How can a ski area food and beverage operation increase sales and profits, improve customer satisfaction and enhance professional image in the company in the middle of the summer … without spending any money? By using this slow period to examine the operation, set goals for the following year and create a process to monitor progress during winter months.
The first step is to choose a winter period to study. The last two weeks of January and the first two weeks of February are often appropriate, but if this is not a typical period, choose one that is. Pull the closing cash register tapes to see what sold each day, looking for patterns and trends. See if the percentage of items changes over the course of each week.
During this same period, pull the time cards for the food and beverage staff and compare daily labor cost to daily sales. Was the staff used effectively or were percentages much higher midweek than on weekends?
These two pieces of information will help in structuring menu and staffing for next season to maximize sales and minimize costs through better menu planning and production and better staff scheduling.
Volume buying can be utilized to lower food prices. To determine which items to buy in volume, take all the invoices from the last ski season and total how much of every item was purchased from various vendors. This is a time-consuming task, but it will provide extremely valuable information. In compiling this list, be very specific about the items. For example, a french fry may be a 1/4-inch shoestring, single water blanched, single oil blanched. When in doubt, ask suppliers for help in describing various items.
Once this list is drawn up in as much detail as possible, suppliers can be approached about exclusive purchasing of as many products as possible and prices can be locked in for the season. When the supplier knows how much volume to expect, he can provide the lowest prices and best service. This also frees up the manager’s time in shopping each week for the best prices.
The summer also may be a time when the ski area operator does focus group studies of regular customers. The groups should consist of five to eight people who ski at the area on a regular basis with a leader who is not connected to the ski area. One segment of the opinion-gathering can deal with the food and beverage operation. Questions and topics for the focus group can be prepared so they generate ideas that improve the operation, from speed of service to menu selections.
Once these recommendations are in and the data on what is selling plus daily staff scheduling is compiled, the manager can sit down with key people and draw up a new operating plan for the winter. This may be as simple as adding and deleting menu items, changing the midweek menu and changing staffing patterns to utilize workers more effectively.
Once everyone has had input, a plan should be put in writing and distributed to all those involved. During the season, this plan can be referenced at staff meetings and continue to be altered as situations change.
With input from historical data, guests and staff, summer can be a very profitable planning time for food and beverage operations.
