NEUMARK ANCHORS VBS PROBE OF KEY RECIPE FOR SUCCESS COMPONENTS

With our readers’ success in mind, the Virtual Breakfast Sessions decided to zero in on two hot-button topics. The first of which was “No Man(ager) is an Island, teambuilding in 2023”.

The VBS panel of All-Stars was filled by Liz Neumark- Founder of Great Performances , Ralph Tejada- President of Tropical Produce and Chairman of the Board of the Morris County Hispanic Chamber of commerce and Bob Heiss- President of S&R Sales Training.

Heiss kicked off the event by stating that times have changed and when building a successful team, “The key to building a cohesive unit is to make every member feel valued.”

Neumark added, “We’re in the people business. With the aftermath of the pandemic and the exodus of our workforce to other jobs or locations a new term came to the forefront, Workforce Development. We had to open our minds and doors to different people, different cultures and genders. We had to re-balance our efforts and methods to meet current values.”

Tejada, the driving force behind Tropical Produce spoke about the Chamber. “We’re a trusted adjunct to our members businesses. Whether they seek guidance, financing or advice on government issues there’s someone in the group that is there to help.”

Two points hit home loud and clear. A business exists to make money and a successful business recognizes that it’s “People” that make a business a success.

On our 2nd offering we opened the Pandora’s Box of the restaurant business.” Tipping- The Elephant in the Dinning Room”. We thought we knew tipping, at least we did before the pandemic. The tip was left to reward good or excellent service by the waiter. No more. Tip jars are everywhere and everyone expects you to fill them.

For “Tipping” 2 seats on the panel were filled by Russell Jackson- Chef/ Owner of Reverence Harlem and board member of One Fair Wage and Peter Gordon- President of New York Financial Advisors and a Frequent Diner. The 3rd seat was intentionally left open for the audience, because everyone has an opinion on this subject.

Chef Jackson started with a description of the origin of tipping. “Tipping started in the US after the Civil War.

With the addition of ex-slave labor into the job market restaurant owners could hire help at a very low wage. They then asked diners to leave a little to reward the staff for good service. This broken system is still in effect today.”

Gordon then spoke about a recent stop at a Starbucks at a highway rest stop. “The line was very long and they only had 2 people working there. I thought about all the money they lost when people saw the line and left. I wondered why they didn’t pay a higher wage so maybe a 3rd person would want to work there?” Fred Klashman of Total Food Service broke in, “So here’s a great example of a place where automation would have a great affect on the business.” Gordon agreed, “All I wanted was to get a cup of coffee and be on my way.”

Moderator Sashin then added, “We as consumers judge everything in prepandemic financial terms. We’re used to cheap food and cheap labor. Well, cheap no longer exists and we as consumers need a reeducation.”

With contributions from Peter Herrero of the NY Hospitality Group, Yvan Lemoine of My Kitchen and Sterling Smith of Sterling Bake Shop, the Virtual Breakfast Session could have gone another hour!

The TFS/Sashin VBS Series returns on August 9th with “Coffee with David Burke” and on August 23rd with “The Takeout Revolution”. To register for the sessions just click or cut and paste the link below: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ total-food-service-l-sashin-associates-virtual-breakfast-sessionstickets-429338572227