RobLawMax Recruitment’s Post

"Monique Pizano has spent three years as a general manager and her six-figure earnings have helped her save for a house down payment, take a honeymoon to Japan and support her mom.  The 27-year-old from Ontario, Calif., feels lucky—many of her fellow University of California, Riverside, graduates haven’t been able to find jobs or are earning low hourly wages. Pizano is one of about 850 general managers for Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, where her pay can reach $174,000 annually including bonuses based on her location’s sales and profit. The fast-growing chicken chain views its managers as critical partners, and the company, based in Baton Rouge, La., pays them to be perfectionists. In California, many chains have raised prices to help pay for higher labor costs. A slowdown in U.S. #restaurant visits has been more pronounced in the Golden State, according to analyst reports. Franchisees for some chains said they have debated converting some salaried jobs to hourly ones.  Nationwide, restaurants are shelling out more money for experienced leaders who will stick around and help locations thrive. Chipotle Mexican Grill and Shake Shack are among fast-food chains now paying compensation above $100,000 to store-level bosses, while others grant stock. Raising Cane’s in March raised Pizano’s annual base salary to $85,000 from $79,000. The chain raised staff wages at the same time, Pizano said, delighting everyone who worked at the restaurant roughly 15 miles south of the city of Los Angeles.  “It’s been life-changing for my family,” Pizano said about her job and earnings. California raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 an hour in April, a move backers said will help hundreds of thousands of people have a better quality of life in the high-cost state. Gaining less attention was the requirement for chains to boost pay for managers. Big fast-food chains are required to pay salaried managers at least $83,200 to comply with California rules, up from $66,560. If not, operators need to pay their managers an #hourly wage, plus overtime if they work more than 40 hours a week..."

#motivationmonday comes to us from Mike Bausch in his Mike's Monthly Tip: "Everyone wants to be good at their job. Really, they do, but employees easily become complacent when they get used to their hourly wage and have no opportunity for growth. In their eyes, they’ve reached their ceiling. The days are the same no matter how hard they try or don’t. Rather than focusing on maximizing their output, they’re main focus is avoiding getting in trouble. Even if an employee was to go above and beyond, there are no systems in place that reward or recognize this. With no vested interest in maximizing their output, your staff can and will become stagnant. When employees have a paired interest—when they win when you win and lose when you lose—they start to take ownership of their actions and their output." Read on for mutually beneficial incentive plans: https://hubs.ly/Q02KXNxS0

Many people in the service industry rely on tips to make a living wage. Yet several factors get in the way of fair tipping practices, such as interpersonal conflicts, unclear policies, and more. Learn 6 ways to ensure fair tip sharing here: 💸 https://hubs.la/Q02ftTYx0

"He [&pizza's, Michael Lastoria] talks about the correlation between treating the workforce well and the company’s success, highlighting that they don’t entertain discussions about cutting wages. Furthermore, Lastoria explains how the company empowers employees to actively shape company decisions, emphasizing the positive impact of including and valuing the perspectives of the workforce." This and more in The Aspen Institute's feature of the pizza restaurant chain, &pizza. Way to go &pizza on your dedication to #JobQuality! From fair scheduling practices to encouraging worker voice, &pizza is really making strides in the #QualityJobs space and serves as a prime example for other names in service, retail, hospitality, and other businesses that employ frontline workers. Check out more of Maureen Conway's discussion with &pizza co-founder, Michael Lastoria here: https://lnkd.in/gxeWK34X #WORCEvidence #WORCImpact #JobQuality

Tip-ocalypse: Who's Really Paying the Price? 👀 A tip is defined as a sum of money given to reward someone for their services. The tradition of tipping, especially in restaurants, traces back to European coffee houses, where patrons would leave money in bowls marked “To Insure Promptness.” Over time, tipping evolved into the practice of rewarding excellent service. 💰 Historically, tipping was a polite gesture—a way to say "thank you" for exceptional service in cafes, restaurants, beauty salons, spas, and similar establishments. It was never mandatory, but a choice based on goodwill. As a generous tipper myself, I always felt that tipping was a shared responsibility—a way to show appreciation. However, the recent trend of pre-assigned tipping percentages has me rethinking this custom. 🤔 Nowadays, when the check arrives, we’re often presented with tipping options ranging from 15% to 30%, and the pressure to pick a “decent” amount is real. But what about places that offer minimal service, like regular cafes or ice cream parlors where you order at the counter and walk away? Yet, they still suggest tipping? 👀 This shift makes me question: Are we, as customers, now responsible for supplementing the wages of employees hired by these companies? Shouldn’t they be earning a fair wage to begin with? Is tipping still about our goodwill, or has it become an expectation—a form of extended payment? And more importantly, why do we feel guilty or ashamed if we choose not to tip? Questions to consider: ❓ How do you feel about the pressure to tip, even in places with minimal service? ❓ Do you believe tipping should remain a choice, or is it becoming an obligatory part of our culture? ❓ Should companies be responsible for paying their employees a fair wage, instead of relying on customers to supplement it? As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “I don’t tip for anybody not doing anything. I wouldn’t tip my mailman. He doesn’t tip me.” Maybe it’s time we rethink what tipping really means, and remember that it’s about appreciation, not obligation.

So, for those of you who the higher-ups in the companies I see and have been employed I see your flaws and all. No skill- sets, to do the bare minimum. You have a responsibility to this industry to listen and with sincerity make make positive changes. Whether your in a private club or public restaurant, you are hired as a manager for the people who enter your establishment and who work for you, your employees. When I take a job as manager I follow the law. I am a citizen of the law and that’s why Austin Texas needs a wake up call or for that matter the whole United States. First of all the pay scale needs to change (management needs to start base pay at 70,000.00- 80,000.00 a year) the reason for that, you set the stage for people who like me, getting the right people to the right departments. The right career minded individuals looking to be trained for when I am retired. I am so tired of the automatic 22 percent highlighted for bad service and the excuse being Covid. I see constant management standing around or being non- existent, not taking the initiative and pulling a paycheck while I am the go getter and with passionate always doing the right thing and being recognized on a minimal level. I have been train my fathered to cook all types of food. My dad was a French train chef. My mother is a baker and created mini of her own recipes. I started my own restaurant at the age of 19 and made a profit the first year In Salado, Tx alongside with a heart owner owned a candy store in Slater, Texas. I was not a baker trained. I made my own top of my mom and had unusual cakes which people would have confirming to the cake box for $10,000. That’s where I’m at. So it’s insulting to me when people who in the industry do not do not have the heart in it. My plea to the companies out there and you know who you are is that you need to stop sitting in your office and telling your visiting restaurant that you’re coming you need to surprise these restaurants you need to do this constantly and you need to look and talk to your employees who is working and who Who has her back and who is always there doing the job that’s required that’s why they get the salary, but the change has to happen with new procedures. I will never change because this is how I was brought up to care about the business to care about the people and take care about the employees and that will never change. That is my promise to this industry. I hope everyone has a great day and I hope changes will come with this.

My first job was at Burger King. I earned $3.35 an hour. On my first day, I was assigned to the register. I guess the manager saw the future CFO in gawky, teenage me: I consistently delivered an accurate cash drawer at shift’s end. But, as I write in my latest essay, the work was a grind. I endured rude guests, monotony, and mortifying stumbles. The counter, separating me from the customer, was a constant reminder that I was there to serve. Even as my career took me to the comforts of an office where I sought to drive efficiency and reduce costs, I reminded myself to respect people closest to the work and to our customers. Conversations with store managers at Old Navy and Peet’s yielded invaluable on-the-ground perspectives. Working the production line at Method and styling clients at Stitch Fix heightened my grasp of the business and my appreciation for the team. Today, we’re as likely to be greeted in a store by a touchscreen as we are a friendly face. But these days I happily let others tackle such complex matters while I coach elementary school kids how to run. Although I aim to discuss pace and technique, our conversations usually drift to topics like listening, supporting others, and doing one’s best. I teach lessons that I first learned while working at Burger King, ones that no computer can yet do. No matter where you stand, I tell them, be respectful, be kind, and be empathetic.

🍴 State of the Industry: Washington D.C. The Washington, D.C. hospitality industry continues to face mounting pressures nearly two years after voters passed Initiative 82, which mandates the gradual elimination of the tipped minimum wage. This shift has placed significant strain on restaurants as they grapple with rising labor costs, a challenge that has only intensified in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. D.C., as one of the first major cities to eliminate the tipped wage, is now at the forefront of a growing national movement to end the practice. Labor costs have been particularly burdensome for D.C. operators, exacerbating the challenges that the entire DMV-Beltway region has experienced in its hospitality sector. This includes ongoing issues related to hiring, rising costs for ingredients and rent, and declining job numbers in full-service restaurants. Since the implementation of I-82 in May 2023, D.C.'s full-service restaurant employment has dropped by 1,800 jobs, representing a 6% decline. Restaurant owners have voiced concerns over their ability to remain profitable under these conditions, with many cutting hours, laying off staff, and incorporating technology to reduce costs. The local Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) has reported that a majority of restaurants in the District feel economic conditions are poor, with fears of further deterioration in the near future. The impact of these challenges extends across the DMV area, where the hospitality industry has been facing similar issues in adjusting to a post-pandemic landscape. Rising payrolls and the gradual elimination of the tip credit, combined with increased costs for ingredients and rent, have made it difficult for businesses to stay afloat. However, despite the difficulties, there is no turning back on the legislative changes, and operators are left searching for ways to adapt to the new realities of running a hospitality business in the region. (Inspired by a recent Axios report) #washingtondc #hospitality #restaurant #hotel #hospitalityindustry #management #marketing #innovation #articles #stories #fyi

The Australian Restaurant & Cafe Association (ARCA) strongly criticizes the Fair Work Commission’s recent Award Rate increase as being disconnected from the realities faced by small businesses, particularly those within the Restaurant and Cafe segment of the Accommodation & Foodservice Industry. The Fair Work Commission today release its Annual Wage Review, raising the Minimum and Award wages by 3.75% (4.25% with the upcoming .5% Superannuation increase) on the back of the 2023 rise of 5.75% (6.25% with the Superannuation rate increase). This decision comes despite warnings from economists that such increases could complicate the Reserve Bank's efforts to manage inflation and interest rates. "At a time when our industry is striving to recover and thrive amidst economic challenges, the proposed wage increase by the Fair Work Commission is not only hopelessly out of touch but potentially damaging," said Wes Lambert CPA, FGIA, CAE, MAICD, CEO of ARCA. "Small businesses in our sector are already feeling the squeeze from high costs of doing business and economic uncertainty with diner demand flat per the ABS’s latest retail sales stats. An additional wage hike is hard to stomach for the industry and will further strain their capacity to sustain employment and continue providing the service diners expect.” “We cannot continue to practice a one-size-fits-all approach to wage increases each and every year".

Yesterday, Try Hard Coffee Roasters announced a really major change in the way that they're doing business. They've raised the prices of their food and drink in order to provide their employees with a better wage. And when I say better wage, I mean that the average employee at Try Hard will now be earning $25 an hour, which is higher than the average coffee shop employee wage here in Austin. But with that promise for staff, comes a big change for customers. For reference, here are some of the new costs for drinks: - 12 oz drip coffee: $5 - Espresso: $5.50 - Latte: $9 - Chai $8 There is no upcharge for alternate milks, but iced drinks all cost an additional 75 cents. I talked about this a lot on my Instagram and had some great conversations with people and with Jon, the owner of Try Hard. The main take away is the fact that no matter what, paying people for their labor is always a good thing. However, many people agree that they're anxious to see how this model works out for Try Hard. This is a big jump in pricing for a product that many already find expensive. One of the comments Try Hard made that I found very important, is the fact that tipping should not be relied upon to be the basis for a living wage. Which, unfortunately, is the reality for too many in the service industry. What Try Hard is doing is big and scary, but it also creates a conversation about the importance of increasing wages and how to do that in this industry. I will definitely be following this journey closely, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this works out and will spur on continued change. What are your thoughts about this pricing and wage structure?