Restaurant Management Tips:
Ask, and You Shall RECEIVE
One of the most important aspects of food service is to purchase the right products. Your guests deserve fresh, wholesome and high-quality ingredients. Yet, too often, the manner in which restaurateurs RECEIVE the food is haphazard. Sure,
they spend a lot of time developing specifications, working with suppliers and demanding quality. Yet, when the food actually arrives, it may be signed for, put away, and to some degree, forgotten. It is time to work with suppliers as partners, rather than simply delivery men.
Here is an example of what happens in some restaurants. (I know, because it happened in MY restaurants!)
It is 11:30 a.m. The kitchen is in its usually CRAZY state, getting ready for the lunch crowd. And here it comes - not the lunch crowd, but the delivery truck. Suddenly, there are boxes and cases at the back door and a driver with a
clipboard. What do you do?
Too often, I yelled to a dishwasher, "Joe, check in that order. I am too busy trying to get a busboy out of the storage closet. He’s sleeping on the tablecloths again."
Joe goes over to the deliveryman, who thrust the clipboard at him. "It’s all here," says the driver. "See? There are four cases over there, two on the table and I put four in the storage room for you. Sign here."
Well, maybe this is a slight exaggeration, but there are many challenges in the process of INSPECTING the food you have purchased. Here are a few hints that can both SAVE you money and MAKE you money:
- Work with a reputable supplier. Become that supplier’s best customer and expect them to treat you like one!
- Get help from your sales person. You need a knowledgeable partner. Ask him or her to periodically accompany the delivery.
- Clearly state the TIMES when you will accept deliveries. Be firm.
- Assign a responsible, TRAINED person to receive your food stocks.
- SEPARATE ordering and receiving functions. Don’t let the same person order the food, then receive it. (Unless you do both yourself. But, you still need to train a back up.)
- Inspect all foods. Weigh, count, and smell!
- If something does not meet your CLEAR, WRITTEN standards, SEND IT BACK!
- If there is a "short", get a credit slip. Ask the driver to sign it.
- If there is a problem with your order, especially one that will affect your ability to serve your guests, CALL THE SALESPERSON IMMEDIATELY.
- Keep accurate records. Check the price you are billed against the quantity you received, the price you were quoted, and the delivery receipt.
Your reputation as a careful and concerned buyer will help you in two ways. First, you will save money by becoming a better customer. Your supplier will respect your concern for quality products. By developing a "partner"
relationship, you and your supplier can depend on each other for consistency and fairness. This will cut your costs.
Second, you will be confident that you will have the right amount of food, and the correct quality of that product, to meet the needs of your guests. They will develop confidence in your consistency, leading to increased sales.
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