Mario Villegas Seattle: - Bar Management Tips

Mario Villegas Seattle - Delegation : Management and delegation go hand in hand. No one expects you to do everything and be everyone but it can surely feel that way, especially when things go wrong. We have a few tips to help you smooth the path to creating an efficient staff.

1. Consider what it is you would like done and how exactly you would go about doing it yourself. Think of who on your team may have the skills to complete the project and ask yourself why?

2. Designate who will be accountable and responsibility for the project and give your employee a reason to complete it. Explained that what and why to all the team.

Building or Renovating Your Restaurant by Mario Villegas, Seattle WA

Mario Villegas Seattle - How the space is laid out is vital to the flow for customers and staff

There are laws and suggested rules to follow

The Entrance: A transition Area - The area for the host/hostess

The Bar Area: Away from the dining room in a place where you don’t walk thru dining area to get to the bar.

Distance from the back wall to the front of the bar counter needs to be at least 8 ft.

Bartending Etiquette by Mario Villegas Seattle

Mario Villegas Seattle - A quick look around the room tells the story. The guy in the corner booth...the one with the irritated expression...has a drink sloshing over the rim with little pieces of sopping paper napkin stuck to the sides. The woman to his right is miffed…the cigarette she just lit has turned into a soggy mess because the ashtray the bartender left her was wet on the inside.

She looks a lot happier, though, than the guys in the suits at the bar. They've been waiting easily ten or twelve minutes with empty glasses and an over-flowing ashtray. The impatient rapping of their glasses on the bar is a sure sign they're a lost cause. A few short minutes later the two briskly head out the front door with the deportment of men who have tolerated enough bad service for one night.

The problem is that the bartender is otherwise occupied -- occasionally making drinks for the servers, washing a glass or two and flirting with the coed sitting by the station is about all the young man can handle.

Mario Villegas, Seattle - Ten Do's & Don'ts for Behind the Bar

Mario Villages is member of the restaurant owner association.

1. DON'T -- Settling for mediocrity is unprofessional. Bartenders shouldn't serve drinks that have been improperly prepared or inferior in any respect. Amateurism is not a tipped quality.
2. DON'T -- It is highly unprofessional to gossip, argue, gamble or loan out money to the clientele. By any means possible, bartenders should also avoid becoming embroiled in inflammatory conversations. Taking sides in a heated debate exacts a heavy toll on gratuities.

How to do your Weekly Food Inventory by Mario Villegas

Mario Villegas Seattle : Most independent restaurants calculate their food cost only once a month. Yet, virtually all the major chain restaurants calculate their food cost each week. According to industry averages, chain restaurants (before corporate expenses) are two to three times as profitable as independent restaurants.

While weekly food costing isn't the entire the reason, it's part of it.

In order to accurately calculate your cost weekly, you'll need to take inventory weekly as well. The only method for computing accurate cost of sales is to take physical inventories and then calculate the value of inventory on hand. Many operators erroneously believe that what they spend on food and beverage purchases is their cost of sales. While this may be true in the long run, for specific-period analysis it is inaccurate.

Mario Villegas - Operating a Restaurant from a CEO's Perspective

Mario Villegas - Every restaurant has three major areas that must function well to achieve its potential for success.

• Operations.Operations include all those functions that are necessary to prepare and serve your products to your customers. It includes all those activities that take place every day in the kitchen, dining room and bar.
• Financial. Financial functions deals with safeguarding cash, accounting, cash management, cost control as well as operational and financial reporting.
• Marketing. Marketing is getting the word out about the restaurant and positioning it correctly in the minds of the public. It includes public relations, community involvement, advertising, promotions and projecting the right image.

Now, think about how successful your restaurant could be if you regularly gave competent attention to each of these three areas. Imagine that operations was capable of consistently providing products and service in a manner that meets your high standards.

Mario Villegas Seattle- Cost control

Mario Villegas Seattle -Today’s weather issues, transportation costs, and the continuing rise in the suppliers’ costs of doing business are precipitating increased costs of raw products to restaurants. It is now even more important to be more efficient with one’s food costs. There is not much margin for error or guesswork in the major item on one’s operating statement. I find it interesting that, over all of the years of doing food costing and with all of the tools I’ve used or seen being used, that controlling food costs boils down to just a few small pointers:
                                                 

Mario Villegas Seattle - Most Common Restaurant Startup Mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Mario Villegas Seattle - In any new business venture good decision-making is vital. Opening a new restaurant requires so many decisions that it's not hard to make some bloopers along the way.

The key is not totally missing the mark on the really important issues that can make or break your chances for success. Here are some of the more important common missteps new owners make in areas that play a big role in how well a new restaurant is likely to do.

Mario Villegas Seattle - Select the Right Lighting and Music for Your Restaurant

Mario Villegas Seattle - Music, lighting, and decor play a vital role in setting the overall tone and feel of a restaurant. In some cases, it’s attention to detail that really sets a restaurant apart from the competition and keeps customers coming back. It all comes down to the “if a tree falls in the forest” theory. If you have the best food in town, but you have poor lighting, outdated decor, and music that’s reminiscent of your last trip to the dentist’s office, are people really going to want to eat there? Here are some tips on choosing the right music, lighting, and decor for your restaurant:

Mario Villegas - Have a Cleaner Restaurant And Improve Your Health Inspection Scores

Mario Villegas - Few things strike fear in the heart of a restaurateur more than the sudden, unexpected appearance of a health inspector. Rather than fear a health inspection, however, operators should view the inspectors' inevitable visits as a tool to keep their restaurants clean at all times.

Unsanitary conditions result in unsanitary food, which can threaten the very existence of a restaurant. One infection, outbreak, cockroach on the potato skin, and you could be finished.

This article will provide a general overview of the inspection mechanism, what you can do to improve your establishment's health inspection score and other tips for running a clean operation.

Mario Villegas - Eliminate Theft Behind the Bar

Mario Villegas Seattle : For new restaurateurs, the bar is one of the most vulnerable areas to theft. This is particularly true if you have a booming bar business and a strong bartender. You might not feel the pain of constant theft and skimming, such as a free drink to the bartender's friends here and there, or stealing from the cash register.

Complicating the matter is that sometimes the most dangerous bartenders are the best and brightest. Behind the bar is a place where individual talent and charm can be measured in hard cash, and a common and woeful tale is the stellar bartender with a huge following of customers, who is caught stealing from the owners. In that case, even an honest but average bartender might not be able to match the end-of-the-night profits turned in by the thief. Nevertheless, your bar should be a cash cow in your operation, and you should reap every penny of profit that you earn. You are always better off hiring for attitude (and honesty) and training for skill.

Mario Villegas - POS System Selection

Mario Villegas - Choosing a point of sale system isn't just an important decision, it is a CRITICALLY important decision. Probably one of the biggest you make as a restaurant operator. The right POS system can literally transform your operation by improving controls, efficiency, decision-making and even sales volume. If properly chosen, a POS can pay for itself in a matter of months. However, choosing the wrong POS can become your worst nightmare.

The following steps are designed to help increase your odds of choosing the right and most appropriate POS system for YOUR restaurant. Mario Villegas Seattle

 
Step One -- Form a "POS Team" Mario Villegas Seattle

Assemble a few good people to help you evaluate and recommend a POS system. Even if you own a small restaurant, it's usually a good idea to get a few of your people involved in the process for their ideas, insights and buy-in. Remember, they will have to use and rely on the system too, so they don't want you making a bad decision either. It may be smart to have a server, counter person, manager, line cook or accountant (bookkeeper) be part of the team.

Mario Villegas - Proactively Manage Online Customer Reviews

Mario Villegas Seattle - These days it seems like everyone is a critic. Restaurateurs, for better or worse, are faced with realities of online user reviews and social media. It is difficult to sift through the multitude of comments of online user review sites. On one hand it can be nothing more than a sounding board for those who fancy themselves as foodies to a restaurant critic space for others. In a very positive way, it is a forum for the most important person in the restaurant world, the customer. If the experience is good, then the reviews will be positive. Conversely, if the customer experience is negative, then it is time to take a look at making the necessary improvements to making your restaurant a success.

Tips for dealing with online reviews:

1. Don’t take it personally.
2. Be aware. Online reviews and social media are here to stay so don’t ignore what they are telling you.
3. Take care in responding. If you choose to respond, make sure to do so privately to avoid unintentional public disagreements.  Respond quickly, and appropriately. And always remember what is online, stays online.
4. Share. Make sure to keep employees and staff in the loop. Positive feedback boosts morale, while negative feedback can bring light to issues that need to be addressed.
5. Utilize the services of the online review sites to capitalize on your advertising and marketing dollars and to increase and attract traffic and tourists.

Pay Attention to What Customers Say