Richmond Business & Commercial News

Waitstaff in DC accused of stealing credit card numbers

This is a sad story about people taking advantage of trust given to them by the general public.  No, it's not about the government or big-business (this time), but about the trust that we put in the waitstaff at our favorite restaurants.

Six servers at high-end restaurants in Washington, DC, were accused of stealing credit card numbers from customers and selling them to criminals who used the numbers to create counterfeit cards and charge $750K worth of items at local stores. (See the full article from the Washington Examiner here.)

Secret Service investigators cracked the Washington-area scheme after customers began complaining to their banks of unauthorized charges on their cards, Secret Service Special Agent Philip Soto wrote in a sworn statement filed in Alexandria’s federal court. Soto discovered patterns in the charges that led him to the restaurants, where managers helped him trace the stolen information back to specific servers.

“Every employee has a unique number they put into the register before ringing up a charge,” Clyde’s of Gallery Place manager Paul Walker told The Examiner. “With that system in place, we can point back to an employee very quickly. ... It’s very traceable.”

A few lessons to be learned and points to be made in light of this story:

1. Watch your credit & bank accounts for odd activity. You can't catch what you don't see.
2. Regardless of the poor example these servers have give, most servers are wonderful and extremely trustworthy.  Don't let a few bad apples make you disrespectful.
3. As an industry, retailers and restaurateurs need to use systems to make the detective work easier (at least) and stealing private data harder (even better).

It's a shame that these stories happen at all, and with a bad economy people become even more desperate.  The best that we can do is show that this type of behavior will be recognized and punished, without over-reacting and only seeing the negative.

Don't be left out of these decisions -- VOTE!

This is a big year for politics.  Yeah, I didn't expect that would be news to anyone this year, but it made for a good way to motivate people for this next call to action:  VOTE! 

It is important every year, and for every special election that comes up.  This year it is especially important because we are electing a new president at a very crucial time for our country and a new mayor to take charge of Richmond.  Despite your particular slant on politics, or mine for that matter, participation is key.

From the website of the Virginia State Board of Elections:

How do I find out if I'm registered to vote in Virginia?
   If you have questions about your voter registration status, contact your local county or city general registrar.  If you believe that you are registered to vote in Virginia, you can verify your voter registration status on-line from our website. 

 Where Do I go to vote?
   To determine your polling place location, contact your local county or city general registrar's office.  You may also get information about your polling place by using our on-line Where Do I Vote application.

 How do I register to vote in Virginia?
   Registering to vote in Virginia is easy and convenient.  To register to vote in Virginia, you must fill out and submit a voter registration application.   If it is determined that you qualify to vote, your local county/city general registrars will add you to the county/city voter registration database.  For more information about becoming a registered voter contact your local county or city general registrar.

On that last point, the voter registration deadline for the upcoming election on November 4, 2008, is this upcoming Monday, October 6.  Per the VSBE website, "Applications must be in the voter registration office or posted marked by that date."  Being this close to the deadline, I would suggest that you register either online or in person.

The second part is equally as crucial -- when November 4th comes, get to your local polling place and vote!

When legislators go crazy, but oddly harmless at the same time

File this under:  "Some people just have too much time on their hands."

A county in the state of New York is considering legislation that would require restaurants to list the prices of daily specials.  Apparently even that isn't going far enough for some folks, and these same legislators are tempted to require lists of prices for desserts, cocktails, and coffee.

I wonder when this same county is going to regulate the font on the menus and the quality of the paper that they use?

Has anyone else found this to be a problem in their restaurant experiences?  I can't think of an example where the consumer "needs to be protected" from not having a list of prices.

Don't mail that letter!

 Or at least don't mail it until you make sure you have the right postage.  On Monday, May 12, the postage rate for a first-class letter is going up by one cent, from $0.41 to $0.42. 

If you remember, the most recent change was last May when the rate went up two cents.  It's no coincidence that the rates are bumping up each May.  Legislation was passed in 2006, to implement regular and predictable price changes in postal rates, as well as revamping some of the management of the USPS. (Docket No. MC2007-1, Order No.43 -- Order Establishing Ratemaking Regulations For Market Dominant And Competitive Products: Download FinalRulesWeb.pdf)

I linked to the full document for the legislation above, but for an easier-to-digest version see the comments from the Postmaster General: Download GuidingPrinciplesFinal.pdf

As far as the rate changes go, there are more changes than just the first-class postage, so be sure to review the rate schedule if you mail anything more involved than your typical letter.

Getting shorted on tips?

We've all seen the rants about customers that don't tip, or the customers that are so cheap that they don't tip properly.  This post isn't about rehashing those same tired complaints, even as unfortunately on-the-mark as they are.  (Anyone that has been a waiter or bartender can attest to the truth of those anecdotes.)

This is about tipped employees getting their fair share of what they have worked so hard to earn, and about keeping yourself out of trouble if you are a restaurant owner.  Starbucks just learned a $100M lesson in California, and employers everywhere need to take note.

If there is a shared tip pool involved, then only certain employees can participate.  Here is the section on tip pooling from Fact Sheet #15 from the US Department of Labor:

Tip Pooling: The requirement that an employee must retain all tips does not preclude a valid tip pooling or sharing arrangement among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, waitresses, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), busboys/girls and service bartenders. Tipped employees may not be required to share their tips with employees who have not customarily and regularly participated in tip pooling arrangements, such as dishwashers, cooks, chefs, and janitors. Only those tips that are in excess of tips used for the tip credit may be taken for a pool. Tipped employees cannot be required to contribute a greater percentage of their tips than is customary and reasonable.

The basis of the argument in the Starbucks case in California was that shift-supervisors were sharing in the tip pool, which is against California labor law. 

In fact, a call to the Richmond District Office of the US Department of Labor verified that it is not California labor law that dictates this, but instead it is Federal law.  I was referred to the description quoted above, where only "waiters, waitresses, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), busboys/girls and service bartenders" can participate in tip pools.  That's not to say that other employees can't be tipped, but they cannot participate in a tip pool.

Employers, take the lesson to heart before it costs you both in back-pay and legal fees!  (I'd like to point out here that I am NOT an attorney, but that's why I called the US Department of Labor to get their opinion.  There are always gray areas, and that's why there was a court case over this.  Check with your attorney to make sure you're covered.)

How Minnesota bars are still smoking-friendly

Despite the recent smoking ban legislation in Minnesota, some bars have fought the ban in a very creative way.  There is a provision in the ban that allows for participants in theatrical productions to smoke in restaurants and bars.  The bars are working around the legislation, legally, "by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume, and pronouncing them 'actors'."  (see the full article on TheWashingtonPost.com)

Again, this demonstrates that there is a segment of the population that looks forward to smoking in public and they will go out of their way to frequent establishments that cater to their wants.  Those that prefer non-smoking restaurants and bars have demonstrated that there is also a market for their wants, as well.  The local market has responded with a number of alternatives for smoke-haters -- and I think that's wonderful!

I applaud the efforts of the Smoking Resistance in Minnesota, and I hope that their results are instructive to the rest of the country doesn't fall on deaf ears.  Here is a quote from the article that demonstrates the desire for smoking establishments, and the harm that a smoking ban can do to the livelihood of anyone that gets in the way of the anti-smoking groups:

Proving anew there's no business like show business, Anderson said her theater-night receipts have averaged $2,000 _ up from $500 right after the ban kicked in. Similarly, Bauman said revenue at The Rock dropped off 30 percent after the ban took effect, then shot back up to normal once the bar began allowing smoking again.

Here's a message to the Virginia legislature regarding the *thankfully* failed smoking ban from this year and last year:  Keep your mitts off!  The free market is working in this case, and there is no need for legislative agendas/egos to get in the way of that.

So you don't like smoke getting into your clothes? 
-Neither do I, but if I want to go to a smoky bar then who are you to say that I can't?

Protection for the employees?
-Then why isn't air quality the issue instead of what people are legally consuming?

I don't really like special interest groups (then again who does unless they agree with you?), but on this one I hope the smoking lobbyists keep fighting the good fight.

I don't smoke, and neither does anyone in my immediate family.  I don't encourage smoking, but dammit it's a perfectly legal activity.  If you can't stand the thought of anyone smoking, then go for a full prohibition.  At least then you're being honest.  (Not that I think prohibition would work, but it would be funny to see it tried.)

Thanks to Vivian J. Post's blog for the heads up on the article!

Make Virginia count!

Tomorrow is our chance to have Virginia's voice heard in the presidential primaries, so get out and vote!

Here is the announcement that I received from Richmond Association of Realtors.  I think it sums up everything very well:

Don't forget to vote in the Primary on Tuesday, February 12! On the ballot are candidates that qualified in Virginia for the 2008 Presidential Election. You may vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary, but not both. At your polling place, ask for a Republican or Democratic ballot.

Polling places will be open for voting from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All qualified voters in line at the polling place before or at 7:00 p.m. will be permitted to vote.

For further election information, or to find your voting location, go to http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/.

New Minimum Wage Rate

Last Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill raising the federal minimum wage to $7.25 over the next 26 months.

$5.15  current federal minimum wage
$5.85  60 days after the bill becomes law
$6.55  1 year after the initial hike
$7.25  2 years after the initial hike

This is the first update to the federal minimum wage in a decade, although some states have enacted their own minimum wage rates that were higher than the current federal rate.

(Source:  House votes to raise U.S. minimum wage from Nations Restaurant News)

Plight of the Independents

The ongoing struggle of the independent retailers vs. the big-box retailers is the focus of many blog entries (mine included).  There is a new entry ("Film traces struggles of mom-and-pop shops") on USATODAY.com's Small Biz Blog that summarizes a movie by independent filmmakers Hanson Hosein and Heather Hughes.

The couples' documentary is available on their website, and the trailer is on YouTube.  The trailer is very engaging, and I'm looking forward to sitting down later today to watch the movie.  Two former journalists trek across America to highlight the business of fighting against "big business" and "the corporate machine".

While they didn't come through Richmond, don't think that this doesn't affect us locally.  If you don't believe that, then just do some local searches on the battle from a few years ago in Ashland against the establishment of a new Wal-Mart.

Another recent example of the local reflection of this national issue is the VCU graphic design project put together the Fall 2006 semester that emphasized the benefits to the community of shopping with locally owned shops.  From the words on their own site:

ShopRVA is a coordinated effort to direct the public towards shopping at local, independently owned businesses. This is not only to benefit small stores. The act of buying locally allows cities to be more self-sustaining and helps prevent intervention from corporate business. Small businesses also add to the unique nature of the city by providing services that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Through this campaign, ShopRVA hopes to provide incentive through education as to why shopping locally is a wise way to give back to your community.

It's a worthwhile project, and I hope it doesn't die just because the class that put it together is over.  I have the feeling it will disappear with the tide of students that created it, but it is a movement that someone should take up.

Does anyone else know of local movements here in Richmond, or anywhere else, that falls in the same vein?

Lessons from "Five Guys"

Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries is a 120-unit chain that is based out of Lorton, Virginia.  They have developed a great reputation for fresh burgers (nothing kept frozen) and fresh-cut fries.  There are 8 locations total in Henrico, Richmond, Chesterfield, and Mechanicsville.

Yesterday, Nation's Restaurant News did an "Operational Spotlight" on the chain to highlight how they keep their health standards high.  A lot of it had to do with the open kitchen (no hiding anything) and the risks inherent in using only fresh ground beef.

I especially liked this quote, and I think that all businesses can benefit from the wisdom:

In fact, if a customer notices something awry in terms of food safety and cleanliness, they are encouraged to speak up. "We really look to our customers to be our first line of defense," says Chamberlain. There are signs posted prominently listing the number to call for customer comments.

This is not a new practice, but the sincerity behind it goes a long ways towards making it work the way it is supposed to.  The signs for this aren't hidden in a corner of the drive-thru window.  They are hard to miss, in fact.

We all ask for feedback (or at least we all SHOULD be), but how many of us are brave enough to ask for customers to call us when they notice a problem.  I know there are some that do, but we need to be sure to ask for it -- criticism and all.

In light of that -- please give me feedback, especially if you see me missing something, or screwing something up (but be gentle!).