A Guide To Effective Restaurant Management
This time I’m going back to basics and talk about the “Four C’s” of effective restaurant management. So are you ready? Let’s begin.
The Four C’s of effective restaurant management are…
1. Cost
Cost is one of the biggest reasons why restaurant operators fail at their own game. For a restaurant business, the biggest cost killer is food.
Maintaining food cost is more than just about buying at the lowest prices. I know, how much you pay for stuff is important, too, but it should be noted that controlling food costs also means watching how much goes to waste and how much leave the storerooms when no one is looking. Deal with this problem by doing a regular inventory check.
2. Customer service
Customers are the reason you are in this business. I once overheard someone say, “It would be great working here if it wasn’t for the customers.” I remember shaking my head at that train of thought.
Some customers can be very difficult, okay, but also remember that most problems are solved by simply doing a better job of taking care of the customers up front. Train your staff consistently about quality customer service, and demand that they treat anyone who walks in those doors as honored guests.
3. Consistency
This one is so important it deserves repeating. Your customers could have gone anywhere, but they chose to come to you. The reason for this is because they liked what they got from you the last time and so they are back for some more.
Be consistent with your service, the quality of your food, cleanliness, everything. If I’m a customer and I came back, it means I liked something the last time and I’m here for the same experience. If I ordered the same thing off the menu, I want the same exact recipe, prepared the same way.
4. Cleanliness
I’ll tell you a secret. Most customers decide on the quality of food in a restaurant long before a plate is served in front of them.
I remember walking out of a little take-out joint because the place looked dirty. I have friends who tell me the food there actually tastes good. But even so, they don’t go there anymore because the place looked like it could use a little bit of cleaning every time.
In my recent posts I’ve only talked about restaurant marketing. Marketing on Twitter, marketing on YouTube, establishing a WiFi hotspot to increase sales, this and that, etc. But don’t get me wrong. While marketing is the bread-and-butter to your restaurant business, the last thing you want to do is lose focus on the management of the business itself.
As a dedicated restaurant operator, you need to be the best at both worlds.