United Linen Blog

The Chamber's 3rd Annual Taste of the Town

We hope you can make it to this year's Taste of the Town event at the Community Center on Oct 2nd from 5 - 6:30pm.  This year's theme is "A Taste of Christmas".  Last year we had alot of fun with this event and are looking forward to "tasting" all the great treats from the participating restaurants.

Be sure and stop by our booth where we will have bottled water to go along with all the other great food and drinks.  See you there.

P S We are using Viddler. It has a lot of cool features - you can leave a comment right in the video - or even leave a video comment! Please check it out! (You will need to create free account at Viddler to leave a video comment.) To find the vidgets page on viddler, look in the footer at the bottom of the page!  Thanks for sharing!

Get Motivated!!

I know at first this may seem like it doesn't have anything to do with linen and uniforms, but really it does...

Yesterday I saw and heard something I had not seen or heard in a long time.  A motivational speech.  And not just one, but 12 speeches.  More than several of us at United Linen attended the Get Motivated seminar in Tulsa, OK at the new BOK Center.

This does not mean that I have not heard an encouraging word.  I've heard many and tried to utter my share.  What I'm talking about is a flat out "YOU CAN DO IT!" speech.    And  it worked.  At least for me.  I walked away thinking about the motivating words of people like Gen. Colin Powell, Zig Ziglar, Rudy Giuliani, and Dr. Robert Schuller; people who have been through many tests and trials and who had come out on the other side a bit dinged and dented, but made it through stronger and better none the less.

Zig Ziglar told the story of a boss of his who told him he was not amounting to much (after 2 years), but saw something in Zig that made the boss think Zig had something to offer...and told him so.  Zig mentioned this moment was the first time he could remember anyone ever telling him he had what it takes to be successful.  I thought that was incredible.  You mean after 20 some-odd years as a young man this was the first time someone had ever set Zig down and told him he could make it and had the stuff, even when his results were saying otherwise?  Where would Zig be if this person had not taken the time to inspire him to achieve something greater than he had accomplished up to that point.

Does Zig's story tell us to take opportunities to help people see their potential?  I think so.  Does this mean the job of getting motivated is up to someone else?  No.  The job of pumping you up is up to you.   Weekly, daily, or several times a day...whatever it takes. 

But taking the time to help a friend, employee, or family member see in themsleves something they do not see has got to be benefitial and sometimes life changing.

Can You Run A Restaurant with Gordon Ramsay Looking Over Your Shoulder?

I just got the new HELL'S KITCHEN game for Nintendo DS and man is it wild.  I'm not sure I like getting chewed out by Gordon Ramsey, but the game does a fantatic job of recreating the restaurant scene and what it takes to juggle all the aspects of cooking in the kitchen and managing the dining room.  I've only played it through "Day 2" and at this point I'm rated as a Junior Cook.  Oh well...there are more "days" left and I am determined to have the most successful restaurant, even if it is only digital one. 

For you foodies out there, there are 35 authentic Chef Ramsay recipies that come along with the game.

Is anyone else playing this game?  What od you think about the concept and how the game plays?  I would like to hear from someone who works in a restaurant and get your perspective on how close this game gets to the real thing.

From To-Do to Ta-Dah!

What would you say if I told you you could get more done in a day's time by refining your To-Do list.  Founding editor and lead blogger for Lifehacker Gina Trapani sat down to an interview with NY Times writer Marci Alboher.  Click here to read the article.

Zen and the Art of Reading a P&L

I would probably be amazed at how many business owners run their business without a good understanding of what their financial information is telling them.  And unless you have someone who can explain how to read a P&L or how to understand a balance sheet, where can you go for help?

James Laube of RestaurantOwners.com is a good resource for understanding what your financials are telling you.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, James spoke to a large group of restaurant owners at the Oklahoma Restaurant Assoc's TulsaFest.  His two topics were "Food Cost Fitness" and "Profitable Financial Skills for Restaurant Operators". 

While I did not make it to the first seminar, I found the second to be very interesting and the information presented in a way that was easy to understand.  Regardless of what business you might be in, the topic of how to read a P&Ls and understand what it is telling you would be helpful to all business owneres. 

Do you have percentages next to your dollar amounts for each expense item?  Do you have someone you can go to to better undertand what your financial information is telling you?

Talking To Folks At TulsaFest

We had a great time at TulsaFest this year.  We got there just in time for the luncheon at 12:45pm.  Steve Erickson, Senior VP of Operations for Outback challeneged everyone to up their game during these difficult economic times.  He recited from memory a poem about a boy running a race and overcoming the obstacles he faced. Then in the afternoon, we attended a seminar put on by James Laube called Profitable Financial Skills for Restaurant Operators.  Jim went over the finer points of how to read a P&L, Balance Sheets and controlling costs.  Any business owner could learn a thing or two about how to read the numbers. After that, it was on to the Beer/Wine Tasting event where G-Note performed live music, and boy were they good.  As you can see from the video above, we had a great time visiting with folks as we mixed and mingled.  The ORA does a great job with this event every year and we are proud to be one of their members.

GPS Helps UL Go Green

We have just recently introduced a new GPS system into our system to help manage our routes more efficiently and minimize the impact our fleet has on the environment.

With the GPS system in place, we have the ability to gain more information regarding where our trucks are running (routing efficiency) and how our trucks are running (fuel/maintenance efficiency). With this information, we will be able to run our routes better, burn less fuel, and spend less money.

Although we have gone to considerable expense to upgrade our fleet with a new GPS system, we believe our customers will see the value in reducing the contact our fleet will have with the environment, both now and for future generations.