Spartans! Battle Stations!!! Part II. Restaurant Warriors
The response to our last blog was almost frightening, for me at least! The number of views in the last two days reached... 1058!
Restaurants are preparing an all out offensive, to hold onto every customer that walks in the door. Some say it feels like there is some sort of WAR on small businesses. Entrepreneurs are scrambling to work with what they’ve got. Every expenditure is being scrutinized, and every dime is being leveraged with creative innovation. We are hopeful this information will help!
Excerpts of comments from Part I of Empty Restaurant Tables...
Chef David Buchanan: Chefs-resources.com "Brutally hard times for restaurant owners. And they are making excruciating decisions… “How do I cut costs without losing my customers?” “What can they do to avoid bankruptcy?” “How do I attract customers when they have less discretionary income?” And so on, with no easy answers. I think that to focus on quality food and service is the best bet.
Caterina Borg: “I too, see businesses around me not able to pay their rent, make payroll or meet their monthly unemployment insurance payments for their employees, which by the way, has tripled in the State of Maryland in the past year. My advice echoes what you suggested.”
Chef Rick Whorf: “This is over simplifying but this is what I did. I wrote a new menu at a 20% food cost vs. the 30% target that was running and never hitting the mark due to enormous waste, I used smaller portions of higher quality ingredients (Less is more), used less expensive ingredients as sides and accompaniments, eliminated the high dollar pre-made frozen crap and started actually cooking. Then slashed menu prices listing the least expensive first to make it attractive to the pocket book. After 1 month of our new menu, no advertising except the menu in our window, I'm glad to announce that average daily sales are up by 61%! Total July food and supplies cost is just 14%, labor is way down but doesn’t count. I’m working really cheap. Keep the downer out of the mess is also a good idea, never under estimate the power of the power of positive mental attitude! Everyone can feel negativity. Offer good food and service at a good fair price, present upbeat positive attitude with guests AND staff.” ...http://rickwhorf.posterous.com/
Spartan Battle Plan vs Business Plan (more specific details in Part III. of our next blog)
Success begins and ends with a strategy, in this case a battle plan. This plan differs from your business plan. Think of it more as a simplified 2 pager. Purpose being, to stop the immediate financial, emotional and visible hemorrhaging from your business or job. Such a plan is best created collaboratively between everyone involved. That means from the ground up, not the top down! The most important thing to keep forefront in this tumultuous economy, is to serve the paying customer the way THEY wish and deserve to be served. This may require some redirection of both your current mindset and protocol.
First things first:
~ Cut back on your labor, material and supplies till it screams. Now, make it scream some more!
~ Never forfeit higher quality products in lieu of cheaper products!!! Customers are not stupid!
Consider smaller but tastier portions as Chef Rick Whorf suggests. (see above) Be more
creative without sacrificing the best ingredients.
~ Attempt to renegotiate terms (lower rents) with landlords.
~ Renegotiate those blood sucking service charges with your provider on guest credit cards being run
through your register. Shop! Shop! Shop! for better prices.
~ Extend vendor payment terms to 60, 90 or even 120-140 days. Yes, it is possible and done by many
as standard practice. Leverage with “reason” when dealing with a vendor.
~ Request a vendor discount for COD delivery orders.
~ Request a discount for 30 day prompt payments. Don’t laugh, it works!
~ Purchase in bulk whenever possible, especially disposables and anything made of paper.
~ Cross-train your crew.
~ Train, train and train your front of house (FOH) crew relentlessly! Yet, no matter how clever or
creative restaurants become, one important factor continues to escape many of them. Retraining,
retrenching and revitalizing “the best of the best” food servers, is the only way to retain customer
loyalty. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, “No matter how superb your food may be, it is
all for naught, if the service stinks, your customer loyalty shrinks!”
~ Put off “until further notice” employee performance reviews. If you're going to raise their wages,
speak to your employees on a one to one basis and tell them HOW each of them needs to be more
productive. Employee reviews are one of the worst, most destructive and universally despised shams
in the workplace. They are fraudulent in not truly measuring employee performance, and in causing
unnecessary emotional havoc on their psyche in the middle of an epic economic meltdown.
~ Insurance... practically impossible, but what the heck! It’s only one more phone call. When you
call your agent, ask him to listen, while you play “Only The Lonely.” Tell him what it means. It will
help put him in a more benevolent mood. If it’s no dice on his part... shop around for better! Vendors
are supposed to be your partners in business.
~ Equipment Maintenance Agreements: Renegotiate for lower pricing in return for extended months.
Longer but cheaper.
~ Invite more vendors to competitively bid for your business needs on all fronts. Remember it’s a
buyer’s market, not a seller’s!
~ Shop at local farmers/markets. Fresh produce and honey! They will bend over backwards for your
business and will enjoy teaching you, as well as your staff, about their products. I caveat that you
validate delivery dependability.
~ Hugged your neighbor lately? Form a Band of Brothers cooperative with your neighborhood
eateries. Deliveries made on the same street, saves time, fuel and money. If you coordinate orders
from the same vendors you are apt to have more leverage with pricing. One good turn deserves
another.
~ Ramp up your “Take Out” service... An article written by Kare Anderson / May 5th, 2009, is an exceptional example of creative innovation, entitled “Coddle and Keep Customers – Even in a Cold Economy". Quote: "Poggio opens onto the main street of my village-by-the-bay, Sausalito. It doesn’t serve breakfast. Recently this upscale restaurant started offering fresh-baked Italian pastries and coffee as a drive-by service for the morning commuters heading into S.F. With famously great food, a prominent location and just one new, part-time “running waiter” the restaurant has gained a new profit stream. Plus the activity has drawn more stay-at-homes to drop by for a takeout breakfast." Poggio, is but one glistenine example of creative innovation.”
~ Don't allow yourself to be seduced into spending money that you don't have... by ANYONE!
Extra Special Feature: Sandra Mallut Owner/Chef/Head Butler
Chef Sandra Mallut attended LCB California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena to obtain her degree in Pastry and Baking. Once she graduated she started working in local restaurants, bakeries, catering houses and getting as much experience as possible. Sandra started her own business Henrietta Poodlestones Bake Shop that serviced the Entertainment Industry and did craft service goodies to TV shows and film sets. She also worked as a chef sales consultant for Amoretti Ingredients and continue to work with them and assist with the World Pastry Championships and Forum classes. Recently she launched a new business called The Culinary Butler that offers assistance to culinary and baking professionals. The service offers chefs an outsource to take care of social media & networking, chef staffing, job placement, flavor & recipe consulting, assistance in projects that a chef may not have time to do and needs to get done so that they can concentrate on the important things in running their kitchen.
The company is dedicated to the Culinary Professional. Sandra will take care of getting you just about anything you need. The Culinary Butler specializes in Social Media Networking, Flavor Consulting, TV & Demonstration Chef Casting and more.
Thank you for your wonderful response. Please continue writing and subscribing to our blog.
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Much appreciated!
Cheers, Penelope
Battle Plan Specifics ~ Part III. in our next blog
(c) 2010 ptsaldari.posterous.com : PTsaldari Group Inc. | The Art of Serving Well | Serve Me Well Inc. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared on ptsaldari.posterous.com blog authored by PTsaldari. This article may be shared and reprinted as long as this entire copyright message accompanies it. Email: ptsaldari@gmail.com
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