Too many suppliers are simply order takers,” according to John Bornoty, CEO & Founder of national salad franchise restaurant The Big Salad, headquartered in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. “Suppliers need to gain an understanding and respect for their customers. They take the time to understand your business.
Don’t be afraid to ask those questions before you sign the dotted line. When seeking a supplier, try to choose those that have sales reps that have been around for a while and truly enjoy what they do. “It’s too time-consuming having to develop new relationships and some of them are so green they don’t take the time to really get to know you,” says Thomas Nguyen, co-founder of Peli Peli, a South African restaurant group in Houston. Why is turnover is so high, what is the actual cost, and how do you fix it? Find the answers in our Staff Management ebook. Too often the cycle of sales reps is like a revolving door: They keep coming and going and restaurant managers have to keep developing new relationships. It’s fine to have high expectations, but as there are a lot of moving parts on the supplier end as people do their best to carry out your wishes, patience goes a long way. Likewise, be open to the supplier helping you to understand what is realistic and what is and isn’t possible. Here are four specific qualities all restaurant managers should look for in a supplier sales representative. At the onset, work with your main contact to establish a routine for the relationship, with clearly defined goals. Restaurants may expect the supplier to deliver in ways that are just not possible. Most supplier/restaurant relationships fail because of expectations. They accurately set expectations from the start. (With a good supplier, hopefully, these are kept to a minimum). They should also be timely about keeping restaurant owners updated on delays in delivery times, price changes, and product shortages. There is nothing worse than being left in the lurch when you are trying to plan a menu for the next week and your supplier is slow to respond to your inquiries. The best reps are the ones who are always quick to respond to calls, texts or any question you might have.
They are responsive and communicate clearly.
Having worked with restaurant owners and operators across a spectrum of concepts, cuisines, and styles, there are certain attributes that are key to making the supplier relationship a success. And that relationship goes far beyond managing the inventory. In many instances, you manage multiple supplier relationships, from meat to dry goods, produce bread, chemicals to disposables. And it’s much more than the obvious list: the menu, the servers, the guests.Īmong the most important relationships, you manage is the one you have with your suppliers-and specifically, the sales representative assigned to your account. When seeking a supplier, try to choose those that have sales reps that have been around for awhile and truly enjoy what they do. This originally appeared on QSR Magazine.
0 kommentar(er)
