AG 2005 07 14 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Sales Effort: The current food and beverage operator takes a passive approach to catering services in the building. The buyout clause that allows other caterers to come into the facility has been the norm and not the exception. This has diluted the revenue stream of the facility and made profit non-existent. SMG Food and Beverage brings a department that works seamlessly with the facility and looks at all food and beverage opportunities as they benefit the entire facility. The "one-stop shop approach" allows a patron to arrange events at the building with a single contact. It also appears that there has been little coordination and communication overall between food service operations and the building staff. In a number of instances, there have been conflicts between the operating philosophies of the food and beverage operator and the overall goals of the facility that have resulted in lost business and/or unhappy clients. These issues are not uncommon in facilities that have third party food service operators. Third party food service operators are responsible to their corporate entity for a specific bottom- line return. In order to manage a large number of accounts, it is necessary that common policies and guidelines be established and followed to assure a consistent operation and financial return. Often these policies and procedures do not account for the overall goals of the facility or economic impact to the community, as the third party operators are not participants in these financial gains. Often, the local food service General Managers do not have the latitude to make the decisions that are required to facilitate the overall goals of the facility and the community. In an effort to eliminate these potential conflicts, a number of facilities have taken their food service operations in-house. In-house food service operations create the following opportunities: . In-house food service becomes a department of the facility, not an independent company with different goals and objectives. . In-house food service is integrated into the overall facility management team. . In-house food service also provides for a more coordinated sales effort between the food service operations and the building. . In-house food service provides clearer lines of communication. . In-house food service allows for the General Manager of the facility to make the final decisions based on their understanding of the overall goals and objectives of the facility and the County. The General Manager has the ability to make decisions that might negatively impact the bottom line of the food service operations if there is an overall positive impact for the facility and the County. . In-house food service operations provide for a synergistic operation and potential bottom- line savings with the consolidation of some support responsibilities. For example, the accounting functions can be consolidated between the two operations. G-s