 |
 |
Kamis, 29 Desember 2011
Movie Quiz: 80s and 90s Film Alphabet
How well do you know 80s and 90s movies? Here's a fun alphabet quiz, courtesy of UK designer Stephen Wildish. (Note: Unfortunately, the answers are not yet posted on his site.)
(via The Next Web)
Selasa, 27 Desember 2011
Food Cost Software Follow Up
We had a huge response to the food cost software newsletter. I'd like to respond to everyone who wrote to me by category:
Why purchase a sophisticated (complicated) software tool?
The answer for this question depends not just on the complexity of your business but also on your use of the word SIMPLE. Often in technology you will find it is very expensive to get a simple solution. The iPad is a great example. Apple spent many hours in development to get a light weight, fast, easy to use solution.
In accounting software (food cost control is based on a cost accounting model), you need to define the reports you want to receive first. Then you need to imagine how complicated your operating environment is for an outsider to learn. Pretend you are hiring someone who needs to know everything you know regarding food production.
If you have a 100% from scratch menu, you may want a sophisticated package. As long as you prepare the same items each day, you would see a benefit. If you go to the market everyday to shop around, I wouldn't bother. You need a fast recipe card system to quickly get a feel for what you need to charge.
Every organization with multiple concepts and/or multiple profit centers, may be disappointed in the long run if they go with a cheap solution. Profit center accounting is demanding and requires a solid structure designed to handle the comparison and history reports.
I have never used this type of software before. Should I spend thousands of dollars to get the reports I need?
Unfortunately, food cost control software tends to become shelfware (not used) for many companies. They build the original database and get excited about the recipe costing capability. Many stop cold at this point. These light users may return once a year to update menu prices.
The decision to invest heavily in cost control software depends on your willingness to constantly enter details of invoices each day. On a POS system, the wait staff is performing your data entry work as they send orders to the kitchen and bar. There is no data entry staff in your back office performing up-to-the-minute updates. If you want a perpetual inventory system to control theft in real time, the purchase data needs to be as fresh as the POS data.
I am telling you there is a need to hire or train a cost control person or team. Once you begin to see a much better return on the labor cost and time spent on cost control by switching to a comprehensive solution, the investment may make sense.
Are the low cost solutions the most simple to use?
No.
Are the high cost solutions the most difficult to setup?
Yes.
If you were in my position, would you buy a food cost control solution?
Yes. 100% sure.
To wrap up this follow up, I did receive emails from people using various solutions with a common concern. It seems customer support is poor for many of these solutions. I can tell by the tone of these emails the sales team over sold the prospect. Most of the complaints were from people who found the project was anything but SIMPLE.
Why purchase a sophisticated (complicated) software tool?
The answer for this question depends not just on the complexity of your business but also on your use of the word SIMPLE. Often in technology you will find it is very expensive to get a simple solution. The iPad is a great example. Apple spent many hours in development to get a light weight, fast, easy to use solution.
In accounting software (food cost control is based on a cost accounting model), you need to define the reports you want to receive first. Then you need to imagine how complicated your operating environment is for an outsider to learn. Pretend you are hiring someone who needs to know everything you know regarding food production.
If you have a 100% from scratch menu, you may want a sophisticated package. As long as you prepare the same items each day, you would see a benefit. If you go to the market everyday to shop around, I wouldn't bother. You need a fast recipe card system to quickly get a feel for what you need to charge.
Every organization with multiple concepts and/or multiple profit centers, may be disappointed in the long run if they go with a cheap solution. Profit center accounting is demanding and requires a solid structure designed to handle the comparison and history reports.
I have never used this type of software before. Should I spend thousands of dollars to get the reports I need?
Unfortunately, food cost control software tends to become shelfware (not used) for many companies. They build the original database and get excited about the recipe costing capability. Many stop cold at this point. These light users may return once a year to update menu prices.
The decision to invest heavily in cost control software depends on your willingness to constantly enter details of invoices each day. On a POS system, the wait staff is performing your data entry work as they send orders to the kitchen and bar. There is no data entry staff in your back office performing up-to-the-minute updates. If you want a perpetual inventory system to control theft in real time, the purchase data needs to be as fresh as the POS data.
I am telling you there is a need to hire or train a cost control person or team. Once you begin to see a much better return on the labor cost and time spent on cost control by switching to a comprehensive solution, the investment may make sense.
Are the low cost solutions the most simple to use?
No.
Are the high cost solutions the most difficult to setup?
Yes.
If you were in my position, would you buy a food cost control solution?
Yes. 100% sure.
To wrap up this follow up, I did receive emails from people using various solutions with a common concern. It seems customer support is poor for many of these solutions. I can tell by the tone of these emails the sales team over sold the prospect. Most of the complaints were from people who found the project was anything but SIMPLE.
Marilyn Chapman's Positive View
After 3 rather tepid years the Holiday Catering Season came back full throttle in fourth quarter 2011 leading us all to ask, "Is Special Events Catering a new economic indicator"?
Full service parties blossomed after several years of cancellations and attempts at "Do it Yourself" Events. The clients' comments were repeatedly "we are just to busy to do this ourselves!" This indicated a renewed desire to entertain. a confidence in the economic future and an acknowledgment that professional catering is a valuable, cost effective service.
Sell out weekends in October, November and December resembled the seasons before the Recession with lavish menus and larger guest counts. We hired staff for the first time in several years and had to use Social Media to get enough help.
Maybe most significant - New Year's Eve is sold out!
I would love to hear from other regions to know if this is a pattern.
Full service parties blossomed after several years of cancellations and attempts at "Do it Yourself" Events. The clients' comments were repeatedly "we are just to busy to do this ourselves!" This indicated a renewed desire to entertain. a confidence in the economic future and an acknowledgment that professional catering is a valuable, cost effective service.
Sell out weekends in October, November and December resembled the seasons before the Recession with lavish menus and larger guest counts. We hired staff for the first time in several years and had to use Social Media to get enough help.
Maybe most significant - New Year's Eve is sold out!
I would love to hear from other regions to know if this is a pattern.
--
Marilyn Chapman
Wedding Event Coordinator
Delectables Fine Catering, Inc.
"The Bay Area's Most Prestigious Caterer"
969 Virginia Avenue, Inc.
Palm Harbor, FL 34683
E-mail: info@delectablescatering.com
http://www.delectablescatering.com
Phone: 727-781-1200
Fax: 727-789-3401
Become a friend of our Facebook. www.facebook.com/delectablescatering to view dozens of photos!
Minggu, 25 Desember 2011
NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 25, 2011
 |
Answer: JERRY + AT + RICK → GERIATRIC
NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 25:Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!
Name an occupation in nine letters. It's an entertainer of sorts — an unusual and uncommon but well-known sort of entertainer. Drop the third letter of the name, and read the result backward. You'll get two four-letter words that are exact opposites. What are they?
Jumat, 23 Desember 2011
Pleasures of the Table
If you live in the Mid-Atlantic (or are planning a visit) and you enjoy a fantastic meal, you may wish to check out David Smelson's Pleasures of the Table blog. He is a Micros POS wizard and he loves to go to lots of different restaurants.
Selasa, 20 Desember 2011
It's Time to Celebrate Hanukkah
"When you feel like the only kid in town, without a Christmas tree... Here's a list of people who are Jewish, just like you and meeeeeeeee..."
Minggu, 18 Desember 2011
Zeitgeist 2011: Year In Review
Take a look back at how the world searched in 2011. It's sort of a Google ad, but an interesting one nonetheless.
> Explore more of the Google Zeitgeist 2011
Google's Winter Easter Egg
 |
| Image Credit: Jenny's Noodle/Google |
Search "let it snow" on the Google. I hope you brought some corn for popping.
NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 18, 2011
|
Answer: ANTELOPE (change O to H, rearrange) → ELEPHANT
NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 18:Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!
Take the word "at." Put a man's first name on each side of it, and say the word out loud. Phonetically, you'll get a word that describes a growing part of our country. What is it?
Selasa, 13 Desember 2011
Hanukkah Candy Canes
 |
Buy them here for all of your Jewish friends.
(via Laughing Squid)
Senin, 12 Desember 2011
Support A Young Filmaker
Kickstarter.com is the number 1 place for artists to request funding on the web. Checkout this short movie:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davidveet/monsters-1
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/davidveet/monsters-1
Minggu, 11 Desember 2011
NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 11, 2011
|
Answer: Baroque (style of music) → bar-b-que (cooking style)
NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 11:Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!
Think of an animal whose name contains an O. Change the O to an H, and rearrange the result to name another animal. What animals are these?
Jumat, 09 Desember 2011
Pantone's Color of 2012 is . . .
 |
“Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” the company explained.
“Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”
From apparel to cosmetics to interior design, we can expect to see the hue everywhere in the coming year.
Orange you glad you're now in the know?
Kamis, 08 Desember 2011
A Portrait Drawn from 3.2 Million Dots
Artist Miguel Endara creates magnificent works of art; it just takes a really good ink pen and a whole lot of patience. Like way more patience than you'll ever have. Watch:
(via Flavorwire)
(via Flavorwire)
Minggu, 04 Desember 2011
RestaurantChains.NET Launches NEW Service
The RestaurantChains.NET site is offering free access to their new Restaurant Unit Locator service. The service allows you to choose multi-unit concepts and map the locations.
The selection process uses a sophisticated query engine with many popular search criteria.
The selection process uses a sophisticated query engine with many popular search criteria.
'Just Say Yes' to CCS
Detroit's own College for Creative Studies (CCS) recently launched a new ad campaign in the style of anti-drug PSAs. It's very, well, creative. Take a look:
Talk to your kids about art school.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The 2011 Word of the Year is...
Dictionary.com has announced the 2011 Word of the Year:
"We're taking a stand on this choice," said Jay Schwartz, Dictionary.com's Head of Content. "We think that it's immensely rewarding to find existing words that capture a precise experience, and this year, tumult has been the norm rather than the exception. There are contested public spaces around the world, where people are demonstrating in one direction or another. Opinions and circumstances have been oscillating so much."
Like many, I'm unfamiliar with the word "tergiversate," and thus I find it an interesting choice. With so many options, I imagine it would be difficult to come to a consensus on just one word. In fact, I wonder how many times the lexicographers tergiversated their final selection prior to announcing the official winner.
(via The Huffington Post)
ter·gi·ver·sate
Pronunciation: tur-JI-ver-seyt
Part of speech: verb
Etymology: Latin tergiversātus (past participle of tergiversārī to turn one's back), equivalent to tergi- (combining form of tergum back) + versātus, past participle of versāre, frequentative of vertere to turn
Date: 1645–55
Meaning: to change repeatedly one's attitude or opinions with respect to a cause, subject, etc.; equivocate.
"We're taking a stand on this choice," said Jay Schwartz, Dictionary.com's Head of Content. "We think that it's immensely rewarding to find existing words that capture a precise experience, and this year, tumult has been the norm rather than the exception. There are contested public spaces around the world, where people are demonstrating in one direction or another. Opinions and circumstances have been oscillating so much." Like many, I'm unfamiliar with the word "tergiversate," and thus I find it an interesting choice. With so many options, I imagine it would be difficult to come to a consensus on just one word. In fact, I wonder how many times the lexicographers tergiversated their final selection prior to announcing the official winner.
(via The Huffington Post)
NPR Sunday Puzzle: Dec. 4, 2011
|
Answer: There are multiple answers to this challenge, including: blare → blasé, charm → chasm, gents → genus, kilns → kilos, mints → minus, torts → torus, etc.
NPR Sunday Puzzle for Dec. 4:Submit your answer to NPR for a chance to be on next week's broadcast and be sure to visit Jenny's Noodle next Sunday to see the correct answer!
Name a style of music. Change the middle letter to a B, and you'll name a style of cooking. What are the style of music and the style of cooking? (There are several ways to spell the cooking style, but the answer is one of them.)
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)
