Article contributed by Mike Berman, COO, Day & Nite/All Service, with Eric Trude
Frank Bruni’s Sunday December 20th NY Times opinion column should be required reading for not only everyone in the foodservice industry, but for anyone even slightly connected to the industry. Bruni’s powerful piece is punctuated by restaurateur Gabriel Stulman’s honest assessment: “People don’t understand how large a ripple effect on the economy one 30-seat restaurant can have. For most people in our industry, 90 cents of every dollar that we make goes back into the economy in one form or another.”
The most chillingly accurate takeaway from Frank Bruni’s column is people don’t fully appreciate what they’ve lost until after it has vanished. 2020 has already taken far too much away from us all, and while this wretched year is, thankfully, soon to be a relic of history, it is incumbent on us all to not allow any further erosion to our way of life.
Although the prevailing optimistic sentiment might be that a vaccine will accelerate a return to normalcy and that by early spring 2021, Americans, so tired of over a year of coronavirus-induced cabin fever, will come rushing back to restaurants and other leisure activities, growing evidence suggests otherwise. After all, humans are not light switches that can be flipped on and off; creating conditions to lead the market back to previous norms and behaviors will be job #1 for the foodservice industry.
With more people working from home, fewer gathering at the local bar, favorite restaurant, with theaters and stadiums empty, isolation has crept in as a dreaded new normal, further exacerbated by retreat into escapist reality tv shows and virtual reality games. While these forms of alternative entertainment are most certainly impressive for their production values, they also represent major mountains for the hospitality industry to climb if it is to win back guests that have adopted new behaviors and interests during the crisis of 2020. Accordingly, pragmatism is a far better strategy than pure optimism.
More than anything else, your essential strategy must feature deep, concrete commitment to indoor environmental quality, health, hygiene and food safety. Pre Covid-19 comprehensive, effective equipment maintenance may have been considered back-of-the-house stuff, but taking these measures now represents a critical foundation for creating confidence your establishment is taking all the right precautions. Ensuring your equipment is in peak operating condition is as pragmatic and real as it gets, and in this era is now definitely something to promote. Refer back to the astonishing Engagious research and the reasons why cruise lines are actually poised for a quicker rebound than other forms of leisure activities to further understand why advertising your investment in equipment maintenance will generate a most favorable ROI in our forever altered world. While good old fashioned maintenance is the foundation, true health/hygiene/safety differentiation will require additional measures.
Day & Nite Performance Solutions offers the most cost-effective, comprehensive, integrated suite of engineered technologies, products and services for preventing losses far greater than the nation may now know. Bi-polar air ionization technology continuously treats both the source and the space to provide the most effective protection against coronavirus and other dangerous pathogens. UV lighting’s effectiveness in smaller spaces where more static treatment is called for is additional precaution that will further instill confidence that will bring patrons back in. When layered over foundational maintenance, Day & Nite Performance Solutions represents real answers to the most troubling issues that produce real results—as far from a virtual reality video game as it gets!
In this season of giving, these real results have even greater impact. As the nation’s preeminent commercial cooking, refrigeration, HVAC and plumbing equipment installation, maintenance and repair provider the Day & Nite Family of companies is uniquely qualified to most cost-effectively deliver essential foundational services and differentiated layers of health, hygiene and safety measures with the full accountability you will need from a trusted partner to win in 2021. Day & Nite’s partnership with the James Beard Foundation Open For Good Campaign is a potent vaccine against the economic virus plaguing the vital independent restaurant sector. A portion of all new Day & Nite maintenance contracts and Day & Nite Performance Solutions installations will be donated in your name to a fund determined to stop any further losses to our way of life.
Learning more about doing well for your business and good for our industry email jbf@wearetheone.com.
