By Paul  Frumkin ~ Nations Restaurant News

NEW YORK (April  5, 2010) As the federal health care insurance reform measure emerges from months of rancorous legislative turmoil, industry experts are beginning to understand how and when the sweeping law will impact the foodservice business.

“Many [restaurateurs] think they will be severely impacted by the way the law gets rolled out,” said Scott DeFife, executive vice president of policy and government affairs for the National Restaurant Association.

However, DeFife, who participated in the “What Healthcare Reform Means for Retail” webinar hosted Monday by Morgan Stanley, noted that the new law will not affect all restaurateurs equally.

DeFife said many large chains already offer employees some form of insurance while the “vast majority” of the industry comprises small businesses that will be exempted under the law. The measure, he continued, will have the most impact on larger multiunit independents or franchisees with between five and 10 outlets.

“The rub comes in the middle,” he said. “Those operators will be asking themselves, ‘Should I grow or not?’”

The protracted introduction of the new law also will affect the impact. During the webinar, Kim Monk, managing director of the Capital Alpha Partners consulting group, sketched out a partial timeline for the law’s implementation:

* 2010: Small businesses with up to 25 workers will get tax credits to help provide coverage; health insurers will be required to maintain dependent coverage for children up to 26 years old.
* 2011: Employers will be required to report the value of existing health care benefits on W-2 forms.
* 2012: “It’s a quiet year; it’s an election year,” Monk said.
* 2013: Flexible spending accounts, or FSAs, will be capped at $2,500 a year; Medicare payroll taxes on couples making more than $250,000 and individuals earning more than $200,000 will be raised.
* 2014: Employer and individual mandates kick in; insurers prohibited from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing medical problems; states create new health insurance exchanges.
* 2018: Tax imposed on high-cost “Cadillac” health care plans.

Participants of the webinar also detailed some victories and losses for the retail and restaurant industries in the recent legislative battle.

DeFife praised the provision enabling employers to wait 90 days before having to offer insurance to employees.

Sarah Arbes, vice president of government affairs for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, underscored the importance of establishing new, more business-friendly definitions of what constitutes part-time employees and seasonal or temporary workers.

However, Arbes, whose group finally opposed the passage of the bill, pointed out that it did not do enough “to reduce systemic costs.”

Contact Paul Frumkin at pfrumkin@nrn.com

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Find Your Passion.

Running a business is tiring, time-consuming, and often frustrating. It’s not uncommon for the “Entrepreneurial Light” to burn out. However, if you’re not excited about your products or services, no one else is going to be. And, who wants to buy a product/service they’re not enthusiastic about?

Quick tips for regaining your passion:

• Write down all the reasons you love your products or services
• Tell others the story of why you became an entrepreneur
• Imagine what you want your business to look like in 5 years (even if it’s unrealistic… perhaps especially if it’s unrealistic!)
• Read inspirational books, blogs, and articles about small business ownership
• Take time to rejuvenate

Look, you became an entrepreneur for a reason. And, how you feel about your company is going to be reflected in the risks you’ll take, the way you interact with your guests, and the amount of money you bring in!

Ray Kroc (founder of McDonald’s) said, “If you work just for the money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing, and always put the guest first, success will be yours.”

Be passionate! Be excited! Learn to love your business, your guests, and the simple joys of small business ownership. Pass that passion on to your employees and guests, and you’ll see a phenomenal difference in the growth and success of your business!

author:

Clate Mask
CEO, Infusionsoft

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Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 11, 2010

Despite the recession, the restaurant industry is thriving. Many of its workers, however, are not.

A new report from the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), a nonprofit organization that advocates better wages and work conditions for restaurant workers, revealed that 90 percent of industry staff members are not offered health insurance or sick days, 67 percent go to work sick, and 38 percent are forced to work off the clock.

Earnings also lag. Restaurant workers around the country on average made $12,868 in 2008 compared with $45,371 in the general private sector, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The authors surveyed more than 2,500 workers and 150 employers in five cities: Chicago, Detroit, New Orleans, New York and Portland, Maine.

The reports tell two big stories, said Jose Oliva, ROC’s national policy coordinator: “One, the restaurant industry is resilient, even in the face of this Great Recession. The other is that the kind of jobs that are being created are not the kind of jobs we want to have in America when we come out of the recession.”

Restaurants took a hit during the economic downturn. But by July 2009, growth had returned. This year, the National Restaurant Association projects that the industry will employ nearly 13 million people. Revenues will rise 2.5 percent to $580 billion, or 4 percent of the gross domestic product.

“This report paints a distorted image of the restaurant industry and its employees while pushing the ROC’s agenda,” said Mike Donohue, a spokesman for the National Restaurant Association. He cited data that showed 32 percent of adults get their first job experience in a restaurant, and many jobs lead to management and ownership. “The restaurant industry is proud of its diversity and unparalleled record of opportunity.”

The industry does provide some “good jobs,” which ROC defines as ones that pay a living wage, provide benefits and offer opportunities for advancement. But researchers found that white workers disproportionately claimed them. Workers of color, meanwhile, were concentrated in “bad jobs,” where the median hourly wage was $11.50 per hour — or $3.20 less per hour than their white counterparts earned.

When it comes to waiters and busers, the federal minimum wage is $2.13; there has not been an increase since 1991. In May, Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.) introduced the WAGES Act, which would increase it to $3.75 per hour three months after enactment. That rate would rise to $5.50 per hour by 2012.

The industry’s bad jobs hurt more than just workers; they harm society, Oliva said. Low wages and lack of job security lead to increased reliance on social-assistance programs, an indirect subsidy to employers engaging in poor practices. For example, ROC reported that 26.5 percent of workers said they or a family member had visited an emergency room without being able to pay for treatment.

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This checklist is an assessment tool for those responsible for developing a crisis management plan for their company. If you are able to answer the following questions and complete the following information, you will have begun the process of developing your own customized blueprint for crisis management. Begin to gather materials into a three-ring binder as you customize the plan to your organization.

_

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Effectively Manage Your Restaurant and Your Life.

If you’re like most restaurant owners, you have more to do than
time to do it.

But too many Restaurant Owners get so wrapped up in their business, they forget to take care of the other aspects of their lives. And the results can be devastating! Families are neglected, friends are lost, and the physical and mental health of the restaurant owner declines. (Just to name a few.)

So here are some tips for being able to successfully manage your company and your life:

• Put systems into place- mistakes are made when processes are not systematized. When processes are consistent, fewer mistakes are made and there are fewer fires to put out.
• Take a day off- despite the temptation to work a 7-day week, take at least one day for yourself. You will see your productivity and your health improve. (Not to mention how happy your family will be to see you.)
• Go home- set a time schedule for yourself. Schedule the number of hours you will work and stick to that plan.
• Set your priorities- there’s always another crisis to solve. So be sure to make special occasions with friends and family a top priority. Don’t allow a restaurant “emergency” to hold you back. After all, there’s bound to be another one tomorrow.
• Automate your business- this is sometimes  an odd topic for restaurant owners, but there are many places to automate your restaurant and I am not just talking about the POS System. If you haven’t taken the time to realize the value of automation, do so soon. Places you can automate – Any recurring task like weekly emails or marketing mailers, costing your food, paying your bills can even be automated and save you a ton of time. With your business on auto-pilot you have more time for other things.

None of the stuff in this email is new to you. You know it all. But unless you are willing to take these suggestions to heart, you will never be able to effectively manage your life.

And remember, nobody ever lay on their deathbed wishing they had spent more time at the Restaurant!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the topics I present and their link to True Restaurant Success. Please do not hesitate to share – Leave a Comment

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As many of you know I am a Board Member of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association as well as an active Restaurant Owner.  This is hot off the presses from the NCRLA and I think it does a great job of quickly and clearly explaining where we are as a nation on health care reform and how it effects the business owners like you and I.  Your state may have a couple other options or a slightly different spin on this but as a whole it applies nationally to all of us.

The Health Care reform debate has dominated news headlines in recent months.  It is a difficult issue and many dollars are being spent on both sides of the debate. As always, NCRLA, NRA, and AH&LA continue to fight for fair treatment of our industry in any bill that should be constructed.  Currently the architecture of the bills being discussed by the House and Senate are constantly changing and being revised.   The following is an update on the current state of the issue.

The Latest:
On Tuesday, October 12, the Senate Finance Committee passed an $829 billion plan which it hopes will extend health care coverage to an additional 29 million Americans.  The next step for the bill is a formal debate in the full House and Senate.

Some Details on the recently passed bill:

•    The bill would be paid for in part by cutting spending on several health care programs — including Medicare — by roughly $400 billion. Another $200 billion would be generated by imposing a new tax on high-end health care policies, called “Cadillac” plans by critics.

•    New fees would be imposed on drug and insurance companies, medical device manufacturers and other industries tied to the health care sector.

•    Individuals would be required to purchase coverage or face a fine of up to $750

•    Companies with more than 50 full-time workers would have to pay a fee of up to $400 per employee if they do not offer health insurance.

•    Businesses with 25 or more employees would be required to offer insurance or pay a fine of $750 a year for each employee not covered.

•    As a way to stimulate competition and drive down premiums, the bill would provide $6 billion toward the creation of non-profit, member-run health insurance companies in each state.

•    If the House and Senate manage to pass health care reform bills, a conference committee would then negotiate a final version requiring approval from both chambers before going to Obama for his signature.

Affect on Hospitality Industry
Obviously the mandates proposed in this bill would greatly affect small businesses in our industry.  It remains unclear what the ultimate definition of “full-time” will be in any final bill that is agreed on between the House and Senate, but in the Senate version of the bill part-time employees are not mandated to be covered by their employers.

There are possible subsidies that would allow employers offering health insurance to their employees to be eligible for a tax credit.

•    Employers with fewer than 25 employees and paying an average annual wage of less than $40,000 would be eligible for a tax credit of up to 50% of the employer’s contribution toward the employee’s health insurance premium. The credit would vary depending on the company’s size and level of contribution toward employee premiums.

•    The addition of the non-profit health insurance companies in each state could end up driving costs down for premiums, however it appears that there will still be no way to shop for health insurance across state lines, which could have driven down costs even further.

As always, we will keep you updated on any breaking news.  We continue to fight for fair treatment of the industry on our member’s behalf, and look forward to a positive resolution to this issue.

Let me know what you think of the current Health Care Reform discussions and the effect on you and our industry.

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  After issuing H1N1 flu guidelines for larger businesses, the Obama administration offered similar advice to small businesses. New guidelines suggest that small-business owners consider telecommuting and lax leave policies as viable ways to ward off potential outbreaks at work. The Wall Street Journal/Washington Wire blog (9/14)
• Check out the guide for small businesses.
• Homeland Security: Send sick employees home
  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security advised businesses to send sick workers home to prevent the possible spread of H1N1 flu. “If an employee does become sick while at work, place the employee in a separate room or area until they can go home, away from other workers,” the federal H1N1 flu guidebook said. American City Business Journals/Phoenix (9/14)
• Find out what else the government is doing to combat H1N1 flu.

• More adults worried about getting H1N1 flu, poll says
  A USA Today/Gallup poll of 1,007 U.S. adults found that more people were worried about H1N1 flu, with one in three saying they or a family member probably would get the flu, up from one in five in a May survey. About 17% of those polled said they were worried they would get the flu, up from 8% in June, and 55% now say they will get vaccinated, an increase of 9%. USA TODAY (9/1)
• Clinics tell flu patients to call before coming in
  Some clinics are trying to keep flu patients from spreading the virus by asking them to call first and not come in unless their illness turns severe. Clinics also are passing out face masks to staff and to all patients who show up with H1N1 symptoms, and HealthPartners hot-line nurses are prescribing antivirals for high-risk patients so they can go directly to the pharmacy. Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.) (9/24)

• Disinfecting hands, surfaces can help stem spread of H1N1 flu
  Disinfecting bathroom fixtures, doorknobs and handrails in public places can go a long way in preventing the spread of H1N1 flu, writes Chris Wiant, CEO of Caring for Colorado Foundation in Denver. Also helpful is washing hands with hand sanitizers. USA TODAY (8/31)
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  Many small-business owners worry how they will be able to keep their doors open if an H1N1 flu outbreak affects large numbers of their staff. Experts suggest they disinfect surfaces frequently, pay for employees’ flu shots and train workers to do one another’s jobs. The Wall Street Journal/The Associated Press (9/16)

NRA offers H1N1 flu info center
The National Restaurant Association and Ecolab have developed a toolkit to help the restaurant industry fight H1N1 flu and prevent the spread of influenza viruses in restaurants. The toolkit includes information to help prepare for and prevent an influenza outbreak at your location. Listen to our webinar, H1N1: What You Need to Know About the Influenza Pandemic, and visit H1N1 Flu: Resources for Restaurateurs for more

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It seems every time you turn around “green” is there. This is new or relatively new to lots of us but it’s not really new. “Green Restaurant Association” has been certifying green restaurants for more than two decades now. They offer certification for existing restaurants, new construction or just an event. This is not to be confused with LEED although they do account for much of the same criteria to be certified. One thing that I think is impressive about this certification is that in order to maintain “green status” a restaurant must continue to improve. It’s not as though you receive a certification and you are finished.

This just makes sense since our world changes constantly with new processes and materials. So each year a certified restaurant has to accumulate 10 more points over the initial 100. Green Restaurant Association has one of the largest databases of environmental solutions to help you achieve and sustain your certification.

One hundred points is a minimum Two Star Certified restaurant. You can go to Three star at 175 points or to four star at 470 points. Each year The Green Restaurant Association provides an operational assessment helping you to maintain and grow you commitment to sustainable operation.

Achieving green certification is a great opportunity to show your patrons how much you care about the environment. The big payoff is often in huge savings in operational costs.

To learn more about the Green Restaurant Association go to www.dinegreen.com

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Swine Flu
There is growing concern over the Swine flu outbreak that has hit.  Many of you are getting questions from concerned customers about the safety of food products.  Hopefully, the information below will help ease these concerns.

Salmonella and Sprouts
Also something else to be aware of is that The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts and food establishments to stop serving raw alfalfa sprouts until further notice.  This product has been linked to Salmonella Saintpaul.

Talking Points:  Swine Influenza (H1N1)

• Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in the United States and internationally. There are 40 confirmed cases in the United States as of April 27. There have been no cases confirmed in North Carolina.
• Investigations are ongoing to look for cases in North Carolina residents.
• Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that this swine flu type A virus is contagious; it is spreading from human to human, However, at this time, it not known how easily the virus spreads between people.
• Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people. Sometimes, people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
• Swine influenza viruses are not spread by food. You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly-handled and cooked pork products is safe.
• The symptoms of swine flu among cases reported so far in the United States have been similar to the symptoms of regular human flu. These include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. There are reports of more severe illness among people infected with the same virus in Mexico, but the reason for this difference is not yet known.
• There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu.
• People entering the United States who are experiencing symptoms consistent with swine flu and have traveled to an affected area (for a list of what states are affected, please see http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation.htm), or those who have been exposed to someone possibly infected with swine flu, during the past seven days should report their illnesses to their health care provider immediately.
• Seek medical care if you are severely ill (such as having trouble breathing). There are antiviral medications for prevention and treatment of swine flu that a doctor can prescribe. People who have flu-like symptoms but do not require medial care should not go to emergency departments or doctor’s offices just for testing. This will reduce chances for transmission in health care settings.

The following steps can protect your health and help prevent the spread of swine flu:

o   Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

o   Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

o   Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

o   Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

o   If you get sick with influenza, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school, and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

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I was speaking to a guest and they compared us to a person running a marathon, not a sprint, a marathon. They gave me the same advice that they would give a world-class runner, and I want to share it with you:

1. Don’t waste energy – to make the long haul we have take the right actions and not waste energy foolishly.

2. Look down the road and what is coming – like any good runner we should have our heads up looking at the road ahead.  The idea here is that we can avoid any obstacles and take corrective action before we hit any bumps that might slow us down.

3. Focus on the positive - I personally have never run a marathon but I get this on the most.  A Marathon is long and hard. The reference was on staying upbeat. If you are negative and always complaining, you only get more of that. If you’re positive and look on the brighter side you will only get more of that. What you focus on expands! We all need to focus on the good.

Even though a lot of us may not be runners, I think we can take a lot away from this.

This article provided by Jonathan Munsell, Restaurant Success System

www.restaurantsuccesssystems.com
Telephone: 919.334.6800

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