You ever wonder how a buffet restaurant can survive.  I remember a friend told me about an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet in Vancouver that charged $15 per person.  I couldn’t believe it and the first thing I asked was how it could survive. It never did.  Not only did the restaurant offer the full range of sushi and sashimi, but also unlimited raw oysters.  Now anyone with some common sense could tell you, this would be the dumbest business idea to do.  People were no longer going for the sushi, but they were ordering mass amounts of oysters.  Who wouldn’t for $15?  The restaurant lasted three months.

Then there are the casino buffets that just give away meals for free. How do they do it?  Reality is that many casinos use buffets to draw more traffic into their entertainment venues.  Casinos could care less if they are turning a profit on the buffet.  As long as they are earning money through means of gambling, that is what counts for them.

So how can buffets make money? By keeping in mind some important tips, you can have a profitable buffet.

The Profitable Buffet

Buffets are an instant attraction for people.  You pay one price and you eat what you want and how much you want.  The only thing you have to worry about is making sure your stomach has the capacity to handle it.

Great, but how much can a person actually eat? Maybe 1, 2 or 3 plates if you are really hungry.  One of the most successful Chinese Canadian buffets is the Mandarin.  Focusing on increasing the quality of food and service has lead to surpassing the standards of their competition.

From a business perspective, the Mandarin has designed a sound business plan.  Take for example the dinner price, a $23.99 plus tax buffet meal requires a customer to eat 5-7 full plates of food to receive the full value.  This means any number of plates lower than five increases the profit margin.  If the average person can only eat two plates, the buffet must be earning outrageous money right? Not quite for all buffet operations since the Mandarin is one of few who actually understand the various aspects of running a successful buffet.  Without proper controls and procedures, a buffet may earn significant sales but could end up with low profits or even none.

Ten Steps to a Profitable Buffet

While scanning the Internet, I came across Benjamin Christie, an Australian celebrity chef who blogs.  He placed a recent post called “The Profitable Buffet.”  Coincidentally, I was recently asked to consult for a Chinese Canadian buffet.  As I read the article, I realized everything that an operator should avoid was being practiced in this buffet. From my initial visit, there were clear signs of problems.  Over-portioning, heavy concentrations in deep-fried foods and massive amounts of wastage were affecting the bottom line.  Whole turkeys, blocks of ham, roast beef and sausages to name a few were sitting there waiting for customers to request it. Observing afar, the food was hardly touched.  Even at $8.95 per person, it wasn’t drawing enough customers nor covering the necessary costs of running the business.

Benjamin Christie shares ten steps that you can do to make your buffet succeed.

1. Purchases ingredients that are in season. Ingredients are not only higher in quality but costs a lot less (i.e. tomatoes in summer versus winter).
2. Avoid expensive and premium ingredients.  Although high priced items such as oysters or Kobe beef will no doubt attract customers to your buffet, they are not suitable for this particular operation.  Most people who come to a buffet are already satisfied with the selection of food all at one price (i.e. Use frozen chicken bones or canned chicken stock rather than whole chickens)
3. Source special pricing from suppliers and buy in bulk.  Ensure you are receiving the best prices for your food orders.  Negotiate a price for buying in bulk which may be ideal for frozen goods.  A supplier may offer a discount or even allow flexibility in payment terms.
4. Create flexible menus.  Having a complex menu requires more ingredients, more time and costs in training and greater organization.  Think of menus that can generate multiple dishes using the same ingredients.  You still can be creative without changing a menu daily.
5. Serve smaller pre-plated portions.  Desserts, sushi, pastas and salads have become a popular pre-plated item for buffets.  Pre-plating is a great way for chefs to take more control of the servings.  This method has also worked as a psychological barrier where diners may feel embarrassed of asking for multiple servings from the same chef.
6. Portion control dishes (i.e. carving station).  Train and educate your staff of effective portion control based on the number of portions you have budgeted for.  You may also instruct the chefs at the carving station to serve only one slice of roast beef at a time instead of two to three slices.
7. Reduce size of serving spoons.  Using large serving utensils can result in a customer taking more food than necessary and increasing the portion size per person.  This will ultimately increase the food cost.
8. Maximize leftovers if possible by using it the next day or having it for staff meals.  The amount of leftover food at some buffets can be astonishing.  Feed your staff leftovers otherwise see what can be used the next day before throwing it away.  If an item has been sitting there for a longtime, more than likely it cannot be used the next day.
9. Weigh and record any food wastage.  Calculate and keep track of the amount of food thrown away each day.  This will allow you to decide whether a certain item should be removed from the menu or modified.
10. Develop strategy to undermine the customer. This method sounds harsh, but may mean be the difference of losing or earning a profit.  Examples of outsmarting the diner could mean offering larger glasses of water so diners fill up faster.  Another method is offering bread once customers are seated.

Conclusion

By following the suggestions presented by Christie, you can turn a buffet into a profitable business.  A business is only as good as it is run.  You have to believe in the concept and understand the ins and outs of the business.  I never did end up consulting for the buffet restaurant.  Sadly, the owners had given up and had no intentions of improving the business.

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There seems to be a pattern among the various restaurants I have worked.  I am often confronted by customers with similar requests and the same demands. I guess its true what people say, wherever you go, you will end up serving some bad ones and great customers. You just have to learn to tolerate them.

When I was reading Phoebe Damrosch’s book “Service Included,” it reminded me of some of the customers I have served.  As a longtime waiter myself, I easily related to the same challenges of satisfying the most demanding customers.  Damrosch includes service tips for customers dining out which instantly gave me the idea to share some of my own.

Dining and Service Tips

• Respect authentic and traditional cuisine.  Don’t complain or ask us to change the way we serve our food. Green Tea is the traditional beverage for any Japanese restaurant. A customer had once asked us why we didn’t serve the green tea with milk.  Another time, a customer was angry and refused to drink his miso soup without a spoon.  Although we had explained to him the traditional method of eating miso soup, he complained it was unsanitary.

• Don’t order a full course meal and expect us to have it ready within 10 minutes.  If you don’t have time, there are plenty of fast food restaurants nearby. I hated being next to a movie theatre.  Customers would order a three course meal 15-20 minutes prior to a movie. Two sisters who regularly dined at our restaurant never quite understood that good food takes time to prepare.  They demanded that all their appetizers, entrées and desserts were to be delivered at the same time and within 10 minutes.  Funny thing, they ate their fried bananas with ice cream first knowing that it would melt.  Making things worst, they would only leave a 10% tip.

• If you need something, avoid hand gestures such as waving and snapping your fingers as a way to signal your waiter. I don’t know what it is about Asians.  Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against them as I am one too.  It must be a cultural thing, but you will notice in almost every restaurant that caters to Asians, it’s a natural way of getting something right away.  Whenever I saw someone doing this, I was so tempted to tell them, “Stop, we are not in Chinatown!”

• Keep your Public Display of Affection to a minimal.  Holding hands and a kiss is fine, but if you plan to straddle your partner in public, then please get a room! There was once a couple who came for dinner.  The boyfriend sat on the banquette facing his girlfriend sitting on the chair.  They were heavily into each other when suddenly the girl jumped up, straddled her partner and made out.  We immediately had to ask them to kindly stop as the restaurant was filled with other customers including several children.

• Don’t ask us if the food is fresh.  We wouldn’t still be in the business. Made-to-order is quite self-explanatory.  I worked at one restaurant that prepared almost everything from scratch and had several items that were made-to-order including sandwiches.  Is that tuna sandwich they make fresh? Do you mind if I taste it first? These would be the typical questions I would be asked.  Even though our rotisserie was in plain view of customers, a typical question would be, is that chicken fresh?

• If we are at fault, we will gladly compensate you. This doesn’t mean bringing your whole family in for a free meal. When a problem arises whether it is a food or service quality issue, our duty is to ensure the customer leaves satisfied.  Sometimes this requires a full dinner comp.  One time, a woman had lost her appetite after realizing a slight part of her chicken was undercooked.  After apologizing profusely and offering her a complimentary meal, she had accepted.  She informed us that because she liked everything about our restaurant, she would return the next day to allow us to make things right.  As promised, she returned but this time she brought along four of her family members.  Not only did she expect her meal to be comped but as well her entire family.  If that wasn’t bad enough, only the most expensive items on the menu were ordered.

• Please control your kids.  Avoid playing with the cutlery.  We would be happy to provide you a pen and paper for your child.  Glassware can be expensive. Refrain from hitting them. I have served my share of families and kids and to be honest very few of them have ever brought much joy.  I will never forget the kids who played with our cutlery or those parents who encouraged their kids to take cutlery from our service stations.  There would be forks, spoons and knives all over the ground and for the enjoyment of causing more noise, water and wine glasses were constantly banged.  You wonder sometimes, why we have to change our glassware so often or what happened to the parents?

• Be prepared to pay for extras.  If you want an extra item added, more than likely it will cost extra.  Just don’t assume it’s free. One of our regular customers would always order a vegetarian entrée which consisted of a mix of sautéed mushrooms.  He loved shitake mushrooms so he would always request extra.  Because he was a regular customer, the chef would add a bit more at no extra charge.  However, the customer was never satisfied.  We explained that for an extra charge of $2.00 the chef could create a small side plate of mushrooms. The customer was offended that we would charge him as he was a regular.  He never ended up ever paying the extra charge, but we also never ever gave him more than the norm.

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I just completed reading “Service Included, Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter” by Phoebe Damrosch.  The book captures Damrosch’s life as a waiter in one of America’s most acclaimed fine dining restaurants.  Through her obsession with food and her determination to work for the very best, Phoebe Damrosch most recently held a Captain position for Thomas Keller’s New York, four-star restaurant, Per Se.  Today she no longer waits tables but shares her life through the experiences and stories she details in her book.

“Service Included” reveals what it takes to make it to the very top.  This is a sneak peek of behind-the-scenes of Per se.  It’s a perfect book for foodies.  After reading this book you will soon realize why Thomas Keller is one of America’s top chefs.

Service Tips

Within this highly competitive restaurant industry, Per Se has raised the bar to a new level of service.  Chef Thomas Keller understands it takes both great food and great service to make a restaurant the very best.  Since the opening of Thomas Keller’s French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley, I have made it a mission to try his spectacular creations. I have yet to dine at either his restaurants.  “Service Included” brings imagination allowing you to feel the experience.

Service Included is exciting and hilarious. Damrosch includes tips to any diner that will make you want to think twice before ordering or requesting favors.  Calling all waiters, this is a book that you can all relate. Some of the following dining tips by Damrosch include:

• “Do you know who I am?” is a very attractive question.
• We are happy to split your check, but it helps when you tell us up front. You’d be surprised at how complicated it can be to make changes on some computers.
• Try to consolidate your requests.
• Larger glasses appear less full than smaller glasses. This does not mean you are getting less wine.
• Please don’t involve us in your monetary disputes. Do not shove cash in our pockets or aprons, or wrench credit cards from our hands.
• Don’t hold your waiter responsible if someone else beat you to paying for dinner.
• Most white wine should be served at about 55 degrees and red wine at 67 degrees. We are happy to further chill a white or decant the red to bring up the temperature, but please do not ask us to microwave your wine.
• In more formal restaurants, let someone know when you are getting up to smoke or to make a phone call. Even better, let them know one course ahead, so the chef doesn’t start you dish until you return.
• Don’t send something back after eating most of it.
• Please do not make faces of gagging noises when hearing the specials. Someone else at the table might like to order one of them.
• Please do not ask what we do. This implies that (a) we shouldn’t aspire to work in the restaurant business even if it makes us happy and financially stable, (b) that we have loads of time on our hands because ours is such an easy job, and (c) that we are not succeeding in another field.

If you never heard of Thomas Keller or haven’t yet had the opportunity to dine there, “Service Included” is a must read. Damrosch provides a little taste of what you can expect.

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