ReportWire

Tag: customer

  • Rising concerns prompt Daytona beachside businesses to seek stronger security

    Business owners on Daytona’s beachside say safety concerns have become a daily challenge, and they are calling for help. Managers and employees along the busy corridor report frequent disruptions tied to people experiencing homelessness, including panhandling and confrontations with customers.Patricia Williams-Fay, manager of the Starlite Diner, said the issue is affecting business.”They come in at times, and they’ll harass our customers,” she said. “Panhandle in the building, panhandle out front. And as much as we would like to be able to give them whatever they want, we can’t afford to do that.”As concerns grow, the Beachside Redevelopment Board is weighing whether to add dedicated patrols throughout the district. In fact, the city’s Beachside Redevelopment Board, which acts like an advisory board, said there needs to be a change.Board members previously requested a quote from First Coast Security, the same company that patrols Beach Street. But because the Beachside area is significantly larger, foot patrols like those used on Beach Street are not practical. Instead, two alternative options were presented.Golf cart patrol costing $135,000 per year, operating Monday through Saturday, and vehicle patrol costing $148,000 annually, with the same schedule.The city is also exploring the option of hiring a detail police officer, though the cost has not yet been determined. Thomas Caffrey, a board member, said a foot patrol may not be necessary on Main Street, but the Beachside and A1A boardwalk corridor, especially the boardwalk, would benefit from one. Other board members said they support the golf cart option.Caffrey said the board will decide Wednesday night whether to recommend private security or a dedicated police officer, noting that private security would guarantee consistent coverage.”The hired security is nice because they are guaranteed to be there. If we get a police officer, there is a chance it could be called outside of the district.”The proposed patrol zone would begin on Seabreeze Boulevard and run south to International Speedway Boulevard.Business owners say increased security presence could make a major difference. Still, Williams-Fay said efforts should also focus on getting people experiencing homelessness the help they need.”I think that it would be a good idea that this force, whatever they put over here, can take them to the hospital to wherever they need to go to get help, you know,” she said.”The board’s recommendation will move next to city staff, and they’ll decide whether to present it to the Daytona Beach City Commission for further consideration.

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. —

    Business owners on Daytona’s beachside say safety concerns have become a daily challenge, and they are calling for help.

    Managers and employees along the busy corridor report frequent disruptions tied to people experiencing homelessness, including panhandling and confrontations with customers.

    Patricia Williams-Fay, manager of the Starlite Diner, said the issue is affecting business.

    “They come in at times, and they’ll harass our customers,” she said. “Panhandle in the building, panhandle out front. And as much as we would like to be able to give them whatever they want, we can’t afford to do that.”

    As concerns grow, the Beachside Redevelopment Board is weighing whether to add dedicated patrols throughout the district.

    In fact, the city’s Beachside Redevelopment Board, which acts like an advisory board, said there needs to be a change.

    Board members previously requested a quote from First Coast Security, the same company that patrols Beach Street. But because the Beachside area is significantly larger, foot patrols like those used on Beach Street are not practical. Instead, two alternative options were presented.

    Golf cart patrol costing $135,000 per year, operating Monday through Saturday, and vehicle patrol costing $148,000 annually, with the same schedule.

    The city is also exploring the option of hiring a detail police officer, though the cost has not yet been determined.

    Thomas Caffrey, a board member, said a foot patrol may not be necessary on Main Street, but the Beachside and A1A boardwalk corridor, especially the boardwalk, would benefit from one. Other board members said they support the golf cart option.

    Caffrey said the board will decide Wednesday night whether to recommend private security or a dedicated police officer, noting that private security would guarantee consistent coverage.

    “The hired security is nice because they are guaranteed to be there. If we get a police officer, there is a chance it could be called outside of the district.”

    The proposed patrol zone would begin on Seabreeze Boulevard and run south to International Speedway Boulevard.

    Business owners say increased security presence could make a major difference. Still, Williams-Fay said efforts should also focus on getting people experiencing homelessness the help they need.

    “I think that it would be a good idea that this force, whatever they put over here, can take them to the hospital to wherever they need to go to get help, you know,” she said.”

    The board’s recommendation will move next to city staff, and they’ll decide whether to present it to the Daytona Beach City Commission for further consideration.

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  • New Text to 911 service allows you to reach help without cell reception. Here’s how it works

    Have you ever been in or traveling through an area where there is no or low traditional cell service and thought, “What if I had an emergency and needed to call 911?”Now, because of a well-known cell service provider’s connection to a popular network of satellites, there’s a solution when you have an emergency and are off the grid and out of reach of a terrestrial cell tower’s signal.Related video above: A different new piece of technology helps guide rescuers to woman stuck in swampThe service is called Text to 911, and its availability is all thanks to T-Mobile’s new T-Satellite with Starlink, a service that, according to a recent release from the mobile carrier, was rolled out in July and connects compatible phones to an array of Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth.But if you’re not a T-Mobile customer, don’t fret. You don’t need to be a subscriber of the provider to use Text to 911. The service is available to anyone in the U.S. who has a compatible, satellite-capable iPhone or Android phone, and is designed to work anywhere in the 500,000 square miles of the U.S. not reached by traditional cell towers.That means even customers of providers like AT&T and Verizon can sign up for Text to 911.How to sign up for and use Text to 911While the service is free to use, non-T-Mobile customers are required to sign up in advance to use Text to 911. That can be done on the company’s website. The company said T-Mobile customers can add the service under “Manage Data & Add-Ons’” in their account or in T-Life. You don’t need to take any special action to use Text to 911. The mobile provider says that all you need is a view of the sky, and that using the service is just like sending a normal text message. All you need to do is enter a message on your phone’s native messaging app and enter 911 in the number field. From there, all you’ll need to do is hit “send.”While some areas around the U.S. already have the ability to text 911, this new service allows users to do so even when they can’t get reception from a traditional cell tower. If that’s the case, Text to 911 finds you a signal from a satellite up in space.The company said it “was a no-brainer” to make Text to 911 available and free for any person who enrolls and has a compatible phone.“There’s a good chance you’ve had that moment in your life at some point. Badly rolled ankle deep into a backcountry hike. Stuck in a tree well while skiing. Flat tire on a backcountry road. Or a million other situations that require access to emergency services in a place without cell service. It’s an absolutely terrifying feeling that we don’t want anyone to have ever again,” Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products for T-Mobile, said in announcing the availability of Text to 911 on Nov. 5.

    Have you ever been in or traveling through an area where there is no or low traditional cell service and thought, “What if I had an emergency and needed to call 911?”

    Now, because of a well-known cell service provider’s connection to a popular network of satellites, there’s a solution when you have an emergency and are off the grid and out of reach of a terrestrial cell tower’s signal.

    Related video above: A different new piece of technology helps guide rescuers to woman stuck in swamp

    The service is called Text to 911, and its availability is all thanks to T-Mobile’s new T-Satellite with Starlink, a service that, according to a recent release from the mobile carrier, was rolled out in July and connects compatible phones to an array of Starlink satellites orbiting the Earth.

    But if you’re not a T-Mobile customer, don’t fret. You don’t need to be a subscriber of the provider to use Text to 911.

    The service is available to anyone in the U.S. who has a compatible, satellite-capable iPhone or Android phone, and is designed to work anywhere in the 500,000 square miles of the U.S. not reached by traditional cell towers.

    That means even customers of providers like AT&T and Verizon can sign up for Text to 911.

    How to sign up for and use Text to 911

    While the service is free to use, non-T-Mobile customers are required to sign up in advance to use Text to 911. That can be done on the company’s website. The company said T-Mobile customers can add the service under “Manage Data & Add-Ons’” in their account or in T-Life.

    You don’t need to take any special action to use Text to 911. The mobile provider says that all you need is a view of the sky, and that using the service is just like sending a normal text message. All you need to do is enter a message on your phone’s native messaging app and enter 911 in the number field. From there, all you’ll need to do is hit “send.”

    While some areas around the U.S. already have the ability to text 911, this new service allows users to do so even when they can’t get reception from a traditional cell tower. If that’s the case, Text to 911 finds you a signal from a satellite up in space.

    The company said it “was a no-brainer” to make Text to 911 available and free for any person who enrolls and has a compatible phone.

    “There’s a good chance you’ve had that moment in your life at some point. Badly rolled ankle deep into a backcountry hike. Stuck in a tree well while skiing. Flat tire on a backcountry road. Or a million other situations that require access to emergency services in a place without cell service. It’s an absolutely terrifying feeling that we don’t want anyone to have ever again,” Mike Katz, president of marketing, strategy and products for T-Mobile, said in announcing the availability of Text to 911 on Nov. 5.

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  • Widespread power outage temporarily impacts more than 30,000 LADWP customers across L.A.

    More than 30,000 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers temporarily lost power Saturday after a widespread outage affected several parts of the city, according to the utility.

    The power loss occurred at about 12:55 p.m., impacting customers in Koreatown, Arlington Heights, Leimert Park, Palms and adjacent areas, an LADWP spokesperson said. LADWP began working on the issue at 1:30 p.m., and as of 4 p.m. power had been fully restored to all areas.

    The cause of the power outage remains under investigation.

    Kailyn Brown

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  • SMUD plans new substation in the Railyards to meet Sacramento’s growing energy needs

    SMUD plans new substation in the Railyards to meet Sacramento’s growing energy needs

    EDUCATION STUDENTS DEPEND ON CALFRESH BENEFITS. WELL, IF MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS HAPPENING IN THE SACRAMENTO RAILYARDS, MORE CONSTRUCTION ON THE WAY, AND SMUD WILL BE STARTING ITS OWN NEW PROJECT TO KEEP UP WITH DEMAND, THE TEAM IS WORKING ON A NEW SUBSTATION, JUST ONE OF HUNDREDS IN THE CITY THAT SMUD USES TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON FOR ITS CUSTOMERS, AND SMUD GAVE KCRA THREE AN EXCLUSIVE BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT HOW THE COMPANY SAYS IT’S TRYING TO STAY AHEAD OF THE EVER CHANGING ELECTRICAL NEEDS. HERE. OBVIOUSLY, TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING, POPULATION IS CHANGING. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO KEEP UP? WELL, WE PLAN IN 20 YEAR CYCLES, SO I DON’T WANT TO IMPLY THAT IT’S EASY, BUT WE GET WAY, WAY AHEAD OF IT, SMUD SAYS ITS ONE SUBSTATION COULD SERVE MORE THAN 10,000 CUSTOMERS, BUT THERE ARE ALSO SUBSTATIONS YOU DON’T SEE, LIKE THE ONES THAT ARE ACTUALLY BELOW GROUND. AND COMING UP TONIGHT AT 11, SMUD IS GOING TO TAKE US UNDER THE SACRAMENTO CITY STREETS TO SHOW US HOW THE UNDERGROUND SYSTEM WORKS AND HOW THEY’RE TRYING TO KEEP CUSTOMERS BILLS

    SMUD plans new substation in the Railyards to meet Sacramento’s growing energy needs

    Updated: 6:24 PM PDT Oct 30, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    SMUD is planning to build a new substation in Sacramento’s downtown railyards to keep up with the city’s growing energy needs. The substation, planned for later this year, is one of hundreds that SMUD uses to maintain electricity for its customers. Frankie McDermott, SMUD’s chief operating officer, said the utility plans in 20-year cycles to keep up with anticipated electrical demands. SMUD says one substation can serve more than 10,000 customers, but there are also substations you don’t see, such as ones below ground. Coming up Thursday at 11 p.m., SMUD will take viewers under Sacramento city streets to show how its underground system works and how the utility is trying to keep bills low. Watch on KCRA 3. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    SMUD is planning to build a new substation in Sacramento’s downtown railyards to keep up with the city’s growing energy needs.

    The substation, planned for later this year, is one of hundreds that SMUD uses to maintain electricity for its customers.

    Frankie McDermott, SMUD’s chief operating officer, said the utility plans in 20-year cycles to keep up with anticipated electrical demands.

    SMUD says one substation can serve more than 10,000 customers, but there are also substations you don’t see, such as ones below ground.

    Coming up Thursday at 11 p.m., SMUD will take viewers under Sacramento city streets to show how its underground system works and how the utility is trying to keep bills low. Watch on KCRA 3.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

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  • 4-Step Strategy for Raising Prices Without Losing Customers

    Your latest invoice just landed. Coffee cups are more expensive, potato chips are more expensive, and even paper bags have increased in price. You know you can’t absorb these costs forever, but the thought of changing price tags makes your stomach churn.

    Independent retailers across many markets are reporting that wholesale costs are rising faster than they can reflect at the register. For example, our industry commentary notes that wholesale input prices outpaced retail price growth during inflation peaks. In this environment, a strategic approach can help you protect your margins while maintaining customer trust and confidence. Here are four ways to do that.

    Step 1: Conduct a “product autopsy”

    Before changing any sticker prices, review your inventory and determine which products to prioritize, which to promote, and which to reevaluate.

    First, identify your KVIs (key value items). These are items customers know well (a soda, a staple snack, or a basic grocery item). Because customers often recall those prices, changes here tend to generate the most pushback.

    Second, look for your margin heroes. These are items with sufficient pricing flexibility to absorb moderate cost increases. Products like coffee, prepared foods, and signature items often fall into this category.

    Third, find your weak links. If a product has thin margins and customers are price-sensitive, rising costs may prompt you to renegotiate supplier terms or discontinue that item.

    Step 2: Implement smart price increases

    How you raise prices can influence acceptance as much as the decision to raise them.

    One tactic is the incremental method, which involves smaller increases over time rather than a significant jump all at once. In consumer behavior research, price changes—especially increases—can be less painful if viewed as part of a pattern rather than a one-off shock.

    Another approach: Bundle to add perceived value. Research on bundling shows that consumers often accept bundled products more readily than individually marked-up items. You can use a “combo” offering to shift the focus from cost to benefit.

    A third tool is shrinkflation, but use it cautiously. Rather than dramatically cutting quality or size, a modest adjustment might work—but only if you maintain customer trust through consistency and transparency.

    Step 3: Over-communicate value

    Your price is just one factor that your customers consider. Service, atmosphere, and transparency all play a role in their decision.

    Keep your store clean, staff responsive, and checkout efficient. Excellent service helps justify moderate price adjustments. Be honest—use a simple script: “Our costs have increased, so we’ve made a small adjustment to maintain the quality you expect.” That’s not an apology; it’s an explanation.

    Use signage or micro storytelling (e.g. “locally roasted daily,” “made in house”) to emphasize why your offerings are worth the price. This helps shift the conversation from cost to value.

    Step 4: Fight back on costs

    Before passing all increases on to customers, look for ways to reduce costs on your end.

    Negotiate harder with suppliers. Ask for volume or early-pay discounts, consolidate orders, or explore alternate sourcing. Many retailers find savings by being proactive rather than passive.

    Run an energy audit. Improvements in lighting, HVAC, or refrigeration can significantly reduce utility costs, providing breathing room for pricing decisions.

    Optimize labor scheduling. Utilize transaction data to pinpoint slow periods and minimize staffing redundancy. Better alignment of labor to traffic often yields savings without sacrificing service.

    The bottom line

    Raising prices can feel uncomfortable—but it’s often necessary for survival. The retailers that thrive aren’t the ones who avoid change; they’re the ones who do it thoughtfully. They know which products to shield, which to adjust, and how to frame value beyond the sticker.

    Start by focusing on your margin heroes, test incremental adjustments, bundle creatively, and always communicate value. Your customers didn’t choose you solely for price—they chose you for the experience, the local touch, and the relationship that you offer. Protect those strengths while adjusting prices strategically, and you’ll support your margins and your reputation for years to come.

    Elie Y. Katz

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  • Alaska Airlines grounds flights across the nation due to IT outage

    Thousands of Americans hoping to get airborne found themselves stuck on the ground Thursday evening as Alaska Airlines experienced an IT outage that prevented any of its planes from taking off.

    “A temporary ground stop is in place,” the airline announced on social media at 4:20 p.m. “We apologize for the inconvenience. If you’re scheduled to fly tonight, please check your flight status before heading to the airport.”

    Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where the carrier is based, reported 82 Alaska Airlines flight delays and 17 cancellations, according to Flight Aware. Los Angeles International Airport, meanwhile, reported eight Alaska Airlines flight delays and one cancellation.

    The outage marked the second time in recent months that IT issues prevented Alaska Airlines from flying. The airline grounded all flights for a three-hour period in July after a similar outage.

    As of 7 p.m. the outage remained in effect, and the airline said that it was actively working to restore operations. It did not provide any details on what was causing the tech problems.

    Customers have also reported problems with accessing the airline’s website and app.

    The airline flies to 40 destinations worldwide, including 37 states and 12 countries, according to its website.

    Clara Harter

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  • Why you’re having a hard time getting a matcha latte around L.A.

    The matcha drinks at Kin Bakeshop are so popular that some customers wait hours for their fix.

    The little Santa Barbara cafe was going through more than four pounds of the Japanese tea on its busiest days when it started getting tough to get a reliable supply.

    This summer, the matcha dealer called to say that after a decade of importing from Japan, she had been forced to start rationing supply. There was no longer enough of the potent powder for everyone.

    Kin Bakeshop found new supplies and hiked its prices, but the customers kept coming, said Tommy Chang, owner of the cafe.

    “It’s like the harder that it is to get your hands on it, the more people want it,” he said. “They just need their matcha. They’ll come here no matter what.”

    A growing thirst for matcha is roiling a delicate supply chain from Japanese tea farms to California’s cafes. The tea leaves are grown in the shade, specially processed and then stone-ground into the bright green, earthy powder used in drinks and desserts.

    Tea farm owner Masahiro Okutomi in Sayama, Japan, in June 2025.

    (Philip Fong / AFP/Getty Images)

    As matcha’s bold aesthetic and health benefits have taken social media and consumers by storm, Japanese production is under strain from an aging population and hotter climate. That’s sent prices surging, and businesses scrambling to secure supply.

    Exacerbating the problem is the fact that coffee shops are doubling and tripling down on their demand by heaping more matcha in drinks, said Lauren Purvis, who supplies Kin Bakeshop and other local cafes with tea and matcha. Traditionally, she has trained shops to use three grams of matcha in one serving, but recently she said some are using as many as nine grams, a fact that shocked her producers.

    “A lot of my producers are like, ‘We have never seen a moment like this in the history of Japanese tea,’” she said.

    Before the recent matcha boom, Japanese tea farmers were struggling to keep the industry alive. Younger Japanese have abandoned tea fields to work in cities and generally prefer coffee over tea. But signs of a shortage began to emerge in the summer last year as demand skyrocketed overseas.

    A wooden spoon pushes green powder through a sieve into a white bowl

    Barista Julia Peng sifts matcha powder for lattes at Kin Bakeshop on Oct. 21, 2025 in Santa Barbara. The store no longer uses matcha in desserts, reserving it for beverages due to a shortage.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    Purvis, who founded Mizuba Tea Co. in 2013, first felt the effects in December. An order was months late because one of her usually reliable Japanese suppliers didn’t have enough of the specialized tins used to package the matcha.

    Then her producers told her that as much as 30% of their spring harvest was lost due to abnormally hot temperatures. When the tea leaves went up for auction in the summer, prices tripled.

    Those increases have started to hit U.S. consumers, who are facing an added cost due to 15% tariffs on imports from Japan.

    The Japan Tea Export Promotion Council has warned that shipments to the U.S. have been delayed by tariff processing. Some shipments have been stuck at customs and are at risk of being disposed of or sent back.

    “Tariffs are just the icing on the cake,” Purvis said. “Matcha is just going to get a lot more limited and a lot more expensive.”

    When Chang started Kin Bakeshop in 2020, he only needed a couple of bags per week. Now he buys them by the dozen, with extra orders whenever he can get it. After the first time the store ran out of matcha, he started keeping emergency stores, though those are often empty too.

    “I’m in shock that it’s happening,” he said.

    Matcha has taken over his menu. It now includes a strawberry matcha latte, black sesame matcha, and coconut matcha cloud.

    When he learned that the supply of his usual matcha was restricted, Chang decided to spend about $135 per pound, or 70% more, on a higher grade of matcha that was less prone to shortages.

    The store used to serve matcha desserts too, such as lemon yuzu mochi doughnuts dusted with matcha, but now saves the precious powder for beverages.

    A green-colored drink with a white-colored cream in a glass

    A matcha latte with whipped cream at Kin Bakeshop. Historically, the U.S. has been the largest consumer of Japanese tea.

    (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)

    Historically, the U.S. has been the largest consumer of Japanese tea. But as matcha demand has gone global, U.S. businesses are increasingly competing with buyers from Europe to the Middle East to Southeast Asia.

    The Japan Tea Export Promotion Council estimates that the total volume of tea exports increased by 154% in 2024 compared with a decade earlier. The U.S. went from accounting for 45% of exports to 32% in the same time frame.

    To meet market demand, the Japanese government has encouraged tea farmers to increase production of tencha, the tea used to make matcha, sometimes at the expense of other types of tea.

    Other countries such as China, Vietnam and South Korea are also growing more tencha. But new plants take years to cultivate, and suppliers said there is deep penchant among buyers for Japanese matcha, which is seen as the highest quality.

    The scarcity has prompted some businesses to resort to extreme measures. Purvis said one producer she works with had a stranger show up and refuse to leave without matcha.

    Jason Eng, who works in business development and partnerships for Kametani Tea in Nara, Japan, said buyers are asking to sign annual contracts to secure matcha for the following year.

    “Our buyers and partners overseas, they are all running dry, and they’re panicking,” he said. “Even new clients are asking for a ridiculous amount of tea. It’s completely unsustainable.”

    Luke Alcock, founder of Premium Health Japan, a matcha supplier in Uji — a city near Kyoto famous for its fine tea —said he’s gone from simply facilitating sales to buying and holding his own stock to ensure he can supply brands through next year’s harvest.

    Although about 40% of his clientele is in the U.S., he’s gotten increasing inquiries from the Middle East and Europe, even with rising prices.

    He’s also been careful to protect the privacy of his suppliers, since buyers are so eager to get more matcha.

    He’s also been careful to protect the privacy of his suppliers, since buyers are so eager to get more matcha. One customer requested the contact information of a manufacturer, which Alcock assumed was for customs clearance. That customer then used the details to reach out to his supplier and do business directly.

    “People are just ruthless,” he said. “We’re still seeing how the market reacts, but it’s showing that people are going to keep buying.”

    Stephanie Yang

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  • Warby Parker Co-Founder, Jeff Raider, Highlights the Uphill Journey to Building Brand Loyalty

    On a recent episode of The Big Idea from Yahoo Finance, I sat down with Jeff Raider, co-founder of Warby Parker and now co-founder and co-CEO of Mammoth Brands, which includes Harry’s Razors, Lume, and Flamingo. Raider has built some of the most recognizable consumer companies of the last decade, with a track record of creating trustworthy brands that positively impact people’s lives. Our conversation focused on one of the most critical challenges for entrepreneurs—creating brand loyalty. 

    Why loyalty matters 

    Data proves why the challenge of creating brand loyalty is so urgent. According to Bain & Company, increasing customer retention by just five percent can boost profits by as much as 95 percent. Also, a PwC report shows that 93 percent of business executives assert that building and maintaining trust improves the bottom line. These numbers underline the point that loyalty is not just a “feel good” metric but a critical driver of business value. 

    Building loyalty from the start 

    Raider’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to, “Create a product that is unique, different, and better in some way, and make it easy to explain.” 

    Raider and his co-founders approached Harry’s as a subscription brand to establish recurring relationships with customers from day one. “I get to talk to customers all the time,” Raider said. “I love it, and I get to learn so much from them.” 

    That connection is what builds customer loyalty. For example, in the early days, customers said they wanted to hear the blade click into their razors. The Harry’s team listened and delivered that satisfying click. What is good for the customer is often what is good for the business, and direct feedback should inform product decisions.  

    Scaling without losing focus 

    Every entrepreneur makes mistakes along the way. Raider reflected on his “dirty unicorn” moment: moving too quickly into a major retailer without first establishing the kind of direct-to-consumer community that had guided his other brands. When Mammoth Brands was just getting started, they partnered with Walmart on a haircare line called Headquarters.  

    “We didn’t follow the playbook that we’d followed in our other brands, which is to start direct to consumer, talk to customers, learn from them, get everything perfect and then expand to retail,” Raider recalled.  

    The line wasn’t working as planned, and without a direct-to-consumer community it was harder to make the adjustments they wanted. Ultimately, they handed the brand to Walmart, whom Raider praises as a strong partner. He also expressed his goal to return later with brands that have proven success in the DTC space and are better positioned for the retail environment. 

    Raider’s advice for entrepreneurs is to build customer loyalty first, then expand into major distributors like Target and Walmart. That approach allows Mammoth Brands to manage growth while staying true to its mission of creating products people like more. 

    Beyond the product 

    Today, loyalty is not just about price and convenience. Raider described Harry’s mental health initiatives and why social impact is increasingly tied to brand affinity. In partnership with nonprofit organizations, Harry’s has helped two million men access mental health care and has donated more than $20 million dollars to support men’s mental health alongside Mammoth Brands. 

    Brand loyalty comes from trust, consistency, and a willingness to evolve with your customers. As Raider’s career shows, companies that prioritize loyalty from the beginning can build not only strong businesses, but enduring brands. 

    Elizabeth Gore

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  • Bringing home the bacon: Lottery ticket sold at local butcher shop hits jackpot

    Bringing home the bacon: Lottery ticket sold at butcher shop hits jackpot

    Army Service member Christopher Lehman just moved to Pittsburgh, and he got the warmest welcome he could imagine. He is now Western Pennsylvania’s newest lottery winner. And sure enough, it just kept rolling until I hit the jackpot, and then I went and told the wife, and of course she didn’t believe me. Christopher Lehman and his wife had just moved from New Hampshire to Beaver County back in May when he decided to see what the Pennsylvania lottery had to offer. It was like literally like *** $30.20 dollars. Thing and it’s like $5 spins and I was down to the last $5. I was like, oh, if I don’t win I don’t win. And it just hit. The Active duty service member wasn’t too surprised when he won $1.3 million. I’ve been in the military for 25 years, so I’ve done *** lot of different things like on deployments and everything else, so there’s obviously those really highs for that. And so like the excitement levels more of just *** OK, cool, because I didn’t see the money yet. I didn’t know if it was going to be real. That money in fact real and in the bank. So it went from the extremes of oh we should go buy these things we should. You know, buy this or that thing we should spend it on this. None of what we were really going to do, but it was nice to think about until the money hit and then we had to be adults. The 25 year service member decided it was best to be practical when spending the check. He paid off the house, bought *** new truck, and invested the life changing money. I mean, I think everybody should do that, you know, just grow the wealth and if you have kids, don’t have kids. Take care of your family. Covering Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Ava Rash, Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.

    Bringing home the bacon: Lottery ticket sold at butcher shop hits jackpot

    Updated: 12:27 AM EDT Oct 17, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    A customer at a Pennsylvania butcher shop is bringing home the bacon after a big win in the Pennsylvania Lottery.Lottery officials said a Match 6 Lotto ticket that was sold at Joe’s Butcher Shop in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh, hit the jackpot for $620,000.The lucky ticket matched all six numbers in the Oct. 14 drawing — 16, 25, 31, 34, 36, 44.The holder of the winning ticket has one year to claim the prize.A $5,000 bonus will go to the butcher shop on Broadway Boulevard for selling the ticket.

    A customer at a Pennsylvania butcher shop is bringing home the bacon after a big win in the Pennsylvania Lottery.

    Lottery officials said a Match 6 Lotto ticket that was sold at Joe’s Butcher Shop in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh, hit the jackpot for $620,000.

    The lucky ticket matched all six numbers in the Oct. 14 drawing — 16, 25, 31, 34, 36, 44.

    The holder of the winning ticket has one year to claim the prize.

    A $5,000 bonus will go to the butcher shop on Broadway Boulevard for selling the ticket.

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  • 5 Ways Smart Landlords Manage More Units With Less Effort

    Growth in real estate is often painted as a double-edged sword. On one hand, more units mean more revenue and greater portfolio value. On the other hand, every new property seems to multiply the late-night calls, rent collection headaches, and maintenance requests piling up faster than they can be handled. For many landlords, the idea of doubling their doors teeters between feeling like a life-changing opportunity and burnout waiting to happen.

    But the smartest landlords are opting out of manual, fragmented systems, and choosing to manage smarter. Instead of adding more spreadsheets, sticky notes, or staff hours, forward-thinking landlords are accomplishing more with less stress using automation, centralized dashboards, and data-driven insights that reveal not just what’s happening in their business, but why.

    I’ve seen this shift firsthand in the data flowing through our RentRedi platform. Smart investors are adopting intelligent systems that not only reduce day-to-day friction, but also enable them to grow sustainably, with the ability to expand their portfolios without expanding their stress.

    Work smarter, not harder

    Here are five ways landlords are scaling their real estate portfolios without stress, by working smarter, not harder:

    1. Savvy landlords replace busywork with automation

    When rent collection, late-fee enforcement, lease renewals, and tenant screening are automated, it means fewer phone calls, fewer reminders, and more predictable cash flow. Automation reduces the friction of daily operations, freeing up time to focus on strategic work, such as evaluating potential acquisitions or investing in property improvements that boost long-term value.

    When smart landlords automate processes, it creates a foundation of predictability for their business. For instance, renters who go through our automated tenant screening process submit rent earlier—17 days faster, on average—and are more likely to pay on time, with rates seven percentage points higher than those without screening.

    Additionally, growth-minded landlords automate tenant screening and maintenance coordination to save time while scaling reliably. Automating background, credit, and rental history checks reduces administrative work, minimizes human error, and facilitates faster, more informed leasing decisions. Likewise, centralized maintenance tools track work orders and vendor schedules in real time, reducing follow-ups and preventing small issues from translating into extra hours or operational headaches.

    2. Smart landlords centralize their operations

    Savvy landlords use centralized dashboards to stay in control of their portfolios by pulling everything into one place: rent payments, lease expirations, occupancy rates, and open maintenance tickets. Instead of scrambling to react to problems, they see patterns—like a tenant who’s consistently paying late or a property where maintenance requests are piling up—and intervene early.

    The ability to delegate work to comprehensive rental management systems allows smart landlords to spend less time doing repetitive tasks (by instructing the system on how to automate processes their way) and more time looking at summaries and trends in their portfolio. That kind of oversight prevents small issues from turning into costly vacancies. Since turnover is one of the biggest expenses in the business, a clear, consolidated view directly impacts profitability.

    3. High-retention landlords focus on tenant experience

    Smart landlords understand that a smoother experience for tenants creates a smoother business for them. When renters pay rent in seconds, submit maintenance requests without hassle, and get real-time updates, they’re less frustrated and more likely to stay long term. Happier tenants generate fewer calls, fewer complaints, and fewer avoidable emergencies, freeing landlords to focus on growth instead of putting out fires.

    Rent collection tools like mobile payments, multiple payment opinions, and autopay offer renters more than convenience—they are powerful retention tools. In a broader market where on-time rent payments have slipped to 84.3 percent, landlords using autopay maintain above 95 percent on-time rates. When coupled with credit reporting, that rate climbs to over 99 percent. The easier it is for renters to handle their obligations, the more consistently they do so, creating a smoother experience for both landlords and their tenants.

    4. Growth-minded investors lean on data

    Every rental business produces valuable information through rent payments, lease timelines, maintenance requests, and tenant communication. When doing things manually, this information is scattered across emails, texts, and bank statements, making it hard to use in any meaningful way.

    That’s why having organized, accessible data is so powerful. When all this activity is pulled into a single system, it stops being fragmented noise and starts becoming usable intelligence. Smart landlords leverage this data to spot trends—like a property with rising maintenance costs, or a tenant consistently paying late—and take action before those issues erode profitability.

    Instead of relying on gut instinct, growth-minded landlords approach their portfolio the way professional investors do, by using data to guide decisions. Tracking trends in late payments, lease renewals, or maintenance costs reveals which properties are performing well and which may need attention.

    This level of insight helps scaling landlords decide where to reinvest, when to adjust rents, or how to allocate resources. The result is smarter growth by having clearer insight into where the business is headed and how to make smarter decisions at scale.

    5. Successful landlords turn growth into freedom, not stress

    Scaling shouldn’t mean doing more of everything. Rather, it should involve leveraging systems that do the heavy lifting. A landlord managing five units on spreadsheets may feel maxed out, while a landlord with 50 units and intelligent systems in place may find growth surprisingly manageable.

    Smart landlords see themselves as the CEO of a rental business. Systems make growth sustainable; insights make it strategic. When workflows are efficient, consistent, and tenant-friendly, adding new doors doesn’t have to mean adding new headaches.

    Growth without burnout

    Real estate will always bring challenges, from unexpected repairs and shifting markets, to the occasional late-night call. But landlords who embrace smarter tools are proving that growth doesn’t have to come at the expense of greater time commitment and more burnout.

    By automating workflows, centralizing data, leveraging mobile tools, and treating information as a true business asset, savvy landlords expand portfolios while reducing their day-to-day burden. Smart landlords build a business that works as intelligently as they do.

    Ryan Barone

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  • How to Revitalize a Brand

    Quiz time! How many times has The Coca-Cola Company rebranded Coke? If you are old enough to remember the “New Coke” debacle, you know the answer is at least a few times. One of the most important lessons learned from that New Coke rebranding was the importance of listening to customers. Being ready to flex and meet customers’ expectations is one of the most important aspects of embarking on a new branding campaign.

    A more recent example is the Cracker Barrel controversy, from launching its new logo this summer. The public pushed back hard, and in a statement, the company admitted to the backlash. It promised to keep “testing, learning, and listening to our guests and employees.”

    I spoke with our Arch Painting chief marketing officer Peter Prodromou, who is also the brand architect of our residential, technology-enabled platform, Paintzen. We discussed the strategy and execution behind rebranding efforts. Essentially, how do you revitalize a brand?

    Q: When does a company know it is time to rebrand?

    Peter: Branding is the signature of companies and products. It’s a personality, an identity, and a market differentiator. But sometimes established, successful brands need a refresh. As the world changes, trends change. Technology comes into play and customer expectations change. It’s important that brands continue to be relevant and meet customers’ needs.

    Q: What are the first steps a company should take before rebranding?

    Peter: Research. Executives might have a hunch about branding, but undertaking an established brand’s revitalization can be risky. Cracker Barrel is currently living that lesson. Both the Cracker Barrel and Coke examples show that consumers have opinions and sometimes don’t like change. The New Coke controversy was also one of the early instances of customers exerting pressure publicly and en masse, to challenge a corporate branding decision. The success in undoing Coke’s decision is all the more impressive given this was in a pre-internet era, when organizing and pressure really required grass roots organizing and organic activation. I have worked with numerous brands over my career. Anytime I led a rebranding campaign, research—the kind that provides a deep understanding of consumer psychology—is the project’s lynchpin.

    For example, our company, Arch Painting, is an established paint contracting company with three decades of experience in the Boston area. We decided to rebrand the consumer, residential painting business, now known as Paintzen, as the company expands nationwide.

    Our research showed us that nearly 50 percent of millennials and Gen Xers, the two most prolific home buyer generations, prefer using automated technology to research, price, and book home improvements. But it was more than just the metrics. It was understanding the psychology of these cohorts’ purchasing preferences that fueled our strategy. Paintzen needed to meet those expectations. Backed by our technology platform, Zenify, Paintzen allows customers to price, book, and manage interior or exterior residential painting projects, with a quote in as little as five minutes and the ability to have a paint crew on location in as few as five days. We responded with a design that reflected the prevalent engagement preference for on-the-run mobile. By reflecting our customers’ busy lifestyles, we were able to design something we knew would work and, as a result, would be easier to brand.

    Q: How do you ensure a smooth transition to the new brand?

    Peter: Communication with our key stakeholders helped ensure a smooth transition. The executive team and board of directors wanted to ensure we were upholding the reputation and brand equity Arch Painting had established in the New England area.

    Our employees needed to understand why we were making the change, how it would impact their day-to-day jobs, and how we would speak to the new brand.

    Our customers were our most important stakeholder. We used a strategic mix of launching a new website, radio, and streaming media for brand visibility; direct mailers, email communication, and performance marketing for lead generation; and social media channels to let our customers know our new residential service name. But also to share that they could continue counting on the same customer service, attention to detail, technique mastery, and quality commitment.

    Revitalizing an established brand can be risky, but allowing your brand to stagnate, not meeting your customers’ needs and expectations, can be worse.

    If you are still wondering about Coke, The Coca-Cola Company has rebranded Coke more than 49 times, an excellent example of an established brand meeting its customers’ needs.

    Richard Kilgannon

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  • Firefighters team up with Domino’s to deliver fire safety

    CRIME STOPPERS. WELL, THEY’RE NOT JUST FIGHTING FIRES TODAY. THEY’RE DELIVERING PIZZA. DOMINO’S PIZZA TEAMS UP WITH THE PAPILLION FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PROMOTE FIRE SAFETY. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S PETE CUDDIHY WENT ON THE DELIVERY ROUTE AND FOUND OUT THEY WERE BRINGING MORE THAN JUST YOUR FAVORITE SLICE. WHEN CUSTOMERS IN PAPILLION ORDERED THEIR DOMINO’S TODAY, THEIR DELIVERY CAME WITH A SURPRISE VISIT FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND A CHECK ON THEIR SMOKE DETECTORS TO ENSURE THEIR SAFETY. A NORMAL DAY IN DOMINO’S KITCHEN IS FILLED WITH SPRINKLING GARLIC KNOTS WITH PARMESAN, CUTTING UP PIZZAS INTO SLICES AND FOLDING THEIR FAMOUS BOXES UP READY FOR DELIVERY. BUT SUNDAY WAS NO ORDINARY DAY FOR DOMINO’S PAPILLION STORE. THE PIZZA CHAIN TEAMED UP WITH THE PAPILLION FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR FIRE PREVENTION WEEK, ADDING A NEW VEHICLE TO THEIR DELIVERY TEAM. NOW FOLLOWING BEHIND THEIR FAMOUS DELIVERY CARS MARKED WITH THE RED AND BLUE GAME PIECE WAS A PAPILLION FIRE ENGINE TEAMED UP WITH DOMINO’S PIZZA THIS YEAR. TO CHECK RESIDENTS FOR SMOKE DETECTORS IF THEY HAVE WORKING SMOKE DETECTORS. CREDIT TO THEM, THEY GOT A FREE PIZZA WHILE EMPLOYEES IN THE KITCHEN PRESSED THE DOUGH AND LAID THE TOPPINGS. FIREFIGHTERS BRIAN O’SHEA AND TODD CREWS WAITED FOR THEIR MOMENT TO DELIVER CUSTOMERS ORDERS WITH A SIDE OF SAFETY. GIVE US ABOUT 15 MINUTES. WHEN EVERYTHING WAS BAGGED, IT WAS TIME FOR PAPILLION FIRE DEPARTMENT TO ROLL OUT. HI. HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? GOOD. HOW ARE YOU? NOT TOO BAD. IS THAT FOR YOU? THANK YOU. HELLO. HI. HOW ARE YOU? GOOD. JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WORKING SMOKE DETECTOR. YEAH. FIRE THE DELIVERY. RESULTING IN A WIN WIN SCENARIO. WORKING ALARMS. IT’S GOOD. MEANING? FREE PIZZA FOR THE CUSTOMER. GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. A POSITIVE DAY TEAM LEAD AT DOMINO’S JONATHAN GLENN IS HAPPY HE WAS A PART OF. I GREW UP HERE MY WHOLE LIFE, SO BEING ABLE TO GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY YOU GREW UP IN IS ALWAYS SPECIAL. TO DO AN EVENT, REWARDING THE COMMUNITY FOR TAKING PRECAUTIONS. ONE FREE PIZZA AT A TIME. WE APPLAUD PEOPLE FOR TAKING STEPS TO MAKE SURE TO KEEP THEIR FAMILY AND THEIR HOMES SAFE. THE PAPILLION FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS THAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE A WORKING SMOKE DETECTOR OR IF YOU NEED ONE REPLACED, YOU CAN CONTACT THE MAYOR’S HOTLINE AND THEY’LL COME OUT AND INSTALL ONE FOR YOU. REPORTING FROM PAPI

    Fire department in Nebraska teams up with Domino’s to deliver fire safety

    Updated: 1:50 AM EDT Oct 8, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    When customers in Papillion, Nebraska, ordered their Domino’s Sunday afternoon, their delivery came with a surprise visit from the Papillion Fire Department and a check on their smoke detectors to ensure their safety.A normal day in a Domino’s kitchen is filled with sprinkling garlic knots with parmesan, cutting up pizzas into slices, and folding their famous boxes up ready for delivery. But Sunday was no ordinary day for the Domino’s store in Papillion, which is a suburb of Omaha.The pizza chain teamed up with the Papillion Fire Department for Fire Prevention Week, adding a new vehicle to their delivery team. Now following behind their famous delivery cars — marked with the red and blue game piece — was a Papillion fire engine.”Teamed up with Domino’s Pizza this year to check residents for smoke detectors. If they have working smoke detectors, credit to them — they got a free pizza,” said Battalion Chief of Papillion Fire Department Brian Oshey.While employees in the kitchen pressed the dough and laid the toppings, firefighters Brian Oshey and Todd Groose waited for their moment to deliver customers’ orders with a side of safety. When orders were bagged, it was time for the Papillion Fire Department to roll out, knocking at the door with pizza in hand, ready to check the customer’s smoke alarms.The delivery resulted in a win-win scenario: working alarms meant free pizza for the customer — a positive day.Team lead at Domino’s, Jonathan Glynn, is happy he was a part of it.”I lived in Papillion my whole life, so doing this is really cool,” said team lead at Papillion Domino’s, Jonathan Glynn.Rewarding the community for taking precautions, Oshey said, “We applaud people for taking steps to make sure they’re keeping their family and their home safe.”

    PAPILLION, Neb. —

    When customers in Papillion, Nebraska, ordered their Domino’s Sunday afternoon, their delivery came with a surprise visit from the Papillion Fire Department and a check on their smoke detectors to ensure their safety.

    A normal day in a Domino’s kitchen is filled with sprinkling garlic knots with parmesan, cutting up pizzas into slices, and folding their famous boxes up ready for delivery. But Sunday was no ordinary day for the Domino’s store in Papillion, which is a suburb of Omaha.

    The pizza chain teamed up with the Papillion Fire Department for Fire Prevention Week, adding a new vehicle to their delivery team. Now following behind their famous delivery cars — marked with the red and blue game piece — was a Papillion fire engine.

    “Teamed up with Domino’s Pizza this year to check residents for smoke detectors. If they have working smoke detectors, credit to them — they got a free pizza,” said Battalion Chief of Papillion Fire Department Brian Oshey.

    While employees in the kitchen pressed the dough and laid the toppings, firefighters Brian Oshey and Todd Groose waited for their moment to deliver customers’ orders with a side of safety.

    When orders were bagged, it was time for the Papillion Fire Department to roll out, knocking at the door with pizza in hand, ready to check the customer’s smoke alarms.

    The delivery resulted in a win-win scenario: working alarms meant free pizza for the customer — a positive day.

    Team lead at Domino’s, Jonathan Glynn, is happy he was a part of it.

    “I lived in Papillion my whole life, so doing this is really cool,” said team lead at Papillion Domino’s, Jonathan Glynn.

    Rewarding the community for taking precautions, Oshey said, “We applaud people for taking steps to make sure they’re keeping their family and their home safe.”

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  • California consumers get surprise sticker shock ordering imports online

    Every year, Ventura County resident Carlos Soto buys a Liverpool Football Club jersey for his son to celebrate the start of the soccer season. This year it was delivered with an additional bill of $107.

    “The UPS guy said he couldn’t release it unless I paid more,” said Soto, who owns the Historia Bakery Cafe in Thousand Oaks. “Until this tariff thing started, I’ve never, ever had a bill on top of my purchase.”

    Soto declined the payment and requested a refund for the jersey, which he bought from the team’s official website for around $150.

    Since President Trump reversed a decades-old tariff policy in August known as de minimis, online shoppers like Soto are sometimes getting hit with high, unexpected extra charges.

    De minimis used to allow goods valued at less than $800 to enter the country duty-free. The tariff exception applied to more than 1.30 billion packages sent to the U.S. from overseas in 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

    Social media is full of reports of individuals struggling with surprise bills for their deliveries. On Facebook and elsewhere, buyers are venting about hundreds of dollars due on mouse pads, makeup and bridesmaid dresses. One person on Reddit faced a $4,700 fee on a specialized desk chair from Bulgaria.

    While the new fees are often already baked into product prices, some goods land in America without the tariffs being paid. That’s when the person receiving the package is expected to fork over the difference.

    Package delivery companies have been scrambling to educate consumers about the new tariff regime, but still, some are surprised.

    UPS, FedEx and DHL have each posted frequently asked questions and resources online to support customers who may owe tariffs on their items. Large numbers of customers are calling with complaints or confusion when presented with unexpected bills — UPS said it is working through a backlog of brokerage-related issues.

    “Our brokerage services are designed to ensure shipments comply with regulations [and] pay necessary duties and taxes,” said UPS spokesperson Jim Mayer. “If the shipper or receiver have not paid these costs, UPS generates a bill so the shipment can be released by Customs and Border Protection.”

    Mark Hartlidge, a small package compliance manager at UPS, called the changes this year a “rollercoaster ride” in one webinar hosted for customers.

    “If you import anything to the United States, you most likely have been impacted,” he said in July. “These changes can be very difficult to understand.”

    While large companies and online retailers have the staff and infrastructure in place to make the transition smoothly, smaller businesses that export directly to the U.S. are sometimes failing to inform consumers about the extra costs and when they are due.

    Washington, D.C., resident David Herr, who restores classic cars, recently ordered an auto part from Belgium for about $200.

    “I knew I was going to have to pay some import fee, but I had no idea what it was going to be,” Herr said. “I didn’t know if that was included in the price, or if that was going to be collected by customs or somebody else.”

    When Herr’s package arrived via UPS, the delivery driver presented him with a hefty charge of $493.

    “It’s kind of awkward how the fees are collected,” he said. “There’s not a lot of clarity on who’s collecting them and where they’re going.”

    The popular fast fashion website Shein, which is based in Singapore, advertises a guarantee that the price at checkout is the final price for the product.

    “There’s lots of chatter about tariffs, but here’s why you don’t need to worry about paying anything extra after checkout,” the Shein website says.

    Temu, another low-cost online retailer that previously relied on de minimis, states on its website that for its customers, there are “no import charges for all local warehouse items and no extra charges upon delivery.”

    Meg Moore, an avid online shopper from the Chicago area, said she plans to change her shopping habits.

    She had her eye on the annual beauty product advent calendar from the London-based brand Liberty, which retails for $365, but decided against it due to the tariffs.

    “They’ll add at least $100 just to send it here,” she said.

    De minimis, which is Latin for something of little importance, dates to 1938 when Congress passed the exception to boost trade and save the time of inspecting and calculating taxes on every package.

    Lawmakers increased the duty-free threshold from $1 to $5 in 1990 and again to $200 in 1993. Under the most recent threshold of $800, the number of packages entering the U.S. duty-free had skyrocketed.

    Trump has called the rule a “scam” that weakens American businesses and allows dangerous goods to enter the country without oversight. Packages that claim the exemption are not inspected as thoroughly by U.S. Customs personnel.

    Trump ended the so-called loophole for goods sent from China in May before eliminating the practice for goods from all other nations in August. Documents and gifts under $100 are still exempt from import taxes.

    Soto in Thousand Oaks decided to search for a Liverpool jersey in California. But he’s still waiting for the refund on the jersey he sent back.

    “When it comes to politics and government, I’ve always kind of turned away from it,” he said. “But this time it actually hurt my pocket.”

    Caroline Petrow-Cohen

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  • 6 Ways True Innovators Stress-Test Their Customer Assumptions

    As a founder who built an Inc. 500 company and coached dozens of teams on innovation strategy, I’ve learned that the biggest innovation failures come from false confidence in customer understanding, not from lack of good ideas. My systems thinking background taught me that breakthrough innovations emerge when teams systematically challenge their own assumptions rather than trusting their expertise.

    The most successful innovation teams I’ve worked with share one trait: they’ve learned to be systematically suspicious of their own insights and use adversarial methods to stress-test customer assumptions before committing resources to solutions.

    1. Red team exercises

    Assign team members to actively attack your customer assumptions and innovation strategy from a competitor’s perspective. Create a dedicated session where half your team argues against your current customer understanding and proposed solutions, forcing examination of vulnerabilities you haven’t considered. This adversarial approach reveals blind spots that supportive brainstorming sessions miss completely. Have the red team identify which customer segments you’re ignoring, what needs you’re misunderstanding, and how competitors could exploit gaps in your customer knowledge. This exercise consistently uncovers assumption gaps that teams discover too late during market testing.

    2. Premortem analysis

    Before committing to innovation decisions, imagine your customer research and solution development has failed spectacularly and work backwards to identify what went wrong. Conduct systematic failure analysis by asking what customer assumptions would have to be false for your innovation to completely miss market needs. This reverse engineering of failure reveals hidden risks in your customer understanding that forward-looking analysis misses. Teams that regularly use premortem exercises identify customer assumption failures before they waste development resources, consistently avoiding innovation disasters that confident teams experience.

    3. Devil’s advocate rotation

    Systematically assign different team members to challenge each major customer assumption rather than having one person always play the negative role. Rotate the devil’s advocate responsibility across team members and customer insights, ensuring every assumption faces rigorous scrutiny from multiple perspectives. This prevents both assumption groupthink and advocate fatigue that occurs when one person always challenges ideas. Each team member takes turns arguing against specific customer insights, forcing deeper examination of evidence and alternative explanations for customer behavior patterns.

    4. Assumption stress testing

    Take each core belief about customers and deliberately test scenarios where it’s completely wrong, exploring what would be true if your fundamental customer understanding is false. Create systematic tests for your most confident customer insights by investigating contradictory evidence and alternative explanations for customer behavior. This approach reveals when teams are interpreting customer data to support existing beliefs rather than discovering genuine insights. Teams that regularly stress-test customer assumptions discover market opportunities that confident competitors miss because they never question their customer expertise.

    5. External perspective injection

    Bring in people from completely different industries and backgrounds to review your customer assumptions and challenge insights that seem obvious to your team. Use outsiders who don’t share your industry biases to examine customer research and question conclusions that insiders accept without scrutiny. This outside perspective consistently reveals customer insights and market opportunities that industry experts overlook due to shared assumptions about normal customer behavior. External reviewers ask questions that teams immersed in industry thinking never consider, uncovering customer needs hidden by professional expertise.

    6. Anonymous assumption audits

    Use anonymous surveys and feedback systems where team members can challenge customer insights and innovation directions without fear of social consequences or seeming negative. Create systematic processes for team members to question customer assumptions, research methodologies, and solution directions without revealing their identity. This approach encourages honest scrutiny of customer insights that team dynamics and social pressure typically suppress. Anonymous audits consistently reveal team concerns about customer understanding that never surface in group discussions, preventing innovation failures that confident group consensus creates.

    Teams that master systematic assumption challenging consistently discover breakthrough customer insights while competitors remain trapped by false confidence in their expertise. The competitive advantage comes from systematic doubt about customer understanding, not from better research methods or deeper industry knowledge.

    Action Items

    • Which customer assumptions would your team challenge if they could do so anonymously?
    • How might competitors exploit gaps in your current customer understanding?
    • What innovation failures could you prevent by systematically doubting your most confident customer insights?

    The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

    Bruce Eckfeldt

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  • Target’s CEO is stepping down as customers turn away

    Target CEO Brian Cornell, who helped reenergize the company but has struggled to turn around weak sales in a more competitive retail landscape since the COVID pandemic, plans to step down Feb. 1.Minneapolis-based Target said Wednesday that Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran, will succeed Cornell.Cornell said Fiddelke’s appointment followed several years of board vetting of both internal and external candidates. Fiddelke has overhauled Target’s supply network and expanded the company’s stores and digital services while cutting costs. In May, the company announced that he would lead a new office focused on faster decision-making to help accelerate sales growth.Fiddelke is taking over at a time when Target’s sales are in a funk, its stores are messy and understocked, and it’s losing market share to rivals like Walmart.He said he’s stepping into the role with urgency with three priorities: reclaiming the company’s merchandising authority; improving the shopping experience by making sure shelves are consistently stocked and stores are clean; and investing in technology at the company’s stores and in its supply network.“When we’re leading with swagger in our merchandising authority, when we have swagger in our marketing, and we’re setting the trend for retail, those are some of the moments I think that Target has been at its highest in my 20 years,” he said.The change in leadership was announced Wednesday at the same time that Target reported another quarter of sluggish results. The company’s stock was down more than 8% in pre-market trading.Neil Saunders, a managing director at GlobalData Retail, said Wednesday that he had “mixed feelings” about the appointment.“While we think Fiddelke is talented and has a somewhat different take on things compared to current CEO Brian Cornell, this is an internal appointment that does not necessarily remedy the problems of entrenched groupthink and the inward-looking mindset that have plagued Target for years,” he said.Target reported a 21% drop in net income in the quarter ended Aug. 2. Sales were down slightly and the company reported a 1.9% dip in comparable sales — those from established physical stores and online channels. Target has seen flat or declining comparable sales in eight out of the past 10 quarters including the latest period.Target, which has about 1,980 U.S. stores, has been the focus of consumer boycotts since late January, when it joined rival Walmart and a number of other prominent American brands in scaling back corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.Target’s sales also have languished as customers defect to Walmart and off-price department store chains like TJ Maxx in search of lower prices. But many analysts think Target is stumbling because consumers no longer consider it the place to go for affordable but stylish products, a niche that long ago earned the retailer the jokingly posh nickname “Tarzhay.”In fact, out of 35 merchandise categories that Target tracks, it gained or maintained market share in only 14 during the latest quarter, Fiddelke told reporters Tuesday.Meanwhile, Walmart gained market share among households with incomes over $100,000 as U.S. inflation caused consumer prices to rise rapidly. Lower-income shoppers have driven customer growth at Target, suggesting it may have lost appeal with wealthier customers, according to market research firm Consumer Edge.“It’s probably not the best sign, especially because higher-income consumers continue to hold up a little bit better” during times of economic uncertainty, said Consumer Edge Head of Insights Michael Gunther.In March, members of Target’s executive team told investors they planned to regain the chain’s reputation for selling stylish goods at budget prices by expanding Target’s lineup of store label brands and shortening the time it took to get new items from the idea stage to store shelves. The moves would help the company stay close to trends, executives said.“In a world where we operate today, our guests are looking for Tarzhay,” Cornell told investors. “Consumers coined that term decades ago to define how we elevate the everything everyday to something special, how we had unexpected fun in the shopping that would be otherwise routine.”Before joining Target in 2014, Cornell, 66, spent more than 30 years in leadership positions at retail and consumer-product companies, including as chief marketing officer at Safeway Inc. and CEO at Michaels, Walmart’s Sam’s Club and PepsiCo America Foods. In September 2022, the board extended his contract for three more years and eliminated a policy requiring its chief executives to retire at age 65.When Cornell got to Target, the company was facing a different set of challenges.Cornell replaced former CEO Gregg Steinhafel, who stepped down nearly five months after Target disclosed a huge data breach in which hackers stole millions of customers’ credit- and debit-card records. The theft badly damaged the chain’s reputation and profits.Cornell reenergized sales by having his team rev up Target’s store brands. It now has 40 private label brands in its portfolio. And even before the pandemic, Cornell spearheaded the company’s mission to transform its stores into delivery hubs to cut down on costs and speed up deliveries.Target’s 2017 acquisition of Shipt helped bolster the discounter’s same-day, store-based fulfillment services. Cornell also focused on making its stores better tailored to the local community.The coronavirus pandemic delivered outsized sales for Target as well as its peers as people stayed home and bought pajamas, furnishings and kitchen items. And it continued to see a surge in sales as shoppers emerged from their homes and went to stores. But the spending sprees eventually subsided.As inflation started to spike, Target reported a 52% drop in profits during its 2022 first quarter compared with a year earlier. Purchases of big TVs and appliances that Americans loaded up on during the pandemic faded, leaving the retailer with excess inventory that had to be sold off.In July 2023, as shoppers feeling pinched by inflation curtailed their spending, Target said its comparable sales declined for the first time in six years.Moreover, Target started losing its edge as an authority on style by focusing too much on home furnishings basics, and not enough trendy items, Fiddelke said.A customer backlash over the annual line of LGBTQ+ Pride merchandise Target stores carried that year further cut into sales.Although Walmart retreated from its diversity initiatives first, Target has been the focus of more concerted consumer boycotts. Organizers have said they viewed Target’s action as a greater betrayal because the company previously had held itself out as a champion of inclusion.

    NEW YORK —

    Target CEO Brian Cornell, who helped reenergize the company but has struggled to turn around weak sales in a more competitive retail landscape since the COVID pandemic, plans to step down Feb. 1.

    Minneapolis-based Target said Wednesday that Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran, will succeed Cornell.

    Cornell said Fiddelke’s appointment followed several years of board vetting of both internal and external candidates. Fiddelke has overhauled Target’s supply network and expanded the company’s stores and digital services while cutting costs. In May, the company announced that he would lead a new office focused on faster decision-making to help accelerate sales growth.

    Fiddelke is taking over at a time when Target’s sales are in a funk, its stores are messy and understocked, and it’s losing market share to rivals like Walmart.

    He said he’s stepping into the role with urgency with three priorities: reclaiming the company’s merchandising authority; improving the shopping experience by making sure shelves are consistently stocked and stores are clean; and investing in technology at the company’s stores and in its supply network.

    “When we’re leading with swagger in our merchandising authority, when we have swagger in our marketing, and we’re setting the trend for retail, those are some of the moments I think that Target has been at its highest in my 20 years,” he said.

    The change in leadership was announced Wednesday at the same time that Target reported another quarter of sluggish results. The company’s stock was down more than 8% in pre-market trading.

    Neil Saunders, a managing director at GlobalData Retail, said Wednesday that he had “mixed feelings” about the appointment.

    “While we think Fiddelke is talented and has a somewhat different take on things compared to current CEO Brian Cornell, this is an internal appointment that does not necessarily remedy the problems of entrenched groupthink and the inward-looking mindset that have plagued Target for years,” he said.

    Target reported a 21% drop in net income in the quarter ended Aug. 2. Sales were down slightly and the company reported a 1.9% dip in comparable sales — those from established physical stores and online channels. Target has seen flat or declining comparable sales in eight out of the past 10 quarters including the latest period.

    Target, which has about 1,980 U.S. stores, has been the focus of consumer boycotts since late January, when it joined rival Walmart and a number of other prominent American brands in scaling back corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

    Target’s sales also have languished as customers defect to Walmart and off-price department store chains like TJ Maxx in search of lower prices. But many analysts think Target is stumbling because consumers no longer consider it the place to go for affordable but stylish products, a niche that long ago earned the retailer the jokingly posh nickname “Tarzhay.”

    In fact, out of 35 merchandise categories that Target tracks, it gained or maintained market share in only 14 during the latest quarter, Fiddelke told reporters Tuesday.

    Meanwhile, Walmart gained market share among households with incomes over $100,000 as U.S. inflation caused consumer prices to rise rapidly. Lower-income shoppers have driven customer growth at Target, suggesting it may have lost appeal with wealthier customers, according to market research firm Consumer Edge.

    “It’s probably not the best sign, especially because higher-income consumers continue to hold up a little bit better” during times of economic uncertainty, said Consumer Edge Head of Insights Michael Gunther.

    In March, members of Target’s executive team told investors they planned to regain the chain’s reputation for selling stylish goods at budget prices by expanding Target’s lineup of store label brands and shortening the time it took to get new items from the idea stage to store shelves. The moves would help the company stay close to trends, executives said.

    “In a world where we operate today, our guests are looking for Tarzhay,” Cornell told investors. “Consumers coined that term decades ago to define how we elevate the everything everyday to something special, how we had unexpected fun in the shopping that would be otherwise routine.”

    Before joining Target in 2014, Cornell, 66, spent more than 30 years in leadership positions at retail and consumer-product companies, including as chief marketing officer at Safeway Inc. and CEO at Michaels, Walmart’s Sam’s Club and PepsiCo America Foods. In September 2022, the board extended his contract for three more years and eliminated a policy requiring its chief executives to retire at age 65.

    When Cornell got to Target, the company was facing a different set of challenges.

    Cornell replaced former CEO Gregg Steinhafel, who stepped down nearly five months after Target disclosed a huge data breach in which hackers stole millions of customers’ credit- and debit-card records. The theft badly damaged the chain’s reputation and profits.

    Cornell reenergized sales by having his team rev up Target’s store brands. It now has 40 private label brands in its portfolio. And even before the pandemic, Cornell spearheaded the company’s mission to transform its stores into delivery hubs to cut down on costs and speed up deliveries.

    Target’s 2017 acquisition of Shipt helped bolster the discounter’s same-day, store-based fulfillment services. Cornell also focused on making its stores better tailored to the local community.

    The coronavirus pandemic delivered outsized sales for Target as well as its peers as people stayed home and bought pajamas, furnishings and kitchen items. And it continued to see a surge in sales as shoppers emerged from their homes and went to stores. But the spending sprees eventually subsided.

    As inflation started to spike, Target reported a 52% drop in profits during its 2022 first quarter compared with a year earlier. Purchases of big TVs and appliances that Americans loaded up on during the pandemic faded, leaving the retailer with excess inventory that had to be sold off.

    In July 2023, as shoppers feeling pinched by inflation curtailed their spending, Target said its comparable sales declined for the first time in six years.

    Moreover, Target started losing its edge as an authority on style by focusing too much on home furnishings basics, and not enough trendy items, Fiddelke said.

    A customer backlash over the annual line of LGBTQ+ Pride merchandise Target stores carried that year further cut into sales.

    Although Walmart retreated from its diversity initiatives first, Target has been the focus of more concerted consumer boycotts. Organizers have said they viewed Target’s action as a greater betrayal because the company previously had held itself out as a champion of inclusion.

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  • Gov. Newsom issues executive order aimed at lowering electric bills

    Gov. Newsom issues executive order aimed at lowering electric bills

    With Californians angry about their skyrocketing electric bills, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Wednesday aimed at giving them some relief.

    The governor’s order directs the state Public Utilities and Energy commissions to find ways to try to lower power bills in the future, or at the minimum to stop them from rising so quickly.

    Among the actions he asks for is a closer review of how utilities are spending money to stop transmission lines from sparking wildfires. State officials say those wildfire mitigation costs now make up about 13% of customers’ monthly electric bills.

    “We’re taking action to address rising electricity costs and save consumers money on their bills,” Newsom said. “California is proving that we can address affordability concerns as we continue our world-leading efforts to combat the climate crisis.”

    The governor issued the executive order days before Tuesday’s election, in which kitchen-table economics is a top concern.

    California now has the second-highest electric rates in the country after Hawaii. Residential customer bills have risen by as much as 110% in the last decade.

    In just the past three years, bills for customers of the three biggest for-profit utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — have increased by 20% to 50%. Those most recent rate increases were reviewed and approved by Newsom appointees at the state public utilities commission.

    The executive order is just one of Newsom’s recent moves aimed at reducing soaring energy costs. In August, he and Democratic lawmakers released a suite of energy-related bills just days before the legislative session ended. That same month the governor ordered lawmakers to return to Sacramento for a special session to debate a bill that would require oil refineries to increase gasoline reserves in an attempt to prevent price spikes at the pump.

    The governor’s staff say Newsom is committed to the state’s ambitious climate goals, which include having 100% clean electricity by 2045. But he has become concerned as electric rates have risen to cover the cost of the state’s fast construction of solar farms and other renewable power, they say.

    Newsom’s executive order asks his administration to look for “underperforming or underutilized programs” that are paid for by electric customers that could be ended. It says any unused money in those programs should be returned to customers.

    In addition, the order asks the state’s Air Resources Board to determine how the California Climate Credit could be increased. Most Californians’ get the credit twice a year on their electric and gas bills. The credit is funded by the state’s cap-and-trade program, which attempts to reduce harmful emissions.

    The order also directs the state Public Utilities Commission to pursue all federal funding opportunities that could reduce electric costs.

    An early plan by Newsom’s office for the executive order that was reviewed by The Times asked the public utilities commission to look into alternative ways of financing the building of electrical lines and other infrastructure. Currently, building infrastructure is a key way for utilities to boost their profits because they bill the cost back to ratepayers over many years, tacking on annual interest that is typically 10.5%.

    Consumer groups say that lowering this rate could result in significant savings for customers.

    The governor’s executive order released Wednesday didn’t include that provision. His staff said the directive to find other ways of financing infrastructure wasn’t included in the executive order because it would require legislative statutes to be changed.

    In August, Newsom backed away from an earlier plan he had to lower the infrastructure interest rate after criticism from the big utilities and electrical workers’ union, according to a report by the Sacramento Bee.

    Melody Petersen

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  • How To Avoid Alienating Customers In Any Business – Aha!NOW

    How To Avoid Alienating Customers In Any Business – Aha!NOW

    No matter what business, customer is the king. You need to understand your customer, gauge their changing requirements, keep up with the times, adopt transparency, and pledge your promises among other things to retain them. Here are some tips to avoid alienating customers and keeping them happy and satisfied. ~ Ed.

    One of the worst habits any business can find itself falling into is feeling entitled to their audience. It’s important to remember that any time a customer purchases an item or books a service with our company, that’s a vote of confidence that can easily be withdrawn at the next opportunity. Good businesses organize themselves to perpetually earn those confidence votes, by making the promotional aspect worthwhile, and also delivering when prompted each and every time.

    Yet it’s also true that even before a customer purchases, improper management or planning can deter or alienate your customer base. This is never a good idea, no matter if you’re trying to break out into new markets or repeatedly serve the clients that have stuck with you through thick and thin. With that in mind, let’s consider six essential means of avoiding that outcome.

    6 Ways To Avoid Alienating Customers Before They Buy

    Take no one for granted. Always ensure you provide value for money and earn the customer confidence. The following tips may help you achieve success in your business.

    Targeting Them Too Stereotypically

    To most clear-thinking people it’s obvious that just because someone’s in a certain demographic, it doesn’t mean they all think or behave the same way. Let’s say you’re marketing to Gen Z – don’t assume all of them are after the same trendy products or are all addicted to TikTok. People hate feeling like they’re just a checkbox in some marketing strategy.

    A better approach is to learn the process for creating buyer personas, as it allows you to take their very many characteristics in play without reducing them to a single type, while still making your marketing approach tight enough to attract the people most likely to buy.

    Assuming Their Loyalty

    Customer loyalty is a fragile thing – it needs to be earned continuously. Sure, you might have a loyal fanbase now, but all it takes is one bad experience or a competitor offering something better for that loyalty to waver. For example, most people have a Gmail or Outlook account, but if a brand new provider came with excellent domain names, and a 2TB free cloud storage account offered to every profile, you can bet those years of loyalty would dry up quickly. Don’t assume constant support, it will help you avoid resting when there’s competition to be had.

    Failing To Explain Your Services

    You’d be surprised how many businesses drop the ball here. We often assume that our services or products are self-explanatory when, in reality, they may not be. Customers want clarity. If they’re confused or unsure about what you’re offering, they’ll quickly move on.

    Put simply – don’t make them dig for information. Be upfront and clear about what they can expect from you, and keep in mind that people are bombarded with marketing messages all day long, so your explanation needs to stand out by being simple, concise, and compelling.

    Taking Away Utility

    Nothing frustrates customers more than having something useful taken away from them, especially when it’s a service they’ve come to rely on. If you’re going to make changes to your product or service, especially when it reduces utility, you’ve got to be transparent and have a very solid reason for doing so. Otherwise, it just feels like a money grab or as if you’re trying to strip the value from the service to charge for it later. So for example, putting a service feature at one tier behind a higher paywall, without months and months of forewarning and a cheap upgrade for those currently on the prior plan is never going to go down well.

    Charging More With No Explanation

    Pricing changes happen. In fact, even well-meaning businesses often find themselves needing to grow their fees to match inflation. But you can’t just up your prices without giving customers a reason they can understand, and as before, especially not with good warning. People don’t mind paying more if they feel they’re getting their money’s worth, but they hate feeling like they’re being penny-pinched for no good reason.

    Perhaps you’ve diligently turned your business into an entirely sustainable enterprise, but now you need to charge customers 5% more for the privilege of that. You may be surprised how many are willing to follow you, but it’s the explanation and justification parts that matter most.

    Providing No Visible Security

    Any security guard can tell you that the most valuable protection tool they have is just standing there and being visible. Because customers are increasingly aware of how their data is handled, and they’re more likely to trust businesses that take their privacy seriously, don’t hide your security apparatus behind closed doors. If your business doesn’t visibly prioritize security, customers may hesitate to trust you, no matter how great your offerings are. That might be as simple as working with secure payment providers, allowing 2FA on accounts, conducting audits, or having fraud alerts in place. It all counts, and shows you care.

    Wrapping it up

    Summing up, you need to keep earning the confidence of your customers and delivering your promises, ensure prudent planning of your marketing strategy, explain your product or services properly to the customers upfront, adopt transparency, make the customers feel secure and cared for. With this advice, you’ll be certain to avoid alienating customers before they buy.

    Over to you

    How did you tackle your wavering customer base and stop them from moving away? Share your experiences and tips to avoid alienating customers in the comments section.

    Disclaimer: Though the views expressed are of the author’s own, this article has been checked for its authenticity of information and resource links provided for a better and deeper understanding of the subject matter. However, you’re suggested to make your diligent research and consult subject experts to decide what is best for you. If you spot any factual errors, spelling, or grammatical mistakes in the article, please report at [email protected]. Thanks.

    Steve Conway

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  • Gov. Newsom signs law allowing restaurants and bars to charge service fees with prior disclosure

    Gov. Newsom signs law allowing restaurants and bars to charge service fees with prior disclosure

    Those 3, 5 and 20% fees at the bottom of your menu could be here to stay. With little time to spare, a new law will allow restaurants and bars to continue charging service fees, healthcare costs and other surcharges when listed clearly for diners to see. The practice was set to be outlawed beginning Monday.

    On Saturday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1524, an emergency measure to exempt California food and beverage vendors from Senate Bill 478 — a law that goes into effect in July and targets ticket sellers, hotel and travel websites and other businesses that charge “hidden” or “junk” fees.

    Before Newsom signed SB 1524, which was introduced in early June, restaurants and bars were included in the affected businesses, and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta had advised that the food and beverage vendors roll such fees into listed menu prices to avoid the possibility of legal action.

    “These deceptive fees prevent us from knowing how much we will be charged at the outset,” the attorney general, who co-sponsored SB 478, said in a statement the day it was signed. Bonta could not be reached for comment regarding the exemptions allowed by SB 1524.

    Numerous business operators in the service industry have been vocal against SB 478, which passed in October. They said they feared that raising list prices during a tumultuous year marked by closures and inflation would cost them more customers and support. Multiple restaurateurs told the Los Angeles Times that the process of revising or entirely overhauling their tipping and surcharge system could result in the loss of staff benefits or all-out closures. SB 1524’s rules allowing such surcharges could affect tens of thousands of restaurants throughout the state.

    “We’re the most regulated of any business out there, and we are struggling to survive in the broken system that has been handed to us throughout many, many decades,” said Eddie Navarrette, a co-founder of the Independent Hospitality Coalition, a restaurant advocacy group. “When you add more regulations, whatever it may be, it makes things more difficult. Things are already difficult … there is a mass exodus of our small-restaurant community. I think it’s a huge relief, just to have one less thing being thrown at them right now.”

    Navarrette spent weeks campaigning for SB 1524’s passage, writing letters, meeting with upwards of 35 policy advisors, legislators or their representatives, knocking on doors at the state Capitol, and explaining the usage of service fees within the restaurant industry, whose tip-based employee earnings make it different from most fields that will be affected by SB 478.

    Surcharges, health fees and service charges are regularly used within the industry to stabilize wages across dining rooms and kitchens — where servers often receive tips but cooks and dishwashers do not — and to help offset the cost of benefits such as healthcare. Businesses with larger service fees, such as 18% or 20%, often note that tips are not expected.

    “It’s confusing why the restaurants are claiming that they need to do things differently, because it just feels like they’re saying that they need to hide the cost of their food for us, and that doesn’t feel right,” said Jenn Engstrom, state director of the California affiliate of the Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) a nonprofit organization that advocates for consumer interests and protections.

    “It feels like you’re being duped,” she said. “That’s what it feels like: that they’re trying to trick you.”

    Some local restaurants have come under fire on accusations of misusing service fees or other surcharges, though multiple chefs and restaurateurs told The Times that these “bad actors” are few and far between.

    “Every restaurateur that I know who cares in this industry is using it in a way that is so immensely appropriate and responsible and forward-thinking that if it was to go away, it would be really crippling to everybody,” Kato restaurateur Ryan Bailey told The Times earlier this year.

    The new bill, which passed unanimously in the state Assembly and Senate in late June, was co-written by Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) — who also co-wrote SB 478 — as well as Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymembers Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters).

    It is supported by the California Restaurant Assn. and the labor union Unite Here, both of which represent thousands of hospitality workers in California.

    SB 1524 “will enable restaurants to continue to support increased pay equity and to make contributions to worker health care and other employee benefits,” Matthew Sutton of the California Restaurant Assn. said in a statement. “And, importantly, consumers will remain empowered to make informed choices about where they choose to dine out.”

    While some restaurateurs and bar operators are breathing a sigh of relief over the continuation of service fees, others are frustrated with the government’s quick change in tack.

    In April, ahead of SB 478’s July 1 start date — but before the new carve-out for restaurants and bars — L&E Oyster Bar and sibling restaurant El Condor rolled their 4% service fees into listed menu prices.

    (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

    Following the attorney general’s guidance for SB 478, in April restaurateur Dustin Lancaster rolled a 4% surcharge into the menu list prices of two of his L.A. restaurants, L&E Oyster Bar and El Condor. He said that SB 1524 would not prompt him to revert to a service-fee model, at least for the foreseeable future, and that it wasn’t “so simple to just unbake the cake.”

    “This is, sadly, all too familiar territory for restaurants in California,” Lancaster told the L.A. Times this week. “Just like in COVID, they jerk us around and expect us to pivot and change our model repeatedly as if it’s no big deal to small businesses. Restaurants continue to shutter [at] an alarming rate in L.A., and this sort of unnecessary about-face is why California continues to be the least small-business-friendly state in America.”

    At Bell’s, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Santa Barbara County’s Los Alamos, owners diligently tracked the progress of both state Senate bills and awaited final word before determining whether to remove their 20% service charge, which benefits all nonmanagerial staff.

    And even before SB 1524’s passage, Bell’s listed the charge on its the lunch and dinner menus, on its web page for frequently asked questions, and on its homepage section on takeout orders. The new law will allow the restaurant to continue its practice without reconfiguring its business model.

    Greg Ryan, an owner of Bell’s, told The Times that he had been listening to and was understanding of customers, legislators and his team, and that he wanted to do what was best for his staff.

    For months, the practice has felt like a balancing act.

    As SB 1524 made its way through California’s Assembly and Senate, outcry on social media and in public forums such as Reddit was swift and vocal, with multiple anonymous posters commenting that to retaliate for the exemption, they would stop leaving tips. Another Reddit user created a spreadsheet that tracks surcharges and service fees in restaurants across the state.

    An L.A. restaurateur, speaking anonymously for fear of customer retribution, told The Times that they’d seen an increase in tips of $1, 0% or other low amounts over the course of the month, possibly in response to the 3-4% service fees their restaurant was charging.

    “I’m not thrilled with the bill,” CALPIRG’s Engstrom said of SB 1524. “I think it was better when restaurants and bars also had to have really clear upfront pricing, so that consumers could do easy comparison shopping. When I decide to go out to a restaurant with my family, I check the prices first, on the menu, online.”

    That SB 1524 requires clear posting of fees is a benefit, she said, but it’s not as strong as SB 478 with the attorney general’s initial guidance that called for rolling service fees into listed prices. Engstrom called SB 478 “a great model bill,” saying she would love to see similar consumer-protection legislation in other states, or federally — without many carve-outs for industries, regardless of how service fees factor into their business plans.

    “I think [SB 1524] is unfortunately kind of a step backwards, but it’s still transparent,” she said. “You can still see it; you just have to do the math.”

    Stephanie Breijo

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  • Employee stabbed by customer at Sacramento business

    Employee stabbed by customer at Sacramento business

    (FOX40.COM) — An employee was stabbed by a customer on Saturday morning, according to the Sacramento Police Department.

    At around 3:41 a.m., officers said they responded to a business in the 2000 block of 16th Street for reports of a stabbing. Upon arrival, SPD located a man who had a non-life-threatening injury.

    Police said the suspect was identified as Anthony Dwayne Smith, 54, and found near Broadway. He was arrested and booked at the local jail for alleged assault.

    Veronica Catlin

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  • Upscale Westside L.A. neighborhoods hit hard by State Farm home insurance cancellations

    Upscale Westside L.A. neighborhoods hit hard by State Farm home insurance cancellations

    Thousands of Californians who won’t see their home insurance renewed by State Farm this summer are homeowners in Los Angeles County, with some upscale Westside neighborhoods hit hard, according to the insurer’s recent filings with the Department of Insurance.

    A majority of the insurer’s customers in neighborhoods in West Los Angeles as well as in or near the Santa Monica Mountains including Bel-Air, Pacific Palisades and Woodland Hills are going to lose their coverage.

    The State Farm move affects some of the county’s toniest neighborhoods — adding another layer of expense and financial risk for homeowners in areas that were already costly and imperiled by wildfires. Older homeowners and those with comparatively lower incomes who bought when housing was much cheaper could be hard hit.

    Last month, State Farm — the largest home insurance provider in California — said it would drop 72,000 property policies across the state amid a home insurance crisis. Of those, about 30,000 are home insurance policies.

    Denise Hardin, president of State Farm, explained the company’s decision in a March 20 letter to Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, stating that rate hikes that were recently approved by the Department of Insurance amid high inflation would be insufficient to restore the company’s financial strength.

    “We must now take action to reduce our overall exposure to be more commensurate with the capital on hand to cover such exposure, as most insurers in California have already done,” she wrote. “We have been reluctant to take this step, recognizing how difficult it will be for impacted policyholders, in addition to our independent contractor agents who are small business owners and employers in their local California communities.

    “A financial failure of [State Farm] will detrimentally impact the entire market,” Hardin added, “an outcome we are all trying to avoid.”

    The letter also included several pages of ZIP Codes and the number of homeowners who would lose their coverage this summer.

    In Pacific Palisades, according to the letter, 69.4% of the 2,342 policyholders — or about 1,600 — will lose coverage. In Brentwood, 61.5% of State Farm’s 2,114 customers there will lose their policies, or about 1,300 non-renewals.

    Of the 1,805 policyholders in Woodland Hills, 60% — or about 1,090 — won’t be renewed, while in Bel-Air, 67% of 987 customers, about 660 customers, will be affected,

    Orinda in Contra Costa County and Los Gatos in Santa Clara County also will see a high number of policyholders lose coverage.

    As part of its assessment, the insurer looked at communities in areas prone to wildfires as well as those at risk of fires following an earthquake, which included communities such as Beverly Hills and Westwood.

    Thelma Waxman, president of the Brentwood Homeowners Assn., whose 1,200 members own about 4,000 properties, said it had been a stressful time for members, and for residents living near high-risk fire zones.

    Losing State Farm coverage “is the No. 1 topic of discussion” among association members, she said. “Everybody is nervous.”

    Last year, the association created its first California Fire Safety Council and worked closely with My Safe L.A., a nonprofit providing fire and safety education, as well as the Los Angeles Fire Department in an attempt to reduce fire risks in the area.

    Waxman said the formation of the safety council was partly in response to insurance companies dropping policyholders in the state.

    “At first we thought we could get a discount,” she said, “but then it became about trying to keep our policies.”

    Waxman said she’d been urging residents who will lose their home insurance with State Farm to start shopping now for a new home insurance policy as it’s difficult to find insurers writing policies in the state.

    State Farm said those losing their policies would be notified between July 3 and Aug. 20.

    State Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), whose district includes many of the affected neighborhoods, expressed concern but hoped that the state could end the crisis by altering regulations to encourage insurers to “return to the business of writing policies for Californians and their properties.”

    Insurance companies have cited high inflation, catastrophe exposure, the cost of reinsurance (a type of insurance for insurance companies) and the limitations posed by decades-old insurance regulations as reasons for scaling back policies in the state.

    Left with no other choice, a number of Californians have turned to the FAIR Plan as a last resort. Funded by the insurers doing business in California, the Fair Access to Insurance Requirement plan provides more limited coverage as a fallback for property owners unable to find conventional policies they can afford.

    But the enrollment surge is putting a financial strain on the state insurer as it faces a potential loss of $311 billion, up from $50 billion in 2018.

    State officials said the FAIR Plan had a surplus of $200 million and was at risk of insolvency should a catastrophic event occur.

    Lara has proposed a set of new rules that would allow insurers to raise rates to cover reinsurance costs and projected losses from catastrophic fires, but also require that they provide coverage for more homes in California’s canyons and hills.

    The proposals, which aim to move people off the FAIR Plan and slow the increase in premiums, have won support from insurance industry trade groups and some consumer groups, although some consumer advocates, such as Consumer Watchdog, have criticized the proposed rules.

    In the letter to Lara, Hardin said State Farm would continue to cooperate with the state in finding a resolution to the home insurance crisis.

    “We are acutely aware of the political challenges that the actions needed to improve [State Farm’s] financial position pose to broader reform efforts,” she wrote. “Please know that we have an ongoing desire and commitment to collaborate with you and your staff, as well as the Governor’s office, to achieve these reforms as quickly as possible.”

    Ruben Vives

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