|
|
|
|
|
|
| pcAmerica Newsletter #140-August 23, 2005 |
|
Restaurant Pro Express Has Been Rated #1 by Hospitality Technology Magazine. pcAmerica’s Restaurant Pro Express #1 for “Total Cost of Ownership”, #1 in “User Satisfaction”, and #1 in “Casual Dining POS, beating out lots of higher priced higher profile competitors (in the 20,000—80,000 installation category). According the pcAmerica’s CEO, David Gosman, “We are really proud of our rankings and will continue to strive to offer the best product at any price.” What Does Your Business Have In Common With CNN, The New York Times, and Capitol Hill On August 7, 2005, a “Computer Worm” shut down thousands of computer systems including CNN, The New York Times, Capitol Hill, and San Francisco Airport. The worm infected users of Windows 2000 and Windows XP machines.
I am sure that you know that a computer worm is not some sort of animal. It is a type of virus that takes over your computer and does bad things. This particular worm or virus takes over your computer, replicates itself and sends itself to other computers. It is damaging in that it causes your computer to keep rebooting. What does this mean to you? The New York Times, CNN, and other large companies have large dedicated IT departments who have installed all types of safety measures to prevent such occurrences. They failed. If the experts have failed, you can also fail. You need to make sure that you back up your data daily. You need to make sure that you have a plan for your business in the event that you have computer problems. You need to make sure that your antivirus is up to date. You need to make sure that your employees are practicing safe computing (especially on the internet). Now, on the positive side, the computers that were infected were not properly maintained. If they Windows 2000 or Windows XP updates on these computers, along with the latest version of antivirus software, the computers would not have been infected. LavaRock Internet Cafe“Restaurant Pro Express is essential for our bottom line. Besides being great for customer checkout, it is essential for keeping track of employees (time clock), inventory control and our loyalty program.” Geoff Caras is an entrepreneur and the owner of the LavaRock Internet Café. The first question I asked Geoff is, “Can you make money running an internet café.” Like other entrepreneurs running a business, Geoff is smart, focused, and has a vision of what he needs to do in order to flourish. The LavaRock Internet Café is located in Santa Cruz, California, near UCSC (University of California, Santa Cruz). The perfect place to attract the type of customers that Geoff needs. People come to the café to study, meet people, have meetings, and hang out. My question is, how does LavaRock make a profit if everyone is just hanging out? “We have signed up over 3,500 accounts since we opened.” Many college students do not have computers or don’t have computers with the capabilities required for some classes. LavaRock charges $6 to $15 per hour for computer usage depending on which computers and peripherals are being used. Some of the computers include scanners, laser printers, color printers, and other items that may not be found in a dorm. Those with laptops have free wireless access in the café (as long as they make a purchase). “We have great food. We are able to attract students, professors, local businessmen, and local residents who come to the café just for the food.” Their menu includes unique pastries, cookies, desserts, ice cream (Ben & Jerry’s), granitas, frozen yogurt, espresso drinks, premium chai and loose-leaf tea (no I have no idea what that is), Coffee from Java Bob’s, sandwiches, salads, wraps, protein bars, and other snacks. The large selection of great “California” food keeps the café busy and profitable. Local businesses book meetings at the café. The café is also used for seminars and study groups. Geoff also owns The Igneous Group, a company that designs web sites for small businesses. For more information on The Igneous Group, go to:  Geoff uses Restaurant Pro Express (RPE) to keep track of his café. “It allows me to keep track of my businesses and profits when I am not onsite. It is very important to monitor the day to day activities of the business, especially profit and loss. RPE does the job. Our loyalty program keeps track of our customers and keeps them coming back. For more information about The LavaRock Café, go to: Become a pcAmerica Reference If you would like your business highlighted in our newsletter, please email toor call 845-634-4708. We just need a couple of photos and some information about your business. Your business will also be listed on our web site. More information related to being a pcAmerica Reference is available in Newsletter #136 at http://www.pcamerica.com/newsletters/newsletters.htm Comments or IdeasIf you have any comments or ideas you would like to share with our readers, please write to . TidbitsNYC Restaurant Eliminates Tips. You can’t make this stuff up. A fancy NYC restaurant is doing away with tips. According to the article, there are economic tensions between the front of the house (the waiters) and the back (the chefs). The disparity between what the kitchen staff earns and what waiters make is causing problems. Per Se, one of the most highly rated Manhattan restaurants (and expensive), is instituting a 20 percent service charge to all checks in lieu of a tip. The service charge will be used by the restaurant to help pay all hourly employees, - - kitchen staff, waiters, and busboys - - a flat hourly wage.To read the entire story, go to: http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/16/pf/tips/index.htmNYC Drug Dealers Add Surcharge Following the lead of Per Se Restaurant above, NYC drug runners have decided to add a $12 surcharge to drug deliveries. “It’s ridiculous.” Police officers are now randomly inspecting bags of people using the subway system (mainly for possible bombs). An officer who finds drugs in a bag has the right to arrest that person. So, many drug dealers are resorting to making their deliveries using a taxi. Drug dealers making deliveries via taxi are passing their increased delivery costs to their clients via a surcharge. Read the entire article in New York Magazine. The title of the article is “Tax on Stoners (Drug dealers avoid subways, take taxis)” in the August 22, 2005 issue of New York or go to:http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/12480/index2.html Computers Are Getting Cheaper Computer prices are really coming down. However, they are not coming down as much as you may think. A one, two, or three year warranty used to come automatically with almost every computer. Now, 90 day warranties are common.Approximately 50 percent of computer snags occur after the first year. You need to decide if you want to pay the extra cost to extend the length of your warranty. A new business computer (without a monitor) sells for an average of $500 (with a 90 day warranty). A three year computer warranty (on site) may cost you about $300. So, you have to decide if it is cost effective. Personally, I would take the one year warranty and gamble that my computer will last for two additional years. If your computer stops working after the first year, it is likely that it may be cheaper to get a new one instead of fixing it. Just make sure you have a back up. Back to Newsletter Archive |
|