Restaurant consultant Donald Burns shows how three extra labor points costs $60,000 yearly on $2 million in sales. The problem is inefficient scheduling, not wages. His fix: forecast by day, set a labor budget, schedule to actual demand, and track hours weekly as a profit plan.
3 extra points of labor on a $2 million restaurant cost you $60,000 a year. That's $5,000 every month. Labor creeps, 30 minutes here, an opener you don't need, an extra closer, overtime. You only reviewed after it was paid, a schedule copied from last week. See, most owners blame wages, but your people aren't the problem. Your labor plan might be, because here's the thing, wages Didn't creep up overnight. Your schedule did. Here's your fix. Forecast schedules by day and also by mirror period. Set the labor budget. Build a schedule to demand, not out of habit. I mean, if Tuesday lunch doesn't need 5 people, stop scheduling 5 people. Then every week compare scheduled hours, worked hours, and productive hours. Your schedule is a profit plan written in hours, so you have to write it like one. This isn't for owners looking for someone to blame. It's for owners ready to look how they actually lead. Here's what I want you to do. Book your Profit Leak Check with me personally at profitleakcall.com. Bring your last 4 schedules, bring your last 3 months of numbers. No numbers, no calls. Let's fix the leaks now.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
