MORE POWER, MORE POWER

In our “supersize me” culture, the natural inclination to more-is-better ill-serves us in commercial kitchen equipment purchasing choices. When it comes to gas cooking appliances, btu’s and recovery figures are akin to the horsepower and torque numbers in automobile selection. You need both, and more of each is generally more better, if your volume requirements dictate it.

Years ago, I was asked to cost justify food service equipment’s value based on a cost per pound of the appliance. This was as invalid a measure of its worth as is a simple measure of the btu load is.

The rest of the story is that with modern equipment, engineers have been able of late to squeeze more efficiencies out of every btu input. This is important because it requires less fuel to cook the same the amount of food, and where’s there’s greater fuel efficiency, there’s also lower flue temperatures and the resultant lower air handling (hood and HVAC) requirements. These combined, of course, will contribute to a greener footprint and lower overall costs, and greater throughput in the kitchen with less real estate and asset usage.

Many of the latest technological advances rely on simple recirculation of the products of combustion, re-firing them and/or using heat exchangers to maximize the potential energy contained within. This is something that Ben Franklin was attempting to popularize with his famous Franklin Stove. Other innovations contributing to productivity gains in commercial appliances center on technology. Better and more accurate controls with narrower differentials (the band of temperature between cycle on and cycle off) keep the equipment closer to the cooking temperature setting. In addition, the latest models will have lower “burner on” times, even at lower btu’s! Having the appliance at-the-ready equates to faster recoveries and more production capacity for fuel (and fuel dollars) spent.

Energy Star designations can be a good place to begin understanding the efficiency of commercial food service equipment. In many instances, rebate dollars from local utilities are available to more than offset the slightly higher initial cost of energy efficient units.

Like most areas in life, this is a pay me now or pay me later scenario. The total cost of ownership should always be considered, and right now the equation is happily slanted towards better-producing equipment and away from commodity (read “cheap”) purchases. Don’t let btu input be your only judge of appliance capacity.

As Founding Father and stove engineer Ben Franklin said: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten”.

Disconnections

Have you ever noticed that technology can sometimes impede progress?  I recall back in the 80’s, when banks were first implementing their electronic marvels, that the queues seemed to be getting longer and moving slower. 

In foodservice we’ve computerized our equipment, added e-commerce, reservations on-line, IPad wine lists,  installed turbo-cookers, combi’s, and blast chillers, POS, and dupe printers, and we are still having the same old problems of getting the food out, at temperature, in a timely fashion.  What gives?

There’s a disconnect between the kitchen and the front of the house.  There’s a disconnect between the E&S specialist and the chef.  With all of the sundry modern means of communications available, we do little real communicating.

Good business (AKA “selling”) is simply finding out what somebody wants and helping them to get it.  Whether you’re a waitron or a DSR it’s all the same process, and it is noble.  In foodservice, and in the greater sphere of the hospitality industry, we are all engaged in satisfying our client’s needs.  That is why there’s no such term as “standard” in what we do.  We can no more shoe-horn a flight-type dishmachine into a luncheonette than can you expect to get chateaubriand at a bowling alley. 

Listening to our patrons is only the beginning; hearing what the other person is actually saying is the often neglected critical component.  Countless hours spent networking will be wasted if we haven’t fostered relationships with the folks that we’ve met.  People buy from people, as the sales adage goes.  We must embrace technology, but not for technology’s sake. 

Who among us hasn’t worked a tradeshow with attendees and vendors avoiding eye-contact?  Have you noticed any service staff hiding from and ignoring dining patrons?  Are you aware of any suppliers that assume that they know what you need before asking any questions and listening to the answers?  We can’t afford to hide behind our computer terminals, emailing and texting all day long.

Connecting with our clients, co-workers and suppliers is paramount.  Technology can greatly assist in (or hinder) the effort.  SocMed sites keep us in touch with those that are important to us.  POS systems can quickly communicate patron’s desires. Smart phones can rolodex everyone you’ve ever encountered.  The real challenge then is to create a meaningful dialogue with the folks that matter most in our lives. 

The restaurentrepreneur who reconnects the various players will reap the rewards.  The supplier who constantly learns from his clients will have his efforts pay dividends.

Connecting with people is what good hospitality is all about. Occasionally disconnecting from our electronic devices might be a good place to start.

The Days of Easy Money

The days of easy money are over (except – at the moment - for bankers) and I’m truly happy about it.
It’s really hard to appreciate anything that comes easily, and this ain’t an exception. That’s why credit tightening should have the effect of inspiring us to do great deeds.
As a contrarian, I’ve always viewed myself as somewhat out of synch with the pack. This time I’ll be leading the charge as a fan of the college of hard knocks.
I’m done with my grieving. The old economy is dead. Long live the new reality!
Yeah, it’s just harder to make a buck these days. We know that. So what? Grandma used to say “Hard work never killed anyone.” Think of the generations that built this great country with meager resources. They were spurred on by only the promise of opportunity, not the guarantee of results.
I’m happy to see the elimination of some of those guarantees. Can it inspire us to achieve greatness? I shudder to think of the alternative.
As we collectively awake from a three year long debt-induced slumber, let’s take stock of what we still have and not necessarily what we’ve lost.
To paraphrase Churchill, we’ve got the worst system in the world, except for all of the others.
No, I’m done with the grief over the loss of easy money. I’ve got my sleeves rolled up, my work clothes on, and I’m gonna build something that will last. Care to join me?

What the Hell Do I Know?

What the Hell Do I Know?

After 5 plus decades on this planet, and over 75,000 hours in the foodservice equipment Industry, I find myself wondering “What the hell do I know, anyway?”

I’m not talking about factoids, like the optimal commercial kitchen width (17’), or where the best square pizza in the area can be had (formerly Gloria’s Pizza in Flushing, now Spumoni Gardens in Coney Island).  Nor do I mean the proper height for installing wall backing, the proper size of a grease trap, or how many seats can be squeezed into a given dining room.

No, I am talking wisdom here.  These days, the “why” of what we do is more important to me than the “what”.  It’s an existential question at its most basic. 

The manufacturer’s rep is an enigma to all especially to him or herself.

Who are we?  Educators, salespeople, marketers, financiers, brokers, answer-men? 

Armed with an arcane knowledge base (I can say “I don’t understand Mandarin” IN Mandarin!), I travel around “preaching the gospel” of the factories that I happen to represent at the moment.  Still, I find it difficult to articulate my business purpose. My Dad went to his grave never fully understanding what exactly it was that his only son did for a living.

As a rep, we are often maligned by our partners in the industry which we serve.  A dealer that I worked for once called reps “coupon clippers”. The factory “pukes” (AKA Sales Manglers) call us “rep-tiles”!  The popular misconception of a rep being a glad-handling golf course regular might sometimes be well-founded.  Unfortunately for me, I don’t even know how to play.

What value then do we add to the supply channel?  As an officer of MAFSI, Manufacturers’ Agents to the Foodservice Industry, I am keenly aware of the extensive list of services that we provide - we’ve got several white papers on that subject alone.  But what does it all boil down to? 

Our compensation is based on territory sales, but that’s a poor barometer of our worth. We aren’t paid to make anything, fix anything, finance, deliver, or track anything.  We’re paid to market.  But we’re not marketing agents.

What I do know, is my territory & many of the people in it.  And that’s something that even Willie Loman would be proud of.

Unlike Willie Loman, though, I have been fortunate to actually live the American Dream.  Our foodservice industry is life-sustaining and vibrant.  I know that it still gets my blood pumping, gets me up early every day, and keeps me going ‘til late. 

What the hell do I know?  I know that my life is good because of my life-long association with the foodservice equipment and supplies industry!

www.pecinkaferri.com

How Are You Going To Use It?

The rack of meals was still frozen in the center when it was pulled out of the oven after heating for 40 minutes.

The school foodservice director had that frustrated look on her face. “This oven doesn’t work any better that the old one,” she barked.

Having already been to too many of these autumn start-up/demonstrations this month, the rep sighed. “Did you slack off [defrost] the product before trying to heat it up?” he asked.

“We don’t have enough refrigerator space for that!”

Why is it that we in foodservice are so prone to question the equipment and not the preparation process? I am often reminded of Einstein’s much quoted axiom “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

More times than not, professionals in the E&S distribution channel quickly offer a low-ball price when an operator queries us about a product. However, we rarely ask the most important question: “How are you going to use it?”

If we first understand an operator’s production system, we become so much better at providing a solution instead of just a product. This, in turn, can mean better results for the end-user, a lasting good impression and, probably, more opportunities to do business.

Recently, I was called in to trouble shoot a recurring problem with a bain marie heater. We’d been told that it wasn’t “hot enough” (whatever that means). After eliminating several design issues, I discovered that the operator’s expectations were not in synch with the equipment specs. They were overfilling the units by 10-fold and expecting a heat-up time of one-quarter of the spec. As they say on the radio talk-shows, “Do the math!” Needless to say, a simple re-education solved the problem.

In-service demonstrations are vital to an operator’s success, but scant attention is paid to training the trainers. Most startups are performed by manufacturers’ representatives, yet I am unaware of any formal programs of instruction on how to do a proper demo. The how and why of using foodservice equipment should be established early on in the implementation process.

A disconnect between features and benefits causes a disproportionate number of nuisance service calls.

Did the operator know that the food pans needed to be removed daily from his pizza table or that the ice cream couldn’t be stored overnight in the cafeteria counter? Did the in-service explain this? Did the specifier make provisions for condensate drainage on the refrigeration? Was a drain for the pasta cooker considered?

Unfulfilled expectations, combined with ignorance of the equipment’s capabilities, are a recipe for headaches on all of our parts. With foodservice equipment’s increasing sophistication, attention must be paid to the very basic notions of selection and operation. Equipment suppliers must put themselves in an operator’s shoes and understand what it is that needs to be accomplished by the hardware before jumping in with a ‘value engineered’ appliance.

We can and should make it work better than the last one.

joe@pecinkaferri.com                                                                                       www.pecinkaferri.com

Paring Down

I stood on my bathroom scale, staring down. The number flashing between my two big toes stared back at me. It wasn’t a pretty sight. With vacation over, and the holidays looming large, I had to have (and execute) a plan to lose weight. Having spent most of my life around restaurants and foodservices, I had become a “professional” dieter: I knew what to cut out of my life. This would mean all of the best of the holiday season: pumpkin pies, cookies, fresh baked breads, lasagna…

We in the restaurant equipment sales and distribution community need to pare down, too. Our successful operator partners have adopted this strategy to continue to earn profits in challenging economic times. They’ve shown us that less can truly be more.

For many foodservice equipment manufacturers and rep firms, our concentration on year-on-year volume increases has served us well, but now the time has come to concentrate on bottom line growth. We can’t continue to sacrifice profits at the altar of top line growth.

Some manufacturers call it “the 80/20 rule,” others “product rationalization.” Bettering our bottom lines starts with getting back to our core competencies, which will necessarily mean “honing the blade.” Leaner line offerings must be in the offing. This can free up scant resources for innovation, sales-skill development and support of new concepts such as those serving global ethnic items.

Back when I was starting out as an equipment rep, a veteran sales manager used to tell younger colleagues, “Sell what you’ve got!” Well, what we’ve got today are bloated equipment catalogues. With most of our factories competing in each other’s arenas, trying to eke out a little more volume is becoming increasingly problematic in the current financial environment. We have to face the fact that we cannot discount our way to profitability!

Our businesses must follow the example of the end-users who have pared down their operations to preserve profits. Our focus must be on providing operators with affordable, compelling, need-satisfying, profitable foodservice equipment.

Has your company started your economic diet? Do you know which products and practices to cut out?

Appearances are not all that’s at stake; it’s about achieving financial health, too. Make no mistake, profits and the survival of our businesses are on the line.

I Need How Many Sinks? RestEquipper’s guide to Americanizing Your Concept

I Need How Many Sinks? RestEquipper’s guide to Americanizing Your Concept

Posted on September 20, 2011 by joeferri

“Give me,” he demanded in his thick accent “twelve clean sheets of paper.” Now I knew that this was going to be a long job meeting. He intended to show us foolish Americans the proper way to build his new restaurant. After all, this is the way they do it over there. “Why do we need so many sinks?” “Why must we put a hood over every open flame?” “Why can’t I get the same equipment here that I use in Europe?”

We Americans like everything bigger, stronger, faster, louder, colder, hotter, safer, and blander. If you’re thinking of doing an ethnic food concept here in the States, you should think about the equipment ramifications. Aside from the obvious code issues (and there are many), operators typically fail to take into account the practical issues such as training staff and keeping the “engines hummin’”.

Successfully translating a concept for the American palate can be tricky. We rarely venture too far afield in our culinary adventures as consumers, so a blend of the exotic and familiar is often the only path to success. Gelato is good as long as vanilla chocolate and strawberry is offered. Greek is great, if there are burgers on the menu. Take-out-Asian will do fine – make mine an order of hot wings.

Many of the specialty pieces of equipment that are required for a particular menu item can readily be procured from our domestic producers. Some hardware is just too specialized and may need to be imported or custom manufactured This is especially the case with food preparation, rather than primary cooking, as cooking equipment around the globe really hasn’t evolved much in the four millennia of recorded history. Bringing in equipment from overseas can be tricky when considering power requirements and agency approvals (NSF, UL, AGA, etc.). Foreign made items must also be supported by service and parts availability.

Operators are often put-off by our ventilation requirements, especially when it comes to solid fuels. Sinks and warewashing is always an issue. I am certain that the single bowl handwash/scullery/mop/prep that I witnessed in the Caribbean is the norm around the world, and so, when told that they’ll need at least 7 separate sink bowls, we get that “look”.

Tapas, hummus, curry sausage, tandoor, helado, iskender, doner kabop, gyro, shawarma, we’ve seen them all in the past year. Each has its own challenges. Living in the New York metro area and sampling the latest culinary trends from around the world has been culturally gratifying. Working here to help operators bring these to the table has always been professionally rewarding.

Late Summer

This time, the smell was different. It was no longer scented with the blooms of spring or early summer.  Musty, it was perfumed with wet earth, and rotting leaves.  The four days of late season thunderstorms had subsided.  I was finally able to venture outside for some sunshine.  This was the time of year that I loved most growing up, but I also hated it.  You see, like most kids I hated giving up my freedom to go back to school.  I know, it’s hard to believe that a nerd like me hated school, but I did.  I think we all are inherently upset at the season’s change.  We look at autumn’s arrival as though we are staring down the barrel of a shotgun. 

But it is time to get back to school.  Not only the children, but the adults as well need to continue their educations.  How about you?  Have you ventured out of your comfort zone?  We decry the lack of training and knowledge in our industry, but rarely invest our time to better ourselves and the business at large.  I was surprised at the lack of my peers at a recent end-user conference (even though it meant that I personally had better networking opportunities).  There are also tradeshows, seminars, webinars, blogs, Twitter feeds, E-mag’s – we have more avenues for learning than ever before.  Do we take full advantage of them?

Learning opportunities abound.  We give great lip-service to education, but usually don’t “walk the walk”.  An investment of our resources will invariably pay great dividends to ourselves, our businesses, our communities and our industry.

The corn is tasseled, the leaves are mostly still on the trees.  We still have time to enjoy the rest of the summer.  The great recession still affords us ample opportunity to re-tool our skills, to get back to school, to learn a few new tricks.  But we’ll need to give up some of our freedom, to get out from behind our desks, venture out and attend some events.  Who knows, you just might learn something.

Late Summer

This time, the smell was different. It was no longer scented with the blooms of spring or early summer.  Musty, it was perfumed with wet earth, and rotting leaves.  The four days of late season thunderstorms had subsided.  I was finally able to venture outside for some sunshine.  This was the time of year that I loved most growing up, but I also hated it.  You see, like most kids I hated giving up my freedom to go back to school.  I know, it’s hard to believe that a nerd like me hated school, but I did.  I think we all are inherently upset at the season’s change.  We look at autumn’s arrival as though we are staring down the barrel of a shotgun. 

But it is time to get back to school.  Not only the children, but the adults as well need to continue their educations.  How about you?  Have you ventured out of your comfort zone?  We decry the lack of training and knowledge in our industry, but rarely invest our time to better ourselves and the business at large.  I was surprised at the lack of my peers at a recent end-user conference (even though it meant that I personally had better networking opportunities).  There are also tradeshows, seminars, webinars, blogs, Twitter feeds, E-mag’s – we have more avenues for learning than ever before.  Do we take full advantage of them?

Learning opportunities abound.  We give great lip-service to education, but usually don’t “walk the walk”.  An investment of our resources will invariably pay great dividends to ourselves, our businesses, our communities and our industry.

The corn is tasseled, the leaves are mostly still on the trees.  We still have time to enjoy the rest of the summer.  The great recession still affords us ample opportunity to re-tool our skills, to get back to school, to learn a few new tricks.  But we’ll need to give up some of our freedom, to get out from behind our desks, venture out and attend some events.  Who knows, you just might learn something.

www.pecinkaferri.com

Many Unhappy Returns

Okay, we’ve all been here before – the knives that are “too sharp” and the char broiler that is “too hot”.  And we’ve probably heard the “I’m throwing ‘your equipment’ out onto the street if you don’t resolve this” line more times than we’d like to admit.  What happened to the individual responsibility of the purchaser for the choices that were made?  Is our disposable culture of the “no quibble warranty” so pervasive that there’s no other way to resolve issues than to send the E&S back in exchange for new?

The market has certainly matured for foodservice equipment and supplies. Years ago, I recall a dealer telling end-users who were concerned with scratches on the stainless steel on equipment that he was delivering “what were you expecting, jewelry?”  But that was then and this is now.  The consumer empowerment contagion of the big box retailers, and websites that are all too willing to accept returns – no questions asked – has spilled over into the commercial arena.  The expectations are unmanageable.

A certain celebrity ordered a half size convection oven to roast his Thanksgiving turkey in his Manhattan apartment.  Neither he, nor the dealer bothered to check if there was enough power, space to mount the unit, or of a way to deliver it (I’m sure that the celebrity’s building doorman was thrilled).  Given the fact that, oh by the way, the cavity of a commercial half size convection oven is actually smaller than a domestic oven, Mr. Hollywood now wanted to return the oven.  My partner saved that particular voice mail message for many months. 

What dealer showroom or rep facility isn’t filled with the OOPS inventory of salesman errors?   What service agency doesn’t have the dead inventory of yesterday’s (or this morning’s) outdated solid state components?  In a society rushing headlong towards the latest, greatest, state-of-the-artest, we’ve seen controls that are obsolete before they make it into production after being introduced at a trade show.

Get it right the first time?  With all of the variables in utilities, sizes and options, thousands of possible permutations for each model can be configured.  Mistakes happen despite the shop drawing procedures that most factories have in place, and the configurators that many more have on-line.  Take the school cafeteria line-up that was signed off on, produced and delivered, only to be rejected because it was the mirror image of what was called for.  

Can you say “restock” and “charge back”?  I personally know of no words that are more dreaded in the dealer community than these (except maybe “freight charge”).  There is no-one that wants to absorb these fees, no matter how justified they may be.

With razor thin margins, how can we afford to continue on this path?  Without the benefit of the good will that it engenders, how can we not?

www.pecinkaferri.com

There's a Jet Engine Roaring Out of my Fryer

Did you ever have the sneaking suspicion that what you were being told was slightly inaccurate?
We handle lots of technical questions from our end-user clients, but this one was particularly disturbing. The operator had called in to the dealer to complain about flames shooting from their new fryers.
I had been skeptical when it was first proposed to upgrade this pizza shop from economy equipment to high-efficiency deep fryers. But, after all, this independent restaurant was an extremely high volume store. The sale, installation and demonstrations all went off without a hitch. They loved the equipment. It kept up with demand. It was easy to use. Move onto the next opportunity, right? Wrong.
Three months in, the phone calls started. “The equipment works great during the day, but when we start it up in the morning we get a plume of fire shooting up from the flue.” That’s what they should have said. But instead the message we got translated from the original kitchen-Spanglish to the kitchen-Italian, to dealer lingo, then to the rep receptionist, and finally to me was that the fryers are ‘on fire every day, and that if we don’t fix it today they are going to put “my” fryers out on the street’.
Technical service was sent in, three times! No-one could find anything wrong. We decided to investigate ourselves.
One of our reps showed up early enough to watch them start up the equipment, stuck around through meal service, and there it was. Sure enough: flame thrower! We never saw anything like it. The factory service department couldn’t figure it out.
The fry-cook had decided that the fries would drain faster with a blast of heat from the flu. So every batch got drained down the flu, by resting the fry basket on top. It made a great crispy hot French fry, but it also caused a grease fire in the flue every time the fryer was started up.
A simple correction in operational procedure, and we haven’t heard of any problems on the fryers since.
Our industry continues to roll out ever more sophisticated equipment (particularly in NAFEM years). It seems as if each demonstration done is on a new software version of the operation controls. Ah, training, where would we be without it? Who pays for the multiple re-trainings in the high turnover environment of our end-users? Who trains the trainers?

How about a side of profits to go with that double order of growth? - 5Ways E&S controls food costs

We’ve all seen headlines trumpeting the economy’s recovery. With restaurant counts and reservations projected to be up, per-check averages rising, "trading down” is now being replaced by “trading up”.

But are operator profits going to rise? Food and fuel costs are spiraling, and labor costs can’t be far behind.

The foodservice equipment professional’s new mandate will be to assist the operator in keeping a lid on rising costs. We can assist in controlling food costs through the application of available technologies.

•  Spot purchases can be an excellent method of taking advantage of seasonal pricing on produce (and to promote sustainability as well). Blast Chilling & Shock Freezing helps in keeping seasonal items available & fresh all year long. Better temperature control in walk-ins will boost shelf life too.

•  Ethylene control in refrigeration will cut down on produce spoilage.

• Better inventory control can be achieved through planned storage & shelving systems, along with labeling technologies, which can mitigate waste.

• Portion reductions can be averted by utilizing Combi Ovens for greater yields. This method will attain double digit gains in yield resulting in more portions (and better quality) per cut.

• Traditionally lesser grades of proteins can be enhanced through Slow Roasting, and/or Smoking. Here again, the product can be enhanced and additional menu items will be created at lower food costs.

The Equipment Professional must Leverage their equipment knowledge and enhance the profits of their clients. They just might return the favor.  http://www.pecinkaferri.com

Read more: http://fohboh.com/profiles/blogs/how-about-a-side-of-profits-to#ixzz1HRc81TnN