SURVIVAL DURING A SERIOUS RECESSION
By Lloyd M. Gordon, GEC Consultants, Inc.

Today the need for experts in the foodservice industry is growing as the recession deepens.  The need has developed because the act of operating a restaurant has evolved into the methodology of operating a complex foodservice effectively. To be efficient, a facility serving food must adhere to ever higher standards of development, performance and efficiency in food, service and marketing. To achieve these standards is not cheap or easy.

This demand for high standards came about because:
1.    The marketplace had exploded, bigger was better.

2.    The customers was mobile and could  travel readily.
3.    Theme differentiation required elaborate ambiance.                    .

4.    A wide diversity of foodservice outlets created overwhelming competition..

5.    Competition required allocating the funds, time and dedication to making marketing  work effectively.

But during a major downturn in business, these standards are now too cumbersome and expensive. GEC Consultants has developed an utterly new innovative program for restaurant survival and financial solvency. GEC believes that restaurant operators who adhere to old established ideas will perish, while those with the foresight to take action now and newcomers to the industry indoctrinated in this new operating philosophy will thrive and prosper.

GEC refers to this operating philosophy as Restaurant Revitalization, Restructuring for Recession or the 4 R’s method.

Make the 4 R’s Method work for you

1.    Review all expenditures and set priorities
2.    Evaluate what your customer’s like best about you.
3.    Rethink your menu presentation to reflect cost, price and customer satisfaction.
4.    Think smaller and make simpler.
5.    Maintain key staff members at all costs.
6.    Reduce inventory and hold funds for marketing.
7.    Market your best features relentlessly.
8.    Do not slip into debt with your vendors.
9.    Do not become tax delinquent Federal or State.
10.    Maintain a smiling disposition for customers and employees.

Mr. Lloyd M. Gordon, President of GEC Consultants, Inc. has an MBA from the University of Chicago.  He has concepted more than 400 restaurants and has been consulting for more than 45 years.  He helps people enter the restaurant industry, points the way to profitability, and helps keep them successful.  To discuss the topic of this article he can be reached at 847-674-6310 or by e-mail advisor@gecconsultants.com or on the web at www.gecconsultants.com

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