6 Ways to Alleviate Rising Food Costs

Watching the bottom line is essential to operating a profitable business, and finding ways to alleviate rising food costs in your restaurant is crucial to success. With today’s escalating transportation costs adding to the variable price of inventory, it can be extremely difficult to monitor profit and loss areas without software that is designed specifically for the restaurant and food service industry.

The following list provides 6 ways to alleviate rising food costs in your restaurant for increased profits.

1) Monitor P&L Daily, Weekly and Monthly

The restaurant and food service industry requires you to vigilantly monitor your profits and losses in order to succeed. The average profit has decreased significantly from an average of 18% to 24% to an average profit of 6% currently, which means only a slight increase in losses can severely impact success and must be caught and corrected as soon as possible.

2) Eliminate Waste

Eliminate waste in the kitchen through every available means. Calculating portion costs and implementing portion control, and monitoring the results is one of the quickest ways to turn around losses. Perishable items that become outdated or are past their prime quickly drive up costs as does the practice of ordering items that are out of season. Weigh and measure portions consistently.

3) Keep Records

Keep records that include inventory and food waste, and personally take stock on a regular basis. All food, beverages and other items should be accounted for as waste can quickly eat up profits.

4) Order Food From a FoodService

Ordering food from a food service is typically less expensive than purchasing it at a nearby market. Over and under ordering can both add to your overall costs, although in different ways. A quick turn around is important in this industry, as perishable items go bad and frozen items can become freezer burnt or develop an old flavour. Orders that are short often mean filling in from local suppliers who not only charge more, but may not carry the same quality of food. 

5) Build Relationships

Relationships are important throughout the food service industry. Building a strong alliance with suppliers, employees and customers is crucial to your success. Knowing what specials are offered by suppliers can help with menu planning for increased profits. Employees who are preparing and serving the food need to care about the business and feel appreciated, while also understanding that it is a business. Customers walk through the door for a good meal and great atmosphere, meaning quality meals at affordable prices is important. 

6) Implement Inventory Control

Implementing inventory control software provides restaurant owners and managers with the tools they need to determine where waste occurs and to monitor inventory. Becoming pro-active with easy to use software can help you quickly determine when losses occur and why. Equally important, you will be able to plan menus and set prices quickly and easily based on current supplier costs as well as changes in operating expenses. 

Now it’s your turn. How do you control food costs in your restaurant? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system follow the link IdealStockControl

6 Tips for Controlling Labour Costs in the Restaurant Industry

Labour costs are one of the most important costs of running a successful restaurant. How do we determine its effect on business?

An effective gauge is the labour cost percentage: divide the amount owed for payroll with the amount earned in sales. The goal of any restaurant should be to keep this percentage below twenty percent, as anything more than that is too costly.

Here are six tips to keep that number from approaching anything unreasonable.

1) Cross-Training Staff

Cross-training your staff is an essential tool in combating unhealthy labour costs. By preparing workers to handle other jobs that need filling as necessary, the restaurant is able to better focus on keeping the number of workers needed in a given day low. When the prep cooks are able to operate the grill and the hosts can act as back-up servers, you eliminate the need for a specialized, diverse staff. The beauty of cross-training is that it maintains the same level of production quality your restaurant is known for without bleeding money on unnecessary labour.

2) Regular Audits

While cross-training your staff, it might be a good idea to also perform regular audits on their performance. By observing how each member of your staff operates during a given work-day, you can better assess their time management, as well as how to construct your schedule around certain parts of the day that are “down-times.”

3) Hourly Wages

Although restaurants normally operate on fixed wages, extra staff on busy nights should be shifted to hourly wage rates. As simple as it may sound, it will drastically improve the effect labour costs have on payroll when workers are only taking in a variable amount based on how much they’re actually needed on those intense work nights.

4) Adaptable Schedule

Along the same lines as monitoring staff performance for “down-times,” it’s also a good idea to regularly change the schedule as needed. Instead of relying on fixed work schedules, an adaptable schedule allows you to react accordingly to shifts in projected sales, as well as other important business concerns.

5) Resist the Urge to Panic Hire

“Panic hiring” is the temptation to hire the best from a pool of applicants with, at best, limited quality. It might seem like a good idea when your crew is overworked and undermanned, but consider the long term effects before making a hasty decision.

For one thing, it won’t do anything to directly address the labour cost problem, as you’ll be spending more to keep new recruits under your employ. The logistics of training them is another problem. If your crew is already overworked, adding an extra employee with no training will do nothing to increase your efficiency.

6) Over-Staffing

Just as it might be tempting to hire extra employees when the situation seems desperate, care should also be given when scheduling too many people for one night. Only schedule as many people as necessary, don’t attempt to account for any unforeseen consequences as that’s ineffective managing and will only increase labour costs in the end. Ultimately, this one shouldn’t be a concern if you’ve been following our other tips as outlined. 

How do you control labour costs in your restaurant? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system follow the link IdealStockControl

Building a Better Guest Experience in your Restaurant

For a restaurant to be truly successful it should offer incredible food and excellent service to its customers enticing them to come back again and again. A guest experience can be enhanced simply by employing a mix of training exercises along with gathering customer input.

Involving Restaurant Guests to Improve Customer Service

Comment Cards

A restaurant relies on repeat customers as well as new arrivals. It’s important to involve them in order to help improve the overall experience. That can be achieved simply by giving your guest comment cards to fill out. Questions on the comment card should be varied, giving them an opportunity to voice their opinions about the quality of service they received.

Was the food served promptly?

Did your food server take care of all your needs?

Was your food server courteous and attentive?

Did your food server offer suggestions for advertised specials?

It’s important for restaurants to know how their guests feel about the service they received.

Additional Customer Service Tips

1) Comprehensive and Ongoing Training

A good restaurant should develop a sound orientation program designed to give new members of its wait staff comprehensive training on food service. For established wait staff, it’s also important for restaurants to implement an ongoing training program so that the quality of customer service can be maintained and improved. The comment cards turned in by guests can go a long way in helping to determine the type of training required to better serve the needs of guests.

2) Hire the Correct Wait Staff

Being a good waiter/food server is more than just delivering food to restaurant guests. It’s about being able to multi-task. Having a clean look, a courteous attitude and the ability to give customers exactly what they want and need are attributes that go a long way in improving the overall guest experience.

3) Acknowledge Each and Every Guest

It shouldn’t only be the wait staff that’s ensuring that each guest is receiving quality customer service. It should be a shared responsibility. A good front-of-house manager should be invested in their guests’ quality of service as well. They need to be checking in at each table to ensure their experience has been enjoyable. On-duty managers and chefs likewise should be actively engaging guests, making them feel welcome. A good manager will be able to gauge how much attention guests want as some like to be left in peace.

4) Word of Mouth is the Best Advertisement

Restaurants rely heavily on word of mouth in terms of its reputation. If a guest has enjoyed their experience, they’ll share that with others. However, they’re also far more likely to share a bad experience than a good one.

 It becomes incumbent upon any restaurant to utilize whatever tools and resources available to help improve the quality of customer service. By employing the right training solutions to reach that goal, restaurants can easily improve the overall guest experience and avoid the stigma that a bad customer service ranking can bring.

One final tip, be sure to monitor social media so that you can quickly respond to compliments, and even more importantly to complaints.

What strategies does your restaurant employ to build a better guest experience? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system follow the link IdealStockControl

Top 5 Tech Tools for Restaurants [INFOGRAPHIC]

Restaurant operators have to work harder these days to keep up with the most successful chain restaurants. While large restaurant chains enjoy the benefits of broad customer bases, independent restaurant owners are using a variety of new technologies in order to get ahead. 

The following five tech tools are the used in the hospitality and foodservice industries today:

Which of these tools does your restaurant employ and what success have you achieved? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system  IdealStockControl

7 Tips for Handling Customer Complaints in your Restaurant

If you are going to work in the food service industry one thing you are bound to be faced with are customer complaints.As the old saying goes, “. . . you can’t please all the people all the time”. Eventually no matter how good the food or how good the service someone is going to be unhappy. This doesn’t have to be a major event and it doesn’t have to ruin your day. By following these seven simple suggestions, the majority of customer complaints can be handled to the satisfaction of all concerned.

1) Be Patient

You may or may not believe the customer is always right but the customer is always the customer. They pay the bills and provide your income. Right or wrong they deserve to have you listen patiently to what they have to say.

2) Be Courteous

Regardless of how the customer acts, short of physical violence there is no excuse for behaving in a less than courteous manner. This can be very difficult, especially if the customer becomes abusive but remember that other people including other customers will more than likely be observers to everything you say and do. Be sure they only have good things to say and that no one can lay any blame on your actions if the situation should escalate.

3) Listen Attentively

In a great majority of situations a customer will be satisfied just knowing that you care enough to take an active interest in what they are saying. Give them your full attention. Don’t look away, don’t look bored and don’t act like you have somewhere else “important” to be. Whether you feel it or not, make the customer feel like the centre of your world.

4) Don't Contradict

A customer with a complaint may not always have a valid complaint. Displaced aggression or perceived slights can often lead to a complaining customer. Contradicting them or trying to inject reality into the situation will only make matters worse. Never expect unreasonable people to act reasonably.

5) Apologise and Ask for a Solution

Kind words and perceived remorse on the part of the establishment makes a customer feel cared for and will greatly reduce any emotional energy the complainer may be carrying. Rather than trying to figure out what the customer wants, it is often much quicker and simpler to ask the customer what will make them happy.

6) Give

Always give more than is required. If the customer wants their meal to be complimentary, give it and offer their next meal to be free as well.

7) Give Up

At some point you find a customer that is just not a nice person. There is nothing you can do or say that is going to make them happy. Sad, but it is a fact of life, some people aren’t happy and have no intention of being happy. With these people the best you can do is simply ask them to leave. Don’t worry about them giving you a bad name. These people either don’t have friends to tell or their friends are like them and you don’t need the headaches. 

Now it’s your turn. What has been your experience in your restaurant and how was it handled? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system for controlling restaurant food cost IdealStockControl 

5 Tips for Building Customer Loyalty [INFOGRAPHIC]

Owning and operating a restaurant in today’s economy can be a challenging proposition, which is why it is so important to build customer loyalty.  In truth repeat customers make up the bulk of any restaurant’s customer base and word-of-mouth advertising can do wonders for building up your clientele.  

But how do you go about building customer loyalty in the restaurant industry?

While any one of the following five suggestions will help to increase your business, implementing all of them is highly recommended and definitely possible given a little time and planning.

Which of these strategies does your restaurant employ? Leave a comment below.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system follow the link IdealStockControl

Top 6 Tips for Managing your Restaurant Effectively

The restaurant business is one that only thrives with the help of good management and professional employees. When dining out you know how easy it is to become annoyed with poor service and bad food. As a manager, you must always be on the lookout for ways to improve the quality of the food and employee performance to keep customers happy. Below are the top six tips for managing your restaurant effectively.

1) Lead By Example

In order to be an effective manager, you must show your employees what good customer service looks like. Have them observe you interacting with customers. Ask the customers if they are having a good experience and thank them for coming. This shows your employees what you expect them to provide in order to ensure customer satisfaction.

2) Quality Service

There should be a standard operating procedure in place so that each employee knows your standard for providing service. Someone should greet the customer immediately upon entering the restaurant. Their drinks order should be taken no later than two minutes after being seated. The waiter or waitress should check in on their customers every few minutes to ensure their glasses are full and they are enjoying their meal. Be sure not to overdo this though; a good server will be able to judge how much interaction a client is comfortable with. Going above and beyond will keep the customers coming back. Make quality service a priority.

3) Friendly Environment

Every manger should be aware of their work atmosphere. It is your job to make it pleasant for both the customer and your employees. Look for ways to continually improve on communications with your employees and let them know you are available to talk if they have any issues. Hire the best employees you can find and treat them with respect. This will ensure that they are content with their work, which will make the customer experience that much better.

4) Keep Costs Down

One of the biggest problems that you may face is keeping the cost of running your business within your budget. Keep accurate records by tracking the costs of food, labour, and other expenses. Ensure that you review your expenses periodically to ensure that you are meeting your goals and keeping costs down.

5) Discipline and Reward

Taking care of your employees sometimes requires discipline. In accordance with your employee handbook ensure that when rules are broken, the employee responsible is disciplined quickly and properly. This let’s everyone know that you mean business and following the rules is mandatory. The same goes for rewards. When an employee does something great, be sure to recognize them and let their peers know as well. This goes a long way in letting the employees know you are paying attention to their hard work.

6) Exceptional Food

No restaurant can survive by serving bad, cold, or otherwise unacceptable food. Make sure that every plate served to your customer is of the highest quality. If, there is a problem with a customer’s meal, work to replace it immediately. The customer will be happy you will get repeat business.

Being a good manager is more than just showing up. Taking care of the customers and employees keeps the restaurant running smoothly and keeps you in business.

For more info on Ideal Software’s Inventory Management system for controlling food cost IdealStockControl