Everywhere reports are indicating that the to-go category is booming for restauranteurs all over the country. As people look to dine cost consciously they are frequently turning towards takeout as a new way to save money (no tip – no beverages). Are you riding the wave of this new dimension of the food service industry?
If approached correctly, takeout dining could be a boon for those who capture the market and exploit the opportunity to make new profits through the takeout segment. No longer are people just ordering pizza or Chinese as takeout. The segment is booming to the point that grocery stores are trying to tap into the marketplace with their rotisserie chickens and fully prepared meals to go. Don’t get caught on the sideline watching your potential profits walk on by with their arms full of takeout packaging as they bring home their dinners. But remember, if you are going to get into the takeout business, you must do so with commitment and excellence in mind because it is next to impossible to fix your mistakes and insure that you will have a repeat customer.
What are the keys to a successful takeout program? To have a successful takeout program you need to focus on a few key areas. 1) Ease and accuracy of ordering (nothing worse than getting your meal home to find out that something wasn’t correctly prepared), 2) Does your food travel well? (figure it is at least a half hour from the time they leave your place and get to theirs), 3) Does your packaging hold up and do what it is supposed to do? (is it a mess when it gets home, and is the cold stuff cold and the hot stuff still hot?) 4) How are you positioning takeout in your operations? (who knows what you are offering and how are you getting word out about it?) Let’s take a minute to talk about each of these aspects of your takeout program.
Ease and accuracy of ordering…..This one is so simple and obvious, but in today’s market it is increasingly overlooked. We all want to get what we ordered, just the way we ordered it. Having an English speaking person manning the phones is the first step in insuring that the order is going to be correct when they get it home. Have someone double check the orders before they are boxed and bagged for pick up. One extra step to safeguard your business can pay huge dividends down the road. Many establishments are turning towards on line ordering….customers love it because they can build their meals just the way they like it, and they have an added measure of confidence that their order will be accurate because they created it.
Does your food travel well? Tailoring your takeout menu to items that travel best is something to keep in mind as you develop a takeout menu. Tweaking your existing menu items to travel better is always an option (offering sauces on the side, separating the hot and cold ingredients). Portion size is also something to consider as you develop your menu…sometimes offering the same item in multiple sizes (individual or family size), half portions or whole portions, the combinations are limitless. There is often times much more flexibility in putting a to-go menu together than there is in menus for dining in house.
Does your packaging hold up and do what it is supposed to do? For years cost effectiveness (price) has been the leading factor in deciding how restaurants are going to send you home with your food. It can’t be anymore as you fight for these elusive profit dollars. Packaging is every bit as important as what is in the package these days. It has to look appetizing when it gets home. It has to be hot (or cold) when it gets home. We all eat with our eyes first, and you want that first look (or bite) to be as good as your diner has imagined it would be. I said earlier that if you are going to do takeout, you must do it with a commitment to excellence and trying to save a few dollars by using cheap packaging is not the commitment that is necessary to build a viable takeout segment of your sales. Every penny invested in packaging is worth the extra investment. Presentable, appetizing food is imperative to a successful takeout operation, and more often than not, it doesn’t make it home in cheap packaging. The best meals lose their curb appeal when they aren’t presented correctly in your restaurant and presentation is equally important when they get it home.
How do you position your takeout segment within your operations? Is it on your menu? Is it on your advertising? Is it on a sign within your restaurant? Are you including to-go menus with every order? Is it on your website? Is it on your outgoing phone message or hold music? Do you have a separate counter for takeout? Do you offer curbside service for takeout? Committing to takeout can reward you with infinite profits, and you need to position it properly within your establishment.
Takeout is tricky. It is next to impossible to correct any mistakes because it is usually too late when the mistakes are discovered (can’t fix it with a free appetizer or dessert because they have already left the premises). Because mistakes are so difficult to overcome, it is imperative that you have the best practices in place to make sure that people are happy with what they brought home. Taking time to check the orders and packaging them in the right containers can go a long way towards earning you repeat takeout business. Getting word out to your existing customers that takeout (as well as catering) is an option for them is instrumental in putting together a successful takeout program. So go claim your share as America brings dinner back home.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Consistency Matters
“My goal in sailing isn’t to be brilliant or flashy in individual races, just to be consistent over the long run.” Dennis Connor, “Mr. America’s Cup” captain of celebrated Stars and Stripes.
Chances are that if you are reading this, you get extra income based on the success of your establishment. Chances are that whoever is doing your cleaning, food prep, customer interacting and cooking gets paid by the hour. I don’t know about you, but I feel that is a stark contrast in motivating factors. We can’t always assume that what motivates us motivates everyone else the same way. How clearly are do you communicate expectations to your staff? How often do you remind them of your standards and what your expectations are? How often do you check to see if your SOP is being followed as precisely as you would do it?
I know that no one goes into management or ownership with a strong desire to babysit and check up on their employees. It isn’t the most glamorous aspect of the job, but it is an essential one. In today’s ultra competitive marketplace consistency, consistency, consistency, and consistency are uber important. Consumers are feeling the pinch in their wallets, and because of that they are more discerning and have raised their standards of what is an acceptable dining experience. I am fortunate to be surrounded by people that appear to have forgotten how to cook at home because they eat out so frequently. Being in the industry has made me tune in to their impromptu reviews and comments. I am amazed at how some of them who used to extend grace by saying “the cook had a bad night, it’s normally much better than that” are now crossing those restaurants off of their lists of dining options. They want to know what they are getting in exchange for their money, and you had better deliver.
What does all this have to do with expectations and standards? Everything. I recently had a partner in my business ask me to do some research on a particular product they were preparing. They were having consistency issues, and they wanted to find out if they changed a few things in their prep process how that would affect the finished product. I asked some questions and took some notes about his prep process, making sure to be diligent in recording the details. The next time I was in the restaurant, I began talking to his cooks about the issue, and it quickly became evident that what the owner thought was occurring wasn’t occurring quite the way he expected. The consistency issue resided in the inconsistent prep process. Everyone had their own take on how it should be done, and crazy as it may sound, the product was finishing without any consistency. Here is a perfect example of starting employees off with good training and then leaving them to find their own shortcuts and steps without checking back to see if the standards you set are still being lived up to.
In this instance the original standards were set so that a consistently quality product was served to the customer because that is what the owner thought would generate the greatest return on his investment. What happened was that hourly employees took over the process and began to perform the tasks with finishing in mind rather than having the finished product in mind. The difference is subtly significant, and happens all over the place. The key is creating a culture where excellence matters. It’s not easy and needs to be a focus for management. The key is in not assuming that what matters to you matters to everyone else that works with you or for you. If it’s important to you, make it important to them. Without clearly stated SOPs and expectations, you have no one to blame about the predicament but your self. No one wants to be perceived to have Gordon Ramsey like qualities, but if you want excellence, you have to demand it (even if you can demand it a little more tactfully than Gordon does).
How many of you have a written recipe book with clear, concise directions on how to prepare your meals? What happens when your cook takes a vacation? Does the replacement make it the same way? I remember going to a restaurant on a pretty regular basis and realizing that when a particular guy was working the line that I shouldn’t order eggs, but when the other cook was working the line the omelets came out fantastic. Does that happen at your place? With a clear training manual and recipe book with step by step directions that should never happen. You can’t afford to have that happen in this economy. In my town alone, that breakfast place now has 4 different competitors to choose from that might have a consistent omelet making it to the table.
Consistency matters. If you think it doesn’t you are fooling yourself. With some many dining options available to consumers, customers don’t speak up with their voices; they speak loudly with their dollars. Invest in your place by finding out from your customers what is working and what isn’t. Invest in your place by putting together a clear concise training manual with clearly defined expectations. Make consistency matter.
Chances are that if you are reading this, you get extra income based on the success of your establishment. Chances are that whoever is doing your cleaning, food prep, customer interacting and cooking gets paid by the hour. I don’t know about you, but I feel that is a stark contrast in motivating factors. We can’t always assume that what motivates us motivates everyone else the same way. How clearly are do you communicate expectations to your staff? How often do you remind them of your standards and what your expectations are? How often do you check to see if your SOP is being followed as precisely as you would do it?
I know that no one goes into management or ownership with a strong desire to babysit and check up on their employees. It isn’t the most glamorous aspect of the job, but it is an essential one. In today’s ultra competitive marketplace consistency, consistency, consistency, and consistency are uber important. Consumers are feeling the pinch in their wallets, and because of that they are more discerning and have raised their standards of what is an acceptable dining experience. I am fortunate to be surrounded by people that appear to have forgotten how to cook at home because they eat out so frequently. Being in the industry has made me tune in to their impromptu reviews and comments. I am amazed at how some of them who used to extend grace by saying “the cook had a bad night, it’s normally much better than that” are now crossing those restaurants off of their lists of dining options. They want to know what they are getting in exchange for their money, and you had better deliver.
What does all this have to do with expectations and standards? Everything. I recently had a partner in my business ask me to do some research on a particular product they were preparing. They were having consistency issues, and they wanted to find out if they changed a few things in their prep process how that would affect the finished product. I asked some questions and took some notes about his prep process, making sure to be diligent in recording the details. The next time I was in the restaurant, I began talking to his cooks about the issue, and it quickly became evident that what the owner thought was occurring wasn’t occurring quite the way he expected. The consistency issue resided in the inconsistent prep process. Everyone had their own take on how it should be done, and crazy as it may sound, the product was finishing without any consistency. Here is a perfect example of starting employees off with good training and then leaving them to find their own shortcuts and steps without checking back to see if the standards you set are still being lived up to.
In this instance the original standards were set so that a consistently quality product was served to the customer because that is what the owner thought would generate the greatest return on his investment. What happened was that hourly employees took over the process and began to perform the tasks with finishing in mind rather than having the finished product in mind. The difference is subtly significant, and happens all over the place. The key is creating a culture where excellence matters. It’s not easy and needs to be a focus for management. The key is in not assuming that what matters to you matters to everyone else that works with you or for you. If it’s important to you, make it important to them. Without clearly stated SOPs and expectations, you have no one to blame about the predicament but your self. No one wants to be perceived to have Gordon Ramsey like qualities, but if you want excellence, you have to demand it (even if you can demand it a little more tactfully than Gordon does).
How many of you have a written recipe book with clear, concise directions on how to prepare your meals? What happens when your cook takes a vacation? Does the replacement make it the same way? I remember going to a restaurant on a pretty regular basis and realizing that when a particular guy was working the line that I shouldn’t order eggs, but when the other cook was working the line the omelets came out fantastic. Does that happen at your place? With a clear training manual and recipe book with step by step directions that should never happen. You can’t afford to have that happen in this economy. In my town alone, that breakfast place now has 4 different competitors to choose from that might have a consistent omelet making it to the table.
Consistency matters. If you think it doesn’t you are fooling yourself. With some many dining options available to consumers, customers don’t speak up with their voices; they speak loudly with their dollars. Invest in your place by finding out from your customers what is working and what isn’t. Invest in your place by putting together a clear concise training manual with clearly defined expectations. Make consistency matter.
Monday, January 4, 2010
January Fun
“To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future or indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust.” John F. Kennedy 35th President of the United States.
Well, we made it. We made it through another holiday season intact. We survived the holiday insanity for this? A slow January?!! What is this God’s cruel joke on operators? Thanks for nothing! January isn’t always the best month for revenues. It can be a brutal month for customer counts and ticket averages too. January is cold. January is dreary. January is a lot of things and many of those things are unpleasant.
What can January mean to you? January is the perfect time to position oneself for even greater success in the coming year. Put this retail respite to work for you. This is a great time to look at your goals, best practices, your menu, your help, just about every aspect of your business. Why don’t you break it down weekly….1st week look at your help, 2nd week look at your menu, 3rd week look at your best practices and the 4th week look at what you are doing to drive more customers into your facility?
Start with an honest assessment of where you are today. What is your true labor cost? Do you even know? Are you allocating man hours to your greatest efficiency? Is there somewhere you can trim hours? Are there times when you can boost efficiency and productivity by adding hours to the schedule? Just because you have always done it a particular way doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it. Is there a growing day part that needs extra attention? Is there a day part that has been declining and that you might be able to get away with less? Now is the time to make those calls.
Week 2 – The MENU….start by asking yourself “who are you as a restaurant, what are you known for and why to people come to your establishment?” Answering those questions honestly will make the rest of your decisions so much easier to deal with….is this appetizer, entrée, dessert, side or extra reinforcing the answers to those questions or are they taking away from your identity? If they are detracting, why are they on your menu? If they are enhancing your identity, what other products are there that you can offer to extend that identity even further? Don’t get caught trying to serve too many masters. Find your identity and expand upon it organically. Become the best _____ that you can by building your brand through your menu. This is your big chance to drive new revenues with new ideas while reducing revenue suckers by alleviating the dogs. Talk about reshaping your bottom line! All of your items should be pulling in the same direction.
Week 3 – BEST PRACTICES….how do you do what you do? Is the way you’ve always done it, mean it’s the best way to do it? Often times not. We are all stuck in our familiar ways. They are easier and a lot less scary. Change is difficult. What if a new way of doing things saved labor but costs a little more on the invoice? Is it worth it to you? I can’t answer that but you can. Look around at many of the successful operations, and you will see that many of them are using value added items rather than commodity items in the early steps of their preparation. For example, many of the chains are using a premixed salad blend for their salads rather than tying up cooler space and man hours chopping and cleaning fresh vegetables and instead utilizing those man hours and space to find ways to make money and drive revenue rather than focusing on saving money one item at a time. Think about it….survey after survey shows that bathroom cleanliness is a leading factor for why customers will or will not return to a given establishment, but we all leave bathroom clean up for the end of the night when the chance to make the right impression has already passed us by, instead using those man hours to chop onions or lettuce or mushrooms……doesn’t make sense if you ask me. How locked down is your policy and procedure manual for the front of the house? Is it always done the same way? Is someone charged with checking accuracy and follow through? The opportunities for improvement are almost limitless here. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the way YOU want it done is being followed consistently.
Week 4 – MARKETING….what are you doing today to drive more people into your establishment next week, next month or next year? Social media (Twitter / Facebook / Chow Baby / Yelp) isn’t going away. In a world of growing connectedness people are becoming more and more dependant on their computers and smart phones for their information. What are you doing to control or influence the information that is available about you on the internet? How are you positioning your brand? What are you doing to boost your brand identity and recognition? How are you shaping your image within the community? Are you creating good will amongst the natives? Don’t take it for granted that word is getting out about you. One step further, don’t assume you know what they are saying about you. Google yourself. Surprised by the results? More or less than you expected? Better or worse feedback than you expected? Did your address and phone number come up? How about your menu? Shouldn’t they?
Nothing I have said in the previous paragraphs is anything new. And because they aren’t new ideas, they often get skipped over or overlooked. Don’t make that mistake in 2010. As the old saying goes….”when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”…..rewritten it means “When life gives you January, start planning to make the next 11 months great.”
Well, we made it. We made it through another holiday season intact. We survived the holiday insanity for this? A slow January?!! What is this God’s cruel joke on operators? Thanks for nothing! January isn’t always the best month for revenues. It can be a brutal month for customer counts and ticket averages too. January is cold. January is dreary. January is a lot of things and many of those things are unpleasant.
What can January mean to you? January is the perfect time to position oneself for even greater success in the coming year. Put this retail respite to work for you. This is a great time to look at your goals, best practices, your menu, your help, just about every aspect of your business. Why don’t you break it down weekly….1st week look at your help, 2nd week look at your menu, 3rd week look at your best practices and the 4th week look at what you are doing to drive more customers into your facility?
Start with an honest assessment of where you are today. What is your true labor cost? Do you even know? Are you allocating man hours to your greatest efficiency? Is there somewhere you can trim hours? Are there times when you can boost efficiency and productivity by adding hours to the schedule? Just because you have always done it a particular way doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it. Is there a growing day part that needs extra attention? Is there a day part that has been declining and that you might be able to get away with less? Now is the time to make those calls.
Week 2 – The MENU….start by asking yourself “who are you as a restaurant, what are you known for and why to people come to your establishment?” Answering those questions honestly will make the rest of your decisions so much easier to deal with….is this appetizer, entrée, dessert, side or extra reinforcing the answers to those questions or are they taking away from your identity? If they are detracting, why are they on your menu? If they are enhancing your identity, what other products are there that you can offer to extend that identity even further? Don’t get caught trying to serve too many masters. Find your identity and expand upon it organically. Become the best _____ that you can by building your brand through your menu. This is your big chance to drive new revenues with new ideas while reducing revenue suckers by alleviating the dogs. Talk about reshaping your bottom line! All of your items should be pulling in the same direction.
Week 3 – BEST PRACTICES….how do you do what you do? Is the way you’ve always done it, mean it’s the best way to do it? Often times not. We are all stuck in our familiar ways. They are easier and a lot less scary. Change is difficult. What if a new way of doing things saved labor but costs a little more on the invoice? Is it worth it to you? I can’t answer that but you can. Look around at many of the successful operations, and you will see that many of them are using value added items rather than commodity items in the early steps of their preparation. For example, many of the chains are using a premixed salad blend for their salads rather than tying up cooler space and man hours chopping and cleaning fresh vegetables and instead utilizing those man hours and space to find ways to make money and drive revenue rather than focusing on saving money one item at a time. Think about it….survey after survey shows that bathroom cleanliness is a leading factor for why customers will or will not return to a given establishment, but we all leave bathroom clean up for the end of the night when the chance to make the right impression has already passed us by, instead using those man hours to chop onions or lettuce or mushrooms……doesn’t make sense if you ask me. How locked down is your policy and procedure manual for the front of the house? Is it always done the same way? Is someone charged with checking accuracy and follow through? The opportunities for improvement are almost limitless here. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the way YOU want it done is being followed consistently.
Week 4 – MARKETING….what are you doing today to drive more people into your establishment next week, next month or next year? Social media (Twitter / Facebook / Chow Baby / Yelp) isn’t going away. In a world of growing connectedness people are becoming more and more dependant on their computers and smart phones for their information. What are you doing to control or influence the information that is available about you on the internet? How are you positioning your brand? What are you doing to boost your brand identity and recognition? How are you shaping your image within the community? Are you creating good will amongst the natives? Don’t take it for granted that word is getting out about you. One step further, don’t assume you know what they are saying about you. Google yourself. Surprised by the results? More or less than you expected? Better or worse feedback than you expected? Did your address and phone number come up? How about your menu? Shouldn’t they?
Nothing I have said in the previous paragraphs is anything new. And because they aren’t new ideas, they often get skipped over or overlooked. Don’t make that mistake in 2010. As the old saying goes….”when life gives you lemons, make lemonade”…..rewritten it means “When life gives you January, start planning to make the next 11 months great.”
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