Caterers Benefit From Use Of Daily Logbooks

The food service industry is a fast paced and chaotic way to make money. Some open their own restaurants. Others start a catering service to provide for weddings and other large gatherings. While these two businesses are very different, they do share some common qualities. Managers using daily logbooks to track events and details will have more success and increase the profitability of the business by a significant amount.

Catering managers must not only track events and how many people are being served, they must track food expenses, waste, personnel, and many other issues. By using a daily logbook, managers can become better able to plan for the types of events, choose appropriate menus to offer, and how to set up the service for the number of guests.

Keeping a daily logbook of all the details about the services and operation of the business allows a manager to establish trends that will aid in placing food orders and scheduling staff in order to optimize the ability to provide fresh food and quality service to all customers.

A daily logbook will also allow managers to track employee attendance and behavior in order to head off potential problems that could lead to customer complaints or loss of business. Managing people is much easier when the manager has valid information about the performance of employees at his/her fingertips.

All food service managers, whether in a restaurant setting or a caterer doing business serving large gatherings and special events, have a lot to gain by using a manager's daily logbook to record information the daily operations of the business. Tracking expenses, reducing waste, and recording employee attendance and performance along with inventory control are simple matters when the manager has all the necessary information in one compact form that allows quick access.

The Five W's Of Maintaining A Manager's Daily Logbook

When restaurant managers want to track information about their business to minimize losses and maximize profitability, a manager's daily logbook may prove to be the key. However, the information should be divided up into blocks that are more useful to the manager. To make the most of a daily logbook, information should be divided up into the five Ws; who, what, where, when, why.

Who: Keeping track of employee performance and incidents can aid in weeding out problem employees and evaluating the better ones highly enough to recognize their accomplishments. Managers can also look at different shifts and make changes to get people who work well together on the same crews.

What: Inventory control is a major responsibility of restaurant managers. It is important to avoid having too much food on hand that will age before being served. It is equally important to avoid running out of anything when customers are waiting for it in the dining room. Limiting waste is critical to reducing losses.

Where: Which part of the business is affected? Problems with the kitchen are separate from problems in the dining room in most cases. Different personnel are involved. Different types of problems can arise, so it is important to identify where a situation is located in the restaurant.

When: When an event occurs can be a major feature in what caused it. Different types of problems can arise on different shifts. Sometimes the number of patrons in the dining room can create the problem. Other times, the time of day or night may affect business in a positive or negative manner.

Why: Whenever possible, it helps to know why an event occurred. Recording this information in the daily logbook can help a manager determine the best way to handle a situation so that negative impacts are reduced and the business becomes more profitable.

The folks at www.reservationbooks.com has come up with a manager's communucation module that does all this. All is one book to organize your daily restaurant activity.

How do Front of the House Reservations Work?

Accommodation businesses and the food industry have used reservations at the front of the house for years. Bars, cafes, conference centers, restaurants, hotels, motels, villas, spas and other businesses all take reservations that are organized and kept track of at the front of the house. The types of information needed for these different businesses are varied so there are many different types of reservation books and systems available to cater to any industry.
There is more to working in the front of the house then just reservations. Individuals that work at reception or as a host or hostess also deal with operations and a lot of customer service. Hotel reception has more duties then a host or hostess as they also must organize special requests, billing, check out information, housekeeping information and billing to name but a few additional duties.

If your business is large and requires a lot of information for reservations then many companies use reservation software. Reservation software can be used by anyone as it has been designed to be easy to use. Software organizes web bookings, can create reports, avoid double bookings, automate any regular calculations, track customers, create receipts, analyze reservation patterns and create confirmations.

There are still front of the house reservation books used despite the popularity of computer software. These books can be found at www.reservationbooks.com and have sections for monthly at a glance calendars, yearly calendars, days broken down by time, information on who is working each position for that day or shift, daily duty lists for managers, sections for additional information or notes, and daily contact lists. You a reservation book personalized to include any information you may need.

Even though electronics are extremely popular reservation books are still used at many restaurants and businesses. Reservation books have been an integral part of many industries for years and are still used for organization as well as part of the decorations and mood of the business.

Reservationbooks.com

If you require reservation books for your business there is no better place to purchase it than to go to reservationbooks.com. There are many books for you to choose from so you will be sure to locate a reservation book that meets your needs. Depending upon your needs, you may require a book that has the ability to track more than one page of reservations per day. Obviously this will increase your price point too, but it's better to have the ability to write two pages of reservations and not always need it than to need the ability and not have the book that can accommodate your need.
If you need a front of house reservation book, you can find one at reservationbooks.com. The front of house reservation books are not as easy to find as regular reservation books. The front of house has special requirements not found in ordinary reservation books. It gives you the ability to track vendor appointments and list the opening and closing managers. You will need to track employee training time as well as the schedules of all those needed on a given day. You want to ensure that you always have appropriate coverage for the bar, wait staff, kitchen staff and hosts and the front of house allows you to track it all.
There are special books available if you need them that are specific to different areas of the facility. There is a special manager's communication book that tracks information that is needed for the manager of a restaurant regarding employee issues and hours. There is a book that is used specifically for the bar area and one that is specific to the kitchen area as these parts of a restaurant have different needs. Some reservation books are available in other languages such as French or Italian which is handy if you happen to be running a French or an Italian restaurant.

Reservation books and Manager log books

Many companies in the hospitality and restaurant business obtain their reservation books and Manager Communication Modules from www.reservationbooks.com. This website offers many different types of books that will meet all of your businesses reservation needs. Books from this website are all of high quality and can withstand constant and daily use as they are built to last.
You can find some hard to find reservation books at www.reservationbooks.com that may focus on specific areas of your business. Catering managers can use a Catering Communication book that keeps track of the day's menu, staff working each event, the number of guests and more. You can tack your morning and afternoon shifts, bar organization, identification checked to get into the event and how many cabs were called. All of this can be organized in a day to day reservation book.
You can also obtain a customized reservation book that is designed to meet your businesses particular needs. You can choose from many options, including binding, cover material, color, embossing, stamping, page design, font, number of reservations per day and more. Each manufacturer will tell you the offered options and you can then determine which company can produce your reservation book. Many different industries use reservation books and some of them need information that is quite different from the more traditional, hospitality books.
Running a successful business means that you have smooth and consistent operations and access to information in an instant. You can obtain anything you may need to help you along this path at www.reservationbooks.com and find books that offer more then the standard, when, where and who for reservations. Having and maintaining an up to date reservation book can set you apart from other similar businesses.
The cost of a reservation book or Manager Communication Module with differ depending on the paper weight, cover material, color, any customization etc. Reservation books are very affordable so you should be able to find one within your price range that covers all of your needs.

Reservation book and Manager log book

Cooking and restaurant supply houses are great places to buy a reservation book for your restaurant. Generally you will want a reservation book that includes more than one year. A two or three year reservation book is recommended because people like to book reservations far ahead on special occasions. You do not want to ever take a reservation on a Post-It note because your reservation book only covers the current year. Don't let that happen to you!
If you need a reservation book for hair appointments or rental properties then you'll want to look elsewhere other than a restaurant supply house. There are online resources available to you and you can get many hits by doing a simple internet search on reservation book. Whenever you make a purchase through an online source, you should double check their return policy before clicking the buy button. You'll want to make sure that you can return the product if it does not meet your expectations. The paper might be too thin or the book may not lay flat when open and these are the things that you cannot tell from a website.
You can buy a reservation book from an office supply company or from a stationery store. These places will sell generic reservation books. The generic books work great, and these stores normally carry refill pages for the book so that you won't have to buy a new book each year. You can simply add additional pages.
If you are looking for something special, then consider having a custom reservation book made. Depending upon what your business is, you may want a very elaborate reservation book. It looks nice to have the name of your business embossed on the front cover in gold letters. It personalizes the reservation book and makes it look nice when sitting on your desk.

SERVING SPECIALIZED DAYTIMERS

By SIMON TUCK -- Ottawa Sun
After 11 years working in local restaurants, Dave Lipson knew
what to put on his new firm's menu.
The Nepean entrepreneur had seen enough misplaced notes,
forgotten drink orders, and empty stock supplies in his time to
know restauranteurs could use a helping hand organizing their
fast-paced operations.
So Lipson, 27, took action last summer and began compiling a
special daytimer -- or manager's communication module (MCM)
as he's calling them -- for restaurant managers and workers.
His first client, a local Pizza Hut outlet, asked him and his
ex-business partner to synthesize their three managers' books into
one. It turned out to be a prototype and the seed for a new
company.
Before long, his Knife & Fork Productions had a manager's log
book, a reservation book, a sales book and a catering book.
He now has an arsenal of nine such books and has sold about
350 books to about 75 restaurants. His best customer is The
Lone Star Cafe, where Lipson still works about three shifts a
week and gathers plenty of customer feedback.
Despite plans to push out into new foreign markets and produce
translated versions of the MCMs, the Ottawa native's bread and
butter is, to this point, the local market
An estimated 45 of his customers have been local restauranteurs,
including East Side Mario's Big Daddy's Crab Shack and Oyster
Bar, Buffalo Charlie's Bar & Grill, Maxwell's Bistro and Denny's.

He says no one else in Canada is working the same niche.
Lipson's books sell for about $100 each and can be specialized
to suit the specific customer's needs.
"It's a great start," says Lipson, admitting the operation is already
in the black. "I'm very surprised. I started this as a consulting
thing and people started calling me.
"I never expected to have nine books. I never expected to have
75 customers."
Armed with his company's philosophy that "today's preparation
determines tomorrow achievement," Lipson knows about the
need to make order out of perpetually hectic environments as
well as anyone.
"You have scattered notes all over your desk," says Lipson,
whose restaurant resume includes The Olive Garden, Chi-Chi's
and a Club Med in the Caribbean. "I had worked so many years
in so many restaurants, it came pretty easily.
"It just came out of a need for better organization."
The books are designed to help busy shift workers keep track of
what's happened, what needs to happen, when, why and whom.
Things like orders that need to be made, booze supplies that are
drying up, the number of cab calls and ID checks, and employee
matters, such as who's not doing the job.
Lipson advertises a slew of references.
"We liked their philosophy so much we bought all their products
for all units across Canada," says Gord Berezin, director of
operations for the Lone Star Cafe chain in Canada.
Although he hopes one day to own his own restaurant, Lipson
says the market for his products looks great, with so many
restaurants in every town.
"I think the climate is getting better," he says. "The GST had a
drastic effect on the rest of Canada."

RESTAURANT ORGANIZERS
* Entrepreneur: Dave Lipson
* Age: 27
* Company: Knife & Fork Productions
* Product: Specialized daytimers for restaurants
* Price: About $100 each
* Location: 1460 Merivale Rd., Box 78029
* Contact: 1-800-942-7086
* Quote: "Todays preparations determines tomorrows achievement"