What Does Blockchain Have to do with Food Safety?
IBM continues to scale up its blockchain efforts, teaming up with some of the biggest names in the food industry. Participants include Walmart, Kroger...
Is Your Business Hurricane Ready? 23 Things Stores & Restaurants Must Do to Prepare
Hurricane season is once again upon us. Very little is safe from the wrath of battering winds and rain. With massive storms approaching, businesses...
Restaurant Operators vs. Yelp - How to Respond to Negative Reviews
“There’s no such thing as bad publicity…” except in the restaurant industry. Food safety and cleanliness concerns destroy brand value. This is not a...
Reducing Employee Theft
“Increasing organizational accountability” is often a lauded phrase in restaurant and retail operations. The goal is to empower employees so operators...
How to Write Questions for Store or Restaurant Audits
I don’t usually get to answer the headline prompt in the first line of a blog post, but here it is… Dig deeper and don’t settle for the status quo...
The Impact of Millennials on Casual Dining: Insights from Panera Bread & Krispy Kreme
The impact of millennials on the restaurant industry is an increasingly common topic of conversation. “Casual dining is in danger—and Millennials are...
You Can't Have 'Brand Consistency' Without...
I’m very loyal to a local fast food restaurant and, on average, I’m a monthly patron. On my most recent visit, everything was on point with the food...
Fresh Food Wins If Brands Can Deliver Just One Thing…
Customers have all been there. That disappointing experience at their favorite c-store or restaurant that makes them question all they know to be true...
Papa John’s Customer Complaint Reflects Common Issue Faced By Franchise Businesses
Yelp, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin - dissatisfied customers have plenty of options when it comes to venting about poor customer service. Papa John’s is...
How Domino’s Plans to Stay Ahead
While other pizza chains struggle, Domino’s is thriving (Over 1300% stock price increase since IPO in 2004). That’s the subhed of this story on...
There's a Better Way for Global Franchises to Communicate
Arby’s is planning an expansion into Canada. Grimaldi’s pizza expands to United Arab Emirates. Carl’s Jr. opens its first location in Chile. Papa John...
How McDonald’s Can Make New Menu Item Execution More Manageable
Has McDonald’s finally hit its stride with its newly announced menu items? Analyst Andrew Strelzik of BMO Capital Markets thinks so. From a stock...
For That Person Who Needs to See the Value of Mobile Tech in Retail Operations
I’ve said this in the past, but it’s worth repeating: at Zenput, we are practitioners of reality. We are the real-time operational insights provider...
What McDonald’s Needs to Learn from Starbucks’ Mobile App
One of my least favorite phrases is “victim of its own success.” For instance, I remember that was the reason why a popular fireworks show on a...
How Employees Can Help Prevent Costly Restaurant Repairs
We recently learned about a Manhattan-based startup that aspires to be the Uber of restaurant repairs. SendaGuy Now targets independent restaurants in...
Where Yelp Doesn't Help: How to Stop Restaurants from Failing Health Inspections
Once you hear a story (good or bad) about a restaurant, you never quite forget it. For instance, I still remember how my friend walked past a deli she...
Operating in ‘The Now’ with Mobile Technology
In a previous blog post about Omnichannel retail, I suggested that retailers have to “start thinking mobile” because that’s where their customers are...
Can an Organic Fast-Food Restaurant Play the Value Game?
Did you notice that QSR magazine upped their 9 fast-food trends for 2016 to 12 trends for 2017? They kept the descriptions more succinct and business...
Here are 5 Things You Should Cover on a Restaurant Inspection
When a city’s health department decides to inspect restaurants, they can cover a tremendous amount of ground in what seems like a relatively short...
5 Standards to Uphold for a Clean Restaurant
What do you do when you haven’t been at a company very long and your CEO wants to go to a favorite restaurant that was recently flagged for unsanitary...
The Evolution of Drive-Thru Dining
Time for a trivia question: Drive-thru dining has evolved parallel to which two technologies? This is a trick questions where you might first think...
Food Delivery: The New Frontier
It’s a pizza company! … It’s a tech company! … It’s Domino’s! I doubt Domino’s will pick up a motto that infringes on DC Comics, but that’s...
Restaurant Cleanliness vs. Customer Service: Which Is More Important?
As a mobile solution provider in the foodservice industry, we've seen a clear trend in the food industry: that the public is concerned about both...
Starbucks vs. McDonald’s: A Fair Fight for Breakfast Dollars?
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of breakfast, it was the age of dicsovering if premium works better over value in...