Month: November 2018

Nowadays, the restaurant industry is more competitive than ever before and this is causing numerous problems. With so much choice available for the consumer, restaurants are finding it hard to get noticed. However, there are some steps that you can take to overcome the largest problems and we have some fantastic tips today!

Issue #1: Customer Service – When people visit restaurants, they do so because they want to experience food that they can’t cook at home and we will look deeper into the menu in just a second. However, it isn’t just the food that people want to experience because the customer service is just as important. Regardless of how good your food may be, most visitors include the customer service in their decision of whether to return so this should be a focal point of your business.

As we know, repeat customers are essential for restaurants because there are only a certain amount of people to whom you can appeal. Once all the locals have visited your restaurant, you are essentially out of ideas. Therefore, a sustainable restaurant will focus on repeat business and customer service is a huge factor within this. From busboys to the managers, everybody should be looking out for the visitor and they need to have an enjoyable experience.

In truth, every step is important from the moment they walk in. If they aren’t greeted, don’t know your name, aren’t helped with questions, and aren’t even smiled at once, they will remember and could even tarnish your reputation with an online review. Remember, a bad review can outdo several good ones so do your best to keep all customers happy. Of course, some customers will be tricky to handle but you must try your best and keep the smile on your face at all times.

Issue #2: USP – Why should customers spend their evening and hard-earned money with you as opposed to any other restaurant in town? If you can’t answer this, how can anybody else? Unfortunately, customer service or even the menu doesn’t necessarily qualify as a USP as such as these are just a case of meeting expectations. In order to exceed them in some way, you need something that sets you apart.

Is it the classic 50s music you play while they eat? Do you source all of your ingredients locally? Do all customers get a little gift bag when they leave even if it is only a mint and some other cheap items? Whatever it may be, this will be the bit that has people returning. If it was just ‘food’, people can get that anywhere so what is it about your restaurant that is so special? As soon as you have this, you will be remembered. Why? Because you create an emotional connection with your guests and next time, they might bring more friends and family!

Issue #3: Menu – Ultimately, these three factors at the beginning are a trifecta of factors that make up the foundation of your restaurant. If either one of these is faulty, repeat customers are hard to come by. So far, we have been skirting around the menu a little so let’s address it now properly. In terms of common issues, sometimes restaurants have their menu too small or even too large. Additionally, you could be too expensive, too confusing with your theme, or too frugal with your portion sizes.

When creating a menu, you need to choose a number of dishes that you can do well without compromising the quality. When there are too many items, everything becomes a little rushed and the chef is overwhelmed at what they have to cook. For example, having hundreds of items might not seem a lot but what happens if every single person orders a different dish? Furthermore, you need to consider the amount of ingredients required to fulfil a large menu.

This being said, you also don’t want to limit the choice of your customers because they will only come once or twice before they run out of dishes they wish to try. Therefore, there needs to be a balance between these two factors. As well as providing a good amount of choice, the chef needs to be able to cook all orders to a very good standard. To help, we also have some smaller tips that may help with your menu;

• Avoid using the dollar sign
• Review your menu once or twice a year
• Be ready to adapt if something doesn’t sell
• Keep copies of your menu clean in the dining room
• Use photos and creative text to sell for you
• Keep the most profitable dishes in their own section

Finally, we also recommend making your menu available on your website and social media sites because people are more likely to visit if they can check out your food first!

Issue #4: Marketing – Earlier, we discussed the amount of competition in every location so how do you plan to stand out without good marketing? We aren’t saying that you should be spending extortionate amounts of money on marketing, but you can still utilize social media, a responsive website, email lists, and even a loyalty program for customers. In addition to being cheap, these are all incredibly effective.

Over time, you should be looking to create your brand including the same logo and graphics across all platforms. In truth, being creative is far more effective than spending lots of money so be unique and capture the imagination of potential customers.

Issue #5: Management – Although this isn’t in the main three, management is still important to any restaurant because you are the one in control. Each day, there are many things that need to be assessed to ensure profitability including;

• The most profitable menu items
• The cost of each menu item
• Labor costs compared to ingredients and every other cost
• The items that could be removed due to lack of sales
• The amount of customers who walk through the door each day
• The profit (or loss) you see each week
• The loss that comes from inventory

As you can see, these are quite basic but could prove very important if you are to succeed. If you manage to review the figures listed, act upon what they are suggesting, and then see even more success, this is great news for the longevity of the businesses!

Issue #6: Capital – Ultimately, the biggest problem here is probably the lack of capital that restaurant owners seem to have these days. If you are still in the planning stages of your restaurant and only have enough money for three months, we highly suggest waiting a little longer because this time will go very quickly. If you get off to a slow start, you are getting yourself into debt very early on and it becomes harder and harder to recover as many people find out each year. If possible, it is recommended that you have capital for at least one year before you open.

Issue #7: Staff – Finally, your staff will be one of the most important cogs in the day-to-day wheel because they are the face of the business. If you make mistakes in hiring, you end up wasting a good amount of money on the hiring process as well as the training that took place to get them up to scratch. This, coupled with the fact that the food industry tends to have a very high labor turnover rate, means that you need to be extra careful with hiring the right characters.

If you place focus on staff, you will become more efficient as time goes on and this leads to a happier experience for your diners. Although hiring can be an expensive process, this doesn’t mean that you should be hanging on to the wrong staff. Let’s face it, some people aren’t cut out for working in the busy atmosphere of a restaurant and this is absolutely fine. Once you have the right team, you can train them well and they could potentially become management one day and this is something to keep in mind. If they have the potential to join the management team in the future, keep hold of them!

Conclusion – There we have it, the most common issues seen by restaurants. As long as you take our tips on board, you should now have some solutions to make your restaurant venture a success both now and long into the future!

Whether you have owned a restaurant for ten days or ten years, you will know that the job is a hard one and that there is always room for improvement. In truth, different owners are unique and this means that one restaurant can run very differently to another and still see success. However, there are three key things that you need to do regardless of your style. As long as you get these three factors right, there is no reason why you can’t become a great owner.

Be Close to Staff – In any restaurant, the staff are the function that keeps it all ticking over. Even though you own the business and pay the staff, they are the ones running the show. Nowadays, it is easy for people to switch jobs in a flash so don’t lose them through ignorance. After learning the market, make sure you pay them as they would expect before then training them sufficiently. Although they might not admit it, all assistant chefs are dreaming of being head chefs whilst waiters want to become a manager one day. With this in mind, you can help them and improve their skill set by cross training.

At first, you need to ensure that they are fully trained in their chosen area. When the time is right, allow them to spread their wings a little and train in different areas. Not only will this boost their confidence, this can be very useful if someone phones in sick or leaves unexpectedly. Suddenly, you have staff trained in all different areas.

Choose Your Role – Before you go off deciding everybody’s role, spend some time defining your own. When you do this, you allow room for growth and the business becomes scalable because you will be ready to pass the reigns over whenever necessary. If you’re completely new to the restaurant business, be hands-on and willing to learn. Once you know everything about your restaurant, you can look at the bigger picture while your staff concentrate on the finer details and day-to-day running.

Value Your Customers – Without customers, you have no business. Even with the best decor, service, and food, you are still nothing without customers so you need to show every one of them that you appreciate their visit. Sadly, many people believe this is only achieved through compliments but all feedback is valuable. Whether you talk to them in person or ask for feedback online, see what they have to say because you might just see a suggestion that changes your business for the better.

In a recent interview, a world-famous chef once said that he doesn’t even listen to positive feedback. Although it is nice to hear, it is the negative feedback that allows improvement to be made. If a customer speaks negatively, work out what went wrong and find a way to fix it. Once you have learned a lesson or made a change, invite them back to see the improvement. Nowadays, every customer is important and it takes skill to turn a negative customer into a long-term repeat customer. If you achieve this skill, you will be in business for a long time.

Conclusion – As you may have noticed, we just covered the three vital factors of your business – your staff, your customers, and yourself. If you pay attention to these three tips, you will be well on the way to success!

Restaurants are a popular place in movies, they’ve been shown for a large number of events ranging from the meetings between two people in love to carrying out hits on the members of the rival gang but what they fail to show is the everything things which go behind the scene at nearly every restaurant at all times. At the end of the day, every restaurant is a business and like every business, there are a great number of things which need to be taken care of. One of the most important ones is the competition which goes on in the restaurant industry but there are things which you can take care of to keep yourself ahead of the competition.

The most important thing is to streamline all the process in your restaurant. This can mean the difference between success and failure. A lack of clarity can result in a waste of time and resources. Everyone must understand their life in the business and know whatever is expected of them.

There are so many things which happen at any given moment in a restaurant that it becomes very difficult to keep a track of them as the issues just seem to be coming continuously. It is important that one stays ahead of the curve by not getting distracted.

Almost everyone on the team is going to have an opinion on every issue the restaurant faces but it is important to keep track of the reasons why you got in the industry. One should never forget his or her true calling and never shirk away from making tough decisions when the time comes. In the restaurant, as is also true in life, one must remain true to his own self.

Consistency is perhaps the greatest requirement for success. It makes the whole process easier and everybody understand their role in the picture. Making too many changes too soon can send wrong signals to both your employees and your customers.

Things like the menu, the bar, and other stuff which are hidden from the customers may not seem so important but they are the framework on which the entire business stands, one shouldn’t stop paying attention to these seemingly boring issues.

The customer should be the center of the entire experience after all he’s paying for it. The food is important too but it is the overall experience which is usually more memorable than the food itself.

Having the right team is extremely important for any business but it is especially important in the restaurant business. Look for people who work on the same frequency as you. Things, like sharing the same work ethic and having similar goals for the business, can make a lot of difference.

Saving money in things like the cutlery, food etc. and people may lead to some short-term savings but customers usually see through these things. It is important to invest in high-quality, both in materials and in people. Good service makes repeat customers which is good for the business.

Restaurants don’t start making money on the first day of their opening, no business does. There should be a safety cushion of money one must have especially for the initial months when cash flow is an issue.

Last but not the least, it is important to find a balance between your restaurant and home life, after all, it is usually the family that we do everything for. If we’re to neglect family life for the sake of our business then there is a risk of losing both in the long-term. Small things matter, it is important to maintain a balance in life.