How can restaurants improve their internal processes?
Anything they can do to improve the process itself can help. People may not think of technology being important within a restaurant, but it can significantly improve transaction processing, from ordering the food to delivering the check. Some systems automatically enter orders and communicate them to the people in the kitchen, while tracking the timing and efficiency of them.
You’ve been at dinner where your entire group is served except one person, or someone at another table gets served first, even though you arrived before them. Computerized systems can help improve that service, as well as make sure that you capture all of your revenue and that checks are delivered to your customers efficiently and in a timely manner.
Programs that allow you to control your inventory are typically married with those systems. Anything that helps you forecast and manage your inventory is very helpful.
Matching your needs with your supply is important because so many restaurant items are perishable. Restaurants that are not run as efficiently as they can be tend to lose a lot of money in lost food costs.
How can restaurants determine where they must improve?
They have to be honest about their own current operations. Just like any operation, they need to look at their cost accounting and understand how they are making money, where it’s being made, and where they are losing money if they’re not as efficient.
They need to understand where the potential problems are so they can identify what it is costing them. Anticipate savings from the implementation of a new system that would reduce or eliminate those problem areas. Then, compare that to the initial investment in the software.
How are successful restaurants thriving?
They are using the Internet a lot more as a pure advertising tool. More and more consumers today are running to the Internet to find out about things, no matter what they are looking for. Younger customers will make a query looking for a type of restaurant and location. For many consumers, that Web site is their first introduction to the restaurant.
You have to make a distinction between yourself and your competition. There has to be enough information to answer that consumer’s potential questions regarding the restaurant’s ambiance, pricing and menu.
Some restaurants are allowing customers to make reservations or order carry-out food over the Internet. Successful restaurants highlight the hook that brings consumers to them over one of their competitors.
What can other industries learn from the challenges facing the restaurant industry?
They truly need to understand what is going on in the local and global economies, because they are impacted by everything from the first revenue item down to the last expense item. Politics, the economy, consumer confidence, changing demographics: you need to be aware of how these trends affect you.
For instance, restaurants have noticed people are eating lighter and/or want different menu options. You need to be prepared for those changes, but also understand the changes in consumer trends.
Michael L. Minotti, CPA, is president of Skoda Minotti. Reach him at (440) 449-6800 or [email protected].
