A STORY ABOUT RESTAURANT SERVICE AND RESTAURANT RISK
RESTAURANT CONSULTANTS OF AMERICA™
A Story About Restaurant Service and Restaurant Risk
I close this first chapter with one of my favorite restaurant stories. It illustrates what I believe about service, investment, planning, and risk.
During my early Mexican food days, a softball team that had never been in before came into my restaurant. They ordered 16 regular bean burritos, 1 bean burrito with no onions, and 17 sodas. My team made the 16 regular bean burritos. I personally made the bean burrito with no onions and properly marked it.
Soon after receiving his food, the guy who had ordered the no-onion burrito came up to the counter stomping, spitting, and swearing, insisting that he did not get his no-onion burrito and that all the burritos had onions on them. I knew that he had received the correct order, but I admit I was a bit intimidated by his size and the number of his equally big buddies, not to mention the scene they were making.
I decided that for simplicity’s sake and in the interest of avoiding bodily harm, I would not recognize the fact that they were either wrong, confused, or trying to cheat me (which I truly thought was the case). Instinctively, I asked him, “What can I do to make it right?” Immediately, I could sense that his desire to fight went away, and he said, “I want a bean burrito with no onions for me and 16 more bean burritos for the rest of my team.”
I immediately said, “Yes, sir. We are on it!” I then profusely apologized, handed him the entire order remade, smiled sheepishly, and thanked him for the opportunity to satisfy him and his team.
He, of course, strutted back to his table with his newfound wealth of burritos and the envy of all his teammates. I was simply happy to have all the commotion dissipate. Then a lady walked up to me and whispered that she had overheard the team jesting about “getting one over” on me regarding this whole burrito issue. I thanked her for her concerns, but told her that I wasn’t worried about it and just wanted to make sure that each and every customer of mine was satisfied to the best of my team’s ability. She was shocked and in awe of my commitment to customer satisfaction.
When I did my follow-up visit with the ball players to ensure that they were happy, they admitted that they had taken advantage of me and that there really was no burrito issue. They thought it was hilarious that they each got two burritos for the price of one. I laughed along with them and praised them on their creativity and negotiating skills. They became even friendlier. Interestingly enough, the whole team eventually became regulars and stopped in after every softball game.
The whole bean burrito story, as I now fondly call it, became legendary conversation and a cornerstone of my restaurant career. Those 17 extra bean burritos cost me about $4 in food cost, but they netted me thousands of dollars of sales. That’s the restaurant business in a nutshell. You never know what kind of risk you may face, but if you do the right thing you’ve always got a good chance to reap tremendous rewards.
The Least You Need to Know
[1] The restaurant business is a different kind of life: long hours, long weeks, a fast pace one minute, a slow and relaxed pace the next. Expect to be on your feet all day and have lots of customer interaction.
[2] No two days in the restaurant business are exactly alike. Restaurant owners need to have a variety of skills, do many different tasks, and be able to adapt quickly.
[3] A good plan will go a long way in helping you find money and avoid pitfalls. Take the time to think it through.
[4] Being in charge means making lots of decisions.
[5] Your biggest investment will be your time.
[6] Risk brings reward.
Tip Jar
Don’t worry about the very small percentage of people who may take advantage of you. Concentrate instead on the huge wins you can have by sticking to your business ideas and turning all situations into ways to build and/or start loyalty.
Recipes Revealed
Food cost is one of the more important expenses to control if you are in the restaurant business. It is the cost of the ingredients that the restaurant pays. If you pay $1.25 for the ingredients that go into your Chicken Noodle Casserole and you sell it for $3.99, your food cost is $1.25, or 31.3 percent.
