Explore the vibrant discussions unraveling various facets of modern life on this episode of Good News with Angie Austin. From exploring university atmospheres with strict dress codes to understanding the power of putting your best foot forward, the conversation flourishes with insights. Special guest Ming-Tai Ha enlightens us on the shifting trends in the restaurant industry, particularly around tipping and technology integrations for 2025. Wrapping up with a candid take on managing social media impressions, this episode resonates with listeners navigating the intertwining worlds of personal expression and public perception.
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SPEAKER 04 :
welcome to the good news with angie austin now with the good news here’s angie hello there it’s angie austin and jim stovall with the good news and today we are talking about his winner’s wisdom column titled knowing and caring hello jim stovall well hello angie how are you this week I am doing quite well. You know, I have to tell you, before we get into knowing and caring, you know, I’ve been going back to Tennessee to visit my daughter, who’s at a Christian school back there. And a lot of people are like, oh, my gosh, they have a curfew and a dorm mom lives there. And, you know, it’s part of their code of conduct. There’s no drinking, no boys in the dorm, no hanky panky. No cursing. They go to chapel every day. So anyway, I got a picture, and I sent my daughter a bunch of dresses for church. I’ll send one like every week or so because she didn’t bring a lot of dresses with her. And it’s conservative. My husband says they’re Amish dresses that I send her, but they’re not, Jim. They’re really cute. But anyway, he’s like – You’re like an Amish girl. They’re just long. That’s it. They’re not, you know, they’re like still a regular dress. Right. So anyway, my daughter posts a picture with her teammates from church and they’re all wearing my dresses. And I was like, you don’t know how good that is at my age, you know, to like be able to have the taste that I could pick out dresses that the whole volleyball team will wear. It just cracked me up. I’m like, oh, they’re all wearing your dresses. Right.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, that’s cool. And, you know, as you know, I went to Robert University, and I’m on the board there now. And I’ve got two classes to teach this week at the Stovall Center for Entrepreneurship. And, you know, they still have a lot of those kind of, you know, restrictions and things like that. And they have an honor code and, you know, kind of like the military academy. And the thing I always tell the kids is – You know, this place is different. And if you don’t like this, don’t come here. But don’t come here and complain about it or try to change it. You can go to just hundreds of other universities and not have to deal with all this. But, you know, when you really look at it, you know, the alcohol, I mean, we’re located in a state, the drinking age is 21. So, I mean, you know, candidly, three-quarters of the undergrad students are aren’t legal to drink anyway. And it’s just, you know, I mean, nothing bad happens when you don’t drink. You know, there’s nothing detrimental about not consuming alcohol, I guess, is what I would want to say.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, it’s, pardon me, just a refreshing difference, I guess, between my husband went up to the University of Colorado Boulder game where our son goes to school and where He’s fourth generation. I went there too, my dad, my grandmother. And it’s, you know, a completely different atmosphere. And so he said, wow, those kids, it’s a really drunk stadium, you know, like so many people drinking and partying and just, you know, a crazy scene. And it’s almost more like a professional game now. He said he went up and got a couple of hot dogs and drinks, and it was $71. The tickets were $3.50 each, and there were three of them going, so over $1,000 for tickets. It’s just crazy to me. When I went, it was so much less expensive. It was more like a college football game. I know that college football has really changed. Anyway, having been at my daughter’s school the weekend before and then this school this weekend, it is um she’s found her people jim like she loves it like she fit right in she has no problem the only thing she didn’t like she was a little bit a little bit worried about like the long shorts mid-dye but she wears nike you know running shorts and no one says a thing uh it’s not as strict i guess as she thought it would be that she doesn’t have to dress like an amish girl as i was joking around about but um the other interesting thing about that is that um She isn’t complaining about it at all. So another one of my friends sent me a picture of her daughter up at college. And she was out and she had a see-through dress on. You could see her bra and underwear. And I said to my husband, I said, wow, talk about a world of difference. They came from the same high school and the environment is just so different that you could go out in a see-through dress with your bra and underwear at just turning 18. I mean, my daughter turned 18.
SPEAKER 07 :
like a month ago you know so yeah so yes it’s just it’s an interesting place but I feel like she’s really found her people she’s so happy yeah and you know it’s ironic and when when Crystal and I were in at the university they had the dress code and the whole deal and that that year Playboy magazine did a a study to find out what college campus has the best looking undergrad girls and and But USC came in first, Stanford was second, and Oral Roberts University was third. And I am convinced it’s because, you know, if you’re going to get up and put on a dress, you’re going to wear heels and you’re going to do your makeup and you’re going to fix your hair and you’re going to do all your stuff, you know. And at some of these other colleges, I mean, I have spoken there. I mean, kids roll right out of bed, throw on some shorts. They’ll wear pajamas to their first class sometime. I mean, it’s ridiculous what these kids will wear.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, it’s so true, isn’t it? The coach just recently, the football coach, Deion Sanders – I saw a clip of him telling his team, like, I don’t want to see you in slides going to class. And I want, you know, we talked about their haircuts and making sure that they, you know, put on a good presentation wherever they go. And I remember Charles Stanley, one of my favorite Southern pastors. His parents, his grandpa and his mom taught him that you always go out and put on your best face. You look as good as you can. I don’t always do that when I’m going to the grocery store, but if I’m going to be representing my family, my business, my show, my children – They’re like, why are you putting on makeup? You look fine. And I’m like, I just like to come like I want to represent people and make them proud and let them know I care that I’m looking the part of being a good parent to them. And I care when I go someplace that it’s important to me to look good, not just for them, but for our family.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I have a good friend who was a former Miss America and she. And, well, her name’s Chantel Smith. And we went to class together. And then afterwards, occasionally, there was a girl I would go with to work out. And when she was out of town, Chantel would go with me sometimes. Well, normally, when I’m done with the workout, let’s put on some sweats and let’s go to this little diner and get some salad or something. And Chantel says, I’d love to go. I need 45 minutes. And I said, why? She said, I don’t go anywhere. that I’m not ready to be a photo op, do the whole deal. And she said, it’s my job. It is literally my job. And as you know, I did a movie with Raquel Welch, and she was the same way. I mean, this is my persona. This is who I am. And I don’t gain anything by going out and being a slob. And you never know where you – Coach Wooden always said there’s only a few plays in a game that matter. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you where those are. I promise you, you go out in your torn-up sweats with no makeup and the hair and the whole – and you will run into somebody. It’s a universal law. You will.
SPEAKER 04 :
I mean, it just – You know, when I first started working at NBC in L.A., I didn’t have to dress up for my position, but I wanted to be on air. And I’d read this book that said, you have to look the part. And I remember coming in and the weatherman’s like, who did your makeup? Like, what’s up with your makeup? And I was like, nothing. I just did my makeup. And he goes, it looks like Picasso did it. You look like a different person, you know? And then I had like a suit jacket on with like a skirt instead of like my sweats and my hair and a ponytail. So I just started dressing like that all the time. And I did get on air not long after that. I did have to drive every weekend to Santa Barbara, but I was the youngest person doing weather at our station at the time because you usually have to go to smaller markets, etc. Anyway, so looking the part, putting your best face forward. I love that. So your article this week is Knowing and Caring. Actually, this is one from a few weeks back that we didn’t get to. So tell us about this one, Jim.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, it goes back to the old saying. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. And we all live in the information age. We can know anything. I mean, the computer screen will tell us whatever we want to know. We can get in contact with anybody, information about anything. We can know. But all of that pales in comparison to how much do you care. It’s like when you’re going to go fly somewhere and you go up to the counter and And my flight just got canceled. I need some help. Well, you know, one agent may say, hey, I don’t know. Not my problem. There’s nothing I can do. What do you want? And the other one could say, oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Let me see what’s possible. I don’t even know, but let’s see what we can do here. And it’s the same thing. Neither one of them knew any more than the other one. It’s just a matter of do you care? And all of a sudden, you get a better feeling. They care about this. And, you know, there’s this whole… misunderstanding in our society that, you know, you need to go work hard and do well and make money. Then you can go do good in the community. And I reject it. I think you can do well and do good at the same time. And I have the privilege of speaking to all kinds of corporate things. And I was just talking to a group of, you know, thousands of car salesmen. And, you know, what do you do? Well, I sell cars. No, you don’t. You help people and families with their transportation needs. That’s what you do. You don’t sell houses. You’re not a realtor. You help people find their next home and find the best home for them. And when you really take whatever you’re doing as that kind of a challenge, like how can I do well in my career while doing good for other people, You’ll succeed faster. You’ll have more fun. Life matters. It’s like we were talking about earlier. It’s putting your best foot forward. I’m just doing the best I can every day. What would I do right now if I was amazing? I would make a difference for someone else. I’ve said for years as an entrepreneur, if I worry first about the people that read my books or watch our movies or watch narrative television, and second about the people who work here who make it possible for me to do what I do, I’m third place, and we really never get to third. I mean, it doesn’t matter. If you take care of those other people, you’ll have everything you want out of life. Zig said it best. You can have everything you want if you’ll help enough other people get what they want. And that’s what it’s all about.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, there was this, like, thing, and I don’t know if people are still doing it, networking, but, you know, a few years back, I’d run into people at a networking event because everybody’s looking for you to do something for them, right? So the new thing became to say, oh, you know, hey, Angie, how have you been? You know, everything going on with the show, how are your kids and everything? What can I do for you? What can I do for you? But I felt in many cases it was just this phony thing to ingratiate themselves to you that a lot of them really didn’t want to do something for you. It was their way of saying, hey, I’m going to ask you for something to buy some of my supplements that I’m selling or the candles or the whatever, but I want to pretend that I want to help you. And there were a few people that legit were like connectors. They really did want to help you and connect you with people. But I’d say it was like, um, one out of five, you know, and the others, it was like this hollow saying that you almost, and I, I don’t respect like a manipulating people to get what you want. I think that’s probably why I never went into network marketing or, or even real estate or something where my name, when I was in the news and I transitioned out where at that point in time, maybe I could have used that to sell things. I never wanted anyone to buy anything for me because they felt obligated. And so I, I feel, I felt in many cases that what can I do for you? And if it’s like you, you would, you would connect me with somebody if I called up and you’re doing it all the time. Like you’re getting, you’re putting your email and your phone number and your address out in all your books. And so you get so many emails and so many people asking questions and wanting something. But I remember someone wanted advice once and you said, read such as a think and grow rich. I think it was, you said, and then, and then get in touch with me again and I’ll help you. And they, and they didn’t.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s the barrier. I mean, you know, if you can’t get over that hurdle, I probably can’t help you. But, you know, my information is in 10 million books around the world, and so I hear from a lot of people, and I try to help them as much as I can. And then, like you said, maybe one out of five of them will say, Jim, what can I do for you? And I always say, man, I am glad you asked. Right there in Colorado, where you live… There are people that need you. And, you know, the soup kitchen, the Big Brothers, the food bank, whatever. Why don’t you go do something like that? If you want to help me, go do something like that. Shoot me an email. Let me know what you did and how it felt. That would be great. That’s what you can do for me today.
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s pretty cool. That’s not a bad idea at all, especially for young people to get them to put their toe in the water. I’ll tell you next time we talk about what my daughter did recently that I was kind of surprised by on her own to go to a retirement community. All right, jimstovall.com. Talk to you next time, friend. You’re welcome.
SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 06 :
Honoring the lives lost on 9-11.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey there, friend. Angie Austin here with the good news. You know, I have a lot of friends that are very outspoken in their political views, their views on many different things. And I’ve always kind of been one not to. And in a way, at times I felt like not ashamed of myself, but like, am I letting people down by not being more outspoken? And I think it started with me being in the news business in an era when you did not let your political beliefs be known in news. You know, when I started doing in the 1990s. And so if you were in local news, you didn’t let anyone know where you stood. And certainly once social media got rolling, you didn’t put your political views out there. And I don’t often put things on social media. I asked a question a couple of years back because there had been a girl injured who’d been playing sports against, it was a girl’s volleyball team, and there was a boy injured. identifying as a girl playing and they can hit really hard. Like my son isn’t allowed to play when we do the co-ed stuff at the volleyball club because he’s so strong, you know, and he can spike the balls almost straight down because of his height. And so anyway, this girl had gotten injured, and I said, do you think it’s okay for men who identify as women to play high school sports if they do this later in their life, not like when they’re 8, 10, 12, but like when they decide to do this when they’re 16, 17, 18. Anyway, it got so nasty, I took the post down because a couple of people I really cared about actually kind of called me a few names, and they’re family members that I really love, and I see them at family reunions, and I’m on a a cousin text thread and we you know have a discourse back and forth almost daily and you know i love them so i took my post down because they said that i was unleashing other people whose opinions were really um they didn’t agree with okay so that was my one toe in the water in the last few years of even putting anything remotely you know controversial i just asked people opinion do you think that you know but they should be allowed to play that’s all i just asked that was just a question i didn’t state anything um about how i felt nothing So I think things have been, you know, like more heated on social media. So how do you avoid that? I’ve tried to explain to my kids not to repost things. And if you think about this, like with your kids, your grandkids, if they’re reposting things on social media that for years back, people can go back and look. And I just don’t feel like a lot of times children know enough about the world and politics and feelings and might not even fully read something or might not know someone’s leanings when they repost something and my daughter did it this week and I’m like did you read the bottom of this like who posted this who put this up in the first place and what it was really about and she thought it was just a sweet post but really it had some political leanings that maybe she didn’t understand and so I said don’t put these things up I think there’s hidden meanings too in like lyrics and stuff that younger kids just don’t catch the meaning of what is said in like lyrics so anyway I said to the kids I go I may be leaning you down a path you don’t leading you down a path you don’t like which is to stay out of a lot of this stuff you know and when it comes to social media and all of your likes you know people can see that I constantly see what my sister-in-law is liking and I know how she leans and I see every like that she does it pops up on my video and I can see the videos that she liked and her comments that she made and I don’t want people knowing that much about me and how I feel And I said to my kids, you know, do you want your bosses in five or six years to know what you thought when you were 16? You know, like I just don’t think it’s anyone’s business. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t have beliefs or thoughts, but how do you feel about that? I think that it should just stay separate from your work. and separate from your friendships, and separate from your family, unless everyone decides they’re going to have a discussion. And I like those a little more face-to-face in this weird cyber world where people can anonymously rip you to shreds. And I bring this up because I actually unfriended someone that I thought was being really negative and caustic. And I don’t know how he figured it out. We’ve been friends for 20 years. I normally don’t do that. I should have just left it. But I just didn’t want that popping up in my feed anymore. And at two thirty nine in the morning last night, I got an email that said, I see you unfriended me. And it was just like the most bizarre cuckoo email. And then I was kind of glad that I did, you know, unfriend him. Certainly, I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, but if you really don’t align with someone, I don’t follow a lot of people either, if you know what I mean. I think your follows also say a lot about you. My husband’s not on social media, and I think I mostly use it for communication with relatives, but I definitely am having some different thoughts about it lately. As you know, there’s been a lot on social media lately and in the last few years that has been very divisive. So how do you feel about that? Feel free to reach out to me, newswithangie at gmail.com, newswithangie at gmail.com, and tell me what you think. I’m totally changing gears here now because one thing that I’m 100% positive that I really enjoy and I really like, that would be food and restaurants. So if you are just joining us, this is Angie Austin with the Good News. And today, one of my favorite topics is going to be discussed, restaurants, specifically Square’s 2025 Restaurant Report. And joining us is a real expert in that area, Ming-Tai Ha. He is a James Beard-nominated restaurant owner and tech executive, and he currently serves as head of food and beverage for Square. And so we are going to get some real answers on this whole restaurant arena. Welcome to you, Ming-Tai Ha. Thank you for having me. All right. One thing that I want to talk about when it comes to your 2025 restaurant report with Square, tipping. It’s been such a discussion with my friends lately because we just went to like a college game and it was $71 for a couple of drinks and a couple of hot dogs. And I’m not kidding you. Like it was like you were at a big time game, not a University of Colorado game. You know what I mean? And the tip came up and my husband goes, you’re you got to be kidding me. Right. I said, because I just spent seventy one dollars on a couple of hot dogs and a few drinks. And then there was a place to donate to the university athletic department. And he looked around. Right. His tickets were three fifty. He looked around and he goes, I think the athletic department’s doing OK. So I’m going to skip that part. So. Let’s talk about tipping and rounding up and everything that goes on when you’re leaving a business now. And I get it. Like I want my kid to make more money and I want people to tip my kid when they’re giving him a coffee. But it’s gotten really like crazy kind of everywhere they want us to tip.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, absolutely right. Look, tipping is consumer discretion. And we think about consumers and their choices differently. The economy has a large effect on it, and economic uncertainty can lead to lower tips. And that’s what we’re seeing in the data. Tips are now averaging under 15% nationwide, and it’s affecting restaurants of all types, whether it’s bars, full-service fine dining, and quick-service restaurants. Now, downstream, this affects restaurant workers. Restaurant workers nationwide, about a quarter of their pay comes from tips.
SPEAKER 04 :
And so I can see… why the rules have changed with tipping, too, that they don’t have to pay taxes now on their tips.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, that recent legislation, we have yet to see kind of like the full effects of it. But with rising costs for restaurants, labor, cost of goods sold, real estate, you know, the benefit for workers to be able to take home more of their pay is definitely going to help them.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I’ll be perfectly honest with you. I’m an over-tipper. I really believe in tipping. You’re someone that’s serving me, et cetera. But there have been a couple of instances, and this isn’t restaurant-related, but when I get my groceries ordered, $200 of groceries, I looked at the bottom. It’s kind of included a 20% tip. Well, that’s $40. I normally wouldn’t tip the grocery guy $40 for dropping off my groceries at my front door because it’s a little different. I paid like an – enough enough fee to be a certain type of member and so that that includes you know delivery so of course I’m going to tip but I wouldn’t tip $40 and so I feel like now it’s getting trickier and even if it puts like you handed me a coffee I always add at least a dollar even if I like get a $3 coffee so I’m a big tipper and and I believe in these people being paid well and like oat milk in your coffee for instance is booming in some states but not others and Let’s talk about that because I feel like sometimes when I order something that does have like a bunch of other tricky little things in it that I might tip a little bit more if it takes the barista a little more effort than just pouring a cup of coffee.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, that’s absolutely right. Look, consumer discretion around tipping definitely comes from you being satisfied as a consumer.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 06 :
And when it comes to oat milk, you know, that upcharge for oat milk isn’t as expensive as it used to be. Oat milk upcharges are actually fallen in price significantly. And we’ve seen oat milk uptake rise, especially in some coastal states such as California, Oregon, and all the way over into Maine. In Texas, it’s just about average, about a third of consumers take oatmeal in their coffee.
SPEAKER 04 :
Did you see anything in the study about how people feel about when they’re doing a pickup order? I know fast food is big, and I’ll get to that one next, but when you do takeout, a lot of people think they don’t need to tip. I do think you still need to tip because a lot of packaging, a lot of prep work, and rechecking the order, so there is some work involved in that for another person besides just the chef. So was there anything about that? How do you feel about that tipping?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, when we look at tipping at restaurants of all types, we’re seeing declines across the board. So it’s full service or quick service. Tips are down in both places. Now, with the economic uncertainty, again, consumers pinching their pennies, quick service has seen larger growth. So actually, consumers are spending more at the fast food, quick service restaurants than they are at the full service fine dining restaurants.
SPEAKER 04 :
And why do you think that is that they’re doing more fast food?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I think also fast food really has improved. If you think about the quality of fast casual fast food, it’s still fast. But the quality of it or elevated dining offers great options at also an affordable price and convenience.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, ordering online or, you know, the apps, it’s becoming so popular now. You would not believe when I go to our high school how many drivers are pulling up in front. Like, I’ve never even done Uber Eats. And these, like, 14-, 15-, 16-, 17-year-olds are having stuff delivered Uber Eats. What should we know about ordering apps and how they can cost us more? And can they make restaurants less?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, that’s a good point. That’s right, Angie. You might be paying the best price. When you use a third-party app, the restaurant actually pays a commission fee, and that’s an extra expense. And sometimes the restaurants then have to then in turn raise the menu prices for the items that go through third-party apps. If you’re ordering directly from a restaurant through their website or first party, you’ll probably get the best price.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, okay. That’s good to know. Yeah, I usually try to go, if possible, right directly to the restaurant’s website. I always look for that. Any trends that you see in the report that might surprise us but may say a lot about how we are living and spending now in 2025?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, I believe the trends that we see in our data really show restaurants adopting more technology. That’s for operational efficiency. I mean, their businesses, you know, be able to put out more food more accurately on time. But we’re also seeing consumer preference towards technology, whether it’s online ordering or self-service kiosks. Consumers in the past haven’t been so excited about it, but now they’re sticking up and people are using the technology.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, where can consumers and restaurant owners learn more about changing dining preferences since you have all this info from the study?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, go to squareup.com slash restaurants for the latest insights.
SPEAKER 04 :
And then as far as your background, I know you’ve opened restaurants, your first one in 2012. Yes. and then you got into loyalty software, what made you make that switch and want to get involved more in the software and the loyalty, et cetera, for restaurants?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, in starting my first restaurant, I realized that technology was really important to help me run the more successful business, actually to make money, pay my employees great wages, and ultimately continue doing the thing I love, which is serve guests. Technology is really a big part of that, and I’ve been successful in doing that, and I’m really excited to continue doing that.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I know that you’re a James Beard-nominated restaurant owner. Are you still in that arena, too, or you’re now more on the software side?
SPEAKER 06 :
My restaurant group that I’m a partner with has eight restaurants now growing, and surprise on the trend, our last restaurant was a quick service restaurant.
SPEAKER 04 :
All right, that’s pretty cool. So you love it, huh? Absolutely. Were you into cooking when you were young? I’ve got a little cook at home, thank goodness, because no one else can cook around here. My youngest, you know, watches these apps all the time and is cooking and just loves it. And she’s like, oh, if I don’t become a lawyer, I want to be a chef. But, you know, the women chef, they don’t get as famous or they don’t make as much money. And I’m like, I don’t know about that girl.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, look, I can dabble and I’m pretty good at the grill.
SPEAKER 03 :
I love it. All right. Thank you so much. Bing Tai Hub. Really appreciate your expertise. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
Explore the vibrant discussions unraveling various facets of modern life on this episode of Good News with Angie Austin. From exploring university atmospheres with strict dress codes to understanding the power of putting your best foot forward, the conversation flourishes with insights. Special guest Ming-Tai Ha enlightens us on the shifting trends in the restaurant industry, particularly around tipping and technology integrations for 2025. Wrapping up with a candid take on managing social media impressions, this episode resonates with listeners navigating the intertwining worlds of personal expression and public perception.
