A WEALTH OF INFORMATION

The Small Business Administration has a wealth of information on everything you need to know to operate or start a business. Read, read, read. The resources available are endless. One interesting page on the SBA site gives you 10 steps in the planning, preparation and operation of your new business. I also highly encourage you to follow the official SBA Blog. Most financial institutions will require a good Business Plan before they will lend you money to start or expand you business. This includes the securing of SBA loans. There are excellent outlines and templates for preparing your business plan right on the SBA site. The more you learn, the better your chances of success.

TWO MINUTES OR TWO BITES

Four of us went out to dinner last night. A family style restaurant. Imagine, the server never came back to the table to check on us until we were finished eating. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't drop my fork on the floor.

There are obviously several steps to good customer service. Missing the 2 minute check back, as I call it, is probably the worst of service. Actually, this is not the server's fault. The problem lies with management and the lack of training. The server was not busy, or lazy, she was actually somewhat conscientious otherwise. This tells me she just didn't know any better. I visit this restaurant about once a month and have never seen a manager on the floor. No one observing the operation. No one doing any training.

All new food servers must be given at least a 3 hour sit down orientation, preferably by a manager, a certified trainer, or even the owner. I usually spend about 1 hour on the restaurant policies. This hour also includes a tour of the entire restaurant. The second hour covers the menu. Go through each menu item in detail. Explain how things are ordered by the customer. For example, some entrees come with choice of soup or salad, etc. The last hour I spend on your point of sale computer system. The important thing is to develop your own written check list for this orientation. Get this down to a routine where everything is covered in the allotted time. Immediately after the orientation, go right out into the dining room for the new employee's first shift. The trainer should stay with the new employee every step of the way. Start with just one table. The trainer should tell the hostess when they are ready for another party. Train just a couple of hours this first shift so that there is time to sit down and review before the new employee goes home. No matter how much previous experience the new server has, a trainer should be scheduled with that person at least one more shift.

I have had just a good, or better, luck, thoroughly training people who have never worked as food servers. This has been especially true with college students. Some of these servers came back to work for me every summer.

The Interview Process - Wait for the Right One

The interview process is soooooo important because hiring the right people will save you much time and money in the long run. It is important not only to make sure that the applicant is good for you, but also, that you are good for him or her. By this I mean, are you able to pay this person the money that they need to meet their personal financial obligations. You don't want to waste time giving an orientation and training, only to have the employee quit when they get their first paycheck. Frequently, especially with younger applicants, the excitement of getting hired will cloud their thought process regarding the amount of their take home. Even more often, it takes about two or three paychecks before the employee realizes that they really aren't making enough money to make ends meet. You are back to square one!


If you are interviewing for a food server you should definitely tell the applicant this is how much money in gratuities you can expect to average each shift. If anything give a slightly lower average. Follow through by saying, for example, "so if you make $75 in tips plus $50 in pay, times 5 shifts each week, you should expect to take home about $575 each week. Is that what you expected?"


It is better to be a little patient and wait for the right person to apply. Don't worry, there are plenty of great applicants out there.

INTRODUCTION II

As of today the profit margins of restaurant chains such as Ruby Tuesday’s and Cracker Barrel are 4.4 percent and 3.9 percent respectively. Wendy’s is in the red right now. These figures are available on all public companies on Yahoo Finance. I throw these numbers out there because maybe you didn’t know that turning a profit is no easy task in this business that we love. You really have to do everything right. You might say, I don’t have all the corporate overhead that those big chains have. I say to you, yes but you don’t have the advantage of buying your products at the lowest price.

There is almost no better feeling in the world than having a waiting line at the door, and having every guest tell you that everything was great as they leave your restaurant. Unfortunately, those two things do not guarantee that there is enough money in your checking account to pay the bills, and yourself. Here’s where I come in…

My introduction says 101 lessons. You may have 101 things that are broken with your operation. It is also possible to have just one single problem with your operation that is killing all of your profits. Everything can be fixed! My lessons will help you solve your problems one step at a time and will cover all aspects of operating a successful restaurant business. If you feel that you don’t have time to wait for my lessons, you may email me and I will attempt to help on an accelerated basis.

My 28 years of restaurant experience include owning and operating a coffee shop, steakhouse, and a fine dining French restaurant. I have extensive catering experience and have booked, cooked and hosted over 700 weddings. As I got a little older, I decided to move to Las Vegas where I knew I could secure a management  position, therefor reducing the hands on physical labor and replacing that with suit and tie management. While in Vegas, I worked for major casinos managing all styles of restaurants from fine dining to coffee shops to buffets. I have planned and overseen the grand openings of 6 successful restaurants. Enough about me.

INTRODUCTION

In my 28 years as a restaurateur I discovered that owners and managers tend to have big egos. People with big egos do not tend to take advice. It is a fact that the failure rate of restaurants is one of the highest of any business. If you ever had, or have, the dream of being the proud operator of a successful restaurant and your dream is turning into a nightmare, maybe I can help.

As you may have found out, turning a profit in the restaurant business is no easy task. It takes long hours of hard work, and even a little bit of luck when it comes to some things.

Very recently, I read an article about blogging.  It said, if your motive is to make money, then you might as well quit right now. The article went on to say that you must be passionate about what you are writing about.

For some crazy reason, I love the restaurant business. I am convinced that it takes a certain kind of manager to be good at this business. Intelligence is almost not a factor. I have seen arrogance get in the way of intelligence over and over. Laziness comes in a close second.

I am blogging as a hobby. My intention is to share what I have learned over the years. I hope that some of you will enjoy my lessons, and that you find some of the information useful.