I consume food. I drink beverages.
For that reason, I am qualified to manage a Food and Beverage operation.
In evaluating the operations of many clubs/resorts each month, I find that one of the most badly operated, inconsistent areas of club/resort operations is Food and Drink. Especially in member owned environments, which are typically supervised by a club board, people appear to believe that due to the fact that they eat in restaurants, they somehow have some level of know-how that allows them to make business choices about this essential aspect of the club. The truth 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 few questions!
Is your Food and Beverage experience suitable for what your members/guests wish to have in your club/resort? Are you priced appropriately, too high, or too low? How do you understand? Are you tracking cover counts by day? By shift? By hour?
Are your food selections stuck in yesteryear, a great balance of old favorites and new selections, or edgy? Is your menu created for function or style? Do you change 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 item requirements and part sizes? Is every product on your menu costed? What is your objective for a la carte food cost? Do you know the contribution margin on every item on your menu?
What about your special occasions. Are they really special? Do they produce a buzz in the Club? Are they eagerly prepared for or the very same thing that was done the last 10 years with absolutely nothing more than the year altered in the newsletter and promotional piece promoting the occasion? Is your staff challenged every quarter to try brand-new events? Brand-new price points?
Got Worth?
What about value added shows? It's occurring every day in the hospitality market. Chili's, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Flemings, Cody's Roadhouse, McDonalds, Quiznos, Subway, and numerous other national franchises are actively configuring to keep individuals being available in. Any wonder the success rate of franchises is over 90% while the success rate of separately owned dining establishments has to do with 10%?
What are you carrying out in your club to develop 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 few covers? Or, are you attempting brand-new principles that may supply "meal replacement" dining instead of only "unique occasion" dining?
Something as basic as Happy Hour can create extra usage. Home cooking such as meatloaf, chicken casserole, lasagna, or similar for" at $8 or $9 during the week are popular. Taco bars, pasta bars, hamburger night, half price on bottles of home wine, Fresh Fish Fridays or a Friday Fish Fry, a Chef's choice at an unique rate on slower evenings, sushi nights, appetisers at a special price, home entertainment, and many other concepts and occasions drive use, supply incremental revenue, and keep the personnel working. Are you try out new events in your club/resort? Give it a shot. 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 offering?
How are your buffets presented? Elegantly with skirting, floral displays, and shiny silver chafing dishes? Or fundamental with little or no frills? Does it make sense?
Do you have requirements of operation to make sure the food and drink experience for your members/guests? Is every employee wearing a clean and pushed designated uniform? Exists a particular way to present menus, serve, food, mixed drinks, and wine? Are members called by name? Are specific steps of service in place?
Does the service staff understand the structure of every item, sauce, and portion size from the menu? Is training provided a minimum of month-to-month? Is your staff offering suggestively?
The Technical Aspects
How typically do you take a physical stock? Is there "self-reliance" in the inventory process to guarantee that the counts are accurate? Is stock rates adjusted routinely to reflect the most current cost the club is spending for all inventoried products or is the cost the club paid last year still being used to figure out stock value?
Do you follow this mantra when receiving 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, determine it? Under no scenarios, accept it blindly.
I am amazed at how often shipments are accepted and signed for without even physically remaining in the exact same space as the products that were provided not to mention examining the packing slip or invoice against the items got. Shipment people become smart extremely quickly to those who hold them accountable and those who do not. A couple of pounds of missing out on steak here or a few bottles of missing alcohol there costs a great deal of cash over a prolonged time period.
Just how much unusable food is stashed away in the freezer, frequently a chef's buddy, and continues to be counted on a monthly basis throughout inventory yet is basically worth little or nothing?
What does the organizational structure look like in your club's F&B operation? How are your managers compensated? Are they incented to produce a specific monetary outcome, train the staff, and preserve requirements? Or are they paid simply for showing up?
How is your service staff paid? By hourly wage? Tip swimming pool? Some combination of both? Does your pay structure promote tenure 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 liquor, beer, and wine? Do you have specified put sizes? Are they being complied with? Do you have pourers which permit only for the pour size for which you are charging? How much of your club's resort's cash is bound 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 monthly service charge? Should you?
Do you provide an employee meal? How is it accounted for? Is it represented at all? Do you allow employees to get rid of food/beverage from the club? (A bad concept!). Do you enable your workers to take in liquors at the end of a shift? (An even worse idea!!).
Private Occasions
What about your Personal Occasions? Is your catering menu priced right? What does priced right mean? Have you examined 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 space based on the varying needs of each event?
Do your personal event policies make good sense? When is the "guarantee' due? When is payment completely needed? Do you require a signed agreement? Do you even have a contract that you require be signed?
A Solution
Great deals of questions! Get a management company that will work collaboratively with you to answer all of learn more here these and any others and develop a tailored food and drink experience that reflects your distinct situation and offers what your members/guests want and are willing to pay for.