Keeping your guests happy & profits higher through proper par levels

Keeping your guests happy & profits higher through proper par levels

“Proper planning prevents poor performance”

By: Bob Tousey, FMP, MBA, JD

        Wowing your guest is one of the keys to success in the restaurant business. Another key is controlling your costs. These two goals are not mutually exclusive. A strong restaurant manager maintains par level on everything that is needed to run a restaurant including mundane items, such as uniforms, cleaning supplies and paper goods. This article, however, will focus on the two items that effect your prime costs, inventory and labor.

You never want to be the restaurant that is known for running out of food. You must be prepared to meet the demands of your guests. I am always reminded of my dad when I think of having enough food. While he was not a restaurateur, he loved to entertain and always said the key to being a good host is never running out of food or liquor. The same rule applies to a restaurant. Running out of food or liquor is not only a lost sales opportunity, it also adversely affects the restaurant’s reputation. However, you also do not want to have too much food as it goes bad and must be thrown out. Such waste causes your food cost to rise and your profits to decline.

You also want to ensure that you have proper staffing to provide “WOW” service each day. Another rule my dad had for entertaining was always make sure your guests are having an enjoyable time.  Nothing saps the joy out of a “night out” more than slow and inattentive service. So, you must have your aces in their places each shift. But you do not want to overstaff as that will cause your labor costs to rise and again profits decline and that saps the joy right out of owning a restaurant. So, the manager must strike a delicate balance to ensure proper inventory and labor levels. The key to doing this is to have accurate par levels for perishable inventory and labor. There is a method for accomplishing this and the rest of this article will unpack that method as well as throw in a couple of practical tips.

Most restaurants maintain a sales history, so they can anticipate and compare future sales. But as most of us know there are factors that affect sales other than the date on the calendar. A few include weather, events, and competition in area. Therefore, it is essential to keep track of these events as well.

Most of us use a software program or computer spread sheet to keep track of this information but I don’t really care if you use technology or do it the old-fashioned way by logging it in a book. What matters is that you have the numbers along with any other information that effect sales. I want to be reminded of the blizzard, the one-time event honoring a hero or that the restaurants power was down for two hours. All this information will help establish accurate par numbers.

But you can not only rely on past sales, you must know if anything is coming up that could affect future sales. Has a competitor opened or closed across the street? Is it graduation weekend? Are their any events such as parades, tournaments or school events expected? If you are near graduation venues, graduation weekend will cause a great increase in sales. Check with the school and/or venue to determine what dates they will be held. Check on any sporting events scheduled, check with local churches and other organizations to see if they have events planned that can impact your business.

It is essential for the general manager to be engaged with local groups and to attend networking events. I am reminded of the Saturday afternoon when a restaurant I was managing would have normally been slow, so I only had two servers, bartender, a cook, a prep person and myself working and suddenly, we got “slammed”. We literally got our rear ends handed to us. We were totally unprepared to execute this rush. I latter learned that there was an ice hockey tournament a few miles away. I was new to the restaurant and embarrassed to say that I did not do my due diligence, so I did not even know there was an ice hockey rink nearby. Please learn from my experience as it was a very painful and damaging lesson to learn.

When I am working with a new restaurant, I now drive around the area, talk to other businesses, guests and team members to learn what is in the area. Then armed with that information I grab some food, carry out menus and begin to visit the venues to establish a relationship with them as well as obtaining the dates of major events. The information and relationships are not only helpful in establishing my par levels but also for marketing the restaurant.

Let me insert a marketing tip here. Please note I said bring food. I have learned that food goes a long way to establishing a relationship and if they are not familiar with your restaurant it provides them an opportunity to learn about it. You don’t need to go wild with this. Chances are you have food that is still great but close to it’s expiration date, instead of throwing it away use it to build relationships. Check with your accountant or accounting department but the value of the food might be charged to business development instead of waste. This accounting adjustment could affect your current food costs. This is not a trick, it is a legitimate adjustment as food will likely result in increased future sales.

Leading up to the event, drop off carry out menus at the venue, remind the venue that you would like to partner with them leading up to and on the day of the event.  If you are properly prepared this can be a wonderful opportunity for your restaurant.

Once you have all the information log it on a planning calendar, so it is right there when establishing pars (which should be done well in advance, not the week before). Remember to let your staff know ahead of time that you will require additional staff.

Here is another tip that will improve operations as well as guest satisfaction. If you know that the guests will have limited time, consider preparing an express menu for them. Include items that are easy to prepare and can be served quickly. There is nothing worse than to have guests who are rushed for time and someone not thinking orders a thick well-done steak. Have your regular menu available but let them know that the express menu items will be a lot quicker.  Both your guests and your team will love you for it.

If you anticipate that you will be busy through out the day that it will be hard for the team to take breaks and the kitchen might be too busy to cook a shift meal, consider ordering in pizza for the team. For some other great ideas to implement on an extremely busy day I encourage you to read my article on preparing for Mother’s Day. Remember “proper planning prevents poor performance”.

It's never too early to prepare your team for Mother's Day

It’s never too early to prepare your team for Mother’s Day

By: Bob Tousey, FMP, MBA, JD

        Mother’s Day is over a month away, but it is never too early to get ready for this opportunity. Make no mistake, Mother’s Day is an opportunity for your restaurant. It is one of, if not, the busiest day for many full-service restaurants. This is not only an opportunity to make money for you and your team, but it is an opportunity to show off your restaurant. If you wow guests on Mother’s Day, they are likely to tell others and return themselves. If you disappoint chances are they will not be back and may take to social media and review sites to share their disappointment. This is not a time to be pennywise and dollar foolish.

        Do not wait until a week before to prepare, begin now. If you have already begun, I congratulate you for being proactive and setting your restaurant up for success.

Look at last year’s sales figures. Has anything changed that will impact sales (more residential development, the opening or closing of other restaurants, has the economy taken a nose dive or significantly improved).  Then get your management team together and critique how you performed last year. Did you have adequate staffing? Think about back of the house as well as expeditors, food runners, bussers, hosts, bartenders as well as servers. This is not the day for the management team to be filling hourly positions. They need to be engaged in both the back and front of the house, ensuring everything is running smoothly and adjust if it is not. They also need to be greeting guests and wishing the mom’s a “Happy Mother’s Day”.  Do you have the staff you need to execute properly? If your answer is no, get your hustle on. This will be your last opportunity to adjust, hire staff and have time to properly train them before the big day. Inadequate or untrained staff will not lead to successful execution. Make sure to adjust your staffing pars for the holiday and let everyone know it’s an all hands-on deck day. Everyone will be needed.

        Once you have assessed your staffing, its time to examine and adjust your par levels for the big day. Running out of food will not make your restaurant a hit with the guests. Make sure your par levels for ordering and prep have been adjusted considering the increased volume you will have on Mother’s Day.

        Get the schedule up early. Let everyone know what hours you expect them and give those who will need it time to adjust for child care. The team will likely be working a longer day.

Begin preparing you staff for the big day. While a strong manager is always engaging with staff during the shift, it is especially important, leading up to an opportunity such as Mother’s Day. Reinforce great behavior by complimenting the staff and kindly but firmly correct errors. Use your pre-shift meetings to let the staff know what to expect. Remind them this in not a normal day. Reinforce to the front of the house staff that this is their opportunity to make good money themselves. Schedule the staff to be in early for a solid pre-shift. Have some coffee and donuts ready for them to enjoy before and during pre-shift. Make sure they are not starting the shift hungry.

         

There will not be time for long breaks nor will the back of the house have time to prepare food for team, but your staff will get hungry. What I have done in the past is plan with a local pizza place to periodically bring pizza’s in for the team. Do this early so you know that they can accommodate you. Don’t try calling for delivery on Mother’s Day. I set aside a prep table for the pizza and left-over donuts. Please make sure the table is near to a hand wash sink so the team can wash their hands before and after eating. I had a good relationship with the pizza shop manager and was able to trust him to make the call on how many pizza’s and when. He was extraordinarily honest and did not take advantage of the situation. Hopefully, you can establish such a relationship. He gave me a bill the next day and we paid it with a tip for his delivery person, who was extraordinarily helpful, consolidating pizza and throwing out empty boxes each time he came by.  I also made sure to have pitchers of soft drinks on the table with disposable cups. This way team members could grab a quick slice and drink when they had a moment. Pizza is the perfect food as it is easy to eat on the run.

        Ideally, you should have a manager managing the back of the house (not cooking or washing dishes), a manager running the wait. The last thing you want to do is put the kitchen in the weeds because an inexperienced host sat too many tables at once. The host probably understands not to double seat, but I have seen too many ignore what is happening in the kitchen. There should also be at least one manager working the floor. Ensuring the guests are happy and being served properly. It is always wise to have at least one manager floating to assist where needed. This is the ideal situation, but it will vary based on your team’s size and management team. Make sure your aces are in their places. This is the equivalent of the world series for the restaurant industry. 

        There is a lot to do. So, if you have not already started, don’t put it off start today. This is your time to shine and make the Mom’s happy. If your budget allows it is always a nice touch to give mom’s a little something. Also, remember your team will include mother’s as well. Make sure to do something nice for them and acknowledge that you recognize they are making a sacrifice being there. For your team members that have moms at home send home with a little thank you to her for her understanding and wishing her a happy Mother’s Day. If your budget can withstand it maybe send a slice of cake home with their son or daughter for Mom.

Leadership of a project by Bob Tousey, FMP, MBA

        Leadership is influencing people to successfully work together to achieve a common goal. When I think of leadership I think of two statements. One is from Stephen Covey “begin with the end in mind” and the other was from Harry S. Truman “the buck stops here”.

        As a leader it is important to have a compelling vision of what you want to accomplish. The leader needs to be able to communicate the vision in a manner that others understand it and get excited enough about it that they want to be a part of it. If the team does not “buy into” the vision it is going to be very difficult to make the vision successful. One way of earning the “buy in” is by asking for input from all the stakeholders. All includes all. That is from the very top to the people who will be charged with carrying out the vision and everyone in between. If you're making a change to a restaurant don’t forget to include the dishwasher if he or she is going to be affected by the change. You might be surprised at the valuable input you will receive.

        It is also important to talk to others who have been successful in carrying out a similar project. Find out what success they had and what challenges presented themselves. Don’t reinvent the wheel, learn from the success and the mistakes of others. Also, if the project is the subject of government regulation, check with the regulatory agencies. Speak with zoning, the building department, health department and liquor boards. Make sure you know what lead time is needed to get a permit approved, how long it takes to schedule an inspection, check out local codes. Do not rely on your contractors to have all the correct information. Remember Harry Truman’s saying the buck stops here. "Here" is with you the leader. Your superior or your investors are not going to be impressed with a response of “I thought the contractor knew that”. Its your job as the leader to know that.

        Once you have all your input its time to put together your plan. Again, include your stakeholders in the planning process. As discussed when seeking input, you may be surprised at the valuable information you gain. The planning stage is when you want to think of all the “what if’s” and plan for them. Once the plan is established and acceptable to the stakeholders its time to implement it. Depending on what is being planned the next step might be finding a location, construction, training or possibly something I have not even thought of.

        Whatever the next step is remember the leader is the one who remains ultimately responsible. Therefore, the leader must keep his or her finger on the pulse and make sure everything is going according to plan. This means observing the process and coaching the team. When the leader observes he or she wants to make sure his or her eye is on everything. A friend of mine who has been a multi-unit manager recently told me, that managers thought he was so smart because he noticed everything. He confided in me that he was able to notice everything because he was not involved in the day to day operation. He was just watching, gaining an overview of what was going on and by doing so noticing things that those involved in day to day operations might miss. So, remember the leader must always allow time to just observe what is going on. Chances are the leader will notice something that needs to be corrected.

        Even when the initial project is complete and you’re in full operations it is important for the leader to remember the vision and share it with others in a compelling manner. It is important to remember the plan and for the leader to keep his or her finger on the plans pulse to make sure the plan is still consistent with the vision and still being carried out appropriately. It is important to continue observing and coaching. Remember the team will focus on what the leader focus on. If something is slipping its probably because the leader lost focus.