Operations
Troubleshooting
This minor essay will give you a better idea
of who I am, what I have done and, more important, what I can
do for you. You will also get an idea of my outlook on the
industry. This material is necessarily a bit generic, but I
think it can serve as a basis for further discussions. If my
philosophy seems compatible with yours, we should discuss how
we can work together. But more about that later.
Foodservice operations can be incredibly
demanding. Just your willingness to consider options says a lot
about your professional commitment. In my experience, the best
operators are actively looking for alternatives. Top operators
want to correct any situation that keeps them from doing the
very best they can for their guests, their staff, their
investors or themselves ... and they want that improvement
sooner instead of later. Amateurs don't even suspect there may
be another way to do it!
In the next few pages, I will share some
thoughts on the foodservice industry and how I may be able to
help you reach your professional goals in less time and with
less effort.
THE GAME HAS
CHANGED
Think about how different the business environment is now
than it was when we first started working. For one thing, the
nature of the work force has changed. Workers are more
sophisticated, better informed, (less educated?) and have more
options than ever before. If you can't find people who want to
work, maybe it's only that there are not as many people willing
to put up with the way our industry typically treats them.
Could you hire someone today who would accept the conditions
you endured when you first started in foodservice? I
sure can't.
For another thing, your guests' expectations have changed.
How many of your current guests can be satisfied with the same
level of service they would accept even two years ago? Yet how
much have your service systems, staff training and basic
business orientation really changed to address and keep pace
with your guests' new standards?
In spite of these fundamental shifts, most operators,
knowingly or unknowingly, still do business substantially the
way they have always done it. They have never critically
questioned the way they were taught to run a restaurant. The
problem is that the people who taught us in the 70's were
taught in the 50's by someone who learned it in the 30's. Think
about it. Tradition is wonderful, but not everything we have
been taught is still relevant.
HOW IS IT THAT I CAN HELP
YOU?>/P>
First of all, I have to confess that I love this business!
My first job was at age 14, a summer job handwashing dishes in
a small restaurant on Cape Cod. I received no training and had
no idea what I was doing. My memories are of people yelling at
each other and the smell of salad dressing floating in the dish
sink! Despite this ominous introduction to the industry, I
caught the "restaurant bug" and went on to get my degree from
the Hotel School at Cornell. I have been in and around the
business for almost as long as I can remember, running clubs,
resorts, restaurants and institutional operations. I have also
been providing ideas and advice to foodservice operations of
all types and sizes for 25 years.
I have learned a lot in my career - some by doing things
right, some by doing things wrong and some by watching the more
innovative operators in the industry. It seems that the more I
learn, the more I realize I don't know. Still, I have managed
to gain a fair understanding of what makes restaurants work and
gained an ability to pass that understanding along to
others.
Now I hardly consider myself an "expert" in the industry.
When I was 22 I thought so, but now I cringe when people use
that title. I am, however, an incurable student of the
business. Because I have been actively looking for better ways
to do things, I have developed some methods and attitudes that
consistently enable me to do everything I mention in this
letter. I'm talking about incredibly potent, common sense
approaches to foodservice that I was never taught anywhere in
my career. I can share these "secrets" with you and teach you
how to use them to get what you want ... every time.
One big advantage is that I don't work in your operation
every day so my perspective is different from yours. Because I
have no history with your restaurant, I am not limited by the
reasons and assumptions that cause things to be done the way
they are done. Since I don't share your blind spots (and we all
have them), I am better able to cut quickly to the cause of
your problem or identify the missed opportunities that can kick
your sales into high gear.
If what you are doing isn't working, I can show you why and
teach you what will work. The "right answer" is the
one that you can implement successfully to give you the results
you want. I can also show you how to implement the solution
without creating chaos among your staff or confusing your
market.The appropriate solution will depend on your depth of
understanding, the talent you have on your staff and perhaps,
though not usually, on your financial situation.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO INCREASE YOUR
CASH FLOW 10% WITHIN 90 DAYS?
In most operations I have seen, a 10% increase is very
realistic. The approach most people take to increase cash flow
is to reduce expenses. I can certainly help you trim a few
dollars of cost, although I find most good operators already do
a decent job of controlling expenses. They trim costs in the
wrong areas sometimes, but that is easy to correct. However,
there are a few areas where I can likely help you see
significant cost savings and improved cash flow as a result of
gaining new perspectives on old problems:
I can help you reduce your labor cost.
I conduct a seminar around the country called "Reducing Labor
Cost." I teach that the trick to cutting labor is to see
payroll as a profit center rather than a cost point. After all,
you can reduce your payroll cost by 50% if you simply fire half
your staff! While there are some simple techniques I use to
reduce unnecessary hours, the real key to reducing labor cost
is to utilize your present staff in a way that they will
increase your sales.
I can help you increase your
productivity.
I can show you how to structure your organization to naturally
bring out the finest work from your staff. Best of all, the
more self-motivated your crew, the fewer problems you will have
to solve.
I can help you decrease your turnover.
Staff turnover is expensive. I can show you how I brought a
300% turnover rate down to 20% within 6 months . . . without a
change in wage rates! I can help you understand why your crew
leaves and what to do about it. If you are willing to make a
few adjustments, I can teach you how to beat the labor shortage
by becoming the most sought-after employer in town and how to
have a waiting list of people who want to work for you!
In my experience, though, the biggest potential impact on
cash flow usually comes through increasing your sales. I only
know of three ways to safely achieve a higher sales volume:
Attract more new diners.
If your concept has become boring, I can find an exciting new
direction that will appeal to a broader market. If your
restaurant does not have a clear identity in the market, I can
fix it so that people think of you more often. I can show you
how to actively create and manage word-of-mouth advertising
from your existing guests . . . and how to have them saying
exactly the things you want them to say!
Bring existing patrons back more often.
My first book is called "Restaurant Basics: Why Guests Don't
Come Back and What You Can Do About It." This is the only text
on restaurant service written entirely from the guest's point
of view -- the only perspective that really counts! I can show
you how to create an environment that will draw your guests
back more frequently. I can help you avoid the service lapses
that cause your patrons to become disenchanted and go
elsewhere. I can help you create the sort of legendary service
that is practically competition-proof.
Offer new services.
I can help you identify new products and services to offer your
market. Just because you are in the restaurant business does
not mean your sales have to be limited by what you can do
inside the restaurant.
I suppose you could look at increasing the average check
(suggestive selling) as a way to build sales, but I don't
consider it a safe option. If you get the sale tonight and lose
the guest's loyalty tomorrow, the loss is staggering!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO WORK LESS AND GET MORE DONE?
I learned this business the way most people did - working
16-hour days and 7-day weeks! In fact, I used to be proud of
how many hours I could put in. At the height of my madness, I
was working 120 hours a week running a condominium hotel in the
Virgin Islands! At the time, I didn't see any alternative. The
predictable result was that I burned myself out and still
didn't accomplish what I wanted. My intentions were good. I
just didn't understand.
By contrast, managing my last operation, I usually worked
less than 45 hours a week and got twice as much done as I ever
had in my life! If there were emergencies, we hardly noticed! I
left because my staff was totally running the show ... and
doing it as well as I could! The route to this stress-free work
environment is simpler than you may think.
If you have been thinking that there must be an
easier way to run a restaurant than the way you see most people
doing it, you're right! I can show you how smart operators
around the country are getting more done in a shorter time with
less effort and virtually no stress. You can join a growing
group of restaurateurs who have a successful restaurant
and a life!
If your first reaction is to say this is impossible, I
understand. Consider the possibility that your skepticism
arises just because you haven't seen a way to do it, not
because it can't be done. If you think that enjoying
stress-free foodservice management, spending time with your
mate and having time to watch your children grow up is a worthy
goal, we should talk. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BECOME AN EXPERT
WITH PEOPLE?
In all my training, nobody ever taught me about people and
what makes them tick. The closest I ever came was a psychology
course. While I have probably run into my share of paranoid
schizophrenics and manic depressives, they were not the sort of
people I needed to know how to deal with every day. I needed to
be effective when dealing with my guests because they bring in
the money! I also needed to be effective when dealing with my
staff because they did all the work and created the guest's
experience. Fortunately, I found the answer to the people
puzzle. If you are interested, I can show you how to develop an
instant working rapport with anyone, even irate guests ... and
how to teach your staff to be equally as effective.
In case you are tempted to write off this "human software"
training as superfluous, remember that service will be the
restaurant battlefield of the 90's. Your reputation sinks or
swims based on how well your staff delivers on the promises you
make to the market. Remember too, that your staff will treat
your guests the same way that you treat your staff! WOULD
YOU LIKE TO IMPROVE YOUR GUEST SERVICE?
It costs far more to get a guest into your restaurant the
first time than to get them back. Particularly in a
recessionary economy, you cannot afford to let any
guests get away! The seminar will show you how to make more
money and be more competitive by being able to consistently
give your present guests a quality service experience that will
cause them to return more often. The material is equally
applicable to full service, fast service and institutional
operators. WOULD YOU LIKE A HEAD START ON YOUR
COMPETITION?
You can get a jump on your competitors by holding an
in-house service seminar for your managers, supervisors and
staff. I invite you to be part of an increasing number of savvy
operators, large and small, who are making a visible commitment
to improving their guest service by bringing in outside
expertise. In-house programs are an incredibly effective way to
accomplish your goals. When you calculate the cost on a
per-person basis, an in-house seminar is surprisingly
reasonable. Clients also tell me it improves their credibility
when the staff hears an industry "authority" validate the
things the boss has been telling them all along!
You may have thought this level of personal training was
only for the big chain operators, but don't be fooled. Big
operators hold customized programs because they are smart
enough to spend a little to make a lot. You don't have to be
big to be smart. Look at it this way: Let's say that you have
guests who normally come in twice a month. If, as a result of
what your staff learns in the seminar, they can make these same
guests want to dine with you three times a month
instead of patronizing a competitor, you have a 50% sales
increase! How much extra business would it take to break even
on a program?
I can do full-day or half-day programs depending on the
target audience, the nature of the subject matter and the
results you want to achieve. You might also consider
co-sponsoring a seminar with one or two other operators in your
area. We can conduct programs over one or two days and you can
split the costs with the other participants. I'm sure you know
someone you could call. No pressure, but give it some
thought.
WHY IS THE RESTAURANT DOCTOR SO EFFECTIVE?
Here are a few reasons you can feel confident about working
with me:
I take my own advice.
I am an operator first and a consultant second. The truth is
that I would rather be doing it than talking about it. As an
operator, I believe my most important job is to learn as much
as I can and teach it to my staff, so consulting is just a
natural extension of that thinking. Most of my best ideas came
in response to problems I wanted to solve in my own operations.
I will evaluate your situation as if it were my own and give
you the advice that I would take were I in your position.
The main benefit of moving back and forth from consulting to
operations is that it keeps me in touch with what works. I am
repeatedly reminded of how long it can take to get some things
done and the number of balls a restaurateur has to juggle at
once. Still, it is encouraging to see that when I take my own
advice, it works!
I understand restaurant reality.
I have never worked for a large chain or run a foodservice
operation where I had big bucks to spend, so I am not
accustomed to solving problems by throwing money at them. In my
own restaurants and in all my varied management positions, I
have always had to work with limited resources. Still, I could
always find a way to deliver the goods. I have learned how to
solve most restaurant problems without the need to make a heavy
financial commitment.
I also understand that after our time together, I will be
gone and you will still be in your restaurant. Therefore, I
want to make sure you understand not only what we have
done and howto do it, but why it works. It is
critical that you be able to maintain the new results over time
without me because I do not want to create a dependent
relationship with anyone. My goal is to work myself out of a
job as quickly as possible. This is why my work usually
involves some degree of teaching and counselling. Knowledge is
more powerful than ignorance, but understanding is more
powerful than knowledge. I want to increase your
understanding.
I specialize in independent
restaurants.
Many of my peers tell me I'm crazy to work with independent
operators. Too many egos, too many amateurs and too little
money, they say. The big bucks are with the big operators, they
say. This is all good advice and undoubtedly
accurate.
Still, there is something about the freedom an independent
operator enjoys that I find exciting. I see many more
opportunities to be creative when working with the "little
guys." Maybe it's just that I like to see real changes happen
quickly. Whatever the reason, working with independent
restaurants is more fun for me than wrestling with corporate
bureaucracies. This perspective may limit my income, but making
a meaningful contribution to the well-being of hard-working
entrepreneurs is more rewarding than collecting big fees!
I guarantee my results.
A solution that doesn't work is no solution at all. I don't
think you should have to pay for something that doesn't work
any more than I would expect guests in my restaurant to pay if
we had not given them a great time. Accordingly, if you
implement my recommendations the way I teach you, I guarantee
that within a year you will see additional profit equal to at
least twice the fees expended. If not, I will do whatever it
takes, at no additional cost, to assure you of those results --
no hassles, no questions asked.
IS THIS GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE?
People often ask me if consultants are expensive. The
correct answer, I suppose, is probably "yes and no."
Consultants are expensive if they can't solve your problem (and
keep your money), if they disrupt your operation or if they
come up with wrong answers. Consultants are also expensive if
they come up with the right answer and you ignore it!
You cannot afford to retain a consultant if you are not willing
to take the advice you receive. In fact, I won't accept you as
a client unless I believe there is a good chance your operation
will actually change for the better as a result.
On the other hand, consultants are a bargain if they can
quickly identify the cause of a problem and help you implement
a solution that works. A prompt solution means:
- fewer disenchanted guests (so your
reputation doesn't deteriorate)
- improved cash flow (so you start
getting the additional profit months or even years
sooner!)
- lower staff turnover (so you don't
lose your best workers to the competition)
Can you afford to get a problem fixed? If there is something
out of line in your operation that interferes with your guest
service or affects your cash flow, you can't afford
not to fix it!
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
The next step is to get specific about what results you want
to see and what it will take to get them. Call me toll-free at
(800) 767-1055 and let's talk it over. There
is no charge for this initial consultation.
If we identify a project, I will prepare an engagement
letter that outlines our agreement on the work to be done, the
desired results, the timing and the budgets for fees and
expenses. If you concur, sign the letter and return it with
your retainer. We will schedule a time to get started.
If you have never worked with an outside consultant before,
I can understand that it might seem like a big step. You don't
need to be nervous. I don't chew you out for your mistakes -- I
have probably made most of them myself! There won't be any
lectures and you won't lose control of your business. You will
find the process is more like kicking ideas around with a
knowledgeable friend.
We will take things one step at a time. I will be sure you
are comfortable with the direction and understand the process.
The good news is that within a few months from now, you can
gain control over those things in your operation that have been
frustrating you.
I appreciate your interest and look forward to the
opportunity to help you get what you want.
With best regards,
William R. Marvin
The Restaurant Doctor
PS: Albert Einstein once noted that, "You can't solve a
problem on the level at which it was created." Sometimes a
fresh perspective can make all the
difference.
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