ken Siegrist, has cut in half the time it took to schedule 100 employees.
The program also has eliminated arguments and confusion over shifts, he said.
“They are much happier,” Siegrist said. “You can’t image how more efficient this is.”
One of the leading causes of employee turnover in the industry is dissatisfaction with work schedules. In exit interviews with more than 2,300 hourly restaurant employees, 81 percent said scheduling was their primary reason for leaving and seeking another job, reported Goodwin & Associates, a Concord, N.J.-based human resources consulting firm.
Scheduling is also an issue for restaurant managers. Out of more than 1,600 exit interviews, 67 percent said their work hours and schedules were not realistically presented when they interviewed for the job, Goodwin found.
For managers, the main complaint was too many hours and too many weekend hours, according to the survey. Hourly employees, who were mostly front-of-the-house workers, complained they did not get enough shifts.
“Our data shows managers leave their positions in search of more flexible schedules, while hourlies covet the night and weekend shifts,” said consultant Eric Goodwin.
Automating the scheduling process cuts down on human error and makes it easier for employees to change their shifts, said restaurant and human resources managers.
The Tombs’ executive manager Ken Siegrist saysSchedulefly.com has cut in half the time it takes to schedule 100 employees.
Irvine, Calif.-based Claim Jumper restaurants last year began rolling out a Web-based program, HotSchedules.com, to its 45 stores in eight states, said Avery Block, people and brand manager.
“If an employee had a family emergency or last-minute vacation and needed to get a shift covered, he or she would have to go to the store, fill out the shift trade book and wait for someone to pick up their shift,” Block said. “Now it’s so much easier for employees.”
The programs create a home page for a restaurant. Employees get a password and login so they can submit their availability and learn their schedule for the week.
The systems give managers lists of who is available for what shifts so they can set the schedule. Most managers give employees a deadline by which to submit their shift requests. If employees decide to trade shifts, the manager gets a notice to approve or deny it.
Gone are the arguments about who agreed to work when, said Christine Fiorini, operations manager for the Partners II Pizza restaurant in Atlanta’s Peachtree City section, one of the four pizzerias in the area.
The program has cut her scheduling time in half, but she was skeptical when a representative from Raleigh, N.C.-based Schedulefly.com first approached her, Fiorini admitted. After employees learned about the program, they encouraged her to consider it for the restaurant.
“This generation is so wired; it’s so easy for them,” she said of the high school and college students who work in the restaurant. “When I put a message on the bulletin board on the home page or e-mail or text them, I know they received it. I know 90 percent of them have a phone in their hand constantly.”
Today’s young workers are very Web-savvy, said Tyler Rullman, chief operating officer of Schedulefly.com , which also has integrated its service with social-networking sites, such as Facebook.com, so employees can check on their work schedules while they are on Facebook.com.
“This fits in with their way of living,” Rullman said.
Online scheduling, while not widespread, is becoming a popular management tool in the industry, operators said.
“I think it’s on everyone’s wish list,” Block said. “It’s a cost issue, a budget issue and time issue. You really have to have a team dedicated to the rollout. I think this is something you will see the number of users increase in the next year. It’s definitely an attraction, and it absolutely saves managers time.”
Q&A with Ginger Dubois of Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services
What is the best thing about recruiting and being a recruiter?
Remaining committed to an industry that I truly believe in, hospitality….and having a life!
My last operations position in the hotel industry, I worked 141 days in a row. I’m not kidding. Now I am continue connected with a growing and strong segment of the hospitality world, get to help some successful people into their next career move, instead of just the next job.
And get the share the holidays and weekends with family and friends, in place of opening through closing in operations….What could be better?!
What makes GAHS better than the other companies in your view, what is your attraction and keeps you there?
No lip service here. Everyone in our company is equally strongly committed to our overall goal. Everyone equally shares their advice, their shoulder when needed and a kick in the pants when that is needed. We know we have some excellent hospitality products that our clients and job-seekers can use. We share the wealth.
Where did you work before GAHS?
I’ve always worked in the hotel business. Humble beginnings dishwasher at 15, early on Chef….climbed the ladder to the other side. Management of hotels mostly throughout the Caribbean and some great resorts. My last overseas was opening Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas of ADOps. I’ve served at a Professor of Hospitality and General Manager for hotels. Lots of fun along the way.
Any good book recommendations business wise or for social reading you could pass along?
Any of the classics or reread the books you were supposed to read in school. Just read Flowers for Algernon, and Lord of the Flies. Still hits home.
Favorite Chain Restaurant: Cactus Jacks.
Favorite Indie: Huh?
Favorite kind of food: Anything Asian, I love the challenge of finding spices or vegetables which cannot be found at your local Shaw’s.
Movie recommendations: Have fun with your ‘down-time’ The Hulk or the new Batman.
If I were President the one thing I would change is…. I don’t talk politics in public.
Favorite Vacation spot: So many choices, Captiva Island for accessibility and great options. Cayman Brac for diving.
Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks? DD’s of course.
Favorite Sports and Teams: Huh?
Would like to travel where someday: Done it already. Any place with my family.
Last three disks in my CD player or loaded onto the IPod: Still trying to figure how to download the Ipod. Get back to you.
Before you quit—- A Nation’s Restaurant News Article featuring Eric Goodwin
Before you quit
By Nora Caley
If you are unhappy at your current job, it seems like it would make sense to look for another job. But some managers say they prefer that employees communicate with them first, before you leave for another job. Instead of springing it on them that you are indeed leaving, start a conversation before you make a decision to exit.
“If you come to your boss and say, ‘This is not a fit for me,’ it opens the door to have some good dialogue to see why you feel that way,” says Greg Brenner, the South Florida regional human resources manager for Apple Sauce Inc., a franchisee of Applebee’s Grill and Bar.
Of course, not every manager will be open to talking to you about your career goals and how your current employer isn’t meeting them. At least try to say something, Brenner says.
“My advice is to give it a shot,” he says. “It can turn out to be a great long-term relationship in the end. Be open-minded [and] look at the big picture. Don’t make a rash decision.”
The big picture could mean your career. Maybe you’re unhappy with your current position and would like to move up. Find out what other opportunities are available in your company. You might find that you are well-suited to a certain position, but your supervisor didn’t know you were qualified, much less interested. Ask if there are any educational opportunities where you can refine certain skills.
A rash decision would be to quit because you’re having a very bad day.
“A wait-24-hours policy is a good idea with big decisions like that,” says Eric Goodwin, president of the recruiting firm Goodwin and Associates in Concord, N.H.
That’s especially true if you are new at the job.
“After a likely lengthy interview process by both sides, all the time and effort put into the interview and hiring process, and potentially those candidates that were passed on for you to take the position, you owe it to yourself and the hiring company to show some perseverance and see it through,” he says. “Tomorrow is a new day.”
Of course, sometimes you must leave.
“If the situation or a particular circumstance is untenable or so egregious that it is forcing this kind of decision, like a sexual harassment, ethical or integrity issue, then immediately speak to someone in human resources and address it right away to ensure it’s handled properly,” Goodwin says.
In general, the two-weeks-notice concept is not a rule but a courtesy. There is no law that says you have to give your company two weeks notice before your last day. That also means they can make the day you give notice your last day.
2008 Nation’s Restaurant News. All Rights Reserved.
