All Blog Posts Tagged 'operations' (38)

Breaking Free of The Process Rut

Are you being weighed down by the proverbial “ball and chain?” No, not that ball and chain. I’m talking about the processes that your restaurant just can’t operate without. Remember your great idea from 10 years ago? The one that changed the way your restaurant operated, or saved a ton of money … or even revamped your brand. Is it still the biggest thing to happen to your restaurant?

Being locked-in to certain business practices can stunt your creativity and growth. Every successful…

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Added by Nate DaPore on July 3, 2012 at 2:52pm — No Comments

Non-Operator A Concise Strategy for 2012 Profitable F&B Results

There are only three ways to increase food & beverage sales.

The economy and unfavorable weather has robbed resort, restaurant, and F&B executives of the simplest method to improve sales. Luckily, two remaining methods still offer opportunity, yet one single F&B Core-Competency Focused Strategy is best for Profit Increases.

1. Sell F&B to more people. Gone!

Today this option is…

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Added by Jonathan Raduns on June 18, 2012 at 9:00am — No Comments

Non-Operator Who Is Watching What You Can’t See?

I’m working on a longterm project for a fast-growing concept, with operations already scattered over four states and more to open this year. It’s an exciting time for this company: the concept’s been refined to enable fast growth, the capital’s in hand, and performance is strong.

One of the essential controls which was recently reinforced…

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Added by Rod Guinn on April 25, 2012 at 1:14pm — No Comments

Scheduling for Extra Sales

Most of us on FohBoh understand or have heard of the concept of Smart Scheduling. Essentially, utilizing stronger employees during weaker sales times to help with your overall labor costs, right?

After having a conversation with a few of the local restaurant managers (who were at our place again for a few drinks ;), I realized not all managers have truly taken the concept of smart scheduling to its full potential within their restaurants.

You see, I track each servers…

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Added by Travis Martin on February 25, 2012 at 10:01am — No Comments

A Million Dollar a Year Strategy? We Did It.

The past 3 months have been monumental within our restaurant's operations. We have been restructuring everything from training and development to managing cost of goods to marketing and new business development. And now the rewards are pouring in!

We decided one of the main focuses in our marketing efforts was going to be community involvement. Essentially we were going to aim to be recognized as the restaurant in town that just seemed to be EVERYWHERE.

In my last post I talked…

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Added by Travis Martin on February 22, 2012 at 5:18am — No Comments

Non-Operator Value For Thanksgiving?

Two weeks ago, I attended the Restaurant Finance & Development Conference put on by the Restaurant Finance Monitor and Franchise Times. I heard good things about several of the speakers and panels, but can’t comment, as I spent all my time in one-on-one and small group meetings. I can, however, relate the following observations:…

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Added by Rod Guinn on November 24, 2011 at 3:00am — No Comments

Non-Operator Vacation Pictures

I’ll acknowledge up front that subjecting non-participants to vacation pictures puts a strain on the strongest and healthiest relationships -- there’s no way the one who wasn’t there can appreciate the full context, although a skillful photographer can at least convey some of the beauty or exotic features of a destination. I’m decidedly NOT a skillful photographer, so I’ll spare you the amateurish snaps.…

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Added by Rod Guinn on May 26, 2011 at 3:30am — 2 Comments

Distributors vs. Club Store Shopping

Independent restaurant owners have been weighing the pros and cons of using club stores versus traditional suppliers (Broad-liners and other distributors) for a long time. With economic conditions being what they are this is far more prevalent today.

Large warehouse retailers are not new they've been around for a while. They are however getting more aggressive in pursuing more commercial business in key markets. Costco, Sam’s Club and the like have started to hire… Continue

Added by Les on August 16, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

Non-Operator Two Kinds Of Investors -- And The Operators Who Love Them?

There are, it seems, two ways to establish a competitive advantage -- in the restaurant industry, as well as other fields.…

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Added by Rod Guinn on July 22, 2010 at 4:00am — No Comments

We've all experienced it. Terrible service.

I was in Winston-Salem, NC this week for a client meeting and it happened again. Terrible, uncaring service at a hotel where I have stayed at least 40 times over the past seven years. No, I'm not dumb enough to have stayed on 40 occasions at a hotel with poor service. Just the last two times.

The reason I gave it a second chance was the extraordinary service I had enjoyed on 38 occasions which left me with enough loyalty to give them one more…

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Added by Tony Treadway on June 19, 2010 at 2:34pm — No Comments

There is a formula to improving your results

Did you know that there is a formula that naturally drives the outcomes of your business? Once we reveal the cause and effect relationship, we can make decisions that impact our results and drive the change we are seeking. The Branding Tree can help you examine the root beliefs of culture, concept, and capital and identify the thinking that drives your results. When you uncover the story or belief you are operating under, you can change the story. This will immediately change your… Continue

Added by David Dodson on February 12, 2010 at 2:20pm — No Comments

What do you have to lose but the illusion that you are in control of your customers?

An excellent question posed by John Sviokla in the Harvard Business Review today.

http://blogs.hbr.org/sviokla/2009/12/better_customer_service_throug.html

Transparency with the consumer is one of the biggest fears that our business has to overcome with the restaurant industry during the sales process. Not once have I heard a potential customer tell me that our process is wrong or that our software isn't right for the consumer or that it won't make the establishment a… Continue

Added by Terri Hitchcock on December 22, 2009 at 9:30am — 1 Comment

Non-Operator Simplify Your Life: Reduce Your Restaurant Menu Items

In these times of economic uncertainty, it is easy to get lost in trying to do many things all at once. A good example is restaurateurs trying to manage their inventories, their staff, their operations, their books, their sales, their marketing, and so on.

Do you know anybody like that? I thought so.

This is the first of a series of blogs covering simplification. You need to simplify your life and focus on just a few basic core competences to make your… Continue

Added by Jose L Riesco on November 25, 2009 at 4:00am — 1 Comment

Service Cramps - Aspirin anyone?

Below is an amazing article that was forwarded to me. I'm willing to bet that once you stop shaking your head in disbelief you'll be nodding in acknowledgement...LOL

Admit it, you've seen at least one of these scenarios...LOL

By LESLIE BRENNER / The Dallas Morning News

12:03 PM CDT on Friday, October 16, 2009

Diners dish about their restaurant peeves

As a seasoned diner, you've been through it all.

You've listened,… Continue

Added by Terri Hitchcock on October 20, 2009 at 8:44am — 5 Comments

<b>Higer Quality Lower Cost?</b>

For me, these “times” have expanded the creative side of P&L management like never before. In the past, my thinking was somewhat linear when it came to food cost control- Portioning, Purchasing, Menu Pricing, & Waste Control. Now that we have entered into the Great Reset, I have had to change the way I go about thinking and doing things in my restaurant.

It was December of 07’ when I started to feel a little pain. Sales were trending down and I did not quite know why. At this… Continue

Added by Dan Parsons on June 5, 2009 at 6:08pm — 2 Comments

You Wear a Name Tag – Right?

I find it funny that we use labels to identify humans, but not product. It’s the idea of nametags versus labels. After all, isn’t it much easier to identify a human wearing a uniform in comparison to items and product that are hidden behind closed doors or behind other items?

A few weeks ago I was in one of those office supply giants having some printing done. After the first test page was complete we noticed that the black ink was causing… Continue

Added by Leslie Howard on April 16, 2009 at 11:45am — 6 Comments

Non-Operator It's all about customer experience

A Harvard Business Review interviewee made a point I found memorable, he said, many businesses know little about their customers, their likes and dislikes, but rather base decisions on what they think customers think. This author said we should talk with our most frequent customers in an effort to learn strengths and perhaps an opportunity or two. His principle view, our most frequent customers should be the ones that influence management decision-making.

Like many of you I’ve made… Continue

Added by Mark Frank on February 23, 2009 at 7:13am — 4 Comments

Employees are Assets, Not Liabilities

(Part 6 of a Labor Management and Scheduling Series, read part 5 here)

In many businesses, employees are perceived as a required evil – payroll is a liability that is necessary to be in business. Unfortunately, in many service oriented industries (such as food-service), this attitude harms the business by increasing turnover, deflating morale, complicating…

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Added by Anthony Presley on February 14, 2009 at 2:38pm — 2 Comments

Non-Operator Creating value

Several months ago, before the good times ended, many restaurant managers and owners were espousing the belief that discounting and/or couponing of any sort was a bad thing, yet it’s now virtually impossible to turn on the TV, radio, or any other media, including email, without being inundated with discount offerings of one sort or another. Most people agreed months ago more damage than benefit results from couponing/discounting, yet now it’s so commonplace that if you’re paying retail you’re… Continue

Added by Mark Frank on January 26, 2009 at 10:00am — 3 Comments

The Basics… stop, read, and repeat!

The restaurant business is not brain surgery though some of us treat it that way. It's actually about as basic as the ABC's! I am sure there are others that might add to this list but for me it comes down to these three things…

What you serve…

Food! Let’s face it, you own or operate a restaurant that's soul purpose is to serve food and drinks, right? When guests come to your restaurant, they expect you to… Continue

Added by Andy Swingley on January 1, 2009 at 5:16am — 7 Comments