This week I have a guest columnist, Dave Tebussek. Dave is a 35 year veteran of the restaurant industry. He has primarily worked on the operations side of the industry, and wants to share a bit of the wisdom his experiences have brought him.
Change Your Focus Grow Your Business
David Tebussek
Gordon Food Serivce
During my 35 year career in the restaurant industry, both in retail and sales, I have witnessed many tough economic times. Many of you have witnessed this and some of you have not. There have been 2 constants during the tough times. Only the strong survive and these economic times eventually turn around. I am tired of the negative talk the media continues to dish out on a daily basis, this type of mind numbing reporting only puts you in a state of mind that causes apathy. The first thing we can all change is our attitude, be positive. This is an area we can all control. After you have decided to change your focus you will realize there is still no magic bullet to success in any industry, if there was everyone would use it and everyone would succeed.
I have worked for two successful operators who have taught me to take a hard look at what you are doing during times like these to be sure you are the best. Quality, service, and cleanliness still work. You must also take a hard look at your business model to determine what is producing and reducing your profit. If you are willing to invest time in your business and roll up your sleeves I believe you will come out of this stronger on the back side because I have experienced this myself. I will give you some points to ponder.
QUALITY
Are your products made with the best raw materials that make them worth the money?
Would you pay your asking price for everything you sell?
Do you have signature products that are hard to get anywhere else? Are they marketed as such? (You can charge more for these items)
Does your quality carve out a niche for you?
Are your people passionate about quality? (Level of passion is demonstrated when the boss is gone)
Are there any current trends in food you can incorporate in your business? (There are scores of on line food publications)
What do your customers want to see in your business? (You need to ask)
SERVICE
Do you look at your service through the eyes of a customer? (Watch and listen to transactions, sit down in the dining area and pretend you are doing something else)
Can you invite anyone to experience your business as a secret shopper? (These people can’t be known by your staff and must be willing to provide candid feedback. Pay for the meal and charge it to marketing, it’s the cheapest marketing ever.)
Does your service include hospitality and name recognition? (Make it a game. Who can know the most names? How can we turn this place into “Cheers”?)
How would you rate business as it relates to hospitality? (Service must never be mechanical, it must be personal.)
How can we deliver efficient service every time? (Take a hard look at every system.)
Hire only people with a great personality, these people will attract others like themselves, and are capable of delivering hospitality. Sadly those who are not like this can’t deliver hospitality and you can’t teach them. The technical side of our business is easy to teach.
CLEANLINESS
Is everything neat, spotless, and organized? (Now you know it is not.) This one is easy you just need to have the proper tools and build a program that works. I always relate this one to people coming to the house when I was growing up. We used to sweep the garage and no one ever went in there, but they might.
Could you take someone into every corner and be proud?
PROFIT
Why are you selling what you are selling? (Does each item produce a profit margin equal to the labor and cost to produce it? You must look at each item and make the call, then label each item, keep, eliminate, or retool.)
Is all this labor necessary? (You may think this is cold but the reality is there are many ready to use products in the market designed to help eliminate labor. If you are loyal to your people to a fault these products can be introduced through attrition of your current staff. Have a plan in place to revise prep procedures as people quit.)
Are my people on board with controlling costs? Do I have a plan in place? Am I tracking costs? Do I know what my food cost is? Do I have any silent partners?
Can I renegotiate my lease? (Everything is open for negotiation.)
These are just a few suggestions to focus your energies in the right direction. You are all entrepreneurs with a passion for success. You could probably think of many more questions to ask yourself and I hope you do. You believed in your concept enough to get it off the ground, and for all of you reading this you are still in the game. I have never met or read about anyone who had success without hard work. All of this will take hard work and extra effort. The practices you put in place today to strengthen your operation will pay huge dividends both now and in the future. Sharpening your business through tough analysis is never a bad investment.
Oh by the way it is alright to steal an idea or two along the way.
David Tebussek
Gordon Food Serivce
During my 35 year career in the restaurant industry, both in retail and sales, I have witnessed many tough economic times. Many of you have witnessed this and some of you have not. There have been 2 constants during the tough times. Only the strong survive and these economic times eventually turn around. I am tired of the negative talk the media continues to dish out on a daily basis, this type of mind numbing reporting only puts you in a state of mind that causes apathy. The first thing we can all change is our attitude, be positive. This is an area we can all control. After you have decided to change your focus you will realize there is still no magic bullet to success in any industry, if there was everyone would use it and everyone would succeed.
I have worked for two successful operators who have taught me to take a hard look at what you are doing during times like these to be sure you are the best. Quality, service, and cleanliness still work. You must also take a hard look at your business model to determine what is producing and reducing your profit. If you are willing to invest time in your business and roll up your sleeves I believe you will come out of this stronger on the back side because I have experienced this myself. I will give you some points to ponder.
QUALITY
Are your products made with the best raw materials that make them worth the money?
Would you pay your asking price for everything you sell?
Do you have signature products that are hard to get anywhere else? Are they marketed as such? (You can charge more for these items)
Does your quality carve out a niche for you?
Are your people passionate about quality? (Level of passion is demonstrated when the boss is gone)
Are there any current trends in food you can incorporate in your business? (There are scores of on line food publications)
What do your customers want to see in your business? (You need to ask)
SERVICE
Do you look at your service through the eyes of a customer? (Watch and listen to transactions, sit down in the dining area and pretend you are doing something else)
Can you invite anyone to experience your business as a secret shopper? (These people can’t be known by your staff and must be willing to provide candid feedback. Pay for the meal and charge it to marketing, it’s the cheapest marketing ever.)
Does your service include hospitality and name recognition? (Make it a game. Who can know the most names? How can we turn this place into “Cheers”?)
How would you rate business as it relates to hospitality? (Service must never be mechanical, it must be personal.)
How can we deliver efficient service every time? (Take a hard look at every system.)
Hire only people with a great personality, these people will attract others like themselves, and are capable of delivering hospitality. Sadly those who are not like this can’t deliver hospitality and you can’t teach them. The technical side of our business is easy to teach.
CLEANLINESS
Is everything neat, spotless, and organized? (Now you know it is not.) This one is easy you just need to have the proper tools and build a program that works. I always relate this one to people coming to the house when I was growing up. We used to sweep the garage and no one ever went in there, but they might.
Could you take someone into every corner and be proud?
PROFIT
Why are you selling what you are selling? (Does each item produce a profit margin equal to the labor and cost to produce it? You must look at each item and make the call, then label each item, keep, eliminate, or retool.)
Is all this labor necessary? (You may think this is cold but the reality is there are many ready to use products in the market designed to help eliminate labor. If you are loyal to your people to a fault these products can be introduced through attrition of your current staff. Have a plan in place to revise prep procedures as people quit.)
Are my people on board with controlling costs? Do I have a plan in place? Am I tracking costs? Do I know what my food cost is? Do I have any silent partners?
Can I renegotiate my lease? (Everything is open for negotiation.)
These are just a few suggestions to focus your energies in the right direction. You are all entrepreneurs with a passion for success. You could probably think of many more questions to ask yourself and I hope you do. You believed in your concept enough to get it off the ground, and for all of you reading this you are still in the game. I have never met or read about anyone who had success without hard work. All of this will take hard work and extra effort. The practices you put in place today to strengthen your operation will pay huge dividends both now and in the future. Sharpening your business through tough analysis is never a bad investment.
Oh by the way it is alright to steal an idea or two along the way.
