Author :chef ssentongo Geoffrey
Blog : Restaurant Owners
7 Mistakes Restaurants make That DOOM THEM to Fail..
Faiure:
Year, it’s pretty common in the restaurant business.
We all know the damaging stats at 60% of restaurants fail their first year and 40% fail after 2 years. But you’ve survived and maybe even thrived. And you want to keep it that way.
So how do you avoid the pitfalls the vast majority of restaurants make that doom them to fail?
Well, I’ve got you covered.
After talking with many of restaurant owners and managers plus my 15 years of experience in restaurant business about successful and unsuccessful restaurants, I’ve put them together the 7 common mistakes that lead to restaurant failure. Avoid these at all costs.
1- Poor location and lack of Marketing
We all know it, a good location is everything when it comes to a successful restaurant. The closer you are to consistent and heavy foot traffic, the easier it will be for business to come your way.
Certainly, if you’re guaranteed foot traffic at breakfast, lunch and dinner, success is just about the execution of the menu and guest experience. But if you’re not, business can be much tougher.
If there’s one thing that exacerbate a a poor location, it’s a lack of Marketing.
Marketing your restaurant creates a loyal following, customers who will come back and spend their money with you time and time again.
Here’s the type of marketing we’re talking about.
* family night, Date night, Big game and favorite karaoke night these keep people coming back every day.
* A rewards program for the regulars you have no choice.
* An active social media site where you post often and engage with followers.
2 – You Don’t Manage The Financial Side Of The Business
OK, so you make the best food in town you’ve been on the mouth of everyone in the town but is the fame alone going to bring in dollar bills other once the launch party has faded? I don’t think so.
Sure, having a delicious meal is important for a restaurant.
But it’s not going to carry you… Culinary genius doesn’t pay the bills… You’re looking to serve financial delight too.
A restaurant who don’t understand that a restaurant is more than a place that serves great food.. That it’s a business with financial needs… are doomed to fail. There’s no way around it… you have to run your restaurant as a business.
Why is this so important?
You need to pay rent, you need to pay your employees, and for your food costs.
This means it’s imperative you understand your food costs, price your mene properly and calculate your prime cost regularly.
3 – You’re Slow to Address Lazy or Incompetent Management
It’s no coincidence thriving restaurants run like a well-oiled machine.
From front-of – house to back-of-house…Owners, Chefs, Servers, Managers they all act as a support system for each other.
And they all understand the importance their roles play in keeping the restaurant functioning and profitable… Whether it’s a kitchen chef taking inventory or a bartender making sure they don’t overpour.
Don’t have this type of culture at your restaurant?
Signs of poor managers include:
* They don’t dedicate time to training and retraining stuff.
* There are constant problems with shift scheduling you’re often understaffed or over.
* They have poor communication skills, ignoring staff feedback and interaction.
* They mishandle or avoid guest complaints.
* Thy have no interest in the business side of running the restaurant including important operational tasks.
Managers who display these characteristics can hurt your restaurant.
4 – You Don’t Listen to Customers Or Pay Attention to Online Reviews
A huge mistake in the hospitality industry is… Well, not showing hospitality.
This means listening to customers feedback and restaurant who don’t do this are destined to fail.
Reviews give you the opportunity to create positive PR for your restaurant. You can use a bad review to your advantage by making the situation right with a discount or freebie… and possibly earn a good review in return.
Will one customers opinion change how you run your restaurant, train your staff, or plan your menu? Probably not.
5 – Not Taking Hiring And Staffing Seriously Enough
Hiring is hard.
This is especially true for residents… You can’t offer staff a high wage or consistent hours.
That being said, hiring hard-working, committed staff at your restaurant isn’t impossible… In fact, the most successful restaurants do it all the time. And they take time and effort to do it so they don’t have to worry about the guest experience… They can count on it always being exactly what they want it to be.
6 – Quality Isn’t Job
The devil is in the details, and the details are all about maintaining quality.
It’s simple : Restaurants who prioritize quality will thrive. Restaurants who don’t… Will suffers.
What do we mean exactly when we say quality?
It means anything that turns customers away and makes them not want to come back.
* Slow service
* Along wait for delivery
* Marginally unique dishes, both in variety and taste
* An apathetic guest experience
These may seem like no big deal… Tiny issues that wouldn’t cause your restaurant doors to shut.
You may think they’re nothing to get worked up about… but your customers don’t feel the same way.
7 – Not paying Attention to A Changing Business Climate
Brace yourself… I am going to use the M word. Yes, I am taking about Millennials.
They’re the generation that’s influencing culture and business right now… Including restaurants.
Millennials are dictating new restaurant norms, changing how the industry does business.
A mistake-free way to stay on Track
I wont argue with you…. Managing a restaurant is no walk in the park.
There’s a lot that can go wrong, and avoiding common mistakes can seem like a tall order.
That’s where Chefs Ideas comes in. It helps you avoid some of these common mistakes, providing operational efficiency, freeing up time, allowing you to manage your business and helping you track and reduce food spend.
That’s exactly what the Chefs Ideas is designed to help you do. Even better.
And profitable restaurants don’t fail.
So look at the list above. Make sure you’re avoiding these common pitfalls. They are the surest way to fail.
TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU HIRE THE BEST RESTAURANT MANAGER
A Manager of your restaurant must in all circumstances possess several professional as well as interpersonal skills to supervise the restaurant operations.
You must remember that it is your restaurant manager who will be handling your entire restaurant operations in your absence. And if you have a chain of restaurants, then you can hardly be physically present at each outlet all the time, and at times like these questions like how to recruit restaurant managers? Cross your mind. And why not?
Here is the qualities to look for..
* Great communication skills
* Prompt Decision-making Ability
* Patient Enough to Handle all situations
* Must be a Multitasker
* Must-Know the Art of Team Management
* Should Know the Tricks of Conflict Resolution
How to Recruit a Restaurant manager…
Once you know what the basic prerequisites that you must look for in a restaurant manager are, your next big thing will be to look for the best ones available for the position.
Apart from this, while interviewing the candidates for the position of the restaurant manager, always keep a set of questions that you would be asking handy.
* look for relevant experience at a restaurant similar to that of yours. Ask what their daily duties and deliverables were.
* Ask the to give an example in which they handled a difficult situation with customers at a previous job.
* Give them a situational crisis at a restaurant and ask them how they would resolve it.
* Since the role of a restaurant manager, I tails working in a high-pressure environment, clearly state the job description, expectations, and working hours.
Here is a handy list of duties that you should include the job description.
Hiring a chef or Server for your restaurant is as important as helping a manager for your restaurant. Hence, sculpt these tips in your mind while you are out there looking for a restaurant manager, and be sure that you dig the best out for your restaurant!
What to read Next?
How to Deliver Exceptional Restaurant Service to Increase Repeat customers?
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