Winston Salem Restaurant

The hospitality business is like show business.

When you are casting, it is important to place people in suitable roles. The costs involved with hiring an individual should be a strong deterrent to rushing into decisions you may regret in 1 weeks time. Remember, once the casting decision has been made, your entire productions’ reviews are going to depend on the various people you have chosen for the performance.

Don’t be fooled by first appearances and beware of being overly impressed by what appears to be an excellent Resume. Although these can provide a valuable insight, neither may be truly indicative of whether an individual is suitable for the role you wish to fill.

Obviously the show must go on, but it is important to invest the time and effort needed to get the right person- A well planned approach can go a long way in accomplishing this.

Here are a few casting tips to get you started.

1. Treat every vacancy like an open role in a play. Define the role you are auditioning people for in terms of the part the new cast members must play and how they will have to relate to the other members in the cast. Make people skills and technical knowledge of equal importance in your hiring.

2. Identify the skills needed for the role. Once the interview begins, it’s too late to start thinking about what you want to learn. Based on the job description and your knowledge of the role you are casting, what traits or personal attributes do you want new cast members to possess? Friendliness? Courtesy? Optimism? Creativity? How will you judge the presence or absence of those traits to your satisfaction? Focus the various stages of the selection process on the real-world skills demanded by the part you’re trying to fill.

3. “Screen test” your applicants. Consider the way applicants treat your staff, which may be a good indication of how they will treat your customers and their co-workers if hired. Try role-playing difficult customer situations with applicants, or posing “what would you do if” questions based on the kinds of situations likely to occur on the job. You don’t want to listen just for “right” or “wrong” answers. You can train them to use the right words later. Listen for orientation and attitude.

4. Use multiple selection methods. Remember test anxiety in school? Job applicants get it too. Instead of sifting all applicants through one coarse screen, use a succession of fine ones to help you differentiate.

5. Ask the right questions. There are questions that can be very effective in determining the general suitability of an individual applying for a role in your show. Following are several that can be adapted to your particular requirements

-What does “great service” mean to you?

-When was the last time you experienced great service and how did it make you feel?

-In visiting the restaurant today, did you feel welcome- did you notice things we could improve on?

-The restaurant business is a people orientated business- What

-Characteristics do you have that you feel are well suited for this role?

-How would you handle a difficult customer?

-What do you like most about being in the hospitality business?

6. Emphasize mutual selection. Applicants need to make as good a selection decision as you do. Just as you want to pick the right person, you gain by helping them pick the right position and organization. If they make a poorly informed decision and discover it only after being on board for a while, you will end up with a competent but unhappy camper.

7. Recruit actively. Good people may not always find you. Sometimes, you have to find them. Where have your best people been coming from? Reward your people for introducing new candidates by paying a bounty for bringing in friends, former colleagues, even relatives who are capable of filling roles in your production.

8. Hire people that are right for the role they need to play. Customer focused organizations have whatever kind of people it takes to dazzle the customer and bring them back again. It’s very human to overlay personal beliefs, values, likes, and dislikes on the selection process, but it’s seldom in the best interest of the customer to do so.

The next article ‘Directing the performance’ will help you prepare for the show.

For previous articles please visit the Archives section on our website.

Getting your restaurant out there is vitally important, we know that there is a lot of business to be made from regular returning customers but wouldn’t it be great if someone came to your restaurant because they had just found it on the Internet.

Say a company social secretary was organising a big night out for a works celebration or for a big party outing and as the person who was organising it just did a quick search on a search engine, say “Restaurants in Newcastle” – if you don’t have a website they are not going to find you.

Wait a second – what about if you had your restaurant on a good restaurant directory that was dedicated to your city. Now this is happening – with a new site called Independent Restaurants Newcastle which provides a directory to restaurants and you don’t even need a website to join!

I came across Independent Restaurants Newcastle’s new website recently which takes this concept which also has reviews on restaurants in their local area which means it’s from a perspective of people like you and not a food critic who dines out every night.

One of the things that always attract me to a restaurant is if someone has been there before and recommended it to me – that ultimately means they’ve been there and been happy with the service and more importantly the food.

There are few cities left in the UK with such a range of fine restaurants and cafés that are owned and run by people who live and work in the area. The inspiration behind the independent restaurants Newcastle website is to celebrate and promote the fine tradition of independently owned Restaurants and Cafes that make Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding areas vibrant with diversity, choice and innovation.

There is nothing like a restaurant which has a good local feel to it. Some place where you can go in and be greeted by someone as though you go there every day.

It is often said that in the North east that they are friendliest people in Britain; therefore all our restaurants in Newcastle and the North East should be friendly!

So my top tips for getting on a local directory is

1. Search on the Internet for restaurant directories in your local area

2. Submit it

3. Watch the customers flock in

4. Impress them and they will return

Want to hear some good news? Your chances of success are better than most people think. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the survival rates of all new businesses started between 1998 and 2002 find that 66% of them are still open two years after they started.

A Cornell University study of restaurants in three major markets showed a first year failure (or closure) rate of 27% with only a minor (4%) difference between franchised and independent restaurants.

Regardless of how you crunch the statistics, and I might add that quality statistics for the restaurant industry are hard to find, approximately 30% of all new, first year restaurants go out of business on the average. This means you have a 70% chance of first year success if you have a viable, well thought out concept in a worthwhile location. It is important to note that of the 30% of restaurants that close during their first year, most of those operators were under-educated, under capitalized (most common reason), or were not willing to make the time commitments necessary to get the job done.

Why am I concentrating on the first year aspects of survival? Because statistics and logic both say that if you make it past your first year, the percentages are in your favor beyond year one. How can you minimize the risk in your first year?

These Top Tips listed below will aid in insuring your survival:

Tip #1.

Know your market. The easiest and fastest way is to get a Feasibility Study done! I know of a restaurateur who was looking at placing a Mexican restaurant into a major metro area. His Feasibility Study revealed that a quickly expanding localized chain was inevitably going to greatly diminish his potential success, so he changed his concept, thereby avoiding an expensive potential failure. You too can avoid major failure by knowing your market, and concentrating strongly on your biggest competitor. If you can’t or don’t want to fight for market share, reconsider your concept niche or location.

Tip #2.

Find your niche. We have all heard this before, but you can’t be everything to everyone, and do it well. Select the market you enjoy and have experience in. If you know everything about the burrito business, and know for a fact that your burritos are superior in quality, then chase down that great location, know your market, and fill that niche. It’s important to minimize the competition in your chosen niche, and done right, you can own the entire niche market. Why compete when you can own the market?

Tip #3.
Have a plan. Don’t shoot in the dark with your capital resources. Pay for a quality business plan, and have a qualified restaurant consultant do it. You pay for legal and accounting advice because they’re professionals in their industry. Same thing with your Restaurant Consultant. A business plan is not cheap, but it will guide you on the path to growing your business profitably, and you’ll find that your business plan will quickly pay for itself.

Tip #4.
Know the industry, or pay for the knowledge. Just a few pieces of quality advice at the right time can save you thousands of dollars. Did you know that if your Restaurant Consultant negotiates your pricing with your foodservice vendors, you’d get better pricing than if you had negotiated the prices yourself? The author of this article was Director of Business Development with a large foodservice distributor, and is able to lower your food cost significantly by representing your interests with your vendors.

Tip #5.
Your menu is your number one tool in insuring a profitable operation. By costing out each menu item and placing it in the correct menu location, you can bring more dollars to the bottom line. Operators are so concerned with food cost percentages, but fact of the matter is that you take dollars and not percentages to the bank. It costs a little bit, but your reward is great when you have your menu professionally designed. Regardless of the size of your operation, you can’t afford not to have your menu evaluated. Why miss out on lost profits?

Tip #6.
The menu controls everything. From what you serve, to what equipment you need, to your signage design and concept name–everything revolves around the menu. What are you serving, and what is your position in the market? If you don’t know, get help immediately.

Tip #7.
Build your team. You need a few good players on your team, and the team members are as follows: An attorney with restaurant experience, an accountant with a list of restaurant clients, a banker that understands the restaurant industry, and Restaurant Consultant that understands startup ventures. When interviewing your Restaurant Consultant, know in advance that there is only one proper way to figure your food and beverage cost percentages. If you are told that you take your total costs and divide that number by your sales, you are getting inferior advice—keep looking. May I humbly suggest our services? If you would like to know the correct formula for computing food and beverage costs, please contact the author of this article, Kevin Moll, at 1-800-961-6005 for some insights.

Tip #8.
Cover your business bases. This includes: Insurance, corporate formation, business registration, company structure, funding, design, architecture, location, building codes, health department regulations, permits, and others. These will all have to be factored into your plans for opening and staying open!

Tip #9.
Understand your marketing and have a plan. You may, “Own a niche”, you may serve the highest quality products, and you may be the best in your market. But if nobody knows where you are located or what you offer, how will you pay the bills? A big part of the business plan is a high quality marketing plan. Has this convinced you to consider having a business plan done?

Tip #10.
Go forward. Until you are open, you will be faced with many obstacles that may be new to you. Use your team, stay focused on the goal of not only getting or staying open, but excelling in your brand management, delivery of product, and above all, listen to your advisors. As they have nothing to loose by telling you the unvarnished truth, they’re in your court more than you know!

As a specialist in getting restaurants open, it is surprising how many people ask, “How can I get out of my restaurant?” Reasons for this question vary greatly, from a death in the family to a merger with another firm, to the end of a lease.

Selling your restaurant requires quality prior planning if you are going to realize the maximum value for the business. This planning is not much different when getting out than when you first got into that business.

What things did you look for when you bought your restaurant? Of course, profit was probably the key consideration, followed by a great location, a niche market, a solid system of operations, and a vision for growth. Aren’t these the same things you need to concentrate on if you are going to market your operation to someone else?

A strong focus on the basics, about twelve months prior to getting out of your operation can take you from where you are at now, to a maximum market value. Let’s look at some of the top areas you may wish to concentrate on right away:

1. Bookkeeping. A clean, organized and understandable set of financials are critical to the sale. A close friend once said, “A business with no profits on paper has no value”, and this statement is close to being very true. You will want to show where your income came from, what you spent on expenses, and what kind of cash flow exists. If you cannot show these numbers, all the profit in the world will not make any difference to a buyer if you cannot prove it. A professional accounting firm can give you feedback on how to structure your systems.

2. Profits. You simply must be profitable and there are ways to do it. By concentrating on your highest cost areas such as labor, food and beverage, you can make good headway by making your purchasing more efficient, watching your inventory levels, and what you are charging for your products. Obviously profit generation is a very large topic and worth looking at closely. Have you had an operations analysis done on your business recently? A restaurant consultant can conduct this analysis inexpensively and give you a list of things to work on.

3. Location. This includes making sure you have a lease that is of value to your prospective buyer, or terms on the real estate that will provide enough profit for the buyer at the end of each month. Imagine the interest level of a buyer who finds out that you have only 4 months left on the lease. Hard to get too excited about that, especially when most states require certain minimums on the lease terms if you are selling a liquor-beer-wine operation.

4. Appearance. Just like a home that needs “Street appeal” to get buyer interest, your restaurant is the same way. Fresh paint, neat landscaping, clean windows, an organized office, a clean kitchen…you get the idea. Put a checklist together of what you will get done each month, and by month twelve, you will have completed the list.

5. Legal. If you operate as a corporation, would you consider selling the stock in your corporation to the buyer, allowing you to simply walk away? For some sellers, this option may make sense. Seek the services of a qualified attorney on how best to structure your business for a future sale. While one structure may work for one type of operation, it could spell financial disaster to another. This is a good time to seek professional legal advice.

6. Staffing. If you have been running the operation on your own, doing a lot of the work yourself, are you simply selling a “Job” to the new buyer? Think about what your buyer will be looking for and set up your systems now for maximum value in the near future. You will want to hand over a smooth running, fully staffed, profitable operation to a buyer. Now, what the buyer will do will be anyone’s guess!

So far, we have concentrated on a twelve-month exit plan. What if you need to get out of your restaurant quickly, like thirty or sixty days from now? If your need is that pressing to get out of a business, you will undoubtedly have your reasons for this pressure. An immediate lack of profit, a terminated lease, costly repair problems or something else is triggering this pressure.

You will be hard pressed to realize the maximum price for your business if you are a desperate seller. It makes sense at this time to enlist professional services of a restaurant consultant to walk you through your options, and how you can get the maximum value out of the operation.

Should you simply hand over the business sale to a realtor or broker to sell? Not right away if you want the maximum long-term value. Prior planning, a vision for what type of transaction will best serve your purposes, and consulting advice on how to squeeze every last dollar out of that operation are all critical components of getting your just rewards.

A restaurant online ordering system is one of the easiest ways of how to implement internet based restaurant marketing cheaply.

Internet marketing is not what everyone paints it out to be, it is long and tedious work, take from me. It is a powerful medium for any business to promote them selves to generate more leads and sales.

What You Should Know About Internet Restaurant Marketing Vs A Restaurant Online Ordering System

A restaurant online ordering system is one of the easiest ways of how to implement internet based restaurant marketing cheaply.

Internet marketing is not what everyone paints it out to be, it is long and tedious work, take from me. It is a powerful medium for any business to promote them selves to generate more leads and sales.

What no one tells you especially the web site development companies and internet marketing companies, that it takes work, time and then a hefty ongoing maintenance fee to market your self online.

What Do You Need To Know About Internet Marketing For Your Business

That if you are not careful you may buy into some fast talking computer geek that you need more then what you really need, when maybe you all you need is a simple way for your restaurant to generate more sales from the internet by investing on software to allow you to implement an online ordering system for those individuals that would like a choice of ordering from the comfort of their home quickly and easily or driving to the restaurant and ordering right there.

You will need to hire a web site developer which could cost you around $1,500-$5,000 to develop a simple site to one that allows you to do e-commerce online for your restaurant or more.

There will be $50-$79 monthly hosting fees to host your e-commerce web site, similar to you paying for parking space monthly you will have to also pay monthly hosting fees to park your website at a online garage so people can go and visit it .

Your web developer will not tell you that you will now need a search engine optimization specialist, because if he does you may change your mind and not give him your job.

So why will the developer not tell you about doing search engine optimization on your website, it can cost you another $2,000 and then an ongoing maintenance fee of $400 monthly or more.

Why is search engine optimization so important ? Because with out this implementation your website will not come up when people search online for what you are selling.

There are other ways to market online like buying google adwords advertising to drive traffic to your site, web 2.0 social media sites, online forums, ezine advertising, banner ads, youtube video marketing, email marketing, article marketing, etc

So What Don’t Your Competitors Want You To Know That Are Marketing Online

How much money they are really making from their online order sales.

How easy it really is to implement an online order taking delivery system, even if you do not know nothing about computers.

That if you implement this online ordering technology that you may affect their restaurant sales since you will now take a certain amount of business from them.

That maybe they are trying to scare the heck out of you about trying since it did not work for them because they really did not give it a chance and they did nothing to promote their restaurant online ordering system, so they were possibly the reason it did not work

Statistics show that people that order online typically increase the average order by 15% or more because they do not feel rushed or pressured like they do on the phone.

11 Ways You Can Let Everyone Know You Are Taking Orders Online Now

Send in a press release to your local newspaper editor that your restaurant now has placed your restaurant menus online and now take orders online.

Run a special promotion to get customers to order online, buy 5 times online get a free sandwich.

Have your waiters and waitresses tell your customers you now take online orders and deliver if you do.

Put big banner inside of your restaurant some that you now take online orders.

Put a big sign outside of your restaurant and just promote the heck out of it.

Put a little sign on the tables about it.

Include now on flyers your website address.

On your business card.

Referral rewards incentives, reward customers for telling others, when they tell someone about your online system they get a free soda on their next order, just mention it on the next order.

Post an ad on craigslist with a link to your site every week for the section of your town or city.

Have your workers use buttons on their shirt that says… Order Online Ask Me How like the ones you have seen that say… Lose Weight Ask Me How!

Have one of your employees do telemarketing for you from your restaurant back office and call businesses, hospitals, schools, transportation companies, etcc that you now have a restaurant menus online ordering system, and would they like to place an order.

The cost to implement a system for your customers to place orders on the internet is actually very inexpensive if you review your other choices which are some where around $1,500-$5,000 plus hosting fees of $50-$79. The question in your mind that you are asking, is how much is it going to cost you to implement a restaurant online ordering system, well around $600 – $1000up setup fee, plus a monthly fee of about $49-$79 per month.

So now the other question, how much will it cost you if you do not start offering the online ordering technology for your customers or new ones to place their orders online, will they start ordering online from your competitor because they offer online ordering and you don’t.

Copyright@2008

If you own or manage a busy restaurant and are looking for a way to improve the service that you offer to your guests, you may want to consider the benefits a restaurant pager system can bring to your establishment. Consider the following situation and see if it sounds familiar.

On a weekend night, an elegant restaurant that usually has a peaceful and quiet atmosphere during the week is loud and chaotic at times due to the large crowds and numbers of people standing around at the front door waiting for a table. If you own or manage a restaurant, you know that this is a good problem to have because it means that business is good. But problems can arise when guests continually ask the host or hostess if a table is ready yet or if their name has been called yet because maybe they didn’t hear. People may wait impatiently for a little while and then leave irritated because the restaurant is too noisy and crowded, or leave angry because they feel forgotten. Both the restaurant patrons and the restaurant servers can feel stressed, which can turn a place that is supposed to be an enjoyable one into a hostile environment, resulting in the loss of business, the loss of valuable employees, and the loss of restaurant profits. With this system a lot of these problems can be greatly reduced, or even eliminated.

A restaurant pager system involves the use of pagers given to guests and/or the use of pagers by the restaurant staff to communicate with each other. Many restaurants have started using these devices and have seen great results, and also received positive feedback from their guests.

There are a number of reasons why restaurant guests like it. Many guests appreciate that the restaurant hosts have provided the freedom and privacy that the guest pager allows. Because a lot of pagers feature a range between 1-2 miles by using a powerful frequency (UHF 420-470 Mhz) that will penetrate walls, ceilings and structures, guests aren’t limited to a small waiting area. Even if they have a possible 1 hour wait for their table, they are less inclined to dine elsewhere when given a pager. Perhaps the restaurant is located in a mall and there are nearby shops where the guests can browse while they wait. Maybe the restaurant is at a casino and while the guests wait for their table they can try their luck at the slot machines or a nearby blackjack table. Sitting in a quiet area away from the crowded restaurant entrance is very appealing as well. When the table is ready, the guests are alerted by the vibrating and flashing coaster they were given by the host or hostess, and then they can make their way back into the restaurant to be seated. The restaurant pager system makes for a quieter atmosphere in the restaurant as it eliminates long lines and the need to call out names of the guests. Restaurant guests feel well taken care of and happy that those in charge of the restaurant felt it was important enough to go the extra mile to provide this service to make the waiting and dining experience more pleasurable.

Another aspect of this system that benefits both guest and kitchen/wait staff is the server pager system. Kitchen staff can page servers when food is hot and ready so the guests receive the best quality meal and service. This is a great tool that helps provide a more efficient work environment leading to both a better working experience for the staff and a better dining experience for the guests.

Happy returning guests that tell their family and friends about their pleasant experience at your restaurant, and employees that have an effective and efficient work environment where they have tools to help them provide the best service for their guests are keys for a flourishing and profitable business. As you can see, some of the most important areas of the restaurant business, retaining customers as well as valuable employees by providing the most pleasant atmosphere for dining and working can be greatly improved with a restaurant pager system.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Parrin

Nothing is more frustrating in the operation of a restaurant than a piece of equipment that breaks down. Of course, equipment only falters during your rush on Friday night; just before the weekend when repairs are hard to arrange. Besides the operational and customer service issues, time spent working on equipment, securing repairs and waiting on parts and service can waste many hours that could be spent in a more productive way.

After three restaurants, many years and many mistakes, here are a few equipment buying ideas to save you thousands of dollars and many hours of staff labor and your sanity.

• Do I buy new or used equipment? The answer is both. You have some decisions to make before you start looking. Ask yourself these questions
• How critical is the piece of equipment to my operation? In other words, a second microwave for warming may not be as important as your steamer in a seafood operation. If your steamer goes down, your line may go in the weeds and customer ticket times double.
• How fast do I need the equipment?
• What can I do to optimize my purchase dollars? For instance, if you need a new flat top griddle, should I include a cheese melter that is optional with most models as a backup to my salamander? If I am buying a convection oven, should I buy a combination convection/steamer or perhaps one of the new turbo quick cook ovens
• If I upgrade a model or combination, can it add flexibility to my menu?
• What will my budget allow? Will the investment offer opportunities to produce new sales?

If you are cash rich and fast delivery is important, new equipment is the way to go. On the other hand, if you are like most restaurant operations and every penny is scrutinized, then used equipment may be a more sensible option. Used equipment can be tricky to buy without worrying about buying someone else’s problems. If you are going to buy used, follow these tips;

• Most important – know who is going to service the equipment if it needs work before you buy. If you have a regular service technician, call them for advice.
• If possible, arrange a warranty with the seller for a period of time.
• Never, no matter how good the bargain is, buy restaurant equipment over the internet unless you understand the shipping and setup costs. Only buy from a seller on the Internet that accepts credit cards. Credit card companies offer a small amount of protection from fraudulent offers.
• Remember when replacing equipment there are many technical issues. For instance, 220 volt electrical connections may have different phases. Most gas appliances also need electric for motors and electronics. Amperage varies with most electric appliances. One toaster may draw 15 amps and another may draw 20 amps that will overload the circuit and require an electrician to install a new circuit (if possible).

Buying new equipment is less of a gamble than used, but you pay handsomely for the luxury of a long term warranty and a more reliable device. The biggest issue with new equipment is still service. What happens if it does break down? It’s fine to have a long term warranty, but if service has to come from some other area that may take days or weeks, don’t buy. One $5800 nightmare we had was a great convection oven we bought new and it lasted with heavy use for five years. When we needed an element for it, no one stocked the part. The element had to come from Germany and we had to find someone to work on it. After a week or two of haggling, we had to buy a new piece of equipment due to the disruption of customer service.

Arguably, if all conditions were perfect and you have the cash reserves, new equipment is the best way to eliminate headaches in the future – at least for the life of the equipment. There are some good used equipment buys available occasionally. One example is the many chain restaurants that open and close with regularity. You can find some exceptional bargains if you can locate the wholesale buyers of chain restaurant equipment. Some wholesalers have warehouses full of relatively new equipment.

Remember, don’t focus just on the piece of equipment for the best buy. Factor in the impact of operating without the piece of equipment if it fails. Hospitality starts with meeting the customer’s expectations. Don’t let faulty equipment ruin your chances.