Consultancy Services

Ongoing Performance Monitoring

To be truly successful a catering facility has to meet two main criteria. Initially, it must be based upon firm foundations with all aspects of the operation being clearly developed and defined. Second and perhaps more importantly, the ongoing service has to be subject to regular monitoring and review.

Although clients often receive regular trading reports from the caterer or catering team, such reports rarely provide the kind of business intelligence required to effectively manage the facility. Customer feedback forms tend to focus on complaints rather than positive aspects of customer service and can misrepresent overall service standards.

Food Service Associates can provide effective business intelligence about your catering service, performing regular reviews and providing objective and unbiased reports. As distinct from one-off audits, these regular reviews provide a valuable check and comment on the continuing provision of value for money. We can provide an objective perspective on customer satisfaction and ensure that legislative requirments are met, that revenue opportunities are maximised and costs are controlled.

Through a series of inspections ranging from unannounced mystery shopper style visits to formal audits, Food Service Associates is able to monitor your catering services in four key performance areas.

• Customer service standards; menu range, food presentation, food quality, efficiency of service, portion sizes, marketing and merchandising techniques, signage, staff presentation, customer care, selling prices, cleanliness, ambience and maintenance standards.
• Financial performance; financial controls and accuracy of bookwork, cash handling and banking procedures, stock control, food cost and profit margins, labour cost percentage, purchasing efficiency, discount levels received, spend per head and penetration rates.
• Health and safety and food safety compliance; building fabric and equipment condition, food preparation processes, caterer's policies, procedures, controls and documentation.
• Overall performance; a balanced review and comment on the provision and management of the catering service and whether it represents value for money for the level of service offered.