Thousands of people dream of running a restaurant one day. Unfortunately, most of these people have no idea how to run a successful restaurant. These tips will help you establish an efficient and effective operation that is certain to lead to success.
Overestimate
If you do not budget properly, any number of tragedies will occur; such as, being forced to be short a server on busy nights resulting in low customer satisfaction, not being able to purchase enough of your high-end alcohol that often has your largest profit margins, and being forced to close the doors an additional day each week causing you to lose capital for the following month. You should always be frugal where possible; however, you should always overestimate expenses each month to ensure you remain in the black.
Restaurant Education
An educated staff will lead to success. The restaurant clientele today has a more sophisticated palate and higher expectations. Your staff must be more knowledgeable than the majority of your guests. You should allow employees to sample the specials and wine being served so that they are able to explain them properly. Bringing in great chefs and winemakers to help educate your staff isn’t a bad idea either. Also, make sure you should teach all employees about the company culture and expectations.
Upsell
Upselling should be part of the education process. Many restaurants make the mistake of trying to upsell too much food and drink. As previously mentioned, the consumer of today is far more intelligent than the last century. Teach upselling to be natural rather than to come across as pushy or forceful.
Spend Money in the Right Places
Repeat business is essential to the success of a restaurant. This concept equates to spending money to make the customer happy. Use LED lighting to save on electricity, but don’t be afraid to spend money on the decor and quality food to heighten the dining experience. Quality ingredients have the ability to transform a dish from great to spectacular
Processes and Procedures
Creating processes and procedures are an essential part of managing a successful restaurant. You should be able to account for every penny spent and earned at the end of the night and that includes monitoring who showed up for work and who did not. And beyond employees, you can also make the switch to electronic payment for meals by using e-signature software. This allows customers to sign for their purchase on a tablet or similar computer without needing to print a receipt.
In reality, most restaurants do not become successful because most people do not understand how to run a successful restaurant. These tips will help guide you in running a successful restaurant for many years in the future.
