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Writer's pictureSarah Janabi

Restaurant Tips 101.




According to early research, 26% of restaurants end up shutting their doors after their first year of business (H.G et al 2015). What is so hard about managing a restaurant? Well, the challenges are endless. They range from staff issues, ineffective marketing, inconsistent management, client complaints, food quality and many more. Although it is impossible to eliminate all the problems, it is possible to shrink them substantially so that the business’s achievements overpower the unfortunate mishaps. The aim of a restaurant is to create an experience for their customers and this can only be done when equal attention and scrutiny is given to every single section of the restaurant. Below are some crucial elements that restaurant owners and managers tend to overlook.


1. Happy staff.


It’s important to realize that a happy staff implies long term success. Employees are the direct reflection of the management of the company. Good service, good communication and good handling of complaints by staff portray a stable restaurant which cares for the well-being of both the worker and the client. Therefore, companies must bear in mind that stronger emphasis on employee satisfaction leads to happier clients and obviously, higher turnover on the long run.


2. Effective inventory and control




Studies have also shown that restaurants immediate turnover is directly proportionate to employee theft, wastage, food given freely and other expenses (Clover 2018). For small scale companies, this percentage is cut directly from their already-narrow margins while for larger organizations, the percentage leads up to a substantial number which could have been used for reinvestments. The need for precision and accuracy in inventory as well as the whole system of food preparation (exact quantities to be used) is beyond critical to maintain proper stock control and eventually, protect profits.


3. Digital marketing




Today’s era is the most opportune period in time for restaurants to make the most out of the digital landscape. Food has become the new fashion, and like fashion, it follows trends- trends which are crucial to keep up with if the business is to survive in the current throat-cutting competition. The hashtag #food alone on Instagram currently encompasses 360 million posts, and that number exponentially increases by the day (Instagram 2019). The leverage for restaurants to acquire earned media nowadays is massive. Many restaurants have not yet acknowledged the tight correlation between visually appealing food/design and free online advertisement. Once this interlinkage is fully understood and mastered, restaurants guarantee significant exposure.


4. Listening to customers



Customers play a huge role in the decision making processes of restaurants, however their voices are often flouted. Each customer has different expectations when dining at a restaurant, and it is the staff’s duty to interpret their clients’ needs and wants. If a customer is unhappy about his experience, management must go out of their way to understand what went wrong and what could be improved for long term customer retention. One angry customer means the loss of 10 potential customers.





References:


Clover. 2018. “5 types of restaurant employee theft, and how to prevent them.” Accessed 19

theft-and-how-to-prevent-them/


H.G, Parsa, John T.Self, David Njite and Tiffany King. 2005. “Why Restaurants Fail”. Cornell Hotel

and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. 46(3): 304-322.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5bbc/7eb3c9db85ee9e2ed799a7e858b244c1e0dd.pdf


Instagram. 2019. “Food.” Accessed 19 October 2019.

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/food/

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