I eat food. I drink beverages.
For that reason, I am certified to supervise a Food and Drink operation.
In evaluating the operations of numerous clubs/resorts each month, I find that one of the most improperly run, irregular areas of club/resort operations is Food and Beverage. Specifically in member owned environments, which are typically overseen by a club board, people appear to believe that because they dine out, they in some way have some level of competence that allows them to make service choices about this important aspect of the club. The reality is that this is one of the most complex departments in a club to handle, control, and produce a constant experience.
Let's ask a couple of concerns!
Is your Food and Beverage experience proper for what your members/guests wish to have in your club/resort? Are you priced properly, too expensive, or too low? How do you understand? Are you tracking cover counts by day? By shift? By hour?
Are your food selections stuck in the past, a good balance of old favorites and brand-new selections, or edgy? Is your menu finding a clothing manufacturer designed 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 more and become a club dinosaur? What are your product specs and portion sizes? Is every product on your menu costed? What is your objective for a la carte food expense? Do you understand the contribution margin on every item on your menu?
What about your special occasions. Are they truly unique? Do they develop a buzz in the Club? Are they excitedly expected or the very same thing that was done the last 10 years with nothing more than the year changed in the newsletter and advertising piece promoting the event? Is your personnel challenged every quarter to attempt new occasions? New cost points?
Got Value?
What about worth added shows? It's occurring every day in the hospitality industry. Chili's, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Flemings, Cody's Roadhouse, McDonalds, Quiznos, Train, and many other nationwide franchises are actively configuring to keep people can be found in. Any wonder the success rate of franchises is over 90% while the success rate of individually owned dining establishments is about 10%?
What are you doing in your club to produce a "WOW" for your members/guests in your Food and Drink offerings? Are you standing pat on your $32 filet and $28 sea bass questioning why you are doing so couple of covers? Or, are you attempting new principles that may supply "meal replacement" dining rather of just "unique event" dining?
Something as easy as Delighted Hour can generate extra usage. Home cooking such as meatloaf, chicken casserole, lasagna, or comparable for" at $8 or $9 throughout the week are popular. Taco bars, pasta bars, burger night, half cost on bottles of house red wine, Fresh Fish Fridays or a Friday Fish Fry, a Chef's selection at an unique price on slower evenings, sushi nights, appetizers at a special cost, home entertainment, and numerous other ideas and occasions drive use, supply incremental income, and keep the staff working. Are you try out brand-new occasions in your club/resort? Provide it a shot. You'll be amazed at the buzz it creates.
The Experience
How is your dining-room provided? With white tablecloths? No tablecloths? Placemats? Are you charging properly for the experience you are providing?
How are your buffets provided? Elegantly with skirting, flower screens, and shiny silver chafing dishes? Or basic with little or no frills? Does it make good sense?
Do you have standards of operation to make sure the food and drink experience for your members/guests? Is every employee using a tidy and pressed designated uniform? Exists a specific manner to present menus, serve, food, mixed drinks, and wine? Are members called by name? Are specific steps of service in place?
Does the service personnel know the composition of every product, sauce, and part size from the menu? Is training provided at least monthly? Is your staff selling suggestively?
The Technical Aspects
How typically do you take a physical inventory? Exists "self-reliance" in the inventory procedure to guarantee that the counts are precise? Is stock rates changed routinely to reflect the most current cost the club is spending for all inventoried items or is the expense the club paid in 2015 still being used to figure out inventory worth?
Do you follow this mantra when getting and inventorying products?
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, measure it? Under no situations, accept it blindly.
I am impressed at how frequently deliveries are accepted and signed for without even physically being in the very same room as the products that were provided not to mention examining the packaging slip or invoice versus the items received. Delivery people become smart very rapidly to those who hold them responsible and those who do not. A couple of pounds of missing steak here or a couple of bottles of missing alcohol there costs a great deal of cash over a prolonged amount of time.
How much unusable food is stashed away in the freezer, frequently a chef's best friend, and continues to be counted every month 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 monetary result, train the staff, and keep requirements? Or are they paid merely for showing up?
How is your service personnel paid? By per hour wage? Tip swimming pool? Some mix of both? Does your pay structure promote period or turnover? What about overtime? Are you paying overtime? Legally?
In addition to costing every product on every menu, have you done the same for alcohol, beer, and white wine? Do you have specified pour sizes? Are they being adhered to? Do you have pourers which permit only for the pour size for which you are charging? How much of your club's resort's money is tied up in white wine inventory? Have you recognized par stocks?
Do you have a Food and Beverage minimum? Does it make sense for your club? Do you have a minimum month-to-month service fee? Should you?
Do you provide a staff member meal? How is it accounted for? Is it represented at all? Do you allow staff members to get rid of food/beverage from the club? (A bad concept!). Do you permit your employees to consume liquors at the end of a shift? (An even worse idea!!).
Personal Occasions
What about your Personal Occasions? Is your catering menu priced right? What does priced best mean? Have you evaluated the competitive environment? What are you doing to bring wedding events and conferences to the club/resort? Are you covering the expenses of setting up and breaking down every space based upon the varying requirements of each event?
Do your personal occasion policies make sense? When is the "warranty' due? When is payment in full needed? Do you require a signed agreement? Do you even have an agreement that you require be signed?
A Service
Lots of questions! Get a management company that will work collaboratively with you to address all of these and any others and develop a customized food and drink experience that shows your distinct situation and provides what your members/guests want and want to spend for.