The Site That Hopes To Become The Facebook & Craigslist Of The Restaurant World
Merge "serve" and "serenity" and you get: Servinity, an internet startup with a name that straddles the line between catchy and cheesy. The site itself seems incredibly useful — it's a job posting outlet and scheduling application all rolled into one, born from the frustration of an Atlanta bar owner who had to use multiple websites and means of communication to recruit and schedule his staff. From the Atlanta Business Journal:
The software-as-a service company leverages the Internet, e-mail, cell phone, SMS text messaging and social networks to help restaurants and bars schedule staffing — notifying employees when to be at work, or alerting them when a shift opens up. Servinity also allows eateries to recruit via a job board and offers dynamic resume search and applicant tracking. The social networking component allows staff to interact and upload and share documents.That sounds pretty cool. Imagine Server A calls in sick with the flu. Within minutes, the restaurant's manager could have e-mails and text messages going out to each of the servers letting them know about an open shift. Server B, who's been looking to make some extra cash, heads over. The manager is happy and the restaurant is fully staffed, making both servers and diners happy. (Of course, if no server is willing to pick up the extra shift, then no amount of technology is going to help.)
There is a fee, of course: $100 per month for employers. These days, I'm not sure how many restaurants would be willing to take on that extra expense, especially when they can post for free on Craigslist. That scheduling application might be worth the money for some disorganized restaurants though. Of course, restaurateurs would have to embrace technology, and judging from the state of some local restaurants' websites, that is unlikely to happen.
Attorney launches restaurant staffing site [Atlanta Business-Journal]
Servinity [Official Site]
