Jillian’s is FUN! Community Blog

pay checks

will some one please help me figure out all the numbers on this darn thing?!?!

whats the differance between tips payable and tips and creditcard tips (granted the credit card tips are fairly self explanatory but why are there 3 sections to the tips)

help

thanks

Universal - Teen Choice VIP

On Sunday, August 26, 2007, Jillian’s Universal hosted Fox’s Teen Choice VIP After party for a 5th straight year. This year Kristi and team provided many environmentally friendly elements that made the event a huge success. One thousand plus guest tasted and enjoyed many of our regular menu items with an organic twist. Popular items included a fresh and crisp organic mixed green toss salad, an incredible free-range burger and chicken sandwich. Tamiko, Vice President of Special Events Creative Services, for the Fox Broadcasting Company, was impressed by the customized game cards and loved the Teen Choice/Fox redemption grid.

MDA success in Evansville

First, Scotty  HOW did you get out of jail??????

   On the the other success story…

Evansville Jillian’s hosted the local Downtown MDA Lock-In on Wednesday Aug. 22nd. I started at 8 AM through 5 PM. We utilized the entire Pinto Pool area for that “Martha Stewart Jail Cell” feel. The MDA Jailbirds were please with their food rations and entertainment available to help them through their stay.

The event captured over $61,000 for MDA, a great feather in our community involvement cap, and MDA left us their contact “arrest” sheet with names, businesses, and phone numbers. What a great turnout, good feeling, and a great class of contacts for our ESM.

We love to help out when at all possible, in whatever way possible, and however possible.   Thanks staff, MDA, & Evansville

 Jay

Quick thoughts on games

I have a few unpolished ideas pertaining to the selection of our games.  First, I am curious as to why we don’t have table-top games at our bars.  Ok, I understand we are technically not a sports-bar and those games seem to be most prevalent at those types of establishments.  However, those games create a two-fold income source which is the game itself and sometimes, if not most of the time, alcohol sales.   Additionally, it coincides with our theme of games and fun.  Quite possibly Jillian’s has already tried this in their years of the public service of fun.  If not, why not create a test store and rent one for a month or two.  There is the option on some models to turn the adult content off if that is a main concern.

My second thought deals with the age and selection of games of each store.  I think the idea has been passed around about stores swapping games.  This, in theory, is more economical then selling games and buying new ones.  Mainly video games are the ones that repeat guests will tire of.  So as a close analogy, buy a kid a game system with 10 games.  See how long that kid plays that system.  As an avid gamer myself, I can tell you well before a year is up.  The option that is the most desirable from that kid’s perspective (without the funds to buy new) would be to trade a game or two to a friend.  The smaller stores will feel this effect quicker and more compound because of simply less video games.  I know shipping can be costly and could not be done very often at all.  I know it costs 41 cents just to mail a piece of paper, so I can imagine how much a game would cost to ship.  The easiest way would be to select just 2 stores and select 2 games or more or trade.  Compare the newer games revenue minus the old games revenue against the shipping cost for a predetermined period of time.  Again, maybe Jillian’s has already attempted this.

In closing, I’d like to say that Jillian’s is a wonderful place for people of all ages to enjoy.  My thoughts turn to the arcades I’ve visited and enjoyed throughout my childhood and now adult life.  I’ve seen the arcades that change too quickly and suffer as a result.  I’ve also seen the flipside of same games and same end result.  I do not pretend to know the numbers and the facilitation of how to keep up without going overboard.  That is where others more qualified than I step in and perhaps take advice from people that see the daily activities within the Jillian’s that we all love.  I’m not saying that I’m the person to look to for ideas, but maybe someone somewhere has those ideas.  Thank you for listening and I look forward to thoughts shared.

Special day in SF

We just wanted to share a great WOW story with you all.  This past weekend we had a couple celebrate thier 4th wedding anniversary with us in SFO, but what makes it special is this.

Four years ago the gentleman proposed to the lady at Jillian’s in SFO over dinner and a game of billiards.  He had hidden the engaement ring inside a Teddy Bear and propsed.  Since the marriage they have devoted all thier time and energy to thier children and have not spent a night on the town in 4 years. Yes read it …4 years, you parents out there know what this is like.

This past weekend the husband came in with the orginal Teddy Bear and asked us to present it to them when as they were dining,  as they were celebrating at the place where it all began.

So on Saturday the couple came to Jillian’s to celebrate there first night out since the kids arrived. The couple arrived in a limo after a day of shopping and enjoyed dinner with us at Jillian’s.  Around dessert time we presented a gift (the bear) and some Champagne to the table.  We all watched for the reaction.

 Much to the ladies suprize the bear appeared and so did a whole pile of tears from the couple. After pulling themselves together I had the opportunity to sit down and speak with them and wish them well on behalf of all of us at Jillian’s.  They were thrilled!  We looked after the the entire evening for them and with that…there were very appreciative of the geasture and thankful for such great friends at Jillian’s.  The happy couple stayed for the night club and around midnight they left for home.

The couple had left us with these parting word’s ” Jillian’s will always be apart of our lives, thank you for making this day so special”!

We as a team are very happy to share this story and goes to show that we build our guest base in very unique ways.

IT’S ALL ABOUT PONG IN SEATTLE!!

Last weekend Jillian’s in Seattle hosted the First Annual Seattle Beer Pong Tournament! Teams of two battled it out on 4 beer pong tables (each sponsored by a local brewery) for the grand prize of $500! The event was such a success I don’t think we will be able to wait a whole year to do it again…

Thanks to everyone from Team Seattle for making this event a success. Enjoy some pics from the event: