SURAHMIN BUSINESS

Let me introduce myself. I’m a young businessman situated in the UK. I started my life writing and producing music at an early age. As with any freelance job the hours you work are long and the money little, even when you hit some considerable success. I decided to take what id made and with the help of other people invest into the restaurant industry.

My partner, a qualified barrister, had previous experience in catering. She was also disillusioned with the legal industry so we decided together to do everything we could to take the plunge.

Two years and a lot of very hard work later, it looks like we’re going to have to close down.

So, why, you might ask, would essentially a failed restaurateur have anything to tell me? Oh boy, I could provide more valuable information than any book you can buy off the shelf right now. In the last two years we have tweaked our businesses so much I could tell you angles of attack that work and some that would be a complete waste of your time that would be invaluable.

We opened a sushi restaurant in a reasonably small but affluent city in the North West of England. Unlike the states, sushi is not on every single corner or Side Street. In the UK sushi is very much only popular in the big cities. For this reason we decided to take on a reasonably small unit and attack the gap in the market.

We were right; the City was perfect for sushi. We were a huge hit. We were busy when other places were not but we generally followed the trend. If everyone was busy so we were. If the biggest restaurant in town were quiet…so were we.

There is no way to convince people to eat if they don’t want to – humans are funny creatures like that. NEVER think you’re going to buck the trend and fill your restaurant at quiet times, you will not. Never think you can put offers on to get people in, you might increase trade a little but you’d be surprised at how hard (virtually impossible) it is to get people in at off peak times. Even if your restaurant is unbearably busy at peak times people will still want to eat at that time. Personally I hold off, I hate the crowds, I hate queues, and this doesn’t apply to the general masses though.

Turning your restaurant into a training store is a lot easier than you might think it is. The first thing that has to be in place is having the best management team possible working towards the same goal. A management team that does not care about the out come of the restaurant will do more harm than good. Both the general manager and manager need to be talented. They need to show the staff how much they care. No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

After you have the management team in place the next step is getting the current staff to make the changes needed to improve the store. You should also be watching them to see if they also care about the restaurant. Those team members that don’t care sit down with them and see what the concern is. Help them fix any problems you are capable of, and for the problems you can’t fix you might have to make a business decision. This will show to the other team members that you mean business and this is not personal.

Once everyone is on bought into the idea of becoming a training store, work along side with them not directing what to do. In order for your restaurant to be a training you need to show them that it is not about you but about the entire team. When you receive the store certification in most likely will say the GM’s name along with the staff at the restaurant.

Finally make sure everyone is certified in their prospective positions. When a new trainee comes through the training store everyone should know what their responsibility is. You can’t show the new trainee how to work every position by yourself. Everybody must know what they are doing with everyone working together there will be massive improvement in the daily operations and will help increase your transaction count and bottom line.

Are you looking for info to make bigger waiter tips? You may wonder why some of your buddies at work are getting larger gratuities than you. Well, getting bigger tips isn’t always about getting the food to your customer on time or giving him the check within one few seconds after he asks for it.

Well, there are some methods that waiters can use to get larger gratuities. You can start by calling your customer by his name. Greet him when he comes in and address his as Mr. Davis, instead of just referring to him as sir. It puts you in a friendlier and more personal level with him.

Try giving your client something at no cost. Maybe a small chocolate bar or candy. Give it when your customer asks for the bill or when you return their change. You might be surprised that your customer will want to reciprocate with something like a larger tip.

Something innovative like drawing a smiley face on the check will catch your customer’s attention. They might find it cute and even remember you for that. It can also put your customer in a cheerful and generous mood. If your customer is satisfied and happy it is likely he will give you some waiter tips.

Use tip trays with a logo of a credit card company when giving the check or change. The empty tray prompts your customer to put something there like a tip. There isn’t a scientific explanation for this but it one trick that works to get more waiter tips. Try it the next time your customer asks for his check and use it also to give back his change.

Write “thank you” on the check when your customer requests for his bill. A thank you note on the check is unusual and catchy; it will also make your customer reciprocate by giving gratuity. Little things like these, even unspoken words can help you get more waiter tips.

Sunny weather always makes people cheerful and loose. Tell your customer to enjoy the good weather outside. If it is raining at that moment, then you can predict sunny weather for tomorrow. Customers will like that you are concerned about the rest of their day. The extra few minutes of small talk will put you on a personal level that can make the diner want to leave waiter tips.

Every housewife knows that pouring grease down a drain is a sure fire way to clog the drain and earn a costly plumbing bill. The amount of grease discharged in waste water from a regular household is enormous but as yet unregulated but now some private homes are now using small grease trap interceptors. However, the grease problem is so expensive and prone to clog the main sewer systems that steps to regulate grease discharge into waste water have been taken and the first to be regulated are restaurants.

A restaurant or cafeteria is an entirely different matter and even the grease from routine cleaning and cooking, produces grease and fat which may not only clog the plumbing of the restaurant, but can cause city wide sewer issues. Grease trap interceptors were invented and engineered to avoid that and make the grease available for recycling as well. Large cities such as Seattle have found from one third to one half of their city sewer problems have come from grease discharged into the sewer system.

Not every commercial kitchen or restaurant will have the same needs and budget though even in interceptors. Therefore there are a wide range of traps and interceptors designed to fit the kitchen and operate cleanly and efficiently. Because of the severity of the problem, increasing numbers of sewer and water systems have instituted testing and fines are levied if the grease content of waste water from a facility is too high.

The different types of grease trap interceptors come with various advantages as well as limitations. Automatic grease removal units are designed to remove particulate grease from waste water flowing from a dishwasher or pot cleaning area. Dishwashers in restaurants can be responsible for a high level of grease from plates and pots and pans. This particular interceptor captures it and stores it beside the dishwasher or drain. This type of trap may well be emptied on a daily basis and is often maintained by the staff of the restaurant.

Although dishwashers certainly produce a high level of grease which can be intercepted, trapped and recycled they are not the only possible culprits. Facilities that regularly bake or roast chicken and meats can use this grease interceptor for grease recycling grease drippings. This type of grease is eminently suitable for recycling purposes as well.

Getting a catering business license means to provide the authorization or permission approved by a party to another party as a component of an agreement to operate a business depending on the type of business applied.

In any kind of businesses particularly catering business, license is the most important requirement to start your own business. Catering business license is regulated by the state. It ensures people that the caterers can prepare and serve the food to others and that they are capable doing it in a safe and proper manner. Having a license it protects the caterers and gives customers the peace of mind to trust a caterer as a professional.

First thing you do is you have to call your local court-house to find out which agency in your state is in charge or regulating the catering business licenses. The regulating office differs from state to state; the application process is mostly similar.

Then you need to request a catering license application form from your state regulating office. Fill out the application form with all the needed information or data. After completing the form, go over the information to make sure you haven’t skipped anything important to process your application. When your application form is improperly completed it can delay the application process and will delay the operation of your business too.

You are now ready to submit or pass your completed application to your local regulating office; it depends on the technology in your state. In some states the application fee for applying catering license is around to $120. You can also submit or pass your application online for faster processing; upon submitting your application you will be required to pay the necessary application fee.

After a couple of days you have to wait for your application to be investigated; if you completed the application you have to gather the needed requirements, and then you will be granted a catering business license. Your regulating office will drop a line to you with the permit once it has done its investigation.

Caterers are required to pay yearly fees determined by the population in the state where they work; yearly fees during the application process ensure that you’re not caught unaware. In other states, it’s also required to submit an authorization form for each event you will cater. Ask your state office whether or not your state requires approval for catered events during your license application process.