ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 5, 2004

I am back after a very successful program in Michigan and have about a week before the next road marathon. I speak to the National Speakers Association in Boston, then three programs at the New York Restaurant Show (my 7th year in a row at that event!), two programs at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and a presentation at Rory Fatt's Restaurant Marketing Boot Camp in Phoenix. Seven programs in seven days. It must be spring!

You Don't Have to Be That Much Better ...
I often make an analogy of life with golf, the idea being that you have to "play the ball" where it lies. This prompted long-time subscriber Tom Martin of Clovis, NM to see just how much better Tiger Woods was than everybody else. Tom writes:

"From the media, you would think Tiger was at least 5, maybe 10 strokes a round better than anyone else. Two years ago, he led the PGA with the lowest average round-low 70s. And number two? Nobody I have asked could name him, although the name is recognizable. It was V.J. Singh. He was, on average, less than one stroke behind.

"That means if Tiger misses a putt or doesn't eagle one hole or sneezes ... or if V.J. makes the putt or nails the eagle or doesn't sneeze, V.J. beats him. Yet, when it comes to earnings and especially endorsements, Tiger is way out in front. Slightly 1% better in score, but considerably better in earnings.

"My point (and I like to make at least one) is that you don't have to be that much better to be that much better. We try so hard to be perfect, but in actuality we just have to be better than the other guy or better than we were yesterday ... and sometimes not even that much better. Something else interesting: Number 2 and number 10 were separated by about a stroke."

Server Banking Revisited
I recently received this note from a subscriber He writes: "Since so many family restaurants have gone to server banking and replacing the cashier, do you know of any studies that have been done to show what percentage of monies the restaurants save by adding this extra duty to the busy servers?"

I don't know of a specific study on this but the librarian at the National Restaurant Association (800-424-5156) might have a source. The savings -- if they exist -- probably come more because all food that is ordered via a POS system (which usually accompanies server banking but not a cashier system) is properly accounted for and paid. That was always a duty of "busy servers" who all too often failed to do it. I don't think it is unreasonable for an owner to want to be paid for all the food that goes out of the kitchen. That is just good business practice.

Granted, the house may be able to eliminate a cashier but that payroll savings is often offset by the cost of the POS system and the need to add additional service staff. As you say, servers are busy and banking does take some time. However, in my discussions with servers all over the country, they tell me that they usually take home more in tip income from a 4-table section than from a larger one because they have the time to give the extra personal service and make the connection with the guest.

If adding server banking results in smaller stations (i.e. more servers), the effect on payroll is neutral but the level of guest service goes up measurably. Properly done, server banking provides a higher level of dining experience to the guest. In short, I think that everyone -- guest, server and owner -- wins with server banking over a cashier system.

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