Hospitality owners and workers are the hardest working people in the economy and have been the most harmed by New Zealand’s Covid-19 policies. Over many years in the business we have observed practices that can help with profitability, depending on the style of your restaurant. You’ll already know many of them perhaps, but they are offered with best wishes from your friends and partners at Hay Paddock Wines.
ALCOHOL
Alcohol sales provide by far the largest profit margin, so optimise them.
1. Don’t offer water on arrival. Offer the drinks list.
Ask, ‘Can I bring you some drinks while you look at the menu?’
2. Wine by the glass is just as profitable (or more) as by the bottle and attracts more customers to drink wine.
3. Red wine is best served at 18C, NOT at 24-28C room temperature. Consider using an ice bucket for glass pour reds during summer. The wines will be fresher and last longer.
4. Vodka based cocktails give high margins. Consider pre-mixing some before service as ‘specials’.
5. Train staff to identify opportunities for beverage re-orders.
MENUS
Two minutes is the maximum time the average customer will spend actually reading your menu.
1. Offer no more than 7 options per category.
2. Highlight shareable dishes – it increases conversation and enjoyment.
3. Remove dollar signs (Yes, really! This is proven.) Don’t line up prices on the right of the page, put them at the end of the dish description.
4. The 2nd cheapest dish in a section is the most common choice, so increase its price and margin slightly.
5. Draw a box around your most profitable dish to highlight it.
6. Make your menu readable (good clean layout and fonts) and do not use pretentious language.
7. The Daily (or Chef’s) Special helps the undecided and pushes higher profit margin dishes.
8. Accept that healthy eating is not a fad, it’s a fact.
9. One in three families own a dog but 99% wouldn’t ask for a doggie bag. Consider a small note on the menu to ease their embarrassment.
10. People do browse their phones while dining, so print your Free Wi-Fi on the menu.
HOSPITALITY
You are in the hospitality business. Be hospitable. Be seen.
1. Meet and greet everyone. Farewell and thank everyone. All staff should do the same.
2. Place your first customers by the window/entrance to attract others and heighten the atmosphere.
3. When the owner or chef unexpectedly delivers a dish to the table, the customer’s sense of being special rises dramatically.
4. Surprise your loyal customers with a freebie on the house. Happy customers refer others (Research says by an average of 10).
5. Take any complaint seriously and defuse immediately, right or wrong.
6. 2-person tables spend more per head, turnover more quickly and are most popular. Give them the best positions and have plenty.
7. Don’t ask, ‘How was your meal?’ It’s aggravating and superficial. Ask, ‘Can I tempt you with ...?’
8. Bring the bill quickly when customers have finished (or make sure they know where to pay).
9. It is 6 to 7 times more expensive to attract a new customer than to keep an
existing one.
PROMOTION
Cost effective Social Media has to be learned and optimised.
1. Time your social media for the so-called mid-week slump, Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 3.00pm and 7.00pm.
2. Make sure your essentials are on Google My Business and all your digital spaces (Instagram, Facebook and Website) – Address, Phone, Opening Hours, Web/Email Link
3. Save customer data for SMS texting and email marketing.
4. Promote ‘Free Welcome Glass of Wine’ in advance of slow nights, using your Instagram and by SMS to your database.
5. Reduce ‘No Shows’ with an SMS Reminder System.
6. Give the recipe of popular dishes on your Facebook/Instagram/Website. Customers who try it will come back to compare.
7. Incentivise customers to Instagram you and your dishes.
These are just some of the hints we’ve gathered over the years. We hope they help as discussion points for staff.
Kind regards and best wishes from
Hay Paddock Wines Limited
T: +64 21 211 2829 (Jules)
sales@thehaypaddock.co.nz
ALCOHOL
Alcohol sales provide by far the largest profit margin, so optimise them.
1. Don’t offer water on arrival. Offer the drinks list.
Ask, ‘Can I bring you some drinks while you look at the menu?’
2. Wine by the glass is just as profitable (or more) as by the bottle and attracts more customers to drink wine.
3. Red wine is best served at 18C, NOT at 24-28C room temperature. Consider using an ice bucket for glass pour reds during summer. The wines will be fresher and last longer.
4. Vodka based cocktails give high margins. Consider pre-mixing some before service as ‘specials’.
5. Train staff to identify opportunities for beverage re-orders.
MENUS
Two minutes is the maximum time the average customer will spend actually reading your menu.
1. Offer no more than 7 options per category.
2. Highlight shareable dishes – it increases conversation and enjoyment.
3. Remove dollar signs (Yes, really! This is proven.) Don’t line up prices on the right of the page, put them at the end of the dish description.
4. The 2nd cheapest dish in a section is the most common choice, so increase its price and margin slightly.
5. Draw a box around your most profitable dish to highlight it.
6. Make your menu readable (good clean layout and fonts) and do not use pretentious language.
7. The Daily (or Chef’s) Special helps the undecided and pushes higher profit margin dishes.
8. Accept that healthy eating is not a fad, it’s a fact.
9. One in three families own a dog but 99% wouldn’t ask for a doggie bag. Consider a small note on the menu to ease their embarrassment.
10. People do browse their phones while dining, so print your Free Wi-Fi on the menu.
HOSPITALITY
You are in the hospitality business. Be hospitable. Be seen.
1. Meet and greet everyone. Farewell and thank everyone. All staff should do the same.
2. Place your first customers by the window/entrance to attract others and heighten the atmosphere.
3. When the owner or chef unexpectedly delivers a dish to the table, the customer’s sense of being special rises dramatically.
4. Surprise your loyal customers with a freebie on the house. Happy customers refer others (Research says by an average of 10).
5. Take any complaint seriously and defuse immediately, right or wrong.
6. 2-person tables spend more per head, turnover more quickly and are most popular. Give them the best positions and have plenty.
7. Don’t ask, ‘How was your meal?’ It’s aggravating and superficial. Ask, ‘Can I tempt you with ...?’
8. Bring the bill quickly when customers have finished (or make sure they know where to pay).
9. It is 6 to 7 times more expensive to attract a new customer than to keep an
existing one.
PROMOTION
Cost effective Social Media has to be learned and optimised.
1. Time your social media for the so-called mid-week slump, Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 3.00pm and 7.00pm.
2. Make sure your essentials are on Google My Business and all your digital spaces (Instagram, Facebook and Website) – Address, Phone, Opening Hours, Web/Email Link
3. Save customer data for SMS texting and email marketing.
4. Promote ‘Free Welcome Glass of Wine’ in advance of slow nights, using your Instagram and by SMS to your database.
5. Reduce ‘No Shows’ with an SMS Reminder System.
6. Give the recipe of popular dishes on your Facebook/Instagram/Website. Customers who try it will come back to compare.
7. Incentivise customers to Instagram you and your dishes.
These are just some of the hints we’ve gathered over the years. We hope they help as discussion points for staff.
Kind regards and best wishes from
Hay Paddock Wines Limited
T: +64 21 211 2829 (Jules)
sales@thehaypaddock.co.nz
