By David Scott Peters

www.therestaurantexpert.com

Sexual harassment isn’t an “if,” but a “when.” EEOC Guidelines state that employers MUST provide anti-sexual harassment training. To cover your liabilities, you MUST provide anti-sexual harassment training. The restaurant industry is full of opportunities for sexual harassment. Don’t leave anyone in your restaurant left open to that situation, nor yourself open to that vulnerability.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.

By David Scott Peters

www.therestaurantexpert.com

One of the best ways to make sure you’re stretching every dollar is to order a descending dollar report. You can get this from your vendor. It shows what you spent the most money on down to the least amount of money. This isn’t necessarily in volume, but in price per item. It’s not that I ordered 10 cases, it’s that I spent $1,000 — which could have been 1 case. Based on these figures, you can try to find like or better products at cheaper prices, which can have a huge impact on your business and your bank account.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.

By David Scott Peters

www.therestaurantexpert.com

Find your breakeven point to avoid breaking the bank.

Do you know your breakeven point? I bet your accountant does. And you should, too. Breakeven analysis is used to determine exactly that: how much in sales the restaurant must generate to break even. Knowing your breakeven point doesn’t tell you when you’ll make money or be profitable, but it can tell you if you can afford that new marketing idea, payments on a new range, or to hire that additional server. Through examination of your fixed and variable expenses, you can see the impact of changes in these expenses.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.

By David Scott Peters

www.therestaurantexpert.com

You shouldn’t have an open-door policy for your back door. Several days a week you receive deliveries and with those deliveries come drivers who have access to your restaurant and everything in it. We tend to trust them since they work for our vendors or distributors, but you shouldn’t. Implement a policy that keeps anyone not employed by you at the back door and always supervised by whoever is responsible for checking in deliveries.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.

By David Scott Peters

www.therestaurantexpert.com

You can tell someone how to do something until you’re blue in the face, but how do you know they were really listening unless you ask? An essential part of any training program is the test that comes after you teach. Don’t let your new employees interact with your customers or your food until you test their knowledge. After completing the training program, every new employee must pass a test before hitting the floor. If they don’t pass the test, start the training over again.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.

By David Scott Peters

www.therestaurantexpert.com

For each area of the restaurant, implement a master schedule, which tells you who you have on staff for each position, what days they can work, what shift(s) they can work on those days and what their preferences are on any given day. It keeps all the special requests straight, keeps seniority in the right order and allows you to map out your most important shifts with your strongest staff members. With master schedule, anyone can write any positions schedules.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.

By David Scott Peters

www.therestaurantexpert.com

The trick to covering your shifts (and your butt) is having two FTEs (full-time equivalents) more than you need. To achieve this, you can either have extra people on your schedule or cross train your staff.  It gives you flexibility in writing the schedule and allows you to hire the right person when it’s right instead of the first warm body that stands up straight in an interview. Hiring and firing and training are expensive parts of owning a business. When you do hire someone, you want it to be because you’re sure the right person for the job has walked in your door.

David Scott Peters is a restaurant expert, speaker, coach and trainer for independent restaurant owners. He is the developer of SMART Systems Pro, an online restaurant management software program helping the independent restaurant owner remain competitive and profitable in an industry boxed in by the big chain restaurants. He is best known as the SMART Systems guy who can walk into any restaurant and find $10,000 in undiscovered cash before he hits the back door… Guaranteed! Learn more at www.therestaurantexpert.com/rdspos.