Restaurant Employees Can Work from Home

It’s time to quit doing what you have always done and look at things a little differently. Employees are hard to find.  If you do not have enough employees many restaurants either reduce hours of operation or are closing one or two days a week. That’s does not work in the old business model nor does it work long term in many new business models according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

If you have not heard of Bite Ninja, a tech company making remote work possible for the restaurant industry its time you did.  Bite Ninja recently announced that it has closed a $11.3 million bridge funding round, bringing the company’s total raised to date to $15.4 million. This round of financing will further enable the development of the company's proprietary and award-winning remote staffing technology and deploy additional resources to support Bite Ninja’s growing sales and marketing efforts targeting the entire quick-service sector.

Key investors in this most recent funding round include Manta Ray Ventures, Owl Ventures, Agfunder, Pioneer Fund and TRAC Unicorn fund. The latest bridge round will help elevate Bite Ninja's unique tech platform, bringing further momentum to the already rapid growth the company has experienced over the past year. Bite Ninja is currently signed with five of the top 20 quick-service chains in the country with several more expected to join by the end of Q4. Most recently, Bite Ninja successfully launched its front counter customer-facing platform, providing restaurant operators with an additional solution to their existing drive-thru services, as well as their command center solution for enterprise-level labor performance management and deployment.

“Bite Ninja is currently powering some of the most notable quick service restaurants from coast to coast, providing operators with access to more than 12,000 qualified ‘Ninjas’ ready to serve customers and fill open shifts,” says Will Clem, CEO & co-founder of Bite Ninja. “We’re excited to push forward with the growth including targeting expansion overseas.”

Regular readers of this blog know that new research says delinquencies across all small businesses are at an 18-month high because of deteriorating business conditions and landlords raising their fees.

“About 46% of restaurants lacked the funds to pay their August rents, an 8-point jump in delinquencies from two months earlier, according to the latest survey of small businesses by Alignable Research Center.

If you own a chain restaurant or any restaurant you cannot keep doing what you have always done you must try and find a new normal, according to Johnson.  Paying rent comes before profits and if you can’t pay the rent, you cannot pay yourself. Stop doing what you have always done.  Try looking forward rather than backward.

Foodservice Solutions® team is here to help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits. Are you looking a customer ahead? Does your messaging look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may the clue you need to propel your continued success. 

Bite Ninja Fresh Fast Focused Drive-Thru Service

 

The cost of an employee in the near post-pandemic talent market for quick-service restaurants continue to edge up as the battle to reopen restaurants for inside dinning. Technology, can help you with more today than you may think.  Yes, technology can save on labor cost while simultaneously providing more focused, fast service according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Have you heard of Bite Ninja? They are helping restaurants hire drive-thru staff, but not in the typical manner. These “Ninjas” can work from anywhere in the country, often from the comfort of their living rooms.

So, Memphis entrepreneurs Will Clem and Orin Wilson have been testing the software and processes for this virtual working relationship at Will’s own restaurants. Now with all the kinks worked out, Bite Ninja is launching nationwide.

Get this, Bite Ninja allows restaurant owners a remote drive-thru ordering system through a network of highly skilled virtual professionals capable of serving restaurants anywhere in the country.

Orin Wilson, stated, "Through our software, recruiting, and training, we can provide restaurants with a huge increase in upsells, near zero defect order-taking, and 100% staff reliability. Add in a new, safer working environment and you have the ingredients for a positive impact,”  

Will Clem continued on Wilsons comments saying “The customer experience has been amazing! We even have people get out of their cars to take selfies with the person on the screen taking their order. It has created a very unique culture at the restaurants,”  

Now think about how this works. So, the Bite Ninja service allows customers to see the face of the person taking their order on a large, video screen, but the employee is working at a remote location with a virtual background to match the restaurant’s preference. They can be anywhere, they are focused, they are fresh eyes and ears on your customers not distracted.

Success does leave clues, Clem and Wilson have been innovators from the beginning. Clem is a founder and partner in Memphis Meats, which develops lab-grown, engineered meats as well as being a founder of the Baby Jacks Franchise. Wilson has founded multiple businesses that focus on finance, data, and technology. Together they believe they can save you money.

Wilson went on to say “With the negative impact of the pandemic on the restaurant industry, we knew that disruptive innovation was going to play a role going forward. We needed to find solutions that saved restaurant owners money, allowed people to work in a safe environment, and made customer service a more reliable resource in the restaurant,”

Bite Ninja already has a pipeline of 3,000 ninjas getting ready to work for restaurants across the country. “These are the best people you could possibly get. We have been amazed with how well the Ninjas perform after going through the Ninja training,” Clem says.

The Bite Ninja team provides a unique, positive experience for restaurant customers every time they visit the restaurant. Keep an eye out for Ninjas appearing at restaurants in your area soon. Technology can help you drive top line sales and bottom-line profits.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869