Skip to main content

What Social Media Can Do for a Restaurant? An Example of 4food in Midtown Manhattan

Image
By

A small eatery named 4food was featured in Reuters yesterday, not because it sells organic burgers or it has a premium location. It is because it sets an excellent example for small business in this social-media era by integrating social media in menu development, marketing, entertainment, social exchange, employee recruitment, and more.

Located at the corner of 40th and Madison in Midtown Manhattan, 4food is also equipped with a 240 square foot monitor, which is used to publish the restaurant’s and its fans’ tweets and updates. If ordering online, scheduling a pickup, and using an iPad onsite to place an order are not new, here are some “fresh” examples:

  • If a customer tags 4food’s Facebook wall, he/she has a chance to win an iPad.
  • If a customer tweet a picture of him or her “in front of the restaurant’s ‘tag wall’ --- an under-construction wall in front of the store where people can write ‘tweets’ with a Magic Marker,” he/she will receive $20 worth of food from the restaurant.
  • Being part of the “De-Junk NYC” social movement that promotes innovative ideas in the City, 4food also uses social media for hiring.
  • Customers can create their own dishes using a DIY app. Then, they can name their own creations. 4food pays a customer 25 cents every time when his or her creation is ordered by another customer.
  • Customers can rate those “creations” on the menu. The best item will rise to the top for its popularity.
  • One can earn free burger for life from this restaurant if he/she is a social networking “guru with hundreds and thousands of followers” and constantly promote 4food.

If a business has engaged with its customers by setting up a Facebook fan page or a twitter account, one may need to think deeper and see what else social media can do. Any inspirations from 4food?

References:

Reuters.com: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS38854905620100601

Picture was downloaded from: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok06032010P

Labels:

Comments

  1. Linchi KwokJune 15, 2010 at 8:36 AM

    The Wall Stree Journal also featured a discussion about 4food on June 15, 2010.

    Restaurant Chain Gets Social: http://on.wsj.com/8YpBdJ

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is It OK for Hotel Staff to Wear Piercings and Tattoos?

By
Time has changed. I see more and more college students wearing piercings and tattoos nowadays, but is it OK for hotel staff to wear piercings and tattoos? The answer is “no, no, no.” According a report at USAToday.com, customers across the board do not want to see any hotel workers with pierced eyebrow, pierced tongue, tattooed arm, or nose ring. Some may argue that tattooed and pierced workers may seem more acceptable in edgy boutique hotels as compared to the big franchised hotels, but the survey results did not find any differences among a variety of lodging products. Many respondents believe people who wear visible tattoos and piercings are taking a high risk of their professional lives. If you stay in a hotel, do you mind being served by tattooed and/or pierced staff? What if you are the one who makes the hiring decision? References: USAToday.com: http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010 Picture was downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/linchikwok08042010P
28 comments
Read more

Where Coffee Meets Culture: My Experience with Orientation, Socialization, and Culture at Dutch Bros (by Karina Martinez)

By
When people think of Dutch Bros, they usually picture colorful drinks, loud music, free stickers, and baristas so friendly they’ll jump in the car with you.  As someone who has had the opportunity to work for Dutch Bros, I can say that the energy customers feel isn’t an act; it is the result of intentional and effective HR practices that are focused on orientation, socialization, and culture. From your very first day, you experience how these practices shape the entire Dutch experience.  Orientation, Socialization, Culture   In HR management, orientation is the introduction of the role and company to new hires. This is intended to help them feel welcomed and informed. Socialization goes beyond the initial training process; it’s how new hires grasp the organization’s values, behaviors, and traditions over time. Together, these fun...
5 comments
Read more

Average/Below-Average Looking People Can Earn as Much as the Attractive Ones

By
Research has shown that attractive people can not only charm interviewers (and thus get hired easier), they are also more likely to earn more as compared to those with average or below-average looks. Accordingly to a Wall Street Journal report , attractive people can earn 3% - 4% more than a person with below-average look. If such difference adds up over a person’s lifetime, an attractive person can earn up to $230,000 more than an ugly worker; even an average-looking person can make $140,000 more. Another relevant Wall Street Journal report also suggests that workers who exercise regularly can earn 9% more than those who do not. If that is the fact (I believe it is), is it legal? Can employers do that? Linchi Kwok and Otto @SyracuseU Career Fair To my knowledge, no law or regulation under EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) considers a person’s look as a protective class. It is true that people in general have an idea of what kind of person they feel attract...
33 comments
Read more