Why is your restaurant failing and what can you do to change that?
If your restaurant is struggling to turn a profit, you’re not alone. Over half of new restaurants fail in the first year, and a massive 80% don’t make it to the five year mark. So what is it that makes getting a restaurant off the ground and profitable so tricky? Here are some of the reasons why…
A lack of experience – Having lots of enthusiasm and a great concept for a restaurant is fine, but running a restaurant requires a wide skill set and unless you’ve had prior experience in the industry, it can come as a huge shock as to just how much work is involved.
Low quality food – Food is the focus of every restaurant, so if yours isn’t up to scratch, people will never visit more than once.
Bad customer service – People eat out for the experience and it needs to be a pleasant one. A long wait, unfriendly staff and mistakes will lead to bad reviews.
Unsound accounting – Understanding the costs of running a restaurant are paramount to making it a success. You need to know exactly where you can save money and where you need to invest. Knowing your figures is essential in running any business.
Bad leadership skills – Hospitality work is tough, and so it requires a great leader to ensure everyone is happy and fulfilling their duties to the very highest standard. It takes someone who knows every aspect of the business to be a good leader, so it’s usually those who started out at the bottom of the catering industry that make the best leaders, rather than those who simply bought themselves a restaurant!
How to rescue your failing restaurant
Your passion for your business will help you to pull through if you are open minded, take criticism and don’t bury your head in the sand. Your business is not working so you are doing something wrong. It’s time to swallow your pride and accept this, ask your staff, invite people to dine in your restaurant and offer honest opinions as to why they believe this establishment is not more popular. Identify changes to make and implement them. Is your restaurant simply badly located? Can you change your signage to stand out more, or invest more in advertising? Are you offering too many dishes on your menu and the kitchen staff simply can’t cope? That’s easily fixed. Are your staff well trained, and well suited to your business? Don’t be scared to lay off staff who simply don’t pull their weight or don’t work well in the team.
If you need to find more staff for your restaurant, do visit CAS employment. Here you’ll find staff to fill any vacancy, already with the skills to get straight to work and help you and your team to turn the restaurant around and make it profitable.