The Week in Ideas, June 24, 2013

This week: a new use for social media, teaching kids good manners, requiring heels, and how to be a hero.

Idea #1: A different use for Facebook. When a couple of women did a dine and dash at Don Jose Mexican Restaurant in Craighead County, Arkansas, the manager turned to the restaurant’s Facebook page. Turns out the women were “friends” with Don Jose. With friends like these…

Idea #2: Teach etiquette. A Mediterranean restaurant in Brooklyn’s upscale Park Slope neighborhood is teaching the basics of good behavior to workingclass kids in surrounding areas. After talking with a local school administrator, Rafi Hasid, owner of Miriam Restaurant & Wine Bar, got the idea. “Each kid leaves me a dollar,” server Jessica Kimmel told the New York Daily News. “They are very polite. They say, ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you.’ And they don’t leave a huge mess when they leave. The Park Slope kids leave crazy messes.”

Idea #3: Make female patrons wear heels. ProAbition, a whiskey bar and restaurant in California, held a special event one recent Saturday night. A flyer spelled out the dress code,which included the following: “Ladies: No flat shoes or sandals. Must have heels. Exception will be made if injured.” Well, that didn’t go over so well. The restaurant’s Facebook page was soon overwhelmed with the indignation of the Internet. The restaurant modified it’s stance slightly: “Ladies: Please keep it classy and dress to impress.”

Idea #4: Be the hero. After a Gwinnett County, Georgia, youth soccer team held a fundraiser at a grocery store, some jerk stole the $4,000 they had raised to pay for an out-of-state tournament. Enter the Church’s Chicken down the street, which has pledged $3,000 to help out the local team. The kids will get the check when the eat lunch with Church’s Chicken CEO this week.

 

 

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