| Controlling costs isn't so much about | | | | When a new team member comes on board, are |
| reducing them as it is about maximizing the | | | | they shown how to estimate portions? Do they |
| value for your guests. Restaurateurs tend to | | | | check those estimates against a scale or |
| look at theft, over portioning and shrinkage | | | | other measure? |
| in terms of what it does to us as owners and | | | | |
| managers. If we are to take a | | | | 3. Prep Guides |
| customer-centric approach to the problem, we | | | | |
| begin with the question "What is the end | | | | How do you decide how much raw product to |
| result of these actions on my guests?" | | | | prep into your restaurant made sauces and |
| | | | other items? Key decisions like this should |
| Theft is an easy example. An employee that | | | | be thought out with all of the appropriate |
| steals from you causes your Cost of Goods | | | | information at hand. |
| sold to increase which must be compensated | | | | |
| for by raising prices. Raising prices in turn | | | | 4. Purchasing |
| decreases the value of the customer's | | | | |
| experience. The long term effect of this is | | | | Reduce the number of vendors you deal with - |
| that the customer count decreases which leads | | | | How many suppliers do you work closely with? |
| to lower sales. | | | | Have you spelled out expectations on produce, |
| | | | meats and other perishables? Do you go back |
| A customer-centric look at over-portioning | | | | and forth between suppliers, focusing on |
| may at first look like a benefit to | | | | price rather than quality? Instead, try |
| customers, but nothing is truly free, so if | | | | focusing on one main supplier and establish |
| they aren't paying for it in the French fries | | | | strict expectations with them for quality. |
| on their plate, they'll pay for it with a | | | | Nearly all suppliers treat customers like |
| beer price that could be priced 25 cents | | | | that better than the "shoppers". By |
| lower. While this may seem insignificant, the | | | | concentrating your volume, you'll gain |
| next point isn't so benign. Over-portioning | | | | leverage with the supplier as well. |
| is rarely consistent. This means that the | | | | |
| customer that is delighted with the huge | | | | 5. Systemize Ordering |
| portion of French fries will be disappointed | | | | |
| with a normal portion on their next visit. | | | | How do you decide how much product to order? |
| Major players in the fast food industry have | | | | Here's a hint, if you're sitting at a desk to |
| shown how to handle this problem head on. | | | | do your order, it's probably wrong. Great |
| McDonald's has changed their portions and | | | | operators walk through the restaurant's |
| packaging over the years to make it | | | | coolers, freezers, and dry storage while |
| physically impossible to over-portion their | | | | deciding how much to order. In addition, they |
| fries. This means that your fry box always | | | | refer to the previous few weeks of usage to |
| seems to be spilling over with fries. It | | | | root out any trends or opportunities in their |
| shows how seriously they take consistency in | | | | purchasing. As well, they see the condition |
| their business and gives us a glimpse at how | | | | of what's in stock and act accordingly. |
| they have become the world's number one | | | | |
| operator. | | | | 6. Systemize Receiving |
| | | | |
| Shrinkage or spoilage is the third issue that | | | | Do you have a process for receiving? There |
| not only hits our bottom line but also our | | | | are four basic steps to receiving the order |
| customers. Inefficient purchasing creates | | | | |
| crisis situations (we need to get rid of this | | | | - Check for completeness and accuracy |
| lettuce) and inferior product for your | | | | |
| guests. Not ordering enough on the other hand | | | | - Check for quality of product, especially |
| creates shortages and also results in unhappy | | | | produce and meats |
| guest experiences. | | | | |
| | | | - Contact your representative for any credits |
| Seven Strategies: | | | | |
| | | | - Date all products received |
| So we've seen that these things hurt our | | | | |
| guests as well as ourselves. What can we do | | | | 7. Inventory Controls |
| to fix them? | | | | |
| | | | Appropriate inventory controls are critical |
| 1. Menu Development | | | | to closing the loop on controlling your |
| | | | costs. While they can be simple, the solution |
| Do you have a Products Standards Manual? If | | | | should be robust enough to alert you to |
| you do, do the portions listed reflect what's | | | | trouble spots in your kitchen and on your |
| actually going on day-to-day. We've seen | | | | menu. |
| situations where the portion size listed in | | | | |
| the manual was 40% less than what was | | | | Always keep in mind that your Cost of Goods |
| actually going onto plates. Correcting this | | | | Sold Percentage only tells you about a part |
| meant actually changing the size in the | | | | of your business. It won't tell you if your |
| manual and adjusting pricing and purchasing | | | | customers are unhappy with portion sizes or |
| decisions accordingly. | | | | if your service levels are suffering. It's up |
| | | | to you as an excellent operator to balance |
| 2. Portion Training | | | | all of the areas of your business. |
| | | | |