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CDM Hospitality Evaluations PDF Print E-mail
Everyday people are eating out and constantly searching for entertainment options. This is an industry where first impressions are the most important statement you can make. What is often overlooked in the hospitality industry is the reference to be HOSPITIPAL. The average American spends 15 percentage of his disposable income on entertainment and food outside of his/her home. Wouldn’t it be great if a consistently high percentage of that business came thru your doors?

SERVICE is the most important aspect of the hospitality business. A veteran Chicago restaurateur Doug Roth once said, “Good service can save a bad meal. A good meal cannot save bad service. ”  It is well known that people who experience bad service often will not complain to management; they simply do not return. It is also know that those individuals influence ten of their friends, colleagues and acquaintances when they have a bad experience yet only tell two to three if the experience was good.

CDM CONSULTING is a hospitality evaluation service whose function is to help you evaluate the performance of your staff and services. We also help in determining inventory and cost information. Most employees will be on their “best behavior” when the manager or owner is in the room, but the issue is how do they perform normally or without constant supervision. Managers or owners cannot cover every square foot of their locations and they are relying on the integrity of each employee to provide top service to every patron. CDM CONSULTING’s employees are trained simply to observe!! Many have corporate training in customer service from companies like T.G.I. Fridays, Marriott, Ralph Loren Polo and Macys to smaller boutique venues like Rock Lobster, Bistro St. Tropez, Pamplona, Milkbar and Rococo.

Many companies will employ services like ours when they recognize problems or notice an increase in cost of goods therefore causing revenues to be lower. They want someone to be held accountable for this loss and be “caught. ”  But the overall objective is to avoid downward trends in business and revenues BEFORE they occur. Some incidents fall under the category of “accidents” and can’t be avoided, but how you respond to such events and take accountability for all actions within your venue can turn a unpleasant experience into a future opportunity to reclaim the customer and “make it up. ”  CDM CONSULTING can help evaluate your cost of goods, profit percentages, and inventory levels within any given time frame.

Simple mistakes can be made for what seems to be the right reasons. A classic example is “understaffing” the bar, kitchen or waitstaff to save on payroll expenses yet the extra expense means the customer is being served quickly and correctly. This customer will remember the efficiency of the staff rather than the wait he/she endured. Air-conditioning may be adjusted to suite the staff rather than the customers who are sitting in the glorious western lights of the sunset.

CDM CONSULTING’s evaluation parameters
Staff evaluations- determine if they are following the rules of the house. This is often referred to as “SPOTTING” when referring to the bar staff. Are they following the rules by collecting for each drink served or recording all drink in the proper manner? Is the money going into the register or the tip buckets?
Attentiveness-  were we greeted or served in a timely manner or did we become invisible while the server made a call or finished “his” meal. Execution of job- was the employee proficient at their job or would be better suited in another position. Ability to explain ambiguous information.
Atmosphere Analysis- was the room temperate, smoky, properly lit and dressed according to the management requests. Are the bathrooms clean (rated as #1 of customer concerns in Restaurant and Hospitality Magazine polling)?  Was each employee dress appropriately?  Were there enough materials and stock to allow proper service and ability to fill orders (liquor & food). Consistency- is each employee reading and operating from the same regulations and information. Are the specials, prices, menu selections, company histories the same with each server. The worst experience is when there is a price difference from one server to another. The person who charged more is perceived as a thief even if they are correct and the server who charge less is not getting the money you have determined the item is worth and has created an incident you may never get a chance to correct in the patrons mind.
Attitude & personality-  are your employees happy to work there or are they doing me a favor by serving me. Are they ready to serve and have the entire tool necessary to make the experience nice and trouble free?  Were the arguments amongst employees?  Etc.


CDM CONSULTING will perform a “pre-interview” with management to determine any areas of concern and can preschedule an appointment to perform an evaluation.  It is important to determine the rules and regulations of the venue prior to an evaluation.  Management can, at that time, tell their expectations of each employment position.  It is very important the evaluation be unannounced in order to observe employee’s “normal” behavior.  A written report will be given within the following business day to enable the management to respond with expediency.  CDM CONSULTING will also provide detailed information concerning any information that may be considered an infraction of company protocol.

Inventory Control

CDM CONSULTING by association with its sister company- Liquid Assets, can also assist in the control of inventory information through the evaluation of sales versus cost of goods at the bar.  Without knowledge of where your pouring costs are, an accurate evaluation of your businesses operations can be mute.  A physical inventory will be taken within an established time frame to enable you to evaluate your cost against industry standards.  It is imperative to measure liquor usage and cost figures to determine if profits are being poured away.  Theft can occur in many fashions and not necessarily intentionally.  Servers can over pour, under pour and not be consistent with mixed drink measurements therefore not providing the customer with a consistent beverage.  A fluctuation of 2% to 5% in liquor pouring costs can result in the loss of thousands of dollars to you.

Rates

CDM Consulting can base its fee on an individual event or spotting versus a total event for a series of events.  The evaluation can be very specific to target a specific area of concern or a particular individual.

General billing is $75 per hour plus expenses:

The average spotting time is approximately 2 hours depending on the size of the venue. It is not wise to remain at the venue longer than the average patron who is eating or drinking there regularly.
Expenses to include the purchase of drinks, entrance fees, valet fees, tolls etc…
There is also an administrative fee of $60 per hour for the reports and all follow-up information.


Further information can be acquired by contacting:

Clark D. Maloney
CDM Consulting
2805 South Front Street, Suite 200
Philadelphia, PA 19148
215-627-1141