News from Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association

Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(September 4, 2011 - September 10, 2011)

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October is just around the corner and MMBA board members have been given a list of store managers to call to see if they will be participating in the Food Drive this year, find out how business is going and answer any questions they may have.

Well, I did my calling late this afternoon and only four of the 14 managers on my list were still at their store working. When I asked what was the best time to call back, 7 of the 10 responses were "the best time to call is between 7 am and 11 am."

I looked at a few of these stores in my last audit report and some red flags went up in my mind. Why are these managers coming in that early in the am? What time do they open? How busy are they that early in the am and why are they going home so early in the afternoon?

I am not going to assume any answer, but I want all of you to think about this: If your off sale store isn't grossing between 24-26% and has a net of 7-10%, you need to look at yourself in the mirror and ask, "Am I leading by example and giving the city what they are paying me for?"

I am a "40 hour per week plus" manager. I run a store that has sales of $1.7 million.

We used to open at 9am, but my city was asking for more money to be transferred into the general fund. so one place I looked at was our hours of operation.

I found that we did not have more than 10 sales the first hour of the day even when it was a holiday. So we moved our opening time to 10am about a year and a half ago.

I used to be scheduled to come in at 8 am to open at 9 am, I could have kept it that way, but that was a waste of salary dollars. So I adjusted my schedule and do not come in until 9 am. I can get all of my opening duties and complete all my daily paperwork before we open at 10 am.

By doing this I am saving my city a minimum of 2 hours per day and over $8,000 that goes right to my bottom line.

Yes, since I am a 40 hour a week manager and do not come in until 9 am, I am working until at least 5 pm every day. Sure I would love to leave early, but my city deserves to get the time they are paying me for. Plus, if I were an hourly manager, I would make sure the city is getting what they are paying for as well.

Some of you may say, "I have to be there to meet with the sales people that early." That is not true.

I informed all of my sales people about a month ahead of time so they could rearrange their schedule so they could see me. They will do that if they want an order from you bad enough.

Some others have said,"I need to come in to do some stock and cleaning duties before we open." I don't buy that one either.

Make a task list for each shift and if they follow it, you will have all duties done by the end of the day. My employees are here for about 15 minutes each night after they close to do the last of the tasks that need to be done without customers around.

I have not been given a reason good enough to see any manager or employee on the schedule more than one hour before you open or one hour after.

Take a hard look at your habits. Are you as the manager being flexible and making the changes needed to be more profitable. Are you giving your city what they are paying you for?

Lara Smetana

MMBA Director

Defining Retail Brilliance

Success3

By Marvin Ellison, President, Northern Division, Home Depot

I define brilliance as someone who has the ability to create a team that drives sustainable results.

In business you have economic cycles where you'll have positive results. Then, the results will trend down [and] at some point trend back up.

Without fail, you have leaders in every industry, retail included, that find a way, even in economic down times, to get a team to perform at a very high level, to deliver results consistently and in a very sustainable fashion.

There is nothing magical or mystical about success.

It's about creating a clear vision, developing a good plan, understanding the needs of the customer, staffing a team that can deliver upon that, and having good measurements in place to understand how you're progressing.

Then you make the necessary adjustments by listening to customers and your team--making the necessary course correction but reacting quickly and delivering value.

Success itself is a definition of brilliance.

Q & A with Bar Rescue's Jon Taffer: "Everything is to Make Money"

The bartenders at Champs are in trouble. Big trouble. They've been significantly overpouring the cocktails, says Jon Taffer, star of Spike Televison's new show Bar Rescue. To him, that's stealing, and in an act of public humiliation, he forces every drink slinger to apologize to the bar's owner, one by one, on camera.

It's tough love from Taffer, who is hopping from barstool to barstool across the country, seeking out poorly performing bar/restaurants and (at least attempting) to make them over into the hottest spots in town.

Taffer doesn't seem to care much about, say, the creativity behind the drink recipes at a bar or even the taste of the food it serves. He's all creating "reactions" and ultimately, making as much money as possible.

He knows exactly how to trick patrons into staying longer and spending more, and he's unabashed about his intentions. It's kind of a disillusioning sentiment for those of us who equate cooking with artistry, but frankly, bars and restaurants are a business, and shouldn't somebody be thinking this way?

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Remove a Bill from Underneath a Bottle Without Touching the Bottle.