I consume food. I consume beverages.
For that reason, I am qualified to supervise a Food and Beverage operation.
In assessing the operations of lots of clubs/resorts monthly, I find that one of the most inadequately operated, irregular areas of club/resort operations is Food and Beverage. Particularly in member owned environments, which are typically supervised by a club board, individuals appear to think that due to the fact that they dine out, they somehow have some level of know-how that permits them to make service decisions about this crucial aspect of the club. The truth is that this is one of the most intricate departments in a club to manage, control, and produce a constant experience.
Let's ask a few questions!
Is your Food and Drink experience appropriate for what your members/guests want to have in your club/resort? Are you priced appropriately, expensive, or too low? How do you understand? Are you tracking cover counts by day? By shift? By hour?
Are your food choices stuck in yesteryear, a nice balance of old favorites and new choices, or edgy? web site Is your menu created for function or fashion? Do you alter your menu quarterly, or a minimum of semi-annually to keep it fresh? Or is it changed every year or two and end up being 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 expense? Do you know the contribution margin on every product on your menu?
What about your special occasions. Are they really special? Do they develop a buzz in the Club? Are they eagerly expected or the same thing that was done the last ten years with nothing more than the year altered in the newsletter and promotional piece touting the event? Is your staff challenged every quarter to attempt brand-new occasions? New cost points?
Got Worth?
What about worth added programming? It's taking place every day in the hospitality industry. Chili's, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Flemings, Cody's Roadhouse, McDonalds, Quiznos, Subway, and lots of other nationwide 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 individually 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 trying brand-new ideas that may offer "meal replacement" dining instead of only "unique event" dining?
Something as basic as Delighted Hour can create additional use. Home cooking such as meatloaf, chicken casserole, lasagna, or comparable for" at $8 or $9 during the week are popular. Taco bars, pasta bars, burger night, half cost on bottles of house white 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 cost, home entertainment, and many other principles and events drive use, offer incremental income, and keep the personnel working. Are you explore new occasions in your club/resort? Give it a shot. You'll be surprised at the buzz it produces.
The Experience
How is your dining-room provided? With white tablecloths? No tablecloths? Placemats? Are you charging appropriately for the experience you are supplying?
How are your buffets presented? Elegantly with skirting, flower screens, and glossy silver chafing dishes? Or rudimentary 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 staff member wearing a clean and pushed designated uniform? Exists a particular manner to present menus, serve, food, cocktails, and wine? Are members called by name? Specify actions of service in location?
Does the service personnel understand the composition of every product, sauce, and part size from the menu? Is training provided a minimum of month-to-month? Is your personnel selling suggestively?
The Technical Aspects
How typically do you take a physical stock? Is there "independence" in the inventory procedure to make sure that the counts are accurate? Is stock prices adjusted frequently to reflect the most current expense the club is paying for all inventoried products or is the expense the club paid last year still being used to determine 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 purchase it by ounce or length, measure it? Under no situations, accept it blindly.
I am amazed at how frequently shipments are accepted and signed for without even physically remaining in the same room as the items that were provided not to mention examining the packing slip or billing versus the goods got. Shipment individuals end up being smart very rapidly to those who hold them accountable and those who do not. A couple of pounds of missing steak here or a few bottles of missing out on alcohol there costs a great deal of cash over an extended period of time.
How much unusable food is stashed away in the freezer, frequently a chef's buddy, and continues to be counted monthly during stock yet is essentially worth little or absolutely nothing?
What does the organizational structure look like in your club's F&B operation? How are your supervisors compensated? Are they incented to produce a particular monetary result, train the personnel, 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 tenure 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 alcohol, beer, and wine? Do you have defined put sizes? Are they being abided by? Do you have pourers which allow just for the put size for which you are charging? Just how much of your club's resort's cash is bound in wine stock? Have you recognized par stocks?
Do you have a Food and Drink minimum? Does it make sense for your club? Do you have a minimum monthly service charge? Should you?
Do you provide a staff member meal? How is it represented? Is it represented at all? Do you permit staff members to eliminate food/beverage from the club? (A bad idea!). Do you enable your staff members 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 ideal mean? Have you assessed the competitive environment? What are you doing to bring weddings and conferences to the club/resort? Are you covering the costs of establishing and breaking down every room based upon the differing needs of each occasion?
Do your private event policies make good sense? When is the "assurance' due? When is payment completely needed? Do you require a signed agreement? Do you even have a contract that you need be signed?
A Solution
Lots of questions! Get a management company that will work collaboratively with you to address all of these and any others and develop a tailored food and beverage experience that shows your unique circumstance and supplies what your members/guests want and want to pay for.