Problems with Profit

With high fixed costs and a quiet restaurant on many mid-week evenings, Andrew Rowbotham was frustrated that he was working so hard and yet not enjoying much fruit from his labours.

Despite selling out on Friday and Saturday evenings, there was little profit to show at the end of each month.

He was working punishingly long hours, constantly fire-fighting and solving issues his staff should have been able to fix themselves.

To cap it all off, he was the only chef and so he couldn’t escape for a holiday without closing.

The Turning Point

After being referred to Lee Duncan by a friend in August 2008, they quickly made a series of changes.

A very practical strategy was required that would use little of Andrew’s time, but produce great results quickly.

The Strategy

The big challenge for Andrew was time to make the changes.

Through gritted teeth he found time to put about 4 extra hours per week in to help him to develop the business.

The strategy included…

  • Little-known direct response marketing techniques that produced a surge of hungry new customers
  • A customer database so that we could keep in touch and encourage them back
  • Revised prices and menu that improved margins and drove up profits, even on quieter evenings
  • Introduced checklists, processes and systems to operate more smoothly and eliminate fire-fighting

In Andrew’s Own Words (December 2008)

“I just took delivery of fresh fish this morning and asked the driver if they were busy. He said today is the first day he has been busy all month. When I told him that we had been almost flat out since October, just three short months after getting you in, he was amazed and said most places are quiet! Even better, we are set to do a record weekend again. So anyone who’s business is quiet at the moment, if they don’t feel they need your help, send them to me cause we’ve got shed-loads of brussel sprouts and potatoes to peel!”

Footnote

The Riverside Restaurant won Best Small Restaurant in the North East early in 2009.

Andrew now has a full time chef running the restaurant and is refurbishing a pub/restaurant at another location to open in Spring 2011.

Andrew closed The Riverside Restaurant in March 2012 to concentrate full-time on his much larger public house, restaurant and guest house, The Crown at Mickleton.  His success at The RIverside laid the foundations for moving onto a bigger and better business.

Disclaimer and Contact Information

Not all businesses will achieve results of this nature or with this speed.  These results are not typical for every client; Andrew worked extraordinarily hard to implement the advice, strategies and actions from the coaching programme.  Your results may vary depending upon your industry, your specific situation and the effort you put into your business.

Andrew Rowbotham will be happy to confirm these results and can be contacted via his company website http://www.thecrownatmickleton.co.uk