TopGolf

 Last night was the all staff HotSchedules quarterly meeting. In the past, we've always held these in the office, but as the company continues to grow, we've outgrown the ability to gather everyone together in one conference room. Plus, we wanted a venue that was more in line with the HotSchedules culture. 

This time, we gathered at Austin newbie TopGolf. If you're not familiar with any of the existing US and UK locations, TopGolf is THE premiere golf entertainment complex. Imagine a three tiered driving range, a dash of bowling, and a pinch of darts. The best way to get an idea of the concept is to take a look on their site (http://topgolf.com/austin/what-is-topgolf/). Located near The Domain shopping center, the Austin location will be opening to the public on May 7th, but we were able to take a sneak peek at the facility.

After a riveting presentation by our CEO, Ray Pawlikowski, and a delicious buffet of wings and fries provided by TopGolf, the HotSchedules faithful dispersed into groups of 6 for some friendly competition amongst each other. What's great about TopGolf is it requires no previous skill or knowledge in the game of golf. In fact, one of our employees had such poor hand eye coordination that he hit a golf ball backwards (yours truly)! Anyone can come in with friends to eat, drink, and have a great time.

With disco lights pulsing in the middle of the range to the beat of the music, NBA playoff matches displayed on TV's everywhere, and superb and attentive TopGolf staff dancing along with all our employees, the atmosphere could only be described as HOT. The icing on the cake? TopGolf is now one of our newest customers. Everyone here at HotSchedules would like to give you a warm Texas "Thank Y'all" for showing us a great time.

Here's to the next quarterly meeting!

Visual Props: Nine Ways iPhone Pics = More Customers

"Phones before Forks" is the unofficial slogan of today's dining experience. Most of us have at least one friend who screams "Don't touch; let me get a picture first!" before, well, every course in a 10-course. (Others of us are guilty of being "that friend"… *cough*)

Tableside food photography has become a firm fixture in today’s dining culture. Companies such as Foodspotting have sprouted up specifically around this phenomenon, while the #foodporn hashtag on Instagram has over 1.4 million contributions (not including hashtag variations).

Whether you know it or not, your customers talk about you all over the Internet. Whether it's through a review on Yelp, a shout-out on your Facebook page, a starred rating on Google Places, or via hashtags on Twitter and Instagram, you probably want to know what they really think. The Internet is a channel where a picture really is worth a thousand words. Why talk about delicious drinks when you can share an image of the perfect sparkly cocktail? Or why complain about the sloppy curry dish when you can just post a picture of the brown-yellow blob?

Customer engagement is a huge component of loyalty today. People who feel an emotional connection with a brand return again and again, bringing their friends with them. To that end, we’ve brainstormed nine quick ideas to help harness your customers'  love. The best part? Each of these strategies costs little to nothing.

1. Where possible, provide clean, even lighting in your dining rooms to help portray your food in the best light.

 

2. Plateware, utensils, napkins or placemats branded with your logo will make cameo appearances in food photos

 

 

3. Of course, presentation is always key. Good design, beautiful texture and contrast, or unique construction typically make diners want to share their experience with their friends.

 

4. Blow up user-submitted food photos and display them on your walls. Add little cards with the dish name and the artist’s Instagram username, just like an art gallery would. Companies such as Canvas on Demand are great resources for printing high-quality Instagram images that don’t require framing. But be sure to ask for permission to use these images first; the last thing you need is a lawsuit from a disgruntled customer.

 

 

5. Hold a contest for “most artistic photo” of your signature dish. Customers can vote on the entries via your Facebook page.

 

6. Create an Instagram and Twitter hashtag for your restaurant’s brand. Pick a winner at random once a month to receive a free entrée. (Bonus idea: Set up an iPad - or large screen! - display of hashtagged pics.

 

 

7. Feature a scrolling gallery of client images on your website. Restaurants like Empire Napa do a great job of this.

 

8. Design a small flyer with some basic food photography tips. Include a tasteful logo of your brand + contact information at the bottom of the page. (One tip: Use a dining companion’s smartphone flash to help light entrees in dim environments)

 

9. Offer a free dessert, soft drink, or treat to clients who share their photos on Yelp or Google Places

 

MURTEC Madness!

MURTEC - short for the Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Expo and Conference - is such a great networking opportunity. It's wonderful to meet so many of our customers and hear how they are using our products, get feedback, and say “Thanks, we really value your business!!” We love to hear that we are helping to simplify their lives by passing some control on to the employees. Equally fun is the opportunity to speak with other potential customers and hear about their initiatives for the year. Operations and IT are always so busy, it’s very interesting to hear about their priorities, and why and how these changes will impact their business.

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Tis the Season to be Hottie

As the title says, it most certainly is a great time to be a HotSchedules Hottie (that's what we call employees and fans of HotSchedules). Looking back on the year, we've seen enormous growth within the company. In fact, so much that we're running out of office space. We've also seen a lot of growth with our user base. This was clear to us when we saw this year's video contest submissions grow from 12 (last year's final count) to 55! With so much change happening at such a rapid rate, there's always a risk of losing that sense of culture. However, I've seen that this isn't the case. We're careful about who we hire (yes, we use our GoHire paperless hiring solution too!), making sure they aren't just technically qualified, but a great culture fit too. 

Everything that embodies the HotSchedules culture recently culminated in our end of year holiday party. The party was held at Banger's Sausage House & Beer Garden, which is located on Rainey St., the up and coming bar district in town. The HotSchedules faithful showed up in full force, and the staff at Banger's handled us all with an amazing display of hospitality and excellence. There was attention to detail (gluten free labels on food, staff ready to explain all menu items, heaters keeping the outdoor tents warm), great music (thanks to DJ Chino Casino) and a perfect amount of staff walking through the crowds ready to take drink orders.

The most impressive statistic of the night? 3,288. Let me explain. Every year, we collect donations from within the company and use the money to buy clothes, food, blankets, and necessities. We pack them up into individual bags, drive around Austin on Christmas Day, and hand them out to the homeless. We call this initiative "HotHope." At the holiday party this year, employees had the option of purchasing raffle tickets to bid on any of 16 prizes. Proceeds from the raffle went straight to HotHope, and the employees had a chance to win prizes ranging from a golf ball monogrammer to an iPad mini. As a result of the incredible generosity of everyone in the company, we were able to raise $1,644 – a figure which HotSchedules then matched, bringing this year's HotHope fundraising total to $3,288. That more than doubles the amount raised last year and we still have a week to go! The entire experience has made me proud to be a HotSchedules Hottie. I guess I'm just having one of those "heart grew three times bigger" moments.

Happy Holidays and safe travels everyone!

So… Now what?: Part 1 Evaluating HotSchedules for Your Business

If you’re in the initial stages of looking at an online employee scheduling solution for the first time, you might be thinking, “So… now what? How do I decide if HotSchedules is the right tool for me?” When used correctly, HotSchedules can make your job easier, save you money and time, and make your business (and you) more successful. But it is a robust tool, and there are a lot of things to consider. Below are a few tips to help you in the first stages when you are evaluating HotSchedules for your business:

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