News from Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association

Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(July 11, 2010 - July 17, 2010)

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Road Construction, remodeling, and the summer rush. These three things can drive a person a little bit bonkers. So remember, if you and your employees keep a smile on your face, so will your customers.

This is a very busy time of year for all of us and it is easy to forget to smile and take the time to greet our customers and employees to make everyone feel good. That is what it is all about, that "feel good thing" when we are shopping. It is amazing what a smile and friendly "Hello" will do for others. Smiles are contagious, what a good thing to catch!

We are trying to make our customers happy this week. It is our annual wine sale, 25% off all wines (except clearance) for two weeks. For the first three days we have an exclusive sale just for our Wine Club members. We send out an e-mail they need to print and bring in. Then we open it up to the public. We clean out some old wines, the customers get a deal, and we all smile.

Have a great summer!

Virgene Shellenbarger

MMBA Director

Liquor Hutch (Hutchinson) Assistant Manager

As I See It 2.....

Finding employees has been difficult for me recently. I didn't get a lot of applicants; and in general who I did get was not very qualified. You would think the opposite would be true given the status of our economy and the relatively high unemployment rate.

My standard operating procedure in searching for employees is:

1. Run an ad in the local print media

2. Post opening in city buildings, official posting areas and on the city website

3. Possibly post on the League of MN Cities website

4. Word of mouth

Clearly it wasn't working for me this time so I had to search out other resources; preferably free or low cost. I did come up with one thing:

www.minnesotaworks.net

MinnesotaWorks.net is an Internet-based self-service system where employers and job seekers can find each other.

Registration is encouraged because it allows full access to all the features of the system.

The site is supported by Employer tax dollars and there are no additional fees to use this service (a.k.a. free).

Employers can post job openings. They can also search for job candidates, recruit job seekers online, and elect to receive emails when new resumes are found that match their requirements.

MinnesotaWorks.net is a service provided by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). DEED is responsible for administering various state and federal programs that provide workforce development services.

I registered for the service and hope to see some results.

If anyone has other resources to point to or any other ideas please share them and we can post it in the newsletter.

Good luck!

Brian Hachey

MMBA Director

Stacy Wine & Spirits Manager

As I See It 3.....

Last week I wrote...

Managers often have no idea how much volume of product sales is required to make up for a price cut, or how much a loss of sales can be tolerated in the event of a price increase.

In the real world, if you cut your price 10 percent, your company will probably have to at least DOUBLE what it's currently selling and might even have to TRIPLE it or more.

In response, MMBA Conference presenter Tom Shay sent me the following...

Paul,

You could also tell your members to use this free calculator from my website before changing prices.

When they are thinking about lowering a price, it will tell them how many they have to sell to get the same gross dollars as well as to get the same gross profit dollars (obviously, this would be two different quantities).

I always enjoy your newsletter. Thanks for sending it.

http://www.profitsplus.org/price_point_analysis.htm

You should give his calculator a try. It is very effective and easy to use.

Paul Kaspszak

MMBA Executive Director

Worthington Position Re-Opened

The City of Worthington is accepting applications for the position of a full-time Liquor Store Manager.

Employee must be able to perform a wide variety of tasks associated with management of the Municipal Liquor Store in accordance with city policies and applicable government regulations.

Preferred qualifications are: Bachelor's Degree in retail marketing/management or related field plus four (4) years of progressively responsible management and supervisory experience in a retail setting, or equivalent training and experience; valid MN driver's license; complete and working knowledge of point-of-sale systems and related computer inventory tracking programs; must be bondable.

Starting pay is $23.72 per hour, plus benefit package.

Applicants must submit a letter of application, a resume, and a completed City of Worthington Application for Employment form (available from the City Clerk/Human Resources Assistant, 303 Ninth Street, or on our web site www.ci.worthington.mn.us) to:

City Clerk/Human Resources Assistant

City of Worthington

PO Box 279

Worthington, MN 56187-0279

Application deadline is 5:00 p.m., August 2, 2010.

Future Dates to Remember!!