Do You Serve Food to Staff? Here’s What Your Peers Do

Yes: 63%

Sometimes it is a spontaneous splurge in the middle of the week, sort of just because. Other times, when I am faced with having three staff members and none of us can leave the store, I order pizza or make sandwiches in our kitchen. If we have made our monthly goal sooner than expected, then we celebrate with food. We are very food motivated! I also try to keep snacks on hand for us. Maria Aguirre, Benold’s Jewelers, Austin, TX

• When we built the store, we put a kitchen in, so I make lunch most days and the idea is that healthy eating promotes a good foundation for one’s lifestyle. Joseph Delefano, Regency Jewelers, Rotterdam, NY
• Occasionally during the year on a Saturday if it’s been an exceptionally good or sometimes bad week to increase morale. Once a week during the Christmas season. Valerie King, King Jewelers, Cohasset, MA
• We supply during all special events and during the holidays. This year, we also had a turkey dinner giving thanks to our amazing team, halfway to Thanksgiving. Tonia Ulsh, Mountz Jewelers, Camp Hill, PA
• Any time we are crunched for time and it would take them out of productivity, I feed them! I feed my staff lunch every day between Black Friday and Dec. 24. They love it and it means I have less down time. We do everything from a grocery store spread of sandwiches to catering Thai from our favorite place. I make big pots of chili and other soups, or my staff can sign up to bring in a favorite recipe. Laurie Langdon-Gerber, Elisa Ilana Jewelry, Omaha, NE
• Starbucks every morning and lunch 3-4 times a week. It’s my way of saying thank you for doing a great job. David Ellestad, Larkin Jewelers, Tacoma, WA
• Monday through Friday, the staff is on their own. On Saturdays, I provide lunch for staff. Jonathan A. Blatter, Edian Jewelry, Hialeah, FL
• We started keeping a snack basket, mainly for our college age sales staff. Our busiest hours are 11-2 and this allows them to come in straight from class! We also use several delivery services. I have found it keeps us all well connected to treat a lunch once a week! Linda McEathron, Design House, Waco, TX
• Breakfast one day a week for our early morning sales meeting. Also, when a sale is going on, we provide lunch. Joe Thacker, Thacker Jewelry, Lubbock, TX
• I provide healthy as well as fun snacks and fluids every day to keep productivity up and moods up and express gratitude for hard work. We bring in breakfast or lunch to celebrate each crew member’s birthday and work-iversary as well as to celebrate when they hit monthly goals. Food is love and fun. We keep it flowing! Steven & Katherine Lesse, Abracadabra Jewelry and Gem Gallery, Ann Arbor, MI
• We provide snacks and dried fruit with nuts. Some health items and others that are just good. We buy lunch once or twice a week for everyone. We treat our staff like family and all grab a bite of lunch when we can. They are able to leave the store for lunch if they want to and sign out and in when they return. Scott Kelly, Jems Jewels & Gold, North Wales, PA
• We keep snacks and water in the kitchen for purchase for very modest fees of 25 cents each. This makes it easier for someone to take a brief break without needing to go anywhere. Kim Hatchell, Galloway & Moseley, Sumter, SC
• We bring in food on Saturdays. It eases the pain when the weather is nice and sales are slow. David Kammeraad, Preusser Jewelers, Grand Rapids, MI
• During events and during the busiest days of the holiday season, I provide lunch as well as some breakfasts. I think it’s a little thing that makes them feel appreciated. In addition, they know that on these busy days, there may not be much time for lunch, so they eat quickly and get back out on the floor to sell. They don’t have to plan or think about food, which, hopefully, keeps them customer-focused! Kristin Cornwell, Cornwell Jewelers, Athens, OH
• I buy lunch for everyone when we celebrate a staff birthday, or Starbucks for everyone if we had an evening event the night before. I keep the fridge full of everyone’s favorite drinks and the cupboard full of protein snacks. It helps keep them focused in the afternoon. Dianna Rae High, Dianna Rae Jewelry, Lafayette, LA
• We provide breakfast every week for the store meeting. Since our employees are required to come in an hour early it is one less thing for them to worry about. Russell Criswell, Vulcan’s Forge, Kansas City, MO
• Friday night pizza; we close at 6 p.m. now, but when we are open later, it gets them through until closing. They eat in between customers, so they don’t lose the ability to earn. Saturday morning donuts; we bring in all different types. It’s exciting to see that box open and see 12 different decorated donuts! (It’s the details!) We always provide free Coke, Diet Coke, Keurig choices, pretzels, animal crackers, nuts, peanut butter crackers, quality candies. No generic brands! And yes, it’s a pain always keeping everything stocked. As owners, we feel it is a benefit. Some employees are grateful. Some will always expect it. We feel more appreciate it than do not. Christine Matlack, E.G. Landis Jewelers, Boyertown, PA
• We are in the Midwest; lunch is what you can shove in your pie hole in 15 minutes or less! For a small store, we move a lot of customers through our doors. Since my goldsmith, my manager and I share the burden of production, I buy lunch for us every day. I look at it like this: these people go above and beyond for me and my store. I am happy to provide coffee, lunch or whatever makes their day better. I appreciate their loyalty, their unfailing work ethic and most of all their honesty! Also it bolsters the feeling of being a working unit, a team and a pretty amazing bad ass machine. I also take them to shows; when you hear them tell “the story” on the floor, my sales soar! Denise Oros, Linnea Jewelers, La Grange, IL

No: 37%

• We previously bought lunch for employees but found that the perk was abused. Employees would eat lunch at the store and then leave and run errands. Bob Richards, Bob Richards Jewelers, Germantown, TN
• They bring what they want. I have a fridge, microwave and toaster oven. Sara DeSpain, Sara DeSpain Fine Jewelry, Duck, NC
• We only provide refreshments on sale days for the customers and staff if the staff works overtime. Judy Stanley, Skippack Jewelers, Harleysville, PA
• Too costly. Jeffrey Debs, Debs Jewelers & Gemologists, Philadelphia, PA
• Everyone tends to bring their own here. We have a vegetarian and the rest of us are always on different eating regimes! And when we do eat together, we order a lot of takeout! Mary Jo Chanski, Hannoush Jewelers, Rutland, VT
• I have in the past, but everyone’s taste is different and it was impossible to please them all. Donnie Blanton, Brittany’s Fine Jewelry, Gainesville, FL
• Tried as a benefit, but tastes varied so much it was difficult to manage. Bill Elliott, Ross Elliott Jewelers, Terre Haute, IN
• We do occasional donut days and lunch on us, but we think every employee deserves a break away from the store for lunch. (We should take that same advice, but, #ownerprobs). We do have beverages available to our customers and employees, and when we receive cookies from our customers (which actually happens quite a bit), we all share. Beth Cevasco, Scott’s Custom Jewelers, Fairlawn, OH
• Can no longer write it off, so it would not help the bottom line. Craig C. Curtis, Belfast Jewelry, Belfast, ME