Typically executed during the “good times”, they have proved to be an onerous burden on struggling units and when cash flow is tight and a business needs to be lean, the ability to renegotiate these leases is often the ‘make or break’ factor.
The economic challenges we are all facing compound the view that current incentives are inappropriate and can lead to problems triggered by a lack of short, medium or long term accountability for corporate decision making. Bonuses are generated by short term deliverables which may not be in the best interest of the company and a logical replacement to this practice is a more long term, golden handcuff arrangement. Share schemes are a safe and fair way to motivate staff whilst ensuring their goals are entirely aligned with those of the whole company.
As restaurant consultants we are required to explain to clients o a daily basis what we mean when we say that ‘a customer does all the work’ in a restaurant, not the operator. Whilst the concept is initially indigestible for an operator, it is nevertheless true. The customer does all the work.
Economic crisis, lower than average consumer spending, third party booking sites, commission based sales and tourism taking a turn for the worse are all paths that lead to the same location – lower average room rates (ARR). The strain from the online retail model continues to put tremendous pressure on rates, forcing operators to believe that even lower rates must be offered to these online consortia.
How a casino’s approach to staffing can affect the whole business | How slashing your workforce and promoting junior staff to senior positions saves cash flow in the short term …. But irrevocably and negatively affects the business as a whole in the medium to long term. OnSite look at how to take proactive steps to managing your workforce.
The Casino Floor has multimillion dollar software given the rate and speed of transactions and the automation of the gaming process. More often than not, Food and Beverage has excel spreadsheets at best. This is not about software. In these cases, software is mostly purchased as a solution to a problem when the problem is actually that very person formulating the solution. You cannot purchase food cost control, only people can. Software just cuts the man hours down and translates the data into more readable fashion for cross analysis.
In a restaurant market full of competition, what separates you from your neighbor? Service, ambiance, price, parking and décor can all be strong factors in swaying a potential customer’s decision. However one fact always seems to get lost somewhere and that is the ability for your customers to get in contact with you either to make a reservation, discuss special needs or even book their company holiday party. As restaurant consultants, we know that restaurant customer service is the critical and often overlooked as an area than can directly drive improved business when given appropriate attention.
The National Purchasing Program (NPP) is designed for our nationwide restaurant clients of all sizes, enabling them to join a network and benefit from the purchasing power of each other. Providing prices lower than one sole operator can negotiate whether you are a single unit location or a growing franchise. The combination of the NPP multi million dollar purchasing and the constant and aggressive negotiating on behalf of the whole group benefit each and every member.
This market is providing restaurant operators with an opportunity to revisit their business and conduct an audit from the ground up, identifying wasteful cost centers and untapped revenue opportunities. A good restaurant consultant is someone who walks in the door with information, teaches it to the client and leaves that wisdom behind. An experienced consultant can also save money, find money and create money and it is these benefits that OnSite’s clients capture by bringing us on site.
OnSite Consulting references those restaurants offering ‘unbeatable offers’, we have for some time been expressing concerns that dropping prices or offering ‘unbeatable deals’ is not the quick fix that venues need. These offers rarely bring in the level of new business expected, the restaurant often carries the loss associated with such loss leading discounts for a long period of time and returning to a price point which does make sense for the business can be deeply unpopular.
For restaurants intending to implement an arbitration policy, there are many steps to take prior to an actual arbitration. These range from peer reviews to an ‘open door policy’ where employers and employees can negotiate without an arbitrator present. Whatever a company chooses to do, of primary importance is ensuring the policy is clearly defined and understood, with the intention always being to resolve the issue prior to arbitration but knowing that arbitration itself is a practical and cost effective alternative to entering the court room.
I asked one of the servers whether if someone asked me if she was pretty I responded “she is ok” would she be satisfied – immediately it clicked, if she is not satisfied with being described as OK then how can she be satisfied with asking our customers if the restaurant is OK. By definition OK means the minimum acceptable level and i have to believe your restaurant is striving for more.
In this market, not completing a form or having bad penmanship or having a sheet with something spilled on it, the lender is also looking that the application as an extension of your ability to run a business. If you turn in your “homework” and it’s all messed up and you can’t read it, it’s going to be an indication of how you intend to handle a business, of how serious you are about getting this loan done. You’re asking these guys to trust that you’re going to repay the money.
When a waiter is trained and gets a position, he should be told what is expected from him in regards to service. He will be given x amount of tables in the establishment which will be called his station and even though he is paid a wage, his station is his own business. The better [...]
This article is a great “reality check” between what the books preach and the reality of $$$ in your pocket. The ability to look at both the percentage as part of your overall operation (macro), and the real dollar value as part of your kitchen cost centre (micro).
Most culinary schools today are still teaching their [...]
OSC.BOE.PUB164.pdf
Publication provided by the BoE discussing the new outreach program
OSC.BOE.OutreachInTheNews.pdf
Board Of Equalization Outreach program in the news
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MAILING LIST EMAIL 4/22/09
Dear Friends,
Over the past two years the State Board Of Equalization has been conducting a “pilot program” to determine the lost, unreported or otherwise uncollected sales and use tax revenue. Upon completion [...]
Q. I’m ready to open a bar; I have savings or a cool concept – what should my first step be?
A. As a hospitality operations consultant, I spend a lot of time with first time clients – some have amazing concepts that belong in a metropolitan area; others have a desire just to own a [...]
At OnSite, we have been inundated with requests for advice given the current economic climate. Much of that advice at the time of writing has focused on the need to raise capital, and the difficulty in doing so. This Article attempts, by way of introduction, to explain why the problem can be more [...]
I have received a number of emails and phone calls recently in regards to the impact nightclubs, bars and restaurants have seen from what is, without question, an extraordinarily slow period. Operators are finding that they are not just having to deal with the annual, seasonal revenue cycle, but that they are faced with a simultaneous and overlapping crash on consumer confidence, the likes of which have not been witnessed for over a decade. On the assumption that it will not be getting better any time soon, immediate planning can allow for both current and future survival.
