Simple doesn't mean dumb or easy, or idiotic. Simple means stripping down the superfluous, the unnecessary, the complicated, the redundant to focus on the core, on what it is really important, on the essence.
This could be applied to anything: to your personal life and also to your restaurant business. A complicated menu with lots of ingredients, complicated operations, complicated rules and regulations, complicated schedules for your staff, etc. give your business an extra overhead and weight that you could do without.
How can you simplify your restaurant business, you may be wondering? Here are some suggestions:
1.- Simplify your menus.
I can't stress enough how important this item is. Many restaurateurs think that a large menu is an asset. In reality, it is not. Not only you get confused customers but you need to train your kitchen staff in the preparation of many items, keep track of which ones sell well and which ones don't, enter all the items in your Point of Sale, train your waiters in the ingredients that each dish have, keep a large inventory of ingredients, etc. On top of everything, I can guarantee you that most customers order 20% of your items all the time. It is much better to have a very simple menu with really good dishes than a large menu with average dishes. People will remember your restaurant because of a few well executed dishes, not because your menu has 20 pages.
What should you do to simplify your menu? First, if you have the information, look at the sales of dishes for the last 6 months to 1 year. Eliminate dishes starting from the bottom of sales. Don't be afraid to cut the menu down to just a handful of good dishes. You can always add some specials. The important thing is that you leave those special dishes that make your restaurant famous or for which people will come to eat at your place.
Once you simplify your menu, you can also reduce the number of your ingredients (saving thus money and preparation time), your staff (kitchen and floor) would be able to learn the new dishes much quicker and either prepare them or explain them to your customers way easier.
You will also be able to keep track of sales much easier than before.
2.- Simplify your operations.
Do you have complicated schedules and/or rules? (tipping rules, employee rotation, what to do with unsatisfied customers, food ordering, number of providers, etc. If so, you should think about simplifying them.
Look at all your operations with an objective perspective. If you see that you have anything that can be made simpler, do it. Not only your employees will be happier having to follow less procedures and understanding the basic rules but you will save many headaches and lots of time.
3.- Simplify your marketing.
Are you investing a lot of money or time in marketing? If so, you should consider simplifying your investments. The best marketing for a restaurant is the simplest and often the most inexpensive one. Here you have a few ideas of simple marketing that just works:
- Create a Formalized Referral System (very effective. For a very inexpensive and effective system, you can check my Referral System in a Box
- Invest some time and/or money in Online Marketing. Don't get crazy about it. A nice and clean website, some investment in mobile marketing (many smart phone users don't use a computer anymore), a Facebook Page and perhaps some time in Tweeter should have you covered.
4.- Simplify your decor.
Sometimes less is more. Lots of ornaments and things in your restaurant means more time to clean, more maintenance and an impression of clutter. Look around your place. Do you really need to have that deer head hanging from the wall? I don't mean that a restaurant should be barren, after all, people need to feel comfortable. If you don't have the eye for interior decoration, I would suggest to invest some money and hire a professional to help you. It doesn't need to be very expensive. Sometimes eliminating clutter and freshly painting the walls with nice neutral colors is all you need. Think about it.
5- Simplify your schedule.
Do you have a complicated business opening and closing schedule? Does it vary by the day of the week? Many times customers get annoyed when they go to your place just to find out that you open at 4pm each day except for the day when they visit. Same thing with weekends, etc.
Same thing with your workers. Do you have an easy to understand and logical rotation schedule? If not, you should. People like to know when they are working and when they rest so that they can plan accordingly. Of course, this doesn't mean that you can't be flexible when they ask you for changes. But these should be the exceptions, not the rule.
Try to make a simple and predictable schedule so that your employees and customers know what's going on.
These are just 5 simple rules to simplify your business. I'm sure that you can find many more on your own. The point that I am trying to make is that simple is often better. Better for your customers, better for you, better for your business, and better for your employees.
Everyone wins.
Happy simplification,
Jose L Riesco
