| Tired of missing your targets on beverage cost, and watching profits evaporate? Owners and managers frequently assume that theft is the culprit. Often, laziness and force of habit are to blame. There is no clearer vision than a fresh pair of eyes. Recently, we were touring an upscale country club in South Florida, listening to the Food and Beverage Director lament his loss of wine revenue. We stopped at the service bar as the bartender poured several glasses of house wine. "I don't understand it," he said. "We pour a six-ounce glass, and our wine cost should be 24%. We haven't hit the number since I've been here." "How large is the glass?" we aksed. "That's a six-ounce glass. We pour to just below the top." "It looks more like a ten-ounce glass to us." The F& B gave us a blank stare. We borrowed a ladle from the kitchen and proved to him that he was actually pouring an eight-ounce glass of wine, thus resulting in a wine cost of 32% rather than 24%. This is an extreme example, but some variation on this theme occurs in eight out of ten facilities we visit. In this case, the club would have been better off presenting their members with a free bottle of wine on their way out of the dining room. The members would have received the same amount of free wine, and the club could have generated some good will.
|
