Tag Archives: journalism

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Tampa Bay Times: You can can use your chip credit card Walmart and Target, but why not Publix?

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times. May 18, 2016.

Last year credit card companies began installing chip technology that was expected to dramatically reduce the likelihood that a thief or hacker could steal from customers’ accounts.

Stores in the Tampa Bay area — ranging from big chains like Walmart and Target to independent shops like Buddy Brew Coffee and Juxtapose Apparel & Studio — began installing chip card readers seven months ago.

But for a privacy revolution, it hasn’t started with much of a bang. A study by the Strawhecker Group says only about 37 percent of stores nationwide are now equipped with readers; another study by Boston Retail Partners says it’s only about 22 percent.

Most notably missing among Florida companies is Publix Super Markets, the state’s most popular grocer with more than 1,000 stores, which has yet to allow customers to use embedded chip technology because it’s still upgrading its computer systems for the switch.

Some credit card experts say that could ultimately hurt Publix.

“The longer retailers go without upgrading their terminals, the more likely it is to put them in a competitive disadvantage because consumers will perceive them as being a less safe place to shop,” said Matt Schulz, a senior industry analyst with CreditCards.com. “That’s a big deal.”

Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here.

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Florida Journalism Awards in 2015

Justine Griffin won first place in the Florida Society of News Editors 2015 Journalism Contest in the multimedia category for The Cost of Life. She also placed third in the beat reporting – consumer issues category and third in the online package category of the 2015 Society of Professional Journalists Sunshine State Awards.

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Tampa Bay tech entrepreneurs say Amazon workplace is more the norm

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times

amazon

A recent New York Times report about the workplace culture of online retail giant Amazon sparked intense debate about the Seattle-based company’s cultlike enterprise.

Brutal tales of fierce employee competition, 24/7 work cycles and unforgiving denials of requests for time off may not be the norm for every growing company. But millennials working in the tech industry in Tampa Bay were unfazed by the report. It felt more like a lecture from Dad: old fashioned, out of touch and very yesterday.

Answering text messages from bosses after midnight and logging 80-hour workweeks isn’t a big deal to many young people working in fast-growing, innovative industries, some entrepreneurs say, because technology has made it easy to be “wired in” all the time.

“I haven’t figured out a way to disconnect. If you find a way to not be on your phone at all times, please let me know,” said Daniel James Scott, executive director of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum. “The challenge is looking at how the technology we have is changing how we work all the time, and adapting to that culture and the new level of data that’s available at our fingertips. It’s a bit of a mystery to me how to balance that.”

Read more here.

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Bonefish Grill struggling as diners’ preferences change

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times

bonefish 1

Bonefish Grill — intended to be the engine powering the growth of Bloomin’ Brands restaurant portfolio — is in dire need of a tune up.

CEO Liz Smith acknowledged Tuesday an alarming second quarter drop in Bonefish sales, down 4.6 percent, and traffic, down 7.8 percent.

Smith blamed an expanded menu at the seafood restaurant chain that added “too much complexity” and ultimately “compromised the core dining experience and service suffered.”

She said the company plans to focus on what made Bonefish Grill successful in the first place: the chain’s “polished casual heritage,” and its “fish expertise.” And the Bang Bang Shrimp isn’t going anywhere.

Outside experts say Tampa’s homegrown seafood chain faces bigger problems than its menu.

Read more here.

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Stores like Bass Pro Shops and Restoration Hardware add restaurants and bars

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times

bass pro

How about a glass of wine to celebrate the $11,230 purchase of a Parisian burnham leather recliner from Restoration Hardware?

 At the new Restoration Hardware store opening in International Plaza this fall, shoppers won’t have to go farther than the three-story retailer’s rooftop garden bar for some wine and hors d’oeuvres. Tampa is among the first cities in the country to get a Restoration Hardware gallery store concept, which is currently under construction next to the Capital Grille at Bay Street. When it opens in November, Restoration Hardware will be one of several retail chains in the Tampa Bay area that let customers eat and drink where they shop — a trend that has been revived by names like Nordstrom, Bass Pro Shops, IKEA and others in recent years in an effort to give shoppers more reasons to come to brick and mortar stores.
The basic proxy is that the longer you keep people in the store, the more stuff they’re going to buy,” said Steve Kirn, executive director of the David F. Miller Retailing Education and Research Center at the University of Florida. “They want you to linger longer and take in the sights, tastes and smells you’re not going to get from an LED screen if you’re shopping online.”
Read more here.