After Chen Pingjiang arrived at the Startup Park with Shū Máng and Wàn Yǔqiàn, they were also stunned by the scene before them.
"The school is really generous to us,"
Shū Máng exclaimed, looking at the scene.
Renren.com got rooms 202 and 203, which were indeed quite spacious.
Chen Pingjiang estimated by sight that the two rooms combined were close to 300 square meters.
The office furniture, including desks, chairs, benches, and partitions, were all readily available, making Chen Pingjiang quite satisfied.
Most importantly, room 201 next door was an activity center.
Inside, there were recreational areas such as a tea bar, table tennis, and billiards.
As Renren.com was right next to room 201, it naturally stood to benefit the most.
The few of them excitedly walked around, then pulled out their phones to call people in the company, asking them to come over first to clean up.
"Tell them to pass by the supermarket and buy some rags and washbasins."
Chen Pingjiang yelled from the inner room to Shū Máng, who was on the phone.
Shū Máng, whether due to excitement or something else, called all department heads, who then called all their team members.
Half an hour later, all employees of Renren.com had arrived.
"Wow, we've upgraded from slingshots to cannons."
"This place is so much better than the commercial street, boohoo."
"I want this workstation, don't you dare fight me for it."
"It's much quieter here, unlike the commercial district before, where people came and went every day, so noisy."
Everyone chattered non-stop, looking around excitedly, finding everything fresh, and some even specifically went to visit the public restrooms.
"This activity center is great. When we're tired from work, we can just sit in the pantry and have a smoke."
"Yeah, we can even play ball after work."
The team's sense of belonging instantly soared.
Chen Pingjiang clapped his hands and rallied everyone:
"Let's clean inside and out while we chat. I just asked the management committee, the network here is all set up, we can start working directly, so once we're done, we'll move in today."
After speaking, Chen Pingjiang led the way, carrying a washbasin to fetch water.
The remaining people cleaned windows, mopped floors, working with enthusiasm.
Moving was a big job.
Although Renren.com had not been established long, there was already a pile of miscellaneous items: power strips, rice cookers, mice, keyboards, and so on.
It took ten minutes just to walk from the old office to the Startup Park, so hiring a moving company wasn't cost-effective, and relying purely on manpower was too much.
Chen Pingjiang went to borrow two tricycles and got to work.
It wasn't until close to noon that they finally finished tidying up.
Miao Bingwei and Wén Yán beamed with joy,
"It's been so long since I've eaten at a university cafeteria. I'm tired of eating Little Chen BBQ every day. Hey, how's your school's cafeteria?"
Chen Pingjiang retorted,
"Damn, listen to what they're saying, getting tired of BBQ."
Lǐ Xī also laughed,
"You'll know once you try it. I guarantee you'll never forget it for the rest of your lives."
"Let's go, I'll treat everyone to a meal."
Chen Pingjiang waved his hand grandly,
"Target: Cafeteria One."
Everyone was stunned, thinking they were going for a big meal, only to find out it was just the cafeteria.
In the afternoon, Wèi Xiǎoqīng, the manager of Little Chen BBQ's main branch, Zhu Yuanlan, the manager of the sports institute branch, and Shěn Zhī, the manager of the normal university branch, all rushed over to get acquainted with the new office.
This was also expected.
The previous office space was too small; even if they came, there was no place to sit.
Now, it was different.
The catering company also needed to hold meetings to facilitate unified company deployment.
"Recently, I've noticed that daily sales have declined to varying degrees,"
Chen Pingjiang said after scanning the three branch managers in the new conference room.
Just a simple glance was enough to put pressure on the managers; they were in charge of the three stores.
"Yes, it rained a few days ago, and the temperature has started to drop these past few days. The weather is getting colder and colder, and food gets cold quickly and doesn't taste good."
"Our store also ran promotions at the sports institute, but we still couldn't reach previous sales figures."
Chen Pingjiang nodded and smiled,
"Relax a bit. The decline in sales isn't necessarily your fault; it's normal for the off-season to arrive. I called you all here today with the intention of solving this issue."
Zhu Yuanlan asked curiously,
"The off-season is an objective law, what other methods can there be?"
"Of course there are solutions; otherwise, why would I have called Engineer Miao from the technical department?"
Chen Pingjiang continued after introducing Miao Bingwei:
"Actually, our sales have only slightly declined, so there's no need for everyone to be overly anxious. In winter, the weather is cold, and most consumers reduce their evening outings and travel time.
But this doesn't mean they no longer have a demand for BBQ; instead, they will choose nearby stores with good taste.
In summer, consumers eat BBQ frequently, the market is large, and there's a lot of foot traffic, so BBQ shops can easily survive. But once winter comes, consumption frequency decreases, the market shrinks, yet there are still just as many shops, intensifying competition.
Some less impressive shops will be eliminated. However, if we provide good service and ensure taste, customer traffic will not be low."
Wèi Xiǎoqīng nodded,
"You're right, boss. Now, not many people choose to dine outdoors at the Finance University main branch. In summer, we could put out more than ten tables outdoors, and the store itself is relatively small, so sometimes the queues were even longer than before."
Zhu Yuanlan said worriedly,
"Market competition is intensifying, other stores will start price wars or run crazy promotions, which will then affect us, forcing us to follow suit with price reductions, ultimately decreasing profits."
After listening to their thoughts, Chen Pingjiang pointed to Shěn Zhī, who was sitting aside:
"There are indeed solutions. You haven't been to the Normal University branch. I've made new attempts there, selling Malatang and mini hotpot, which has resulted in the Normal University branch's sales now ranking first among the three stores.
You can refer to this point. We need to update our menu, run promotions when necessary, but at that time, the most important thing was to launch online sales."
Miao Bingwei blinked in confusion,
"Phone orders?"
"Similar, but not exactly the same. Traditional phone ordering involves users calling merchants based on pre-distributed menus, with the merchants then handling their own delivery. But we can make some changes. Remember how Renren.com has a shopping mall?
We can open a Little Chen BBQ store within the mall. Users can click to enter the store, purchase food themselves, and finally pay via U-key. After the merchant receives the order in the backend, our pre-arranged university student delivery staff will deliver it to their doorstep."
Zhu Yuanlan, Wèi Xiǎoqīng, and the others weren't as sensitive yet; they just thought it was another way to order food.
However, Miao Bingwei, who had a deep understanding of product and market research, frowned and pondered for a long time before his eyes lit up, even showing a hint of excitement:
"This is a great idea. Just from your description, I feel the prospects are vast. Having only Little Chen BBQ isn't enough; we can also add other stores, such as supermarkets, restaurants, milk tea shops, and so on.
Usability isn't a problem either; we just need to develop a message push feature for merchants. Users place orders on the front end, and they receive the orders via private message."
(End of this chapter)
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