Consumers Know!

Consumers Know! 

Tough time to start a food business with inflation increasing the price of food but to skimp on major ingredients and quality products to save a few bucks here and there, is it really worth it?
The customer that comes into your establishment is an indication of a possible repeat customer. They will judge by coming into your establishment and testing out the menu to see if its worth it to come back. 
Employers right now are facing a dilema with hiring good help. I mean theres a pool of workers out there, more than you can imagine looking for the right opportunity. But are they really the right quality of help that you want or are you just looking or a body to fill.
Right now, employers are just looking for a body to fill by doing the following:
-Offering a above average rate per hour
-No prior working experience
-Don't understand that the customer is always right
-Have no respect for themselves nor the customer
So, the professional service is below average and they lose the potential customer from returning.
The food is substandard because since they bought inexpensive foods which means no flavor they have to add artificial flavor a tenderizers to make the meal eatable. Meaning lots of sodium and sugar the two most popular flavor enhancers. But what about the flavor of the main ingredient? like the taste of chicken or the taste of beef. The food enhancers drowned out the flavors of the beef and chicken. Tons of cheese is added to entrees more than ever, cheese represents salt and lots of sweet entrees are delicious but made with fructose & corn syrup.
So, the customer just spent between $30 and $40 bucks for a dinner that could be made at home for 1/2 the price and the service professional had an attitude, didn't care how she acted or looked and wasn't attentive to the customer and argued with them.
So, what is an Employer to do? It's their business on the line? Well, first thing, give the customer what they want. They want a steak, give them good quality ribeye with a trained cook that knows how a ribeye should be made in terms of raw medium raw, medium and so forth. If he does the job and in a 3-month probationary period succeeds, then pay him a salary he is happy with. Always have an alternative on the back burners. Where do you find them. Well, if he or she is good, rest assured  they'll be overworked and ready to quit. Networking is important here.
Regarding service staff, train them. Develop a program to stress the customer satisfaction, cross selling, taste the various foods, be positive, etiquette. The training may take a long time but will be worth it. If an employee is willing to learn, improve on their service skills as OJT, then they are an employee that should reap the rewards of a higher rate, no question plus a bonus at the end of every month.
Prices, the evil that hurts most business, but the truth of the matter is if you serve good quality food, thy will pay the higher price. Good value, higher prices, they will pay. No question about it. You as the owner must negotiate everything with all vendors. You need to understand the business, the vendors, the markup, where you can trim expenses without compromising convenience and quality.
Lastly, the last thing that should be considered but is often overlooked. "Cleanliness." Employers forget this task but is a major consideration when a customer visits a establishment. If the bathroom is not cleaned, they're thinking then what's it like in the kitchen and how do they serve the food is a major consideration. The bathroom cleanliness will tell all.
So reverse psychology is that give the customer what they want. They'll pay to get good quality food prepared. Free advertising by word of mouth will increase traffic to your establishment and increase revenues.
Cutting back a little here and there, cutting a little cost by reducing the size of an order, people will know and they'll change at the switch of a dime.

Chef Woo Can
www.chefwoocan.com
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