Blog posts from September, 2016

Being in the party rental industry means being busy. There’s not enough time in the day to do everything - so how can you cope?

The answer isn’t putting your head in the sand and hoping everything will sort itself out - the answer is working smarter, not harder. I am always on the lookout for tools that help me not only work smarter or more efficiently but will also help me get more water, better sleep and stay on top of tasks. A healthy body and mind always means a better outlook on getting your workload done as well as operating at peak efficiency.

Here are 5 tools that you can use to improve your productivity, water intake, website and more:

1. Canva

Canva is one of the most awesome discoveries I’ve found relating to photo editing. Since you increase your chances of a click-through on a social media post when you use a visual, having good photo editing tools at your disposal is a huge benefit. For smaller businesses on a limited budget who can’t afford a graphic designer, Canva helps you create professional photos quickly and easily. It’s free to use with your own photos or there are pre-made designs and stock photos available for purchase starting at $1. I also find it useful for creating graphics to use in email campaigns.

2. Pixelz (Formerly known as Remove the Background)

If you offer the ability to rent products out online, you need to have pictures of all your products available on your website. Not everyone has the time, space, creativity or money to produce award winning product pictures so that’s where a photo editing site like pixelz comes in. For $1.45 CDN, I can send my product photo into Pixelz and they will edit the photo to my specifications – remove the background, centre the image on the screen and crop / resize the photo for the web – all within 24 hrs – regardless of how many photos I submit. This has saved me TONS of time and let me focus on the tasks I’m good at – instead of struggling with the tasks I need help with.

3. Plant Nanny

Getting enough water during the day is hard enough if you’re sitting at a desk. Add to that running around delivering rental products to customers and you can get dehydrated quickly. Since every cell, muscle, organ needs water to work properly finding a way to remind yourself daily to drink your H20 can really help your productivity levels. Plant Nanny is an app I found where you pick plants, water them whenever you drink water, and watch them grow up. I have a notoriously black thumb when it comes to real life plants but this app is just insistent and cute enough to remind me to water it and me often.

4. f.lux

I found out about f.lux through the Tim Ferris Podcast. He’s a huge proponent of getting the right amount of sleep and recommended this software to his listeners. Most computer screens, cell phones and tablets emit blue light which disrupts your body’s ability to produce adequate melatonin levels needed to fall asleep. Apple fixed this issue for anyone with an iPhone 5S and newer with its iOS 9.3 update. Android users can install the Twilight app to remove their blue light and avid night workers who just need to get one more hour of work in before calling it a day can download f.lux. F.lux adapts your device's screen changing the hue of your screen when the sun sets. Once you install it, the software runs in the background and adjusts based on your location and the time of year. The app is available for free for Windows, Mac and Linux and super easy to install.

5a. Evernote

Evernote is a freemium app that can be your digital filing cabinet, note-taking tool, daily journal, task or project management system, recipe-keeper, universal inbox, etc. It basically digitizes your files and allows them to be easily accessible through the cloud. Basically, you can dump everything in there—from written or typed notes to photo snapshots or videos to voice recordings—and count on retrieving them later either with the reliable search or your own tagging/notebook organization. A lot of creatives, journalists, entrepreneur’s etc., use Evernote to help them keep track of all the ideas, budgets, designs and more floating around in their head.

5b. Bullet Journal

This is a two part tool because not everyone likes using their phone, tablet, or computer for keeping lists etc. I actually fall into that category. I am part of the millennial generation who grew up with computers the internet and cell phones – but for me personally I realized there’s just nothing better than crossing something off my list. I came across the concept of a bullet journal at the beginning of 2016. It is essentially a paper dump file for anything you could think of. You start by getting a lined or grid notebook, creating an index and numbering the pages. Then you can set it up any and all ways possible. I, myself, use my bullet journal for things such as books to read, movies to watch, tv shows to watch, future work projects to tackle, future home projects to tackle, daily and monthly calendar with to-do lists, and bi-weekly budget keeper. The sky is really the limit here. It really has helped me improve some of my personal habits I’d like to work on, as well as keeping me on track with work projects I’d like to accomplish. You can check out this link for a more detailed guide to bullet journals and how to start one, and this link for bullet journal inspiration!

Chiavari Chairs are a special event favourite. If you’re in the wedding industry they can be especially important with brides demanding Chiavari chairs more and more for their weddings. But not every party rental company and event venue has the need to buy Chiavari chairs. Some event venues attract primarily corporate meetings and events. Some party rental companies only rent out for tradeshows, corporate clients or their market doesn’t support a Chiavari chair (i.e. their customers don’t have the money for a higher price rental). Whatever the case may be, it doesn’t always pay to buy Chiavari chairs. If you’re wondering whether you should invest in Chiavari chairs, check out this post to learn 5 signs that suggest it might be time to invest in Chiavari chairs.

1. You're losing out on business

If potential customers are coming to your event venue or rental organization and you’re losing business to competitors with Chiavari chairs, it may be time to invest in Chiavari chairs.

2. Brides are specifically asking for them

If your customer base is already asking for Chiavari’s you know that the demand is there - which is half the battle in bringing a new product in.

3. You’ve cross rented or rented Chiavari chairs more than 10 times

If you’re cross-rented or rented Chiavari chairs more than 10 times, you would already have recouped your initial investment in Chiavari chairs – so it makes monetary sense to invest in the chairs to avoid paying more money in rentals.

4. You’re looking to expand your business

Chiavari chairs becomes another piece of inventory you can use to drive more business. If you’re an event venue, having Chiavari chairs is never a bad thing towards increasing your wedding season bookings.

5. You can’t figure out how to increase your average total invoice

Having more products to offer often ends up translating to an increase in average total invoices. Most people are happy to do more business with companies they’re both familiar with and trust. Having Chiavari chairs in your rental inventory means more business not only for customers taking Chiavari chairs but also for customers taking Chiavari chairs plus your other inventory.

It’s been a busy summer with a chance to regroup before the holidays start to dominate our lives. Because part of my job entails finding relevant industry articles to share with customers that are interesting and helpful to their jobs and restaurants. I thought it made sense to share some of the best articles I found in the past month pertaining to the restaurant industry. Check them out below!

The Four Types of Cooks Explained

Paul Sorgule, a chef and educator with years of experience working in professional kitchens breaks down the different types of cooks he has encountered during his years of working in the restaurant industry. The four categories he breaks cooks down into are interesting and divisive. Do you agree with his categories? Have you encountered more? Check out the full article here.

Instagram: 12 Food and Drink Trends of Summer 2016 

Instagram very quickly and easily showcases the hottest trends by allowing users to use hashtags to visually see the hit food and drink trends. Fine Dining Lovers rounded up the 12 trends of summer 2016 in a stunning blog post. Check out the full article here.

Why Restaurants are Saying No to Customers

The old customer service adage beat into a hospitality employee is “the customer is always right”. Restaurants have always attempted to go above and beyond for customers. But more and more independent operators are finding that it is actually more profitable and more productive to say No. Read on to hear how saying no in the right context pays off.

Equipment Trends Report

Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine showcases the current trends in foodservice equipment as restaurant operators look for appliances that take up smaller footprints, can multi-task or help optimize staffing or menu offerings. Check out the article to see the considerations going into equipment investments as well as other current trends in the market.

Desserts that are Geometric Masterpieces

Ukrainian chef, Dinara Kasko applies her background in architectural design to create desserts with the lines and composition generally seen on large sculptures or the Michael Lee Chin Crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum. The results are true masterpieces that look almost too good to eat…almost. Check out the round up of gorgeous photos here.

As I've mentioned earlier this year, we brought in Black Textured Teardrop-Back Banquet Chairs with silver vein frames as well as Navy Blue Patterned Teardrop-Back Banquet Chairs with silver vein frames. We received them to our Toronto-area warehouse in March and they were so popular we sold them out before the end of summer - especially the black textured banquet chairs. What we also heard though, was that customers wanted a more traditional upholstery - particularly a burgundy fabric. So we went back to our factory and picked a burgundy patterned fabric . I'm pleased to announce that the new Burgundy Patterned Teardrop-back Banquet Chairs with Silver Vein Frame is now in stock - with our stock levels replenished of the Black Textured and Navy Blue Patterned Banquet Chairs.

Additional Product Details

• Teardrop Back Design
• Black Textured, Navy Blue Patterned or Burgundy Patterned Fabric Upholstery Available
• Upholstered Seat and Back
• 2.5'' Thick Upholstered Seat Cushion
• 18 Gauge Steel Frame
• Support Braces on either leg for durability
• Stacks up to 15 Chairs High
• Plastic Bumper Guards prevent scratches on frame when stacked
• Silver Vein Powder Coated Frame Finish
• Non-Marring Plastic Floor Glides
• Designed for Commercial Use
• Ships Fully Assembled
• Weight per chair: 10lbs
• Banquet Chair Weight Capacity: 500lbs
• Chair Measurements: Width: 17 1/8”, Height: 36”, Depth: 22”, Seat Depth: 15 7/8”, Seat Width: 15 ½"

As I've mentioned earlier this year, we brought in Rustic Wood Cross Back Chairs as well as Dark Brown Wood Cross Back Chairs. We received them to our Toronto-area warehouse in March and they were so popular we sold them out before the end of summer. What we also heard though, was that customers wanted a chair colour that bridged the middle ground - between the rustic and dark brown. Something of a similar colour as the wood harvest tables circulating the industry. So we went back to our factory and asked for a medium brown that was "rusticized" so it looked vintage and worn. I'm pleased to announce that the new Brown Rustic Wood Cross Back Chair is now in stock - with our stock levels replenished of the Rustic Wood and Dark Brown Wood Cross Back Chairs.

Constructed of elm wood, all three wood cross back chairs are available for purchase with or without a cushion depending on the look you desire. Our volume discounts are set up for rental companies, with unit prices rapidly going down past 50 chairs purchased. 

Additional details about the chairs are as follows: 

• Constructed of Elm wood
• Commercial Quality
• Non-marring floor glides
• Available with or without a natural cushion
• Stackable up to 8 chairs high
• Solid wood seat
• Curved back that molds to the body
• Weight: 10lbs
• Dimensions: chair from bottom of legs to top of chair back: 35.5” high, seat is: 16.25” deep x 17.5”wide