Hospitals are where you go if you’ve been injured or have some kind of serious health issue, but what if it was a place where you could learn more about preventative issues like healthy eating as well? According to this post from Food Service Director, five hospitals in the Wellmont, TN area are trying to do just that by placing tray liners with health and nutrition information on patients’ food trays. The tray liners are meant to give all patients, but especially those dealing with diabetes or potentially on the verge of the disease, access to important and relevant health information, especially as it pertains to the foods they eat. The hospitals hope that by providing this kind of preventative information, they’ll be empowering patients to make healthy choices once they’re in recovery mode back at home. In addition to the tray liners, many of the associated hospitals have also put up posters, pamphlets, or other sources of food-related health information to extend beyond just patients. The information on the tray liners is based off of federal government guidelines for healthy eating, and educates patients about how they should be dividing each meal between proteins, non-starchy items like vegetables, and starchy items like potatoes or rice.

Read the full article here: Hospital Tries New Approach to Promote Healthy Eating

As a manager, it can be difficult enough to keep everything in a bar or restaurant in order and running smoothly, but having to keep track of all the individual processes, from staff schedules to personnel issues, via separate operations is a complete pain. Often, each aspect of the restaurant has its own system, and keeping track of all the moving parts can cause a real headache. This post from Fast Casual announces a new task management tool that will help make all those processes more seamless, and keep it all organized under one umbrella. The Logbook app from HotSchedules keeps scheduling, task management, to-do lists, personnel issues, shift notes and more organized and updated in real time, and structured according to industry-wide best practices. For managers that struggle to keep communication effortless between shifts or have a hard time keeping track of the daily tasks of each member of the staff, Logbook will be like a godsend, keeping all of those details organized in one app. The task management app will help achieve consistency and accuracy, especially when organizing past notes and records, and can even be used to send announcements, messages or training videos to employees in real-time.

Read the full article here: HotSchedules Delivers Mobile Task Management, Communication, Accountability App

Everyone knows that millennials and members of Generation Z are some of the most influential, important and often intangible target consumers. Whatever they say, goes, and whatever they’re interested in becomes the next new thing. For restaurants, that next new thing is mobile gamification, and this post from QSR Web explains how to employ this strategy within your own restaurant, and the benefits it could have on your bottom line.

These days, people are more interested in a unique dining experience than they are just the meal sitting on the plate in front of them. Having a mobile presence, connecting with customers on social media, and engaging customers with mobile games can all contribute to a unique and interesting experience they can’t get elsewhere. Mobile gamification keeps diners interested, especially when they have the unique ability to win prizes, gain points for dining freebies, or are able to compete with their fellow diners at their dinner table. Mobile games are not only fun for every diner, they elevate the entire dining experience. So, if you want your restaurant to stay relevant and reach this elusive target audience, you have to stay ahead of the game.

Read the full article here: Why Restaurants Should Up Their Mobile Games

Mobile processes make things easier for restaurants and customers alike. You can order ahead, have food delivered right to your doorstep, put your name on a restaurant waitlist, and even pay through an app. But does all the ease that mobile offers make it too easy for customers not to tip? This post from FSR Magazine digs into this question, and offers some encouraging theories about the impact (or lack thereof) that mobile payments will have on tipping. All things considered, mobile payment systems may actually make it easier for diners to tip, and tip more, than traditional payment methods, not the other way around. Unlike paying with cash, customers aren’t limited by the amount they’re able to spend when they use a credit or debit card, meaning they won’t feel particularly prudent when deciding how much tip to leave for stellar service. Another reason they’ll still be keen to leave a generous gratuity? Unlike paying a normal bill and tacking on tip after your waiter has already said goodnight, most mobile payments are processed by the waiter tableside, meaning they’ll know right then and there how much, or how little, you’ve decided to give them, and no one wants to face the potential embarrassment of being a cheapskate.

Read the full article here: How Do Mobile Payments Impact Tips?