Issuu

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THE MAGAZINE OF FRANCHISE BUSINESS SERVICES

The Schmidts

Step Into the Franchisee Spotlight PAGE PAGE 10 10

2 019 ISSUE 3

Guest Engagement: Set the Scene for a Great Experience With the Right People and Training PAGE 16

From all of us at McLane Foodservice, Inc, to the BUFFALO WILD WINGS franchisees,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2019 Issue 3

FBS Board of Directors Wray Hutchinson Chairman Mark Jones Vice Chairman Jenny Beaudoin Director James Bitzonis Director Brian Carmody Director Steve Grube Director Roz Mallet Director Larry Podlager Director Bobby Pancake Director Christy Williams Executive Director

FBS Editorial Board Jessica Loeding Editor-in-Chief jessical@myfbsonline.org Sean Ireland Managing Editor seani@myfbsonline.org Rachel Jackson Associate Editor rachelj@myfbsonline.org

Advertising Sales

Jeff Reynolds Director of Business Partner Relations jeffr@myfbsonline.org 678-797-5163 Montserrat Almaraz Sales & Development Manager montserrata@myfbsonline.org 678-439-2284

Design and Layout

Kristen Thomas KT Graphic Design ktgraphicdesign@gmail.com

ON THE COVER For AZ Wings Management, the journey to becoming a family-owned Buffalo Wild Wings® franchise group began as all great BWW® stories do: sports. Learn more about how the Schmidts discovered the brand and their plans for the future. See more on page 10.

COLUMNS 2

Chairman’s Column

DEPARTMENTS 4

FBS Member News

9 Recognitions 9

Event Calendar

10 Franchisee Spotlight

FEATURES 11 Spotlight on the 116th Congress: Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) 14 Meet Your New FBS Commercial Lines Insurance Team 16 Guest Engagement: Set the Scene for a Great Experience With the Right People and Training by Sean Ireland, FBS associate director of communications 18 Detecting and Preventing Payroll Fraud by Stacy Smith, Mize Houser & Company P.A. 20 Is Lack of I-9 Compliance a Threat to Your Franchise? Here’s What You Should be Doing by Douglas Duerr, Elarbee Thompson Sapp and Wilson, LLP 22 The Main Ingredient of Leadership and How to Get More of It by Dan Coughlin, The Coughlin Co. 24 Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Feel VALUED by Dennis Snow, Snow & Associates Inc. 26 Decisions, Decisions! Just Make One Already! by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro®

DIRECTORIES 12 Associate Member Listing 28 Advertisers Guide and Editorial Calendar

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In keeping with our commitment to the environment, this publication is printed on certified, environmentally-friendly recycled paper using eco-friendly inks. Franchise Business Services publishes The SCORE. Any reproduction, in whole or in part, of the contents of this publication is prohibited without prior written consent of Franchise Business Services. All Rights Reserved.

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From the Chairman

hen you and I watch a football game, whether at the stadium or on a giant flat-screen TV from the comfort of one of our Buffalo Wild Wings® restaurants, we see only the result of each team’s preparation and training.

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In just a few seconds of game action, we may see a quarterback complete a pass 20 yards down field to a wide-open receiver. It happens in a flash, but it’s not as easy as they make it look. While we focused on the ball, there were many other things happening, and each player had to execute their part for the play to work. Each of the linemen blocked their assignment. Each receiver ran a precise route designed to get open or draw the defense. A running back faked a handoff and then stepped up to block a blitzing defender. The quarterback made a split-second decision on where to throw. It all happened so quickly, it’s easy to forget that for each minute we see a player on the field during the game, there are countless unseen hours spent getting ready for that moment. Players train on the fundamentals of their positions at practices several days a week, work out every day in the weight room and study the team’s playbook for hours in and out of meetings. Without this time spent working off the field, there’s no way a team could be successful on it. Just like a well-prepared team during

a game, our restaurant team should make guest engagement in our B-Dubs® restaurants look effortless. It starts with selecting the right people for our teams. Just as coaches pick players to fit their team’s offensive style, our restaurant leaders must hire people who will make serving our guests their top priority. Once in place, we must train our team members on the fundamentals of their positions so that each does their part to make every customer’s experience the best it can be. The preparations we make off the field should optimize our performance at game time. When everyone carries out their role, we’ll all be winners. This issue of The SCORE looks at how some Buffalo Wild Wings franchisees ensure that the guest experience in their restaurants is the best it can be. You’ll find that putting together a winning football team and a winning restaurant team are a lot alike. Read on to learn more about fundamental best practices you can use to make sure your restaurants have their best seasons ever. When it comes to ensuring you field

the best team at each of your locations, Franchise Business Services is here to help. Among the member benefits you receive are assistance in locating, hiring and retaining top talent that understands the importance of the guest experience. Reach out to FBS today to find out how our partner services can assist your organization. You will also find our annual FBS Summit provides access to information valuable to operating your business and introduces you to vendor partners eager to help you succeed. The 2020 FBS Summit will be returning to Las Vegas, May 6-8. Though that may seem far off, it won’t be long until we meet again to network with fellow franchisees and share best practices that will make all our teams the best they can be.

Wray Hutchinson

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VISION Your visionâ€Śis ours too. Because of our franchise industry specialty, we provide you with the most comprehensive coverages available on the market so you are protected in any direction you look to drive your business success.

TRUST Utilizing the largest provider network in the country, Blue Cross Blue Shield, for our health benefits program, and serving as co-broker for property and casualty with Lockton Affinity, a subsidiary of Lockton Companies, Inc., the worldâ€™s largest privately owned insurance brokerage firm, Elevanta is an experienced insurance resource you can trust.

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E L E V A N TA . C O M

MEMBER NEWS

AZ Wings Begins Partnership With New Local University T

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his year, when a new athletic department was created at Park University in Gilbert, Arizona, AZ Wings Management Inc. turned one simple fundraiser into a loyal partnership that has grown quickly over the past few months. After meeting the university president at an event, franchisees Bill and Gayle Schmidt decided to sponsor the university’s brand-new athletic department. Park University is a small school with just 300 students, almost all of them athletes. The campus is located a mile away from the Gilbert Buffalo Wild Wings®, providing the perfect location for students to hang out before and after games or practice. Over the past several months, the restaurant has held many events for the players. The Gilbert BWW® first hosted a back-to-school party on the patio for the Park athletes, and about 200 students came out to celebrate. The parking lot was full of games such as cornhole, darts, hatchet throwing, badminton, pong and giant Jenga. On the patio, students could choose from a variety of BWW favorites, including street tacos, boneless wings, chicken tenders and queso. Coaches from each sport were also at the party to welcome their students back to school and celebrate the inaugural year for Park University athletics. Teams had the chance to bond and meet each other. “It was so much fun seeing the college kids act like college kids,” Gayle Schmidt said. Since the back-to-school party, BWW has partnered with the university on several other events. The restaurant hosts monthly signing parties for new athletes and holds watch parties to stream the various athletic events. Park fans who come to show their support are eligible for discounts, and 10 percent of their tabs go to the university. BWW staff even attends home basketball and volleyball games to host competitions and giveaways for fans. “Ben, our captain, who accompanies me to all Park University events, is so well-liked by Park University that they’ve also hired him to announce the basketball games,” Schmidt said. The “Shoot a Basket for Wings” competition gets fans fired up for the potential to win wings for themselves and coupons for the whole Park fan section – encouraging them to go to the restaurant after the game. The Gilbert restaurant staff also attended a job fair hosted by the university for students seeking employment. Two cooks and two hospitality team members were hired for the restaurant, and more candidates are being interviewed. AZ Wings was honored to have been selected to partner with the only university in Gilbert at this level. “We already have such a solid reputation for being heavily involved in the community that this relationship comes as no surprise to anyone,” Schmidt said. “I love it because it’s involving sports, which is our purpose – to create legendary experiences worth talking about between friends.” S

BWW Gilbert staff members pose with Blazin’ Bill and encourage Park fans to shoot a basket for wings.

Park University students play a game of Connect Four at the BWW back-to-school party.

MEMBER NEWS

Awesome Holdings, LLC Kicks Off Football Season With Community W

Local high school football players kick off their season with wings and fun at the Concord, New Hampshire, Buffalo Wild Wings.

competition across the restaurant industry, he believes connections like these are very important. S

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ith the summer ending, Buffalo Wild Wings® fans are returning to restaurants across the nation to celebrate the start of football season. The B-Dubs® in Concord, New Hampshire, kicked off the season with several parties for local high school football teams this fall. The Concord BWW® has been hosting annual kickoff events for high school teams for five years. The partnership began when a regular customer who was a football coach spoke with Benjamin Lee, regional manager for Awesome Holdings, LLC, which is owned by Marrti Matheson and Aaron Miller. “Being a former high school football coach myself, we struck up a conversation about how important it is for businesses to be a part of the community,” Lee said. “We dug deeper with the Home Team Advantage program we offer and thought about how programs like this could help their team raise money for expensive equipment costs.” Five years later, the kickoff party has become an event that Concord High School coaches, players and their families look forward to each year. The restaurant has also started hosting parties for other high school teams. The BWW staff decorates the restaurant with school colors to welcome the players and sets up a special table for the seniors and coaches. The coaches provide a highlight reel to play throughout the dinner for players to watch. “They get a big kick out of watching their own game at BWW,” said Lee. “We appreciate the efforts and generosity of Buffalo Wild Wings for going the extra mile helping us raise money for the BWW team members decorate the dining team,” said Kevin room with team colors to welcome the Nyhan, Concord players. High School assistant football coach. “I have recommended Buffalo Wild Wings to all of our other teams at the school because of how easy it is to work with them.” In addition to raising funds for the football teams, these events strengthen the relationship with the community and increase sales. Lee notes that the Concord party felt like a busy weekend night, bringing in more sales than last year. With

MEMBER NEWS

Flying Buffalo Inc. Celebrates Grand Re-Opening of Moundsville Location O

n Aug. 4, the Buffalo Wild Wings® in Moundsville, West Virginia, reopened to the public after three months of renovations. The restaurant has new flat-screen TVs, updated kitchen equipment and a fresh look and feel. “We basically redid the entire building,” said Ashley Nelson, general manager of the Moundsville store. “We took it down to four walls. We have all new floors, new walls, new graphics and new furniture.” Though the restaurant looks new, customers are sure to see some familiar

BWW team members are all smiles at the restaurant’s grand re-opening.

faces. “We had 80 percent of our staff return, which was good considering the downtime of three months,” said Chris Beltran, regional manager of Flying Buffalo Inc., owned by Stephon Green, Richard Lancione and Scott Lloyd. The Moundsville store had great support at the reopening. More than 120 people came to get a spot in line to try to win free wings for a year, and many more came to enjoy a meal with family and friends. “The whole community was excited

to have their sports bar back,” Beltran said. “Customers enjoyed reconnecting with the staff and felt like it was a family reunion. One customer even said, ‘It’s good to be home.’” The opening happened near the start of football season, which restaurant officials hope will bring in fans from across the community. Beltran said his goal is to work with local high schools during upcoming sports events to re-establish the newly renovated restaurant as Moundsville’s top sports bar. S

Hopeful customers camp out to be one of the first 100 guests and receive free wings for a year.

Employees sample new menu items while training.

World Wide Wings Hosts World Cup Watch Party for Local Soccer Club A

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s the U.S. women’s national soccer team vied for the Women’s World Cup this summer, the Mid-State Soccer Club in Forsyth, Illinois, gathered at its local Buffalo Wild Wings® to watch and cheer the team. About 40 youth and parents attended a watch party July 2 for the exciting semifinal match in which the U.S. defeated England 2-1. Eager to be in a lively environment to watch the game with teammates, the Mid-State Soccer Club reached out to BWW® Forsyth to ensure that the restaurant would have enough room. The BWW staff promoted the event on social media to extend the invite to other soccer

fans, and customers enjoyed the $3 tall Budweiser and Bud Light promotion during the event. The large group had a blast cheering on the team and filled the restaurant with noise. Most eyes were glued to the TV screens as they watched the U.S. sail on to the final round. Colin Bonner, director of the Mid-State Soccer Club, recognizes the value of watch parties for the youths he coaches. “For them to come out and watch, it kind of gets the national spirit going. It gives them a chance to watch their role models and gets everyone excited about soccer,” Bonner said in a story in the Herald & Review of Decatur, Illinois. “That gives our

kids something to look up to like, ‘I could be that player. I could be a professional soccer player.’ That’s the cool side of it.” The Forsyth B-Dubs® invited the soccer club to come back for future events and looks forward to hosting them. “Events like these give our staff the ability to create an ultimate social experience for sports fans while they are guests at our sports bar,” said Casie Vogelsang, district manager for World Wide Wings. “We love having an energized atmosphere that’s focused in on a game, whether it be soccer, football, baseball or basketball. It’s always great to see the crowd and the staff get cheering together or even against each other at times.” S

MEMBER NEWS

Franklins’ Management of Cleveland Celebrates Student-Athletes F

or the past six years, the Buffalo Wild Wings® in Warrensville Heights, Ohio, has been working alongside the Cleveland Jewish News to recognize outstanding high school athletes each week. Originally reaching out to the publication for advertising opportunities, BWW® staff realized that sponsoring this program was a great opportunity to create a bond with local community members. “We are fortunate to have amazing national advertising, but having the communities know that we are supporting them is the best way for us to build that ‘local’ loyalty,” said Colleen Flowers, director of marketing for Franklins’ Management of Cleveland, LLC, which is owned by Jerry Franklin. A new athlete is selected each week

and is featured in a newspaper article that highlights the student’s sport, major accomplishments and personality. A copy of the story is posted on the community board in the Warrensville Heights restaurant for customers to see when they enter and exit. At the end of the season, the athletes, their families and their coaches all come to the restaurant for a “Winners Reception.” Food is served, and there is an awards ceremony where each winner receives a plaque and a BWW gift card. Students always enjoy a speech and question-and-answer session with local sports talk icon, Les Levine, who hosts a daily talk show on Cleveland.com. The company believes that supporting local schools and sports teams is a great way to make a difference.

Each student-athlete, along with their family and friends, will remember that Buffalo Wild Wings Warrensville is striving toward greatness for youth in the area. “There is nothing better than having huge groups come in after a game because they know that Buffalo Wild Wings is the best place to hang with their family and friends,” Flowers said. The company attributes local loyalty to the success of their business in northeast Ohio for over 25 years, and it doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon. “We are extremely excited about continuing our partnership with the Cleveland Jewish News and the athlete of the week promotion,” Flowers said. “Highlighting the talented students both on and off the court/field makes us proud to be a part of this amazing community.” S

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MEMBER NEWS

Four M Hosts NYC Cinema Festival After-Party

Festival of Cinema NYC staff, crew and guests enjoy drinks, prizes and company at an after-party at the Forest Hills Buffalo Wild Wings.

n Aug. 10, Four M Franchising’s Buffalo Wild Wings® in Forest Hills, New York, hosted an after-party for the staff, crew and guests of the Festival of Cinema NYC, a 10-day exhibition and screening competition for more than 100 films.

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This was the first year Buffalo Wild Wings was involved in the festival, now in its third year. After General Manager O’Neil Washington was approached by the marketing director and sponsor of the Midway Theatre to host the after-party, BWW® began planning. It was held in a private section of the restaurant with appetizer and salad platters for the Festival of Cinema NYC crew. All attendees were given wristbands entitling them to a 10% discount and entering them in contests for prizes, including hats, key chains and bottle openers. Buffalo Wild Wings’ involvement created a connection with the community that had a positive effect on the restaurant. There was a 23.2% increase in same-store sales, and the event helped the theater increase exposure for its event. The relationship with the Festival of Cinema NYC has the potential to evolve in the future and provide a great partnership for Buffalo Wild Wings. “Being a part of the community and working with the theater on fundraising events gives BWW exposure to an entirely new audience,” Washington said. S

RECOGNITIONS Congratulations to the following World Wide Wings employees: Bart Vig recently

joined World Wide Wings as district manager in Indiana over District 13. He will oversee Greenwood 1 and 2, Downtown Indianapolis, Glendale, Speedway and Franklin. Vig has over 35 years of experience in the restaurant industry, working with companies such as TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesday and Cracker Barrel. He most recently was a divisional president for Steak ‘n Shake in Florida.

Enrique Boneta joined the Midwest Division of World Wide Wings as district manager in Indiana over District 14. He will oversee Kokomo, Marion, Anderson,

Fishers-Geist, Castleton and Willow Lake. Boneta spent over 25 years in the restaurant industry, serving as a division president for Steak ‘n Shake and vice president of operations for Darden International Franchise Group, leading operations for concepts in the Caribbean.

EVENT CALENDAR FBS Board of Directors Meetings May 5-6, 2020 Las Vegas, Nevada FBS Summit May 6-8, 2020 Las Vegas, Nevada

Eric Waldon is a

recent addition to the Midwest Division in Illinois over District 8. He will oversee the restaurants in Peoria, East Peoria, Peru, Galesburg and Sterling. Waldon has been serving the restaurant industry for over 30 years. He has worked as a senior leader for Papa John’s Pizza, and has overseen airport concessions, most recently bringing in $150 million in revenue at Los Angeles International Airport.

Congratulations to the following KATAR Group employees:

We want to highlight your company’s achievements (employee promotions, new hires, employee or restaurant anniversaries and sales records). To submit information for Recognitions, complete the online submission form at www.myfbsonline.org/submissions, email communications@myfbsonline.org or call 678-797-5161.

Brad Borchart,

regional manager, recently celebrated his 12-year anniversary with the KATAR Group.

Lance Wray recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary as a manager at the Ashland, Ohio, Buffalo Wild Wings®.

Life is full of Life compromises. is full of compromises. business shouldn’t Your businessYour shouldn’t be. be.

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FRANCHISEE SPOTLIGHT

Garrett Schmidt + Partners: Bill and Gayle Schmidt, Alyssa Olson + Became BWW® Franchisee in: 2004 + Current Owned BWW Locations: 2 + Total Number of Employees: 120

How did you and your partner meet?

We’re family. [It was] initially intended to be a father-and-son business, but [we] soon found out we needed the talents and personalities of the mother and daughter, too.

What drew you to the brand?

I attended Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, and a B-Dubs® was located very close to the campus. It was the college hangout, especially for athletes. Dad [Bill] attended my soccer games each weekend, and afterward, we always headed to Buﬀalo Wild Wings® for camaraderie with the team and to play and eat.

What is your favorite thing about the brand?

The energy and fun that the brand exudes both within the four walls, on the commercials and the entire marketing platform. All packaging exudes fun. It’s a fun place to work because we’re event-driven, and there are so many fun events that make the restaurant alive. There’s never a dull or slacking moment. I ask this question of all my new hires, and they always say, “The fun environment!” Whenever I’m out in the community, and I say I own BWW, I always get a positive response: “We LOVE that place!” You couldn’t ask for anything greater than that!

What other concepts do you own? None, at present.

What are your current top three business goals? 1. Expand the concept to grow more stores. 2. Build sales and sharpen our skills in operations and marketing to make our stores more eﬃcient and profitable. 3. Impact the community. Have the positive reputation of being boldly involved in giving back to our wonderful communities of Gilbert and Casa Grande.

Describe your best recent business decision.

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Implementing JOLT technology in our daily operations. It has been the most eﬃcient, time-saving, organizing decision we’ve ever made in our 15 years of owning a Buﬀalo Wild Wings. It makes accountability a must as all daily tasks are time-stamped, recorded and filed. There are no loose papers to lose or file. It notifies us when temperatures are out of sync, and it records all incidents and all our manager tools. It allows us to take pictures of QSR codes so that lists can’t be pencil-whipped and never completed. Within seconds, it prints out all our labels for portioning chemicals. It lists all side work and time stamps and how long it took to complete. It keeps records of all our interviews and hires. It’s the best decision we ever made, and I can’t even imagine how we conducted business without it before.

What is the best business advice you ever received? Hire for personality so someone is a cultural fit and fits in with our core values, over hiring for talent and skills. Otherwise, they are a cancer on our team. There are two ways to deal with cancer. Treat it, first by talking to the employee. Otherwise, surgically remove them from the team because a happy team is a marketable team that can break through any glass ceilings and hit heights never deemed possible.

Describe the biggest industry change since you started.

Raising the minimum wage. This has impacted us strongly due to the escalating eﬀect it’s had. As the base raises, other departments expect more compensation for their tasks, and it escalates all the way up to the top. Payroll is sometimes a challenge if sales aren’t achieved to our forecasted expectations. Also, deliveries are increasing weekly and have impacted our sales tremendously.

Describe your current biggest challenge as a franchisee.

Having only two stores at present. When you want to hire rock stars who want to be go-getters and grow the brand and you don’t have any positions for them to go to, it’s debilitating. We are handicapped in hiring top talent for this reason. We are very grateful for the opportunity oﬀered to us to finally be able to expand in our market so that we can provide opportunities for growth and thus be able to hire a better qualified manager to join our team.

What is your favorite BWW sauce?

All five dry seasonings are our favorites! However, no new dry seasonings have been introduced since the dry seasonings came out. It would be ideal for a new dry seasoning, such as Cajun, or parmesan and marinara, applewood bacon and pineapple, or white cheddar, to be added to the list to let people who prefer dry seasonings have an updated variety.

If I weren’t a franchisee, I would be …

A house flipper. I enjoy remodeling homes and re-selling them for a profit. Bill and Gayle would return to dentistry because Bill was a dentist and Gayle a dental hygienist, and they would continue practicing in Arizona because the state has just now opened reciprocity of licenses. Alyssa Olson, the chief financial officer, would be a stay-at-home mom. She has four children, ranging from age 17 to age 3, all involved in diﬀerent activities. S

Spotlight on the 116th Congress:

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) Q A

federal government to accelerate payments to small businesses serving as prime contractors, would help smaller businesses manage cash and supply flows, which would in turn give them the certainty they need to plan larger projects and, ultimately, be more competitive. There is currently only a House version of this bill, but I plan to introduce a Senate version soon. Helpful legislation that removes burdens and barriers for small businesses to thrive is incredibly important for the small businesses that make up the backbone of our country’s economy.

What do you see as the current biggest threat to small-business owners?

In the past, I would hear a top concern about how, over time, regulators have added onerous regulations on small-business owners that slow them down at every turn. It’s already difficult for small-business owners to compete and make a profit, let alone survive in a burdensome regulatory environment. We have been working hard in Congress with the Trump administration to relieve this burden, and combined with lower taxes, we are seeing more opportunities for existing small businesses to grow and new ones to start. A main challenge I hear lately from small-business owners is the increasing cost of health care. In a tight labor market, small businesses are competing with larger ones that can often provide more health insurance options at lower cost. Small-business owners, their employees and their families deserve access to more choices, greater flexibility, lower health-care costs and health insurance plans that work best for their families while protecting pre-existing conditions. I introduced legislation to codify the Department of Labor’s Association Health Plans rule so that small businesses can band together to offer their employees comprehensive and affordable health insurance that protects pre-existing conditions and provides other patient protections. This initiative is already delivering more options to small businesses in southern Arizona, where local chambers came together to deliver 17 health insurance options for the community. I hope my bill will allow that to continue for small businesses across the country.

In general, my philosophy is that we often don’t need more legislation (and regulations) but less to allow small businesses to thrive! However, bills like the Accelerated Payments for Small Business Act, which would require the

I’ve always known that legislation can have a big impact on small business but serving on this committee has really helped me appreciate how difficult it is for our small-business owners to navigate the maze of regulations they are expected to follow. It has inspired me to do all I can to make it easier for businesses to get through the mounds of paperwork so they can have more time and resources to serve their customers.

Q A

How did your interactions with small businesses in your state influence your decision to introduce the Jobs and Premium Protection Act?

I speak with and visit small-business owners in my state continuously, and one of the things I hear the most is how extra fees and taxes keep them from providing quality health care for their employees. The Jobs and Premium Protection Act repeals the health insurance tax. This bill is a no-brainer. There is no room for additional taxes on the sale of health insurance, and experts agree this tax adds hundreds of dollars to family health insurance premiums. It’s bills like this that will help us help our small-business owners continue to create jobs and provide quality benefits for their employees. S

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How important is legislation, such as the Accelerated Payments for Small Business Act, to small business in the U.S.?

How has your role on the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs influenced your opinion on the impact of legislation on small business?

THE

Q A

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Elevanta Health Lockton Affinity McLane Company Inc. PepsiCo Oasis Advantage Campari America, LLC Ecolab Inc. Heineken USA New Belgium Brewing Quad/Graphics Inc. The Wasserstrom Co. Trupay Alliance Payroll Services

Partner Partner Diamond Diamond Sapphire Pearl Pearl Pearl Pearl Pearl Pearl Pearl Assoc. Mbr.

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Audio Visual Design Install Avery Dennison Bank of America Merrill Lynch Bell’s Brewery Boston Beer Co. C&T Design and Equipment Co. Cintas Citizens Bank – Restaurant Finance Constellation Brands Copesan Crew CTI Foods Daktronics DAR PRO Solutions David H. Tishkoff, CPA, LLC Disaronno Domino Foods DRAS Cases Inc. Epsilon Esentia Systems Inc. Federal Heath FIFCO USA Founders Brewing Co. Franklin Machine Products Freshcheq G&G Closed Circuit Events Great American Snacks Guardian Protection Heritage Parts Huntington Bank iSolved HCM IQ Back Office Inc. ITW Food Equipment Group

Jason Abbott Tony Janega Cristin O’Hara Kris Freeman Gary Fragle Dominic Esposito Danielle Lawson Eugene Chang Marty Kern Chris Blakley Will Edwards Phillip Sanders Loni Haar Bill Borrelli David Tishkoff Matt Borgard John Hooker Josh Flattum James Slade Brandon Scott Randy Cearlock Jamie Williams Jeff Diem Drew Holst Jake Davis Nicolas J. Gagliardi Chris Helton Dennis Moss Chuck Maddox John Luehmann Tom Oglesby Ken Johnson Bryan Waechter

paperwork@avdiusas.com tony.janega@averydennison.com cristin.m.o’hara@baml.com kreeman@bellsbeer.com gary.fragle@bostonbeer.com desposito@c-tdesign.com lawsonda2@cintas.com eugene.chang@citizensbank.com marty.kern@cbrands.com cblakley@copesan.com will@crewapp.com psanders@ctifoods.com loni.haar@daktronics.com bborrelli@darpro.com dtishkoff@bullseye-controls.com mborgard@disaronno.com john.hooker@asr-group.com josh@drascases.com james.slade@epsilon.com bscott@esentia.com rcearlock@federalheath.com jamie.williams@fifco.com diemj@foundersbrewing.com dholst@fmponline.com jake@freshcheq.com nick@ggccevents.com chrish@appetizer.com dmoss@guardianprotection.com chuck.maddox@heritageparts.com john.luehmann@huntington.com toglesby@isolvedhcm.com ken@iqbackoffice.com bryan.waechter@itwfeg.com

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burke.alder@jolt.com rwalker@jonessign.com dkiley@kaarchitecture.com joy.arager@kellogg.com sjohnson@kpsullivanbuilders.com dennis.eastman@dpsg.com jim.randall@lagunitas.com sonny@mahoneyes.com waasz@princecastle.com bill.lethert@mendotavalley.com gregory.miller2@millercoors.com meredith.clinton@nen-inc.com eh@nationalfranchisesales.com wbanks@restaurant.org connor.adams@ncr.com wrickman@netsurion.com ncp1155@sgcglobal.net mengstrom@osdistillery.com aalvarez@onemoretimeinc.com kristy@opentable.com szelinsky@pabst.com ssoltero@ppbifranchise.com cdrummond@partstown.com cbradford@paycor.com wildman@pincomcap.com mmccabe@pitco.com jillian@plateiq.com jryan@plymold.com jlee@protect-allflooring.com dnance@qsrautomations.com jimmyrack@fuse.net smcdonald@greendotcorp.com chris.ludemann-davis@redbull.com erica.dorsey@royalcupcoffee.com ashley.piomelli@syrclean.com khibben@seating-concepts.com chad@mysentio.com sherrie@shoesforcrews.com jblack@signatureny.com haroldsu@skechers.com charlie@springzy.com jcowles@sugarcreek.com vlad@herofi.com mark.wasilefsky@td.com cgraham@tekmarkinc.com morlando@tsbrass.com dan@hrgems.com ttravis@esoriginals.com jamey@upshow.tv sales@fsvps.com rrogers@valleyproteins.com christina@zenput.com

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Jolt Jones Sign K&A Architecture Kellogg’s KP Sullivan Builders Keurig Dr Pepper Lagunitas Brewing Co. Mahoney Environmental Marmon Foodservice Technologies Mendota Valley MillerCoors National Entertainment Network National Franchise Sales National Restaurant Association – ServSafe NCR Corp. Netsurion Northcoast Productions Ole Smoky Distillery One More Time Inc. OpenTable Pabst Brewing Co. Pacific Premier Franchise Capital Parts Town Paycor Inc. Pinnacle Commercial Capital Pitco/MagiKitch’n/Blodgett Plate IQ Plymold Protect-All Flooring QSR Automations Rack Draft Services rapid! Red Bull North America Royal Cup Coffee and Tea Scot Young Research Seating Concepts SENTIO Shoes for Crews Signature Financial SKECHERS Springzy Sugar Creek Targetable TD Bank – Restaurant Franchise Finance Group Tekmark Global Solutions T&S Brass and Bronze Works TraitSet HIRE Tredsafe/Walmart UPshow US Bank/FSV Payment Systems Valley Proteins Zenput

THE

COMPANY NAME

new day, a new decade: 2020 is set to be a new beginning for a longstanding

Franchise Business Services (FBS) program as FBS has joined with Lockton Affinity to boost the property and casualty insur-

ance program available to its members.

Lockton Affinity was chosen to be the program’s new

franchisees through FBS. Members of FBS are eligible for a wide

co-broker with FBS after an intensive evaluation process during

range of member services and programs, including property

which the company distinguished and separated itself from

and casualty insurance, health insurance, employment practices

competitors because of its impressive depth of capabilities, restau-

liability insurance, employee benefits management programs and

rant expertise, culture, professional staff and insurance program

more.

experience.

Lockton Affinity brings extensive experience in both group programs and the restaurant industry to the partnership, and it specializes in association program development. Lockton Affinity is

a subsidiary of Lockton Inc., the largest privately owned insurance

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broker in the world. “We are excited to leverage the combination

2019 Issue 3 |

THE

of our program administration and franchise expertise to build a proprietary insurance solution that offers meaningful value to FBS The partnership will lead to the development of new and customized insurance solutions available to Buffalo Wild Wings®

members,” said Patrick O’Farrell, Lockton Affinity president. Lockton Affinity has an established track record of working

Patrick O’Farrell President, Producer

Patrick has been with Lockton Affinity since 2000. As president, Patrick provides leadership to position Lockton Affinity at the forefront of the industry by developing a strategic plan to advance the company’s mission and objectives and to promote revenue, profitability and growth as an organization. This includes acquisition and growth activities to support overall business objectives and plans.

Kevin Johnson Senior Vice President, Program Executive

As a program executive, Kevin is responsible for maintaining client relationships and coordinating program services. Kevin has been with Lockton Affinity since 2008. Through his tenure working with national franchise clients, Kevin is well-versed in effectively managing comprehensive insurance programs designed to meet our clients’ specific needs.

with member-based organizations. For more than 30 years, the

in recent years. “Lockton’s deep experience and expertise in the

company has created unique and proprietary insurance solutions

franchisee space makes them the perfect partner for our franchi-

exclusively designed and focused on each group’s mission and goals.

sees,” said FBS Executive Director Christy Williams. “We are really

With its extensive network of carriers and the number of programs

excited to have them on board to provide comprehensive property

it administers, it has the flexibility and buying power to offer

and casualty coverage to our members.”

discounted premiums to members. Its broad institutional knowl-

The transition to the Lockton Affinity program should be

edge of the restaurant industry comes from administering programs

smooth, with its experienced team fully aligned with FBS to help

for 75-plus national franchise concepts.

members as they change. “We are eager to meet and build relation-

The evaluation process for a new property and casualty insurance partner began as the needs of FBS and its members evolved

Reid Robson Producer

offering,” said Reid Robson, Lockton Affinity producer.

Stephanie Phillips

Risk Management Property and Casualty Manager

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Stephanie Phillips became risk management property and casualty program manager at the outset of 2019. With an extensive background in commercial insurance, she will focus on FBS members’ risk reduction and property and casualty needs to help protect franchisees. Prior to 2019, Phillips worked with independent agents for more than 10 years.

THE

Reid is responsible for client advocacy, team leadership and overall account management. He will provide support and guidance to the FBS insurance program for risk management and strategic planning. Working as a franchise practice leader at Lockton Affinity, Reid works closely with our program executives (Kevin Johnson) to deliver all aspects of the program performance and customer service.

ships with all FBS members and welcome them to the Lockton

Guest Engagement:

Set the Scene for a Great Experience With the Right People and Training

2019 Issue 3 |

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t’s a long-accepted tenet of servicebased industries that guest experience is a key factor in business success. After all, how else did the old saying, “The customer is always right,” become an old saying? But how important is it, really? How much of a role does a great customer experience play in getting people to spend when they’re in the restaurant and to come back sooner rather than later? Recent research based on customer surveys indicates that guest experience – while always crucial – is rising in importance. Show consumers a good time, and they’ll spend more and come back frequently. Give them a bad one,

by Sean Ireland

and they’ll not only stop returning, but they’ll also spread the word to avoid your brand. The American Express 2017 Customer Service Barometer – a study exploring customer attitudes and preferences – found that consumers are increasingly willing to pay a premium for good service, up to 17% more, which is an increase of 3% from 2014. Millennials are willing to go even further, spending up to 21% more to deal with a company offering a good experience. The American Express survey found that poor service costs companies, too. Give guests just one bad experience and 33% of them will consider switching

to another brand. More than half of the consumers in the survey abandoned a purchase or transaction because of poor service. American Express also noted that the average American tells 15 people when they’ve had problems with a business. Other evidence also emphasizes the importance of engaging positively with guests. Market research agency Harris Interactive has data that shows that 73% of customers will stick with a brand because of friendly employees who create a good atmosphere. Global management consultant Bain & Co. notes that

“Sometimes the guest is wrong, but that is an opportunity for us to address their issue, inform them and win them back in with our friendly service and concern for their issues.” – Matthew Vogel,

managing partner of Diversified Restaurant Holdings Inc.

SEAN IRELAND is the FBS associate director of communications. You may reach Ireland at 678-797-5165 or seani@myfbsonline.org.

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Diversified Restaurant Holdings trains employees to “acknowledge our guests at the door with big hellos and big goodbyes,” Vogel said. “Our guests should feel like MVPs when they dine with us. Greeting them with a smile and thanking them for visiting us on their way out makes a great first impression and a lasting memory to have them come back time and time again.” Smart hiring practices and extensive training aren’t the only pieces to the picture, however. A focus on excellent customer service that comes from top management is another key element. For Vogel, that means managers working directly with employees when they fall short of expectations and continued emphasis on the importance of customer experience with all employees. “We relate it back to them directly. We ask them if they have ever gone to a different restaurant and experienced poor service. What was their reaction? Have they been back to that location after that experience? Relating it to their own life emphasizes the importance of quality service,” he said. “When our guests have a poor experience, it is likely that they will not return for some time or at all. We continually coach and develop our team to focus on greet times, ticket times and overall atmosphere of our sports bar to ensure the guest is put first.” Both companies use consumer feedback to determine whether they are hitting the mark with their efforts. World

Wide Wings uses the B-Dubs® guest comment system Market Force, and DRH uses BWW Listens surveys. Even when the right people are in place, they’re trained well and they’re using the tools at their disposal properly, there are some cases where guests – right or wrong – go away dissatisfied. What then? That adage about the customer always being right usually takes precedence. “We take care of the guest,” Smith emphasized. For World Wide Wings, a dissatisfied guest is contacted within 24 hours, and any lingering issues are resolved. Then the district manager follows up with the general manager to get details about the situation and to see if more training and coaching with the team member or manager are needed. At Diversified Restaurant Holdings, Vogel said, “We always want to have our guests satisfied with their experience. Sometimes the guest is wrong, but that is an opportunity for us to address their issue, inform them and win them back in with our friendly service and concern for their issues.” That involves the managing partner or the assistant managing partner at the location contacting the dissatisfied guest to gain more information about the experience and mailing them gift certificates for a future visit. “We take pride in our quality service and want them to enjoy their experience in our sports bar. Winning them back with compassion is a must,” Vogel added. The best organizations are always looking at ways to improve while staying true to the methods that made them successful: equipping the right people with the right training to provide guests with the engagement and service that gets them spending more and returning frequently. It’s true for World Wide Wings, where Smith said the company will continue to “hire great people that have a passion for the guest,” and it’s true for Diversified Restaurant Holdings, too. “We just need to ensure at the store level that everything is consistent and that we are always prepared to serve our hungry guests,” Vogel said. S

THE

companies that excel at customer experience drive revenue 4% to 8% higher than others in their markets. You don’t need to tell Buffalo Wild Wings® franchisees how critical providing a great guest experience can be. For many, it’s a guiding principal of their operations. “The guest is always right,” said Treavor Smith, Midwest divisional vice president for World Wide Wings, with operations based in California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Indiana and Florida. “Without the guest, we do not have a job.” Keeping customers happy is a key to Buffalo Wild Wings success, but how do BWW® franchisees set the stage to make guest engagement a central focus? It starts with hiring the right employees. For Matthew Vogel, managing partner of Diversified Restaurant Holdings Inc., that means asking job candidates multiple questions about their customer service habits during the interview process. The practice has a double benefit: Managers learn the importance the potential hire puts on serving guests well, and future employees see the high priority that the company places on it. “When interviewing potential team members, we are always looking to hire the top 10% of all applicants. These are the applicants that are willing to do anything to have happy guests and always have a positive shift,” Vogel said of the hiring process for DRH’s 64 locations in Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Missouri. “We ask them about any experiences they have had in the service industry and how they dealt with guest issues or how they went above and beyond for their guests to bring them back in. Hearing stories about how these applicants made their guests happy is telling about how they will behave with our guests.” Getting the right people in place is the first part of the puzzle. The second part is offering training that emphasizes the importance of the guest experience and the tools to build it for customers. Training specifically on guest engagement emphasizes its importance to employees and keeps them focused on it. World Wide Wings offers “WOW The Guest” training to each new hire on their first day, Smith said, and many of the company’s GMs will not graduate a new team member until they have validated the training’s results.

Detecting Preventing Payroll Fraud by Stacy Smith, CPA

2019 Issue 3 |

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ayroll is likely one of the largest line items in your financial statements. Unfortunately, that number can become inflated by the various ways criminals commit payroll fraud. As a company that provides payroll services nationwide and processes more than 1.5 million wage payments each year, we’ve seen it all. Here are a few examples of payroll fraud we’ve encountered: • Mobile check depositing has become mainstream and is now even offered by small community banks. Some opportunistic criminals are taking advantage of this convenient feature by depositing the check electronically, and then taking the same check to a checkcashing store or bank for double their money. Because the bank doesn’t know the check has already been cashed, it goes ahead and cashes it – and then comes back to you as the check writer to get the money back when the check doesn’t clear your bank. You’ll have to spend time explaining that the check was already cashed and may be threatened with a lawsuit. Many local grocery stores that provide checkcashing services are discontinuing this convenience because these acts of fraud are costing them money. • “Ghost” employees can either

be real people who have been on your payroll at one time but are no longer actively working, or they can be fictitious people who have been added to your employee roster in the payroll system. In both scenarios, the ghost employees are given hours and then a check or direct deposit is created for them. A ghost employee is most difficult to detect when set up as a salaried employee, especially if timesheets aren’t required, and the employee is paid via direct deposit. • Employees generally don’t have access to your payroll system and therefore can’t change their hourly pay rate. What they can affect, however, are the number of hours for which they are paid. Time clocks are an easy, convenient way to track hours worked, but they can also provide ways for dishonest employees to cheat the system, such as having a friend clock in and out for them when they’re not actually working, not clocking out for breaks, etc., to inflate their hours worked and, in turn, their paychecks. • Or, criminals can take the Frank Abagnale approach and blatantly forge or alter checks. Today’s technology allows even easier access to paper, printers and scanners that can be used to create fraudulent checks. Forged checks are often made out for small, uneven amounts because they are easily overlooked.

The four payroll fraud scenarios listed above are only the most common ones that we see, but they are hardly an exhaustive list. As technology changes, criminals find different and easier ways to steal money. Being informed about the ways payroll fraud can occur is the first step in minimizing losses. The second step is to find ways to prevent it from happening. Here are some suggestions: • The easiest and possibly most effective way to prevent payroll fraud is to participate in the positive pay program offered by your bank. There may be a small charge for this service, but it’s well worth the investment. Your payroll processor simply sends a file to your bank with each payroll containing the series of check numbers in the run, and then your bank uses the list as a reference when cashing checks written on your account. If any withdrawals come through on the account that aren’t in the series, you will receive a notification from the bank. Positive pay is also an option for your accounts-payable checks. • If you are a Mize Houser payroll client through Elevanta Payroll & Accounting, check the Active Without Earnings report on the Report Center as you review each payroll. Or, if you use another payroll system, find out if

your provider can give you a report that contains employees who are marked as active but have no earnings for the pay period. Reviewing this report with each payroll will help keep your active employee list accurate. While this doesn’t prevent fraud, it can provide evidence that something is amiss. If a ghost employee is in the system, and the criminal forgets to add hours for that pay cycle, the name would appear on this list. Similarly, check for terminated employees that are on the list – perhaps they were left active intentionally so checks could still be written to them. • Institute a check pick-up policy in which employees must sign for their own checks before receiving them from a manager – no substitutes allowed. This provides acknowledgement by the employee that they received the paycheck, and the employee can’t come back later and claim otherwise. This also provides another control for discovering ghost employees. If a check would happen to come through made out to an unfamiliar name, your manager should alert you. • Convert all your employees to

either direct deposit or pay-card payment methods. Changing payment methods eliminates the need for positive pay and a check pick-up policy. A few other benefits of converting to all electronic payments include: - Time savings for your managers and office staff by not having checks to distribute. - No payroll shipping charges. - No printed checks means that your bank account and routing numbers can’t get into the hands of a criminal who could forge physical checks. - No risk of late paycheck deliveries due to weather conditions. • Reconcile your bank account at least once per month and monitor your account frequently. Unusual transactions, such as several withdrawals in the same amount or check numbers out of series, can alert you of fraud on the account. However, this won’t catch fraud before it happens like positive pay will. If you do elect for positive pay, your bank will do the monitoring for unusual check activity. • At the end of each pay period, compare the hours worked for the period from your time clock reports to the hours

paid from your check review before the payroll is finalized. • Outsourcing your payroll to a payroll processor is another fraud-prevention method to consider. While there is a fee involved, and you’ll still want to practice some of the other preventive measures listed above, outsourcing can provide a segregation of duties within your organization and potentially eliminate the need to hire a staff member as your organization grows or experiences turnover. Payroll fraud can happen to anyone – and usually does eventually – which is why understanding how it can happen is so important. I encourage you to practice as many of these preventive measures as possible in your organization to mitigate your risk for losses. S

STACY SMITH, CPA, is a shareholder in the Mize Restaurant Group. Mize Houser & Company P.A. is a full-service accounting firm that has provided the Elevanta Accounting & Payroll Solution for FBS members since 2003.

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SUPER JUICY TROPICAL AROMAS PACK A POWERFUL PINEAPPLE PUNCH!

Is Lack of I-9 Compliance a Threat to Your Franchise?

Here’s what you should be doing ...

2019 Issue 3 |

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he federal government has dramatically increased its enforcement of I-9 compliance and worksite enforcement (i.e., inspecting worksites for unauthorized workers). In fiscal year 2018, the compliance and enforcement activity increased by 300 percent over 2017, and it appears that enforcement activity in 2019 is on track for similar increases. However, it is not just the federal government that is looking at compliance with I-9 requirements: In June 2019, Restaurant Business, a news outlet for the commercial food service industry, reported that Dunkin’ Donuts filed three lawsuits in federal court against franchisees that were continuing to operate despite having their franchises canceled for failure to properly vet their workers for authorization to work in the United States. This follows similar lawsuits in 2018. What does this have to do with you and your franchise? You face a double threat of fines and penalties from the federal government as well as potential loss of your franchise if you (or your managers) fail to adhere strictly to the tedious (and sometimes confusing) requirements of verifying and documenting that your workers are authorized to work in the United States. Have you reviewed your processes and paperwork?

by Douglas H. Duerr

Background In 1986, to address growing concerns about the number of illegal immigrants in the United States as well the perception that they were depriving U.S. citizens of jobs, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed into law. While IRCA did several things, including provide a path for some to obtain lawful resident status, it made illegal the employment of persons without first verifying their identity and authorization to work in the United States. However – in what some consider a Catch-22 – to prevent discrimination against individuals because of fears or perceptions that someone who appeared foreign would not have work authorization, IRCA also put into place rules prohibiting employers from, among other things, requiring new hires to present certain documents or combinations of documents or more documents than are minimally necessary to establish identity or work authorization. In short, IRCA placed employers into a situation in which they must do just enough to establish identity and work authorization without doing more than the minimum. To enforce these requirements, IRCA implemented a series of fines that range from a low of $548 for each worker that was knowingly or recklessly engaged, up to $21,563 depending upon a variety of factors, including whether the employer had been previously found to employ unauthorized individuals. There are also fines, ranging from $220 to $2,191 per individual for not properly completing (or having) the appropriate paperwork (the Form I-9), and fines topping out at $1,848 per individual required to provide more or different documentation than the

minimum requirement for completing the Form I-9. Of course, these civil fines are in addition to potential criminal sanctions for related offenses (e.g., harboring of illegal immigrants). In more recent years, more than 20 states have enacted some form of a law requiring employers to use the E-Verify system of determining an individual’s authority to work in the United States. Basically, E-Verify takes information from the Form I-9, which all employers must complete and, to some extent, electronically verifies an individual’s work authorization. As you might expect, there are fines and penalties for failure to comply with those requirements.

Procedure

Recordkeeping You must keep the Form I-9 for whichever period is longer: three years after the employee is hired or one year after employment has ended. The best strategy is to keep the I-9s separate from personnel files in alphabetical order for current employees, and in order of the upcoming destruction date (i.e., the day you no longer have to keep them). Why destroy an I-9 after you no longer need it? If your worksite is inspected, and an I-9 has not been completed properly, you may be fined for it, even if you did not have to keep it at the time of the inspection.

Audits Finally, even if you believe that you have good processes in place for your I-9s, you should do periodic audits of compliance before you are selected by the government for one of its audits. Do you have an I-9 for all active employees? What about those who started work in the last three years or separated less than a year ago? Are the forms completed and signed properly? If not, then go back and work with employees to correct the I-9s using different-colored ink and dating and initialing all changes. (While this highlights that corrections were made, it avoids any allegations that you were fraudulently attempting to show that it was properly completed originally – something that could result in a criminal charge.) When the audit is over, write a memo to file describing the auditing process, what was corrected and what changes have been implemented to prevent a future violation.

Conclusion

DOUGLAS H. DUERR is partner at Elarbee Thompson, a national labor and employment law firm with an industry practice area focused on franchises. Learn more at www.elarbeethompson.com.

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The current increased focus on immigrants, legal and illegal, in the United States is not just something in the news: It is also a real workplace issue that cannot only result in adverse publicity for business as well as fines and penalties from the federal government, but also the loss of your franchise. While completing the I-9 has been treated by many in the past as just one more piece of administrative paperwork that did not have any real consequences, that is no longer the case. Thus, if you have not done so already, take a closer look at your compliance. S

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It would take several pages to describe the entire process for properly (and fully) completing the Form I-9, and the United States Customs and Immigration Service (UCIS) publishes a Handbook for Employers M-274, which is available at www.uscis.gov/i-9-central, along with other helpful information. As such, I will just highlight some of the most important takeaways: 1. Section 1 of the I-9 must be completed as soon as the worker starts work or before, but after the offer of employment has been made. Collecting I-9 information beforehand risks a claim of unlawful discrimination. Only the worker should complete Section 1, and the instructions need to be available. Your manager/ supervisor/co-worker should not do anything beyond review Section 1 to make sure it is completed fully. If any assistance is provided, then the person providing the assistance will need to sign where indicated. 2. Within three days of starting work, a supervisor or other responsible person must complete Section 2. This is where it gets trickier. The employee gets to choose what documents to produce: List A documents OR List B and List C documents. The instructions list the types of documents that fall into each category, and if the employee presents documents from all three lists, the supervisor must tell the employee to choose which ones to use. Also, documents verifying the information set forth by the employee in Section 1 cannot be required. Employers have been fined for “taking the extra step” of recording a document in each category. 3. If the employee comes in to work on the fourth day and has not presented the required documents, they should be sent home without pay until they bring in the documents. No exceptions are allowed. 4. Do not ask to see a Social Security card as part of the I-9 process. Many employers require a Social Security card to ensure that the name and number are entered correctly to reduce the likelihood of a “mismatch letter” (see my article in the prior issue of this publication). If you do ask for a card, make sure that the request is separate from the I-9 process and explain the reason why the card is required. 5. The person completing Section 2 must see the actual documents presented; photocopies, video, etc., are not permitted and considered a complete failure to comply with the requirements. The purpose of seeing the actual documents is to comply with the requirement that the documents appear to be genuine, to relate to the person presenting them and to authorize the individual to work, which cannot be done with copies (except a certified copy of a birth certificate), videos or other methods of displaying the document.

6. Receipts for replacement documents are acceptable for up to 90 days, but these must be only for lost, damaged or stolen documents, not new documents (e.g., for a new Employment Authorization Document I-766). 7. Some work authorization documents are automatically extended, so if you are presented with such a document, make sure to go online and see if the document has been automatically extended and make sure to look at Section 4.2 of the Handbook for Employers M-274. 8. Make sure to complete Section 3, Reverification, no later than the date the document needing reverification has expired. Continuing to allow someone to work after their document has expired is treated as a “knowingly employed” violation.

The Main Ingredient of Leadership and How to Get More of It by Dan Coughlin

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hat do leaders have in common? It turns out to be not very much. There are male leaders and female leaders, tall and short leaders, loud and quiet leaders, extroverted and introverted leaders, rationalist, idealist, artisan and shepherd leaders, leaders with big, fancy titles at big corporations and leaders with no titles who do volunteer work, famous leaders known by millions and family leaders known by very few people. I could keep going with the differences among leaders, but I think you get the idea. So, what do they have in common? What is the basic prerequisite of leadership?

A Definition of Leadership and Common Fallacies of Leadership Let’s start with a definition. Definitions help define what is meant within a word and what is outside of that word. I define

leadership as “influencing how other people think so they make decisions that improve results in a sustainable way.” Based on that definition, just having a title doesn’t make a person a leader, regardless of how big the title. It’s a common fallacy to think that a person is automatically a leader because of his or her title. Just having a particular talent doesn’t make the person a leader, regardless of how great the talent. Just having particular physical attributes doesn’t make the person a leader, regardless of the person’s height or looks or build. Just having certain educational degrees doesn’t make the person a leader, regardless of how fancy-sounding the degree. Just having a certain amount of money doesn’t make the person a leader, regardless of how much money is in the person’s bank account.

Just having a charismatic personality or calmness under pressure doesn’t make the person a leader, regardless of how great the personality.

The Main Ingredient: Wisdom

Drum roll please. The main ingredient all leaders have in common is wisdom, and wisdom is available to everyone. Titles, talents, physical attributes, educational degrees, money and charisma don’t guarantee leadership, but they also don’t prevent leadership. They are not connected to the main ingredient needed to influence people to think in ways that lead to decisions that sustainably improve results. Wisdom is the necessary ingredient. Wisdom is the perspective you have developed on different topics over the course of your lifetime. Your perspective is the ingredient you use to begin making yourself into a leader. Just as meals have recipes and those recipes need certain ingredients, leadership has a recipe and needs certain ingredients. The main ingredient in the recipe of becoming a leader is your wisdom – your perspective on different topics. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had well-developed wisdom on civil rights and fairness and justice. Oprah Winfrey developed wisdom on empowering people to live the lives they want to live. John F. Kennedy developed wisdom on when not to use nuclear weapons and on volunteerism. Mother Teresa developed wisdom on the importance of caring for the poorest of the poor. My parents developed wisdom on the long-term importance of education.

Two Key Questions

What topics have you developed wisdom on over your lifetime? What is your perspective on each of those topics? Your answers to those two questions are the basis for your leadership in those areas. You can use your perspective to begin influencing other people. If you don’t have a clear perspective on a topic, then no matter how charismatic you are you will not be an effective leader. You can’t make a cookie without the necessary ingredients.

How to Develop More Wisdom

DAN COUGHLIN focuses on strengthening excellence. He defines excellence as doing whatever you do as well as you can do it right now while simultaneously learning how to do it better the next time. He has provided more than 4,000 executive coaching sessions and more than 500 seminars on excellence since 1998. He is the co-author of the new book, “The Any Person Mindset: Be Accountable to the Difference You Can Make.” Visit www.theanypersonmindset.com to learn more or visit his Free Business Leadership Idea Center at www.thecoughlincompany.com.

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Having wisdom does not complete your work as a leader, it starts your work as a leader. You still must effectively deliver your wisdom to other people. This article just focuses on the starting point. If you really want to be an effective leader on a given topic, then start with a topic you have so much passion for that you will immerse yourself in it. What topic do you want to really develop your perspective on? Is it parenting, managing people in an organization, building great electronic devices, making quality financial decisions, teaching young children or something else? Thirty-five years ago, I determined that I was passionate about learning how to help other people achieve whatever they wanted to achieve. I was so passionate about this topic of individual and group performance that I’ve never tired of learning about it. Recently I read biographies on Bill Belichick, Robin Williams

and Fred Rogers of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Belichick studied how to build winning football teams from a very young age. Robin Williams immersed himself into the world of comedy and acting. Fred Rogers’ passion was the development of young children. Find a topic you are so passionate about that you are willing to pour yourself into it for the long term. Once you choose your topic, read as much as you can about it, talk with as many other people as you can about it, take notes, reflect on what you’ve learned and discern the key ideas that you want to move forward with on that topic. Those ideas or processes or facts or stories or experiences make up your perspective. They are the foundation of your wisdom on that topic. If you want more wisdom, then keep immersing yourself in the topic. Keep sharpening and honing and improving your perspective. That is how you increase the ingredient for even better leadership. Fully invest yourself in the development of your wisdom. S

9/10/2019 8:55:26 PM

Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Feel VALUED By Dennis Snow

ren’t you tired of receiving sales and marketing letters that start with, “Dear Valued Customer …?” Most (all) of these letters go on to demonstrate that rather than being valued, you’re really a faceless, nameless entity in a long, long line of faceless and nameless entities. For me to feel valued as your customer, I have to feel that you see me as an individual. I have to feel that you’re glad I’m a customer. And, most importantly, I have to feel that you actually care about helping me. Here is a list of actions that make me feel valued as a customer. Depending on your organization and industry, you’ll likely have to adapt

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the specific actions to the specifics of your situation, but the principles should apply no matter the organization or industry.

Acknowledge my presence. Even if you’re with another customer, at least give me a signal that you know I’m here. Eye contact and a smile is all it takes. Let me know that I’m more important than your paperwork or shelf stocking. Definitely let me know that I’m more important than chatting with your colleague. Keep in mind that I know that you know I’m here. But when you don’t acknowledge my presence, you’re telling me that you don’t care that I’m here.

Remember something about me. When you remember my name or what I ordered the last time or the names of my kids or anything about me, you’ve paid me the ultimate compliment. You said I’m worth remembering, and I just love that.

Share a tip or secret. Most of the time, you know more about your products and services than I do. You know how I can avoid the same problem in the future, or how to get the product to do things I’ve never dreamed of. When you give me that, “Wow, I didn’t know it could do that!” feeling, you’ve made me a friend for life. Especially when I feel equipped to dazzle my friends and colleagues with my newfound knowledge!

Do something unexpected. When I make a significant purchase or go through an important event (like surgery), a follow-up call, email or handwritten note communicates that you’re thinking about me, and, at least for the moment, you’re creating good vibes. Forwarding a news article that’s pertinent to me or to my business lets me know that you don’t just think about me when I’m spending money with you, you’ve got my best interests in mind. Knowing that you’re looking out for me puts you on a whole new level of favorite organizations.

Return phone calls and emails immediately. Few actions more accurately demonstrate how important you think I am than how quickly or slowly you get back to me. That return call or email response that comes minutes (or even seconds) after I left the message tells me that you respect me enough to show a sense of urgency. One of the greatest loyalty-building statements your customers can say is, “Wow! Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!”

time my call is transferred, my life gets a bit shorter. When I’m in a checkout line with 12 customers, and only two of 10 checkout lines are open, my life gets a bit shorter. When I’m sitting in the waiting room, and no one mentions the doctor is running 30 minutes behind (allowing me to decide whether to reschedule), my life gets a bit shorter. On the other hand, whenever you do something that saves me time, or helps me to manage my time, you’ve separated your organization from just about every other one out there. My new favorite example comes from Seasons 52 Restaurant of Orlando. As you finish up dessert, you press a button on a tiny remote control provided by the valet, and they bring around your car so it’s ready and waiting as you exit the restaurant. Beautiful! Those are just seven actions you can take that make me, your customer, feel valued. I’m sure you can think of many more. S DENNIS SNOW is the president of Snow & Associates Inc. Dennis worked with the Walt Disney World Co. for 20 years and now consults with organizations around the world, helping them achieve their customer service goals. He is the author of “Unleashing Excellence: The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service” and “Lessons From the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life.” You can reach Dennis at 407-294-1855 or visit his website at www.snowassociates.com.

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Respect my time. An inevitable result of an organization’s inefficiency, poor processes or carelessness is wasted time for me as your customer. And time is the only resource I can never get back. So, when I must explain my problem each

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Help me maintain my dignity. There are a lot of things I think I know and don’t, or I know just enough about to do some real damage. Then there are many, many things that I know I don’t know. But you’ll never win by making me feel stupid. When I feel stupid or embarrassed, I just want the interaction to end, which isn’t a very good customer-loyalty strategy. Yes, save me from myself, but keep my dignity intact. The most skillful service providers gently nudge the clueless in the right direction (see Tip No. 3), while always respecting the customer. The very best service providers sometimes make the right solution look like the customer’s idea in the first place, complimenting them on their fine judgment. However you do it, making me feel good about myself makes me want to see you again.

s i o i n c s e ! d decisions, just ma ke o ne

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e ad y!

By Laura Stack

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ou’ve gathered all the information, you’ve researched alternatives, you’ve priced it, and now you can’t decide. The project sits in its manila folder and gathers dust. Another “half-done” project bites the dust. Indecision is a big-time bandit. Look at your desk and your email inbox. Many of the piles represent decisions you haven’t made yet. At some point, you stopped asking yourself, “What’s next?” Eventually, the only thing left to do is decide. For example, you’ve got the conference schedule, you know the price, have

the hotel information and flight schedules ... but you can’t decide whether to go. Or you’ve passed those travel lounges many times and thought how nice it would be to have a membership. You’ve compared different programs and researched cost differentials. Not knowing exactly how many times you’d be traveling in the coming year, and not wanting to pay for visits you didn’t use, the file just sat. And you continue to look wistfully at the lounges as you head to the boarding area … Examples abound of professionals who don’t demonstrate forward progress

in their careers or daily activities because they stopped making decisions or were afraid to make one at all. Star performers know when to make a decision. I look at the rejection letters I received from other publishers, knowing that several publishers turned down “The Bridges of Madison County” because no editor would go out on a limb and back it. Ha! IBM couldn’t find a quorum that would back the idea that later became the Xerox machine.

Why? In the old days, risk-averse workers knew that they’d never get in trouble for avoiding a tough decision. In fact, it might even have been the fastest ticket to a promotion because it’s one sure way to keep the dirt off your feet. But these days, if you can’t make a decision, you’re out of the action. Any decision that is likely to serve you and your company is better than no decision, but people avoid making a decision by saying things like, “I’m waiting to get more information,” or “I need more input on this.”

take a deep breath, face the music and choose. it is only then that you are free. productive. no leftovers, nothing “half-done.”

realizing your current situation is never going to get you where you want to go is the key to getting where you belong.

… he calls … you know the rest.” As long as the loser is around, she won’t be open for a better opportunity. What decisions have you made in the past that, if you eliminate, would make room for better decisions now? S LAURA STACK, MBA, CSP, CPAE, aka The Productivity Pro ®, gives speeches and seminars on sales and leadership productivity. For over 25 years, she’s worked with Fortune 1000 clients to reduce inefficiencies, execute more quickly, improve output and increase profitability. Laura is the author of seven books, including “Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time.” To invite Laura to speak at your next event, visit www.TheProductivityPro.com.

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The truth is that you’re not willing to look the situation in the eye and make a decision, right or wrong. So, you put off acknowledging what you already know and acting on it. The project stalls and gets added to the pile of wasted time. You might wait until your boss or co-worker asks you about it, and you are literally forced to make a decision. But because you’ve already made the decision in your mind, the delay in making it official can mean staying up all night, making more mistakes or spending more money. Then you give me the old, “I work better under pressure,” comment. Let’s call a spade a spade. You’re stalling and wasting time. Before you put anything down, ask yourself, “What is the very next step required to see forward motion on this task?” Finally, the answer is going to be “make a decision.” At that point, take a deep breath, face the music and choose. It is only then that you are free. Productive. No leftovers, nothing “half-done.” Sometimes, you want to make a decision, but you can’t because you’ve

made a bad decision that prevents you from making the new one. For example, when I was “green” and first starting out as a professional speaker, I signed on with CareerTrack to present public seminars around the country. After a couple years of doing that, I felt I had learned all I could from the experience. I realized that as long as I kept allowing the company to book me, I was blocking myself from marketing my own services, working on my promotional and seminar materials, and taking engagements with private clients. I stayed in a comfort zone that kept me from making the decisions I needed to. Realizing your current situation is never going to get you where you want to go is the key to getting where you belong. A life-changing experience (missing my daughter, Meagan’s, first steps) forced me out of that comfort zone. Since CareerTrack booked about six months out, I told them no more after I completed what was already scheduled. Then I was free to make better decisions. Instantly I found myself doing the things I had to do to get work, and in six weeks, I had created new client opportunities. In Spencer S. Johnson’s book, “Yes or No: The Guide to Better Decisions,” he presents a simple but awesome idea: “In order to make a better decision, we must first stop a bad decision. This creates room for the better decision. Like a woman dating a loser. She knows he will never bring her happiness, but she fears being alone because maybe no one better will come along. She knows she should dump him, but Friday night comes along

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CALL FOR FRANCHISEE NEWS Issue 4 is due out December 2019. As always, we want to highlight any news or events associated with our members. If you have ideas for potential stories, please submit online at www.myfbsonline.org, email communications@myfbsonline.org or call 678-797-5161 by Nov. 8. Our editorial staff can assist in writing the article.

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Bringing better insurance options to business owners like you. Lockton Affinity is now a co-broker with Elevanta. As a franchise owner looking for insurance coverage to protect your business, you can expect more from Lockton Affinity and Elevanta:

Tailored product offerings Protecting against the risks your business faces can be difficult. With coverage from Elevanta and Lockton Affinity, you receive tailored coverage designed with your requirements in mind.

Complimentary policy reviews Concerned you don’t have the right protection for your franchise? Email Lockton Affinity at Elevanta@LocktonAffinity.com with your current insurance policies and we will review them free of charge to ensure your franchise has the right policies and limits in place.

Risk management tools We offer risk management tools like loss prevention plans, risk management articles and newsletters, and webinars to help you mitigate risk—and lower your insurance premiums—over time.

Learn more about this new partnership and its offerings by contacting Lockton Affinity at Elevanta@LocktonAffinity.com or (844) 403-4947. Lockton Affinity, LLC | 10895 Lowell Avenue, Suite 300 | Overland Park, KS 66210 Mailing Address: Lockton Affinity, LLC | PO Box 410679 | Kansas City, MO 64141 | Phone 913.652.7500 Copyright © Lockton Companies. All programs administered by Lockton Affinity, LLC. D/B/A Lockton Affinity Insurance Brokers, LLC California License #0795478.

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