by Matthias Kausch, MKRMS Wexford (mkausch@mkrms.com)
Imagine this: After returning from a three-week holiday in the sun, you are visiting your favourite coffee bar for lunch. But today, things seem different: while staff are still friendly they are offering you more extras than usual, the place is not as spotlessly clean as it used to be and the quality of foods has noticeably gone down. Ingredients for sandwiches that three weeks ago would have gone straight to the bin are now being served to unsuspecting customers, staffing levels have noticeably decreased, and the staff serving behind the counter seem to be less competent than before. These are signs that recession has finally arrived in your neck of the woods! But how would you react to your observations? Would you be able to understand the explanations of the Restaurant Manager who speaks of having to cut cost, high staff turnover, the difficulty of finding experienced staff and having to reduce wastage? Could you develop compassionate feelings towards the business owner who is trying to save his business at your expense? Chances are high you would decide to look for a new favourite lunch venue - one where you could once again lunch with your mind at ease because you know you are being served safe food from competent staff in a relaxed and friendly atmpsphere!
Since you are nothing less than an average customer, it is likely that you will not be the only one to make this decision. Sooner or later the business owner will find him- or herself in the unpleasant position to be put out of business by his/her regular customers who in their majority have decided it was time for a change!
What can you do to avoid a mass exodus of customers whose loyalty and trust you have worked hard to get and retain?
1. Adopt a planned approach to cost-cutting: Analyse the strenghts and weaknesses of your business before you make quick decisions on cutting costs.
2. Tighten the reigns rather than to take short cuts. Supervise staff better and instruct them to utilise resources more efficiently (e.g. not to waste food, streamline portions). Don't allow the quality of service to fall below the accepted standard. Even though you might to be forced to make compromises, don't to cut costs at the expense of food safety.
3. Work on retaining your qualified staff and build on their qualification. It is cheaper to keep an experienced and qualified employee than to train someone new to the level of experience and qualification of their predecessor. Ensure you replace qualified staff with employees that are similarly experienced and qualified.
4. Operate a 'quality control' system for your employees' skills. Know their competency level and allow them to learn and gain new competencies. Upskilling of employees may help you to streamline your operation.
5. Do not stop training! The biggest source for food safety lapses are poorly qualified or untrained employees. Training might come at an initial expense. It will pay off, tough, through increased staff and customer satisfaction. Cutting training and staff qualification is a road that leads to trouble and maybe disaster.
For more information on food safety training, MKRMS training courses in your area and other services MKRMS has to offer visit http://www.mkrms.com
No comments:
Post a Comment