I eat food. I drink beverages.
Therefore, I am qualified to supervise a Food and Drink operation.
In evaluating the operations of lots of clubs/resorts every month, I discover that one of the most inadequately run, irregular locations of club/resort operations is Food and Beverage. Specifically in member owned environments, which are often managed by a club board, people appear to believe that due to the fact that they dine out, they in some way have some level of competence that enables them to make company choices about this important element of the club. The reality is that this is one of the most complicated departments in a club to handle, control, and produce a consistent experience.
Let's ask a few concerns!
Is your Food and Beverage experience proper for what your members/guests wish to have in your club/resort? Are you priced correctly, 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 created for function or style? Do you alter your menu quarterly, or at least semi-annually to keep it fresh? Or is it altered every year or 2 and end up being a club dinosaur? What are your product specifications and part sizes? Is every product on your menu costed? What is your goal for a la carte food cost? Do you understand the contribution margin on every product on your menu?
What about your special occasions. Are they truly special? Do they develop a buzz in the Club? Are they excitedly anticipated or the same thing that was done the last ten years with absolutely nothing more than the year changed in the newsletter and marketing piece touting the event? Is your personnel challenged every quarter to attempt new occasions? Brand-new rate points?
Got Value?
What about worth included programs? 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 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 doing in your club to create a get more "WOW" for your members/guests in your Food and Beverage 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 brand-new ideas that may provide "meal replacement" dining instead of only "special event" dining?
Something as basic as Pleased Hour can generate additional use. Comfort food such as meatloaf, chicken pot pie, lasagna, or comparable for" at $8 or $9 throughout the week are popular. Taco bars, pasta bars, hamburger night, half cost on bottles of house wine, Fresh Fish Fridays or a Friday Fish Fry, a Chef's selection at an unique price on slower nights, sushi nights, appetizers at an unique cost, home entertainment, and numerous other principles and occasions drive usage, provide incremental profits, and keep the staff working. Are you try out new events in your club/resort? Provide it a shot. You'll be shocked at the buzz it creates.
The Experience
How is your dining-room provided? With white tablecloths? No tablecloths? Placemats? Are you charging appropriately for the experience you are offering?
How are your buffets provided? Elegantly with skirting, floral displays, and shiny silver chafing meals? Or fundamental with little or no frills? Does it make good sense?
Do you have standards of operation to guarantee the food and beverage experience for your members/guests? Is every team member using a clean and pressed designated uniform? Is there a particular way to present menus, serve, food, cocktails, and white wine? Are members called by name? Specify steps of service in location?
Does the service personnel understand the composition of every product, sauce, and portion size from the menu? Is training supplied a minimum of regular monthly? Is your personnel offering suggestively?
The Technical Aspects
How often do you take a physical inventory? Is there "independence" in the stock process to guarantee that the counts are precise? Is inventory rates adjusted regularly to reflect the most current cost the club is paying 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 items?
If you purchase it by the pound, weigh it. If you buy it by the piece, count it. If you buy it by ounce or length, measure it? Under no situations, accept it blindly.
I am surprised at how often deliveries are accepted and signed for without even physically being in the exact same room as the products that were delivered not to mention checking the packaging slip or invoice versus the goods received. Delivery people become savvy very quickly to those who hold them accountable and those who don't. A couple of pounds of missing steak here or a couple of bottles of missing out on liquor there costs a lot of money over a prolonged time period.
How much unusable food is stored in the freezer, frequently a chef's friend, and continues to be counted each 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 supervisors compensated? Are they incented to produce a particular financial result, train the personnel, and maintain requirements? Or are they paid simply for showing up?
How is your service staff paid? By per hour wage? Tip 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 very same for liquor, beer, and white wine? Do you have specified put sizes? Are they being stuck to? Do you have pourers which allow just for the pour size for which you are charging? Just how much of your club's resort's money is bound in white 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 month-to-month service fee? Should you?
Do you offer a worker meal? How is it represented? Is it represented at all? Do you permit staff members to get rid of food/beverage from the club? (A bad concept!). Do you permit your employees to consume alcoholic beverages at the end of a shift? (An even worse idea!!).
Private Events
What about your Private 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 meetings to the club/resort? Are you covering the expenses of establishing and breaking down every space based upon the differing requirements of each event?
Do your personal event policies make sense? When is the "warranty' due? When is payment in full required? Do you require a signed contract? Do you even have a contract that you need be signed?
An Option
Lots of concerns! Get a management business that will work collaboratively with you to respond to all of these and any others and develop a tailored food and drink experience that reflects your special circumstance and supplies what your members/guests want and want to pay for.