Restaurant Consultants of America™ is pleased to provide FREE tips, ideas and strategies and “food for thought” messages.  For more helpful hints, check out our restaurant industry books, found in 76 countries around the world!

> Contests are a great way for you to remember to reward superstar performance.  We suggest you make contests short and easy to track.  A daily contest on suggestive selling and a weekly contest on comment and performance are two great ways to imporove customer satisfaction and sales, as well as keep the employees motivated.  They will also help you remember to reward great performance.
 
> If you want to find out why people are leaving your company, ask them.  Conduct exit interviews with every employee who leaves your company voluntarily.  Those who leave will freely tell you the issues of your restaurant because they already quit.  Learn from these ex-employees and move on.
 
> End all business days by putting the restaurant back in the same or better shape than it was in when you opened.  Start every day with a clean and well-organized restaurant.  This strategy prevents the place from declining over time.

> If you are buying an existing restaurant, the business will be worth somewhere between two and a half and six times the profit, plus any owners distributions, salary, bonus, benefits, etc.  This is commonly called "earnings".  If you are buying or leasing property, then the site is worth basically what the market will bear. 

> Ask restaurant owners for a copy of their menu.  Then use it to determine concepts and designs for your own menu.  This is relatively easy these days, as most restaurants have websites with their menu displayed for easy perusal.

> Staff training plays a major role in reducing your risk.  The facts speak for themselves.  A well-trained staff has significantly fewer workers' compensation injuries, sexual harrassment claims, labor violations, and food handling issues.