— By Bob Lester — Keep your outdoor walkways as safe as your interior floors: How to avoid parking lot slips and trips this winter. The weather has gotten colder, precipitation in many regions of the country has turned into snow, and the likelihood of accidents caused by slick conditions has increased. While most restaurant and retail workers know to keep their floors clean and free of fall risks, they may not think about their outdoor walking spaces quite the same way. To keep customers safe this winter, retail …
Features
— By Mike Folk — Sign maintenance options: they’re out there. We’ve all seen them. Signs that have one or several letters burnt out. Even though we know what that sign says when properly lit, the appearance makes one wonder why that establishment hasn’t fixed it. They spent a lot of money to design, build and install it — only to leave a bad impression and perhaps even send an unintended message. Why Maintenance Matters Noticing what’s wrong with other companies’ signs is easy when you’re their customer. The …
— By Kendall Youngworth — Enhancing the retail customer experience with flooring. The discussion about the future of brick-and-mortar stores rages on, but most forecasters agree on one thing: They will not become obsolete any time soon, if ever. As with any type of business or industry, staying relevant and providing a great customer experience is key to retaining a customer base in retail. The idea is to create a customer experience that enhances loyalty, keeps customers in the store for longer periods, and keeps them coming back. …
— Interview by Katie Lee — As A&W approaches the second year of its second century of operation, it looks to a promising future while also honoring its iconic past. With almost 1,000 locations open in the U.S. and Asia, A&W Restaurants — which first introduced its famous root beer in 1919 — knows a thing or two about growth and longevity. In its first 100 years, A&W weathered every up and down that a restaurant could face. Early in 2020, Retail & Restaurant Facility Business interviewed Paul …
— By Chris Scheppmann — A smart, simple solution to a holiday nightmare. Retail executives across the United States recently had to face their annual holiday parking nightmare. Holiday sales represent about 20% of annual sales each year (with some stores reaching as much as 30%), and this increased business results in a corresponding increase in auto traffic to and from shopping centers. For retail executives, particularly those managing busier complexes, this increased traffic can cause a nightmare scenario of dozens of cars circling parking areas looking for a …
— By Carol L. Carey — Why hiring a professional pressure washer is good for business. We no longer live in an age where negative remarks about service or cleanliness are written on a comment card and dropped in a box on the way out of a place of business. Now it’s as easy as snapping a picture and uploading it simultaneously to multiple social media platforms, all the while tagging your location and corporate office. Clicking a one-star and a quick negative, frustration-fueled comment on Yelp, Google Review …
— By Scott Benson — No longer an afterthought, food and beverage is taking up more space in the retail landscape than ever before. The ways in which consumers choose to spend their time and money are changing and so must the industries that serve them, and the food and beverage industry is no exception. Food and beverage is flourishing in a time when many traditional retailers seem to be treading water. People are dining out more than ever — the average American household spends approximately $3,365 per year …
— By Rick Sung — Leveraging the power of predictive analysis in facilities management. Renowned management consultant Peter Drucker once mused, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” For leaders seeking ways to advance their facilities management (FM), measuring progress is a complex and nuanced process requiring a sophisticated, data-driven approach. In this quest for improvement, however, gathering data is only half the battle. To make truly informed decisions, business leaders and facilities managers alike need analytics to better understand the staggering volume of data flowing through …
— Interview with Carmine J. Esposito — R&R: Where are you based, and how long has the company been in business? Carmine J. Esposito: National Waste Associates was founded in 1997 and is now headquartered in Glastonbury, Connecticut. However, it all started back in the days of my great-grandfather who was collecting trash in New York with a horse and buggy. I am the fourth generation of my family who have been in the waste disposal business. R&R: How long have you been in the industry and with the …
— Interview with Michael Di Taranto — R&R: Where are you based and how long has the company been in business? Michael DiTaranto: We are based in Long Island, New York. Solutions Management, Inc. (SMI) was founded in 2004; Disaster Recovery Services (DRS) began in 2012. Both companies work in parallel supporting our clients with program and as-needed maintenance services and large recovery services. Our consistent growth in both businesses is driven by instilling trust in and with all of our partners. R&R: What is your title? How long …