By George Barton, Sr. Beverage Consultant.

“No hassle, no training, no investment”

Capturing every drink transaction, every shift, every day has always been a challenge for leadership, from a small independent restaurant to large brands representing hundreds of locations. The human factor is at play and while not labeling world class bartenders at the culprit, you should clearly understand the tools that will support a key objective — that EVERY transaction at the bar is accounted for through video auditing by way of small cameras which are linked to your point of sale to insure compliance. Simply put, if you sell 100 drinks (beer, wine and cocktails) on a shift, it’s captured, reconciled and time stamped that all 100 drinks are collected or rang up, based upon your operations procedure when to capture the drink revenue. What else could be more effective in today’s busy hospitality environment. If we believe and know that every drink during a shift is not accounted for, why not take the necessary steps to invest in a tool to accomplish this which supports revenue growth. High reward (lost revenue captured, improved margins) with low risk.A few key deliverables to consider on taking on a new initiative like this:

• Why do it: No need to invest capital to increase profits nor to accept ignored SOP’s any longer. Actually there is no training nor maintenance required.
• Benefits: No charge for cameras or maintenance. Every beverage and food serving from behind the bar are time stamped, while ring ups, serving etiquette and preparation are all captured. Captured beverage and food presentations that miss your collection standards are highlighted for your observation.
• Problem – Solution: Failure to meet standards is a reality in hospitality due to the fast moving environment which conjures up many opportunities for operations execution to be ignored or forgotten. Why not initiate procedures that reviews this breach in standard operating procedures. Empower management and allow enforcement or excellence in execution and collection of every transition. Product today is simply too expensive to allow not to be accounted for.
• The How: Small cameras mounted to view all service areas and are connected to the interned. Analysts audit images to track what is served vs what is accounted for. Reports (very easy to navigate) show discrepancies from what was delivered from what was accounted for according to your SOP’

While this new age of mixology or the voice of the bartender is more prevalent than ever and rightly so, we also know from history and actual loss of revenue and margins that numerous factors play havoc on ensuring that EVERY beverage and food transaction from behind the bar is accounted for.If you would like to learn and hear more, give Synergy a call.