Food Delivery Fraud
Challenges in ensuring security for platforms, drivers, and consumers. The U.S. is the second-largest online food delivery market and generated an estimated $218B in revenue in 2022. And experts predict the market will increase close to $500B by 2027. Due to the growth and increased demand, leading food delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub are also facing the growing threat of fraud and abuse on both the customer and driver sides as scams and scammers become more sophisticated. This threat encompasses both sides of the transaction: customers and drivers, requiring collective vigilance and adaptive strategies to counteract evolving scams. Amid this situation, there’s been a crucial change. Seattle has put forward new rules, being the first in the U.S. to protect gig workers from sudden “deactivation.” This change shows how the industry is dealing with security, the economy, and how gig work works. This is different from what’s usual, leading to a careful struggle between keeping workers’ rights safe and finding real cases of fraud. The job of telling apart real bad behavior from regular problems becomes a puzzle for delivery apps. Situations where workers are kicked off platforms for reasons like saying no to too many orders or facing delays that aren’t their fault are now looked at more closely. Finding the right balance between catching real fraudsters and making sure workers aren’t wrongly kicked off needs a good understanding of how the industry works. As a starting point, there is a clear difference between consumer fraud and courier fraud and there are well-known techniques used by each.
NYC Cafe Chain Will Be a Test of a New Unionization Process
Employers will need to be more active and careful. Employees of the three-unit Hex & Co. cafe chain in New York City have presented management with a notice of their desire to unionize, setting up a trial of the new process regulators imposed last month to streamline the organizing procedure. Under updated protocol, the proprietors of Hex will have two weeks to petition the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election if they opt not to voluntarily recognize a chapter of Workers United, the union that is organizing Starbucks. Under the previous protocol, workers would formally ask the NLRB, the federal agency that regulates union elections, to schedule an election to determine if a union represents them. The new arrangement shifts the responsibility of calling for an election to management. One of the most controversial aspects of the new process is the greater leeway it gives the NLRB to recognize the employees as a collective bargaining regardless of an election’s outcome. If the Board has found the employer has engaged in unfair labor practices of any sort leading up to the election, it can declare the union has prevailed, regardless of how employees voted. Previously, the NLRB’s ability to negate an election was much more constrained. Typically, the regulatory body would instead call for a second election. The employees are asking for a minimum wage of $22.50 an hour, a clear career ladder and increased staffing.
Bielat Santore & Company – Restaurant Industry Alert
FULL-SERVICE BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ – RESTAURANT & BAR FOR SALE
A COMBINATION OF BOTH CASUAL AND ELEGANT OFFERING AN UNFORGETTABLE DINING EXPERIENCE
AND AN AWARD-WINNING SPORTS BAR ATMOSPHERE!
Photo used to illustrate a “Sports Bar/Restaurant” and not actual representation.
This expansive 9,300 square foot venue on 8 acres of land, includes a main dining area seating (175); a spacious bar area with seating for (100); a unique (175) seat additional dining room & bar with retractable windows offering a true “open air” dining experience; an outdoor patio with fire pit seating (150) as well as private dining areas for parties and banquets.
For detailed information contact Robert Gillis, 732-673-3436.
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This is How Your Restaurant Will Survive Beyond 3 Years
It all starts with a mindset. Our 50-year-old restaurant model doesn’t work. So many things have changed. For one, it’s no longer a badge of courage to work 70 hours a week. In the eyes of our younger colleagues, this idea that you have to sell your soul to the restaurant to be successful is just stupid. I have spent over 40 years working in restaurants. I would have never made it that long if I hadn’t figured out how to find the right pace and rhythm to not only be successful but to sustain through all of these years. I even had to auto-correct very early in my career. The restaurant industry is not a sprint. If you want a long and successful career, you must understand it’s a marathon. Ideas we once shared about how to run a successful restaurant needed a major overhaul. I would argue that our model never worked. Our P&L model was destined to fail. We just winged it for 50 years. We didn’t have hundreds of years of history or data. We didn’t have the mentors that this new generation has access to. That’s why so many restaurants closed, restaurateurs quit, and few retire in the same industry. There were so few success stories. We didn’t have the road maps to success that exist today. We didn’t see the failure rate because it wasn’t tracked. But I have a feeling you already know that. You are reading this because you are tired of banging your head against the wall trying to figure out a better way. Restaurant industry giants like Danny Meyer and Wolfgang Puck were two of the first true pioneers of our industry. I was fortunate enough to learn from them as I studied their success. Today, we have so many great leaders like Will Guidara, Matt Rolfe, Carl Orsbourn, Meredith Sandland, Bryan Meredith, Jensen Cummings, Shawn Walchef, David “Rev” Ciancio, Troy Hooper, Jay Ashton, Scot Turner, Alison Anne, Jim Taylor, Christian Fischer, Adam Lamb, Lauren Fernandez, Brian Proctor, Andrew Jones, Matt Plapp, Jason Berkowitz, Zack Oates, and so many others to learn from. Content is so readily available now through social media. Yet will our industry listen to these new voices of reason? Or will we continue to sprint to our doom?
Revolutionizing Restaurant Financial Compliance
With the AI-powered future. A staggering amount of money passed through restaurants every year. In the US alone, restaurant sales are forecast to hit $997 billion during 2023, according to the latest National Statistics. Restaurants process customer orders and payments, use reservation systems, deal with invoices from suppliers, run staff payroll and more. This involves them processing credit card details and handling other personally identifiable information, such as customers’ names, telephone numbers, and home addresses. As such, restaurants are increasingly turning to AI-powered solutions such as transaction monitoring and data enrichment, to take an algorithmic, rules-based approach to screening purchases, transfers, and other business interactions. Doing so means that restaurants can ensure financial compliance, including complying with anti-money laundering and terrorism financing obligations, while also taking a robust approach to fraud detection and prevention. Restaurants must comply with data protection regulations around keeping customers’ information safe, as well as with requirements relating to anti-money laundering legislation and other financial regulations. Adding to the complexity is the huge rate of staff turnover that restaurants deal with. By some estimates, staff turnover is as much as 75 percent in the restaurant industry. All this presents a major challenge in terms of protecting restaurants from phishing and other cybersecurity threats. POS systems tend to be the most fruitful attack targets for cybercriminals, with 75 percent of restaurant data breaches being traced back to compromised POS systems, according to a 2016 Trustwave Global Security Report.
Should Restaurants Enter the Metaverse?
What is the metaverse good for? The metaverse is a popular term recently, and for good reason: the market is expected to reach nearly $800 billion by 2024, led by mixed/extended reality technology. In fact, nearly 64% of customers have either purchased a virtual good or used a virtual experience. How can businesses take advantage of this emerging technology? A panel at the Interactive Customer Experience Summit held from Sept. 11 to 13 in Charlotte, North Carolina covered this topic. Daniel Brown, editor of Digital Signage Today, moderated the panel with David Kepron, founder and owner, NXTLVL Experience Design; Melissa Li, head of community, Dorm Room Fund and Steve Lieber, VP of franchise business development at BurgerFI. When asked to define what the metaverse is, Li defined it as “a connected network of different platforms that lets them [users] experience 3D worlds.” These experiences are persistent, in that the world stays active even when a user leaves. There are currently two main types of the metaverse, fully VR experiences and AR experiences. With AR, Li said this is where the physical meets the digital such as scanning a QR code to see a 3D model of a product. Although there have been virtual games before such as Second Life, Li pointed out the assets you would receive in those games would stay in the game. However, with the metaverse, Li said you can buy a virtual asset in one platform and sell it on another such as buying “a NFT collectible version of an outfit which you could sell on secondary market.” Lieber said he wants to meet customers where they are, such as within the metaverse. He said that BurgerFi wants to be able to integrate a virtual restaurant into a game like Roblox where users could order food within the game and have it delivered.
Optimize Local SEO
For your restaurant. When it comes to attracting customers to restaurants, local SEO is crucial and can optimize their online presence to attract more local customers. Local Search is a search format where Google’s algorithms rely on location data to display specific results according to the geographic location of the user or other locations suggested by them. For example, if you search for “restaurants” without specifying a location, Google will automatically show suggestions near you. Or, if you want information about another city, state, or country, you just need to enter the desired location, like “restaurants in Orlando.” The idea behind local SEO is to ensure that your business appears in search results when people are looking for products or services related to your company in your area. Local SEO is important for several reasons. First, it’s an effective way to attract local customers who are looking for restaurants. These are customers ready to go to a restaurant and are merely searching for available options. When people search online to find a local business, they’re usually ready to make a purchase and are more likely to become customers than those casually browsing the web or social media platforms. Furthermore, local SEO is an affordable way to promote your business. Compared to other advertising forms, like TV or radio ads, local SEO can be a more budget-friendly option for businesses with limited funds. Unlike other advertising types, local SEO offers lasting results, meaning your business can continue to attract new customers for months or even years after implementing your local SEO strategy.
Restaurants Are Hiring Bouncers
Just to handle TikTokers. Restaurants around the world are experiencing a new reality, thanks to TikTok: The need for bouncers. Yes, thanks to viral TikToks and the crowds they create, food establishments of all kinds are hiring bouncers to handle the lines that form outside their businesses. One such spot in Paris, a wine and ice cream bar called Folderol, noticed lines growing in April when the shop first started to appeal to tourists trying to capture that Parisian je ne sais quoi for social media. This quickly turned into hours-long waits for travelers flocking to the shop this summer. Folderol, which originally opened so that parents could relax with a glass of wine while their kids eat ice cream, has now painted a “No TikTok” sign on the side of the building, as The New York Times reported. They also have signs saying, “Be here to have fun, not take pictures” and “Respect your neighbors,” which, of course, TikTokers can be found posing in front of. It’s hitting restaurants on our home turf, too. Katz’s Deli, of “I’ll have what she’s having” fame, now has a bouncer to maintain calm amongst the nearly 4,000 visitors that come to the restaurant daily. Spots like Skirt Steak, also in NYC, had a reviewer’s TikTok reach 1 million views overnight in 2021. This led to a line of more than a hundred people the very next day. This only compounds the chaos that will eventually lead to requiring a bouncer to corral people.
Reporter Puts Relaxed Senate Dress Code to the Test?
At luxury NYC restaurants. New York Post reporter Jon Levine attempted to enter several high-end luxury restaurants in the Big Apple dressed in Sen. John Fetterman’s signature hoodies and shorts after a relaxed Senate dress code was announced. A maître d at DANIEL, a double-Michelin star-rated restaurant in Manhattan, told Levine it “doesn’t permit shorts” as part of its dress code. She said Fetterman, D-Penn., would not be allowed entry if he had on athletic wear, adding “We have turned away guests for being improperly dressed regardless of their occupation.” Another maître d at Le Bernardin, a three-Michelin star-rated restaurant in Midtown, told Levine there was “no athletic wear” allowed inside. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., directed the Senate’s Sergeant at Arms last week to no longer enforce its informal dress code policy, according to Axios. Schumer told the outlet he would continue to wear a suit but, “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor.” Fetterman was seen wearing shorts and a hoodie into a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Capitol Hill. FOX News’ Lisa Boothe said the change in policy is “symbolic of the decline of America.” “Democrats have taken a wrecking ball to all of our institutions [and] any normalcy left in the country. So, I guess why not the Senate? You know, why not do this?” she said on “The Big Weekend Show.”
Did You Know?
The demand for restaurant real estate is ‘through the roof’. Data from JLL and Placer.ai shows a significant uptick in demand for drive-thru locations, including drive-thrus with multiple lanes. We’ve tried to articulate the state of the consumer for about a year now and more signs are starting to show of a pullback in discretionary spending. That said, consumers have largely shown a sustained willingness to spend their money at restaurants and on experiences. Perhaps that explains why operators are bullish about finding real estate. There are segments down in sales, but there is no shortage of people wanting to come to the market.
Employee Tip
The topic is tipping. Guests are dining out more often than last year and rewarding great service, with the highest tips at bars and fine dining restaurants, according to hospitality industry data from Lightspeed Commerce Inc. The data suggests guests are willing to tip more for great service when digital tools are available to ease the payment process. The reality is that in our post-pandemic world, guests are looking for a frictionless, cashless payment experience, and they’re willing to tip more for exceptional dining experiences.