Why Restaurants
die?
The latest
fad I observe in our business scenario is to be part of RESTAURANT business !
The path
which lot of them undertake but only few survive !
I always
joke with my buddies , that if 10 new
outlets open, 15 close.
The picture
looks bright from outside but there are lot of shades of grey as you start
venturing into it.
Today we
will discuss some critical issues which are responsible for death of an F&B
outlet.
1.PRODUCT CONCEPT
Design a
product concept before you finalize on space and production and dining designs.
Lot of us
make hasty decisions, and we first finalize
a space and even go to extent of designing our kitchens and then we think ….What should I
sell?
It has to be other way around. Start with segment we want to cater to Product to Production Equipment leading to Production Design and subesequently restaurant seating space and logistics of service.
2.PROJECT CAPITAL AND WORKING
CAPITAL:
Do I have the dough? Yes I have ! I
want to make it big by filling stomachs and I will be rich overnight-------MYTH
You have to logically go into
Project Cost Budgeting and yes do not forget the gestation period for your baby
to be healthy ! It can be anywhere between 6 to 10 months and in some cases
even more.And you need the most important resource, which I call Oxygen -WORKING
CAPITAL
Lot of outlets die because of lack
of this Oxygen.
3.CONSISITENCY :
New outlets look amazing…..the
investors spend on interiors, the designers try to impress them with award
winning designs, equipment looks fresh from factories, shining crockery,
cutlery, glassware, holloware , artifacts and so on.
But….wait for few weeks , maybe few months and you start seeing the
hidden truth…..
Chipped crockeries, cracked
glassware, dented hollowares, tarnished cutleries and maybe even incomplete
uniforms of the team members……
Its catch 22-----deep sea and devil
concept….your business will take the beating because of these factors and you cannot
afford to replace if you are not making CASH!
That’s the first sign of DECAY…..
FOOD: I have observed lot of
restaurants loosing on consistency on taste of their food and quality of service!
Reasons –many---we do not know whats
the actual cause…maybe?
-turnover of chefs and waiters
-lack of standard recipes/standard
operating processes
-lack of food and beverage controls
-lack of training in kitchen and
restaurants
-poor job knowledge , mainly product
knowledge
-lack of standard purchase
specifications
-low staff morale
-lack of ownership in teams
I can go on and on………..
But this leads to final rites of the
restaurant…….
-
4.STAFF ISSUES !
Our biggest asset-our people !
I always feel our lowest paying team
members are meeting our highest paying guests maximum number of times !
They are our brand ambassadors ! If
they are demotivated, and low in their morale , you can not make it happen !
Happy staff can make guest happy !
I observe rude staff in lot of
outlets, they are removing their frustration on the guests !
Sad but true !
That’s the last nail in the coffin !
Rude staff, arrogant body language,
unhygienic disposition will drive your guests away……
Winning restaurants have team of
winners ! Ever smiling and with spirit to serve !
People leave because of people….make
your managers good leaders !
Let them have followers and not sub
ordinates.
5.FOOD & BEVERAGE CONTROLS:
-----lack of proper F&B Controls
expedite the locking ceremony.
Improper billing softwares, back
office softwares for indenting,inventory management, yield management,MIS
audits,process audits and so on.
Still we manage like mom and pop
shops and expect results like F&B giants who made it big…..
6.GRM-Guest Relationship Management:
I have observed guests are visiting
outlets for 5th time and staff still asks their name …..
And at the same time I have observed
outlets where in 2 nd visit the teams remember names as well as their favourite
drink and so on…from their WISH LIST
The future is customization of our
product and services..
Yes I do sound very idealistic-but
that’s the truth, in todays global competition, the survivor has to provide
what the customers wants and give him everytime.
GUEST IS GOD !....very old saying but very valid TODAY
Happy reading friends, the article
is not to discourage you to be in F&B business, but for you to be more
methodical and processed.Enter the F&B Field with eyes wide open !
I would suggest, Design your Success and not let Success
happen by Chance !
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