Effective retail and hospitality execution requires certain components, first communication, second task management, and third audits / assessments. In this post, we focus on audits and assessments. A retail audit helps retail and hospitality brands execute brand standards, programs, and policies in areas such as operations, merchandising, loss prevention, health and safety and security across all stores, in full and, on time. The audit is sometimes called an assessment, an inspection or simply a visit. If fact, sometimes an audit is not an audit at all. You just need to collect information or ..read more

A merchandising reset is a multi-faceted challenge at the best of times. What do you do when it involves a 3,200 locations and it needs to be done and verified in days? Customer International packaged goods company, food service. Challenge: merchandising conversion at 3,200 locations One of the world’s largest consumer packaged goods company (henceforth referred to as “CPG”) approached Bindy with a problem. They had reached an agreement with a major quick service restaurant group (henceforth referred to as “QSR”) to have their products listed at 3,200 restaurants. The CPG would display their p ..read more

The hotel industry is the quintessential “experiential” hospitality industry. For this reason, it is essential for a hotel to make a positive first impression before guests even check-in. Using a hotel checklist can help ensure hotel parking, lobby and common areas are up to standard. After all, consistent quality is one reason the hospitality industry can give guests to chose hotels over AirBnb. First impressions matter. Travel Media Group analyzed 1,000 guest reviews across the US. It found that in the case of 1 and 2 star reviews, 73.5% had an issue with cleanliness, 14.63% with servic ..read more

Implementing a retail audit process is neither time-consuming nor difficult. It is perhaps one of the easiest things an operations/sales team can do to boost in-store execution, customer satisfaction and sales. Here is how you can implement a retail audit process in five steps: Step 1: Let’s Pause. do you need retail audit software? Asking a retail audit software vendor whether you need automation software may be like asking a shoe salesperson whether you really need shoes. If your retail chain is small, have no problem stores and/or no franchisees, you may not need it. If you are already usin ..read more

A retail audit helps retail and hospitality brands execute brand standards, programs, and procedures in areas such as operations, merchandising, loss prevention, health and safety and security across all stores, on time and in full. The audit is sometimes called an assessment or simply a visit. The audit uses retail audit software, an actionable form with best-practice pictures, photos, videos, supporting files, signatures, conditional logic, critical items and action plan recommendations. Corrective actions Retail audits let retail operators assign corrective actions and resolve issues befo ..read more

In the hotel business, it is essential to have insurance, and proper coverage. The risk of fire, injuries or litigation are simply too great to ignore. Insurance is also a legal requirement of the franchisor-franchisee relationship and ensuring said insurance exists and is adequate is an important risk-mitigation step for both the franchisor and the franchisee. Customer Large hospitality group with 300+ hotels across several brands and time zones. Challenge The customer had fallen short in their previous attempts to obtain insurance certificates from franchisees. They had made several requests ..read more

Some retail and hospitality customers come to Bindy from a competing platform they have outgrown or find too expensive. Others come from a workflow developed in house. It usually involves Excel, email, phone calls and a large amount of human sweat equity to compile the data that was collected. Anyone who has ever experienced the pain of collecting, distributing and compiling site data like this starts thinking…there must be a better way! Well, there is. Let us take you through the life cycle of the audit, with Excel and Email vs. Bindy. Note that we refer to this activity as an “audit”, altho ..read more

I live in the center of Toronto’s Greektown neighborhood. In a place like this, you’d think I could find a good Gyro. Let me assure you, Alexandros does not disappoint in this regard. The gyro is tender, juicy, and perfectly garlicky. But what I love the best about Alexandros is the feeling of getting a masterclass in hospitality with a gyro on the side. Let me explain.   In the retail and hospitality business, we throw a lot of jargon around. We talk about the “customer experience” and the “customer journey”. We talk about “likelihood to recommend” and “experiential retail”. There is not ..read more

The 4th quarter is essential to a retailer’s bottom line. It is the biggest quarter for retail sales in the United States. In addition, over one-third of small businesses in the United States report that Q4 is the most profitable time of the year. Q4 is an opportunity a retail business simply cannot pass. The biggest quarter for retail sales The months between October and December are “the holiday season”. They include consumer-spending holidays and celebrations such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas. In the 4th quarter, customers come to your stores, not to browse bu ..read more

You work for a retailer and have been tasked with finding a software solution. I’ll go straight to the point. Skip the tradeshow-ware and try before you buy. What is “tradeshow-ware”? You have seen it, far too often unfortunately. Tradeshow-ware is software you see at retail and hospitality trade shows. It’s hard to miss. Smiley people are on the booth, and they are all wearing the same branded tee-shirt. They give away pens! Unfortunately, you can’t really see this software, or touch it. You go to the website and don’t see pricing either. Sure, there is a pricing page, but it says, “Contact ..read more