5 Things To Look Out For To Control Beverage Cost
Published By
Mike Sorrentino
Published On
May 2024
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There is a lot going on during each and every shift that a Manager needs to focus on. Training yourself while during your loops you keep an eye on these five things will help reduce beverage cost. It's usually the day to day fixes, the little things that add up over time. I have found those things are things that make all the difference in the long run if you will be successful or not.
While walking the floor watching servers and bartenders deliver beverages or if you just keep an eye on the service bar; watch out for the size of the head on draft beer. Too much head might lead to unhappy customers. While too little head will cost you money. That beer is costed with a specific amount of beer and if you put a small head or zero head you will be giving that amount of beer away for FREE! In addition to the cost saving there is a flavor impact as well. The proper head has just the right amount of gas and also seals in the flavor. One trick I used to do is fill up two glasses with water, and cover them with plastic wrap and secure them with a rubber band. The 1st glass should be filled to the amount the beer should be filled with propper head. The second glass should be filled almost to the top, simulating a beer poured with little to no head. Once both are secured with plastic wrap, turn the upside down. You will see how much more beer is given away!! There are few things you can do as a manager to help the bartender ensure a proper pour every time. Make sure the beer lines are cleaned regularly, as well as the beer cooling system to be well maintained. Also keeping a good supply of the correct glassware and that glassware should be chilled NOT frozen. Having a dirty and/or non functioning beer lines will make it harder to pour the beer correctly, usually resulting in lots of lost beer/profits.
Another waste area could be over pours with wine by the glass. As a manager you should know what a standard wine pour looks like in the correct glassware. Just walking through the dining room watching the drinks being delivered or poured can easily be monitored. Wine by the glass can be very profitable if the right portion is served. One trick I have used in the past is to measure the correct amount of water and pour it into the correct wine glass, I would keep this glass at the service bar and make the bartender use that glass as a guide while pouring each and every wine by the glass. Even better is to make it part of the opening process. You can also put some colored tape at the line where the wine should be filled or use food coloring to make it easier to see.
The next thing to watch out for is Ice. First is the proper amount of ice used? When making drinks are the glasses filled to the top? If not, what else is going into that glass to make the drink look appropriate? Is it more mixer, that could lead to a lower quality product and a slight increase to the cost. If it's more liqueur that will greatly increase the cost of the product! When making drinks ice should be filled to the top of the glass. If a customer asks for less ice or no ice than the glass should NOT be filled to the same level as if there was ice in the glass. It is also important when mixing a drink ice is used in the mixing tin. Pouring warm room temperature liquor will cause the ice to melt quicker leaving the drink sitting low in the glass which an inexperienced bartender might add more mixer or even worse more liquor to make the drink “Look” correct. Not only will that solution add cost but will also change the flavor profile of the drink.
Whether the bartenders are free pouring or using measuring devices over pouring will dramatically increase your beverage cost. But how do you know if they are over pouring? First it is absolutely vital you as a manager know the drink recipes and know what the correct amount stated in the recipe is being used. If you know how to make the drinks and how much each product is used you can easily watch from afar know if a bartender is making drinks correctly. A common practice of bartenders who are stealing is to over pour at the front bar where they are being tipped, and then to under pour at the service bar. This practice will cause so many more headaches than you can imagine. Angry servers and dining room customers are just the tip of the iceberg. If customers come to expect poor quality of drinks in the dining room they will stop ordering drinks or stop coming to the establishment altogether. Declining sales is much worse issue than high beverage cost. But having declining sales AND high beverage costs are a recipe for disaster. Being knowledgeable in how to make the drinks and the recipes you can mitigate this practice.
Another thing to look out for is if drinks are being served in the correct glassware. If a bartender is serving a larger glass than is specified then you can bet that will increase your beverage cost. It is imperative that you have enough of the correct size of each glassware needed. A common mistake is thinking you have enough on slow Monday. You will need enough when you're busy, enough to wash some and still have clean glassware. Also think about cooling time, if you are chilling pints for draft beer you need enough to have a stock in the chiller ready to go. It might also be prudent to have a back case or two of the most common glassware locked up somewhere. You never know when a clumsy person might knock over a glassware rack or two???
This post is intended to help to see where to quickly see some areas where you might be losing money. And how to quickly remedy it. Now that you know the clues to spot and correct issues; finding those teachable moments that can pay dividends moving forward. But if you have read carefully you may have noted there are many places the manager plays a big role too. If you see the beer coming out very foamy make sure you arrange service right away. If you don`t know your drink recipes, learn them. If you don't have an adequate supply of glassware broken out or don`t have good back up get some more. First look in the mirror, make sure you have all your bases covered and then use those teachable moments to fix or just to make sure bartenders know you are keeping a keen eye on them.