There are two family restaurants in this small city.
Owner operated - good quality - family fare - reasonable prices -
suitable locations.
But that's where the similarity ends.
It starts with the owners. John is exhausted. He rarely gets a day
off. He is overworked because of staff turnover. Training takes too
long and is too expensive. Seems John is the only one who can do
things right. And if jobs are so scarce these days, why do people
keep quitting?
Across town is Ashley.
Ashley's business is in good shape. She has good staff because she
has fair and consistent policies in place. Her training manuals are up
to date and they help new staff get on board quickly. And margins
are good enough so she can pay them fairly. Ashley even gets regular
time off.
John is making a lot less money than last year. Costs have risen
and revenue is shrinking. John is no idiot and he knows food costs
are too high; he just can't pinpoint exactly where the problem is. John needs a better system, but he isn't sure where to get it (and
he's worried it will be expensive or difficult).
Ashley understands her food costs because her restaurant has a
system in place for calculating it weekly and tracking her key products
every day. She also implemented some good ideas she found about
improving portion control and reducing theft.
Both restaurants would like to see more business. But at least
Ashley is seeing some growth. She implemented a new marketing tactic that
is putting more people in seats during week day hours. That was a
problem before.
And Ashley avoided an expensive advertising program after a fellow
owner warned her against it when his own similar attempt failed.....Advice like that is priceless.
Unfortunately for John, he doesn't have anywhere to go for good
advice - or to even bounce ideas around. He certainly can't afford
a consultant.
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Oh by the way, Ashley got her advice, training manuals, policies,
food cost system, employee checklists, and that good marketing idea
at RestaurantOwner.com.
No - it isn't free. She invests the whopping amount of $12.99 per
month.
John avoids that $12.99/month fee.
If you think Ashley's approach might make more sense than John's, get details at:
restaurantowner.com websiteYours in success,
Jim Laube and Joe Erickson
RestaurantOwner.com
