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The current breed of restaurateur faces challenges that have not been seen in generations. The ability to maintain a quality product with rising costs and lower consumer spending is placing restaurateurs in a thorny situation. This article will help you in five easy ways to increase your bottom line, with out affecting food quality or customer service. INSURANCE AND WORKERS COMPENSATION Major expense for restaurants is insurance costs. It is essential that you have the right coverage or a minor loss could become a complete disaster. The easiest way to lower your insurance costs are contact a knowledgeable agent and request a quote. Just like all hamburgers are not equal neither are insurance agents. A good agent can find ways to lower your current rates, ensure that you have the proper coverage and make sure that your experience modification for your workers compensation insurance is correct. LOWER YOUR ENERGY COSTS Utilities make up a significant portion of a Restaurant’s monthly expenses. There are a few things simple things you can do to lower these expenses. Instead of leaving gas-powered grills and other energy- hungry appliances on all day, turn them off when not in use. Turn of lights when not in use and/or switch to high efficiency fluorescent bulbs. This will have a two fold effect by reducing the energy it takes to produce the light and will also significantly lower your cooling bills. RENEGOTIATE WITH YOUR SUPPLIERS Just as you are trying to retain your customers by keeping them happy, so are your suppliers. In cases where you have flexibility in choosing vendors, you have an opportunity to increase the value received for the price of the products and services that you buy. A simple win-win solution is to see if you can schedule fewer deliveries for a lower price. Also look into alternate utility providers in your area that might be able to provide you significant savings on your energy bills. MENU AND PLATING CHANGES Start by revamping your menu. Try creating menus where the most profitable items are placed where a customer's eye first lands. In most restaurants, market research has shown that place is on the left side of the fold, near the middle. Downsize portions and buy smaller plates so that customers won't notice downsized portions. Re-price menu items from, say, $9.50 to $9.99 because, in a busy restaurant, such small changes can add thousands of dollars to the top line over a year. As an added bonus to these changes, some restaurateurs have also found that if they offer smaller, lower-priced main courses, customers promptly order dessert. MENU UP-SELLING A good server does more than just wait on customers. The key to up-selling is to do it in a way that the customer doesn’t know he or she is being sold something. This technique accomplishes the goal of, swelling both tips and sales. However, if done incorrectly it can cause a loss of good will and customers. You should examine your current practices and communicate with your staff the need for up-selling as opposed to over-selling.
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This Article was written and provided by www.farmerbrown.com”>FarmerBrown.com and industry leader in insuring restaurants. To request a free quote or for any other information pertaining to this article you can reach us at www.farmerbrown.com”> farmerbrown.com or e-mail info@farmerbrown.com or call us toll free at 866-QUOTE40, 866-786-8340.
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