I eat food. I drink beverages.
For that reason, I am certified to supervise a Food and Beverage operation.
In examining the operations of numerous clubs/resorts monthly, I discover that one of the most inadequately operated, inconsistent areas of club/resort operations is Food and Drink. Especially in member owned environments, which are typically supervised by a club board, individuals seem to believe that due to the fact that they dine out, they in some way have some level of proficiency that permits them to make company choices about this crucial element of the club. The truth is that this is among the most complicated departments in a club to handle, control, and produce a constant experience.
Let's ask a couple of concerns!
Is your Food and Drink experience appropriate for what your members/guests want to have in your club/resort? Are you priced correctly, too high, or too low? How do you know? Are you tracking cover counts by day? By shift? By hour?
Are your food selections stuck in the past, a nice balance of old favorites and new selections, or edgy? Is your menu developed for function or style? Do you alter your menu quarterly, or at least semi-annually to keep it fresh? Or is it changed every year or two and end up being a club dinosaur? What are your product specifications and part sizes? Is every item on your menu costed? What is your objective for a la carte food cost? Do you understand the contribution margin on every item on your menu?
What about your special occasions. Are they actually unique? Do they create a buzz in the Club? Are they excitedly prepared for or the same thing that was done the last 10 years with nothing more than the year altered in the newsletter and advertising piece touting the occasion? Is your personnel challenged every quarter to try new events? New price points?
Got Value?
What about worth included shows? It's occurring every day in the hospitality industry. Chili's, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Flemings, Cody's Roadhouse, McDonalds, Quiznos, Subway, and numerous other nationwide franchises are actively configuring to keep people can be found in. Any question the success rate of franchises is over 90% while the success rate of separately owned restaurants has to do with 10%?
What are you performing in your club to create a "WOW" for your members/guests in your Food and Beverage offerings? Are you standing pat on your $32 filet and $28 sea bass wondering why you are doing so couple of covers? Or, are you attempting brand-new principles that may offer "meal replacement" dining instead of only "special event" dining?
Something as easy as Happy Hour can generate additional use. Comfort food such as meatloaf, chicken pot pie, lasagna, or comparable for" at $8 or $9 during the week are popular. Taco bars, pasta bars, burger night, half rate on bottles ladies handbags of house wine, Fresh Fish Fridays or a Friday Fish Fry, a Chef's choice at an unique rate on slower nights, sushi nights, appetisers at an unique rate, home entertainment, and lots of other principles and events drive use, provide incremental profits, and keep the staff working. Are you explore new events in your club/resort? Offer it a try. You'll be surprised at the buzz it produces.
The Experience
How is your dining room presented? With white table linens? No tablecloths? Placemats? Are you charging appropriately for the experience you are supplying?
How are your buffets provided? Elegantly with skirting, floral display screens, and shiny silver chafing dishes? Or simple with little or no frills? Does it make sense?
Do you have requirements of operation to ensure the food and drink experience for your members/guests? Is every employee using a tidy and pressed designated uniform? Exists a specific way to present menus, serve, food, cocktails, and wine? Are members called by name? Specify actions of service in place?
Does the service personnel know the composition of every item, sauce, and part size from the menu? Is training provided at least regular monthly? Is your personnel offering suggestively?
The Technical Aspects
How often do you take a physical stock? Exists "independence" in the stock process to make sure that the counts are precise? Is inventory pricing changed routinely to show the most current expense the club is spending for all inventoried products or is the cost the club paid in 2015 still being utilized to figure out stock value?
Do you follow this mantra when getting and inventorying items?
If you buy it by the pound, weigh it. If you purchase it by the piece, count it. If you purchase it by ounce or length, determine it? Under no scenarios, accept it blindly.
I am surprised at how frequently deliveries are accepted and signed for without even physically remaining in the very same space as the products that were delivered let alone inspecting the packing slip or invoice against the products received. Delivery individuals become smart very quickly to those who hold them accountable and those who do not. A few pounds of missing out on steak here or a couple of bottles of missing out on liquor there costs a great deal of money over an extended period of time.
How much unusable food is stored in the freezer, typically a chef's best friend, and continues to be counted monthly during inventory yet is basically worth little or nothing?
What does the organizational structure appear like in your club's F&B operation? How are your managers compensated? Are they incented to produce a particular financial result, train the staff, and preserve standards? Or are they paid simply for revealing up?
How is your service personnel paid? By hourly wage? Idea pool? Some combination of both? Does your pay structure promote period or turnover? What about overtime? Are you paying overtime? Lawfully?
In addition to costing every product on every menu, have you done the same for alcohol, beer, and wine? Do you have specified put sizes? Are they being stuck to? Do you have pourers which allow only for the put size for which you are charging? Just how much of your club's resort's cash is bound in red wine inventory? Have you recognized par stocks?
Do you have a Food and Drink minimum? Does it make good sense for your club? Do you have a minimum regular monthly service fee? Should you?
Do you supply a worker meal? How is it accounted for? Is it accounted for at all? Do you permit staff members to eliminate food/beverage from the club? (A bad concept!). Do you allow your staff members to consume liquors at the end of a shift? (An even worse idea!!).
Personal Events
What about your Personal Occasions? Is your catering menu priced right? What does priced right mean? Have you evaluated the competitive environment? What are you doing to bring wedding events and meetings to the club/resort? Are you covering the costs of setting up and breaking down every room based on the differing needs of each event?
Do your personal event policies make good sense? When is the "warranty' due? When is payment completely needed? Do you require a signed contract? Do you even have an agreement that you need be signed?
A Service
Lots of questions! Get a management business that will work collaboratively with you to answer all of these and any others and create a personalized food and beverage experience that shows your distinct scenario and offers what your members/guests desire and are willing to pay for.