Groupon Or Not To Groupon? NOT!

Groupon has been trying to get me to advertise with them for a while. They make it sound good by telling you it's free advertising and you will drive up business volume. What they don't tell you is that it eats into your margin and you'll probably make a loss.

Here's how the math breaks down, and this is just a simplified example. They expect the business to make an offer of at least 50% discount. They take 50% of the sales. Industry average for food cost is 30%. So for every dollar sales, 50 cents is discounted, 25 cents is Groupon's share and 30 cents is food cost.

You're losing 5 cents on every dollar before including rent, wages, utilities and insurance.

The Groupon people tell you that it'll bring in lots of new customers. They don't tell you that most of these customers won't come back unless they get another coupon.

I still believe that the best way to build a customer base is to offer a good product and a great value.

Win Some, Lose Some

Working with young people is very interesting. Despite the generation gap, the good ones still stand out. In fact, one of my favorite was fired by me once while the other was almost fired.

JV couldn't get along with one of the previous cooks. He got drunk at work and left one of the kitchen equipment running all night. I fired him.

I felt bad when I fired JV because I said I would take care of him. But drinking while working is a serious no-no. JV begged me to rehire him. I did. Now JV is one of my best kitchen staff.

HJ had some attitude issues. She often cussed loudly within earshot of customers. HJ was also very calculative. I cut her schedule and was going to let her go. I had a talk with HJ and gave her a chance before making my decision. Now, HJ is one of my best front line staff.

HJ has potential to be successful. HJ does't let criticism affect her emotionally. She is able to accept criticism and move forward.

CK was let go by me recently. CK was a sweet girl but she was very forgetful and couldn't focus. She was slow at packing and had an error rate of about 20%. That means that 1 out of every 5 bags had a mistake (I caught half but the other half went through). This was a logistical nightmare as the drivers had to make extra trips to fix her mistakes. Also, CK was slow at taking orders.

Being slow at packing and taking orders means the drivers aren't able to take as many orders per trip. This also increased the chances of an order being late.

I tried talking to CK but she was very defensive. CK takes criticism very personally and exudes a bad attitude.

Once, there was a box of brown rice left over after packing. I asked CK to check if any of the bags was missing a brown rice. She was so adamant that all the bags were packed right and didn't check. I checked the bags and found one that was missing a brown rice. CK got defensive about her mistake.

I can deal with slow learners (to a limit) but I won't tolerate bad attitudes.

Can't win them all, but I'm really glad I gave JV and HJ a chance.

Sigh... Damn Kids...

My parents are visiting from Singapore. Took a few hours off so I could have dinner with them. Left T in-charged.

When I got back to the restaurant, a customer complained about my staffs' lack of decorum. Her exact word were, "I won't be back if you don't control your kids."

It is not T's fault as he had to go on a delivery. Really disappointed in those kids.

These teenagers don't understand how much effort, time and money went into this restaurant. Only Jen knows all the sacrifices made.

If the restaurant fails, all they lose is a job. Jen, Emily and Chloe lose a home and a secure future.

Every customer is important. Losing customers because of boorish, childish behavior is unacceptable.

I encourage a fun work environment but there has to be professionalism. They're probably too self-centered to even know they did wrong.

Dog Days

Got back from work pass midnight. The only time I can make the sauces is before and after work. Have to get in early to make the rest of the sauces in the morning.

I am following the advice of Anthony Bourdain - keep high standards from the beginning and never let up. Keeping high standards is difficult when there are so many units working in tandem. Really need to develop a capable assistant.

Haven't had much time with the wife and kids recently. I know Emily misses me a lot and Chloe isn't close to me anymore. Feel sad.

I have been putting in 7-day weeks for more than 2 months already. During the final phase of building, I was sleeping 4-6 hours a day. At least now, I get 8 hours occasionally. Plus I get to see the wife and kids in the morning.

Tony has been a great help. He is loyal and hard working but needs to develop better social and decision making skills. Restaurant is a tough business. Not everyone can take the rigorous demands.

Need to stop here. Just fell asleep typing.

Check out our first review :)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/taste-of-asia-lewisville

Taste Of Asia (Lewisville)

Taste Of Asia (Lewisville) finally opened last Tuesday. Business has progressively improve day-by-day. Taste Of Asia (Lewisville) has an overall good staff and the support of experience restaurateurs.

Setting up Taste Of Asia (Lewisville) and remodeling the house at the same time took a lot out of me. I was nearing collaspe. Glad that's over. These days, the only time I'm tired is just before I go to bed and when I wake up. Adrenaline keeps me going the rest of the time.

The Criners and Drew (plus girlfriend, Brenda) visited today. It was a nice to be able to hang with friends... even if it's just for a while.

Tomorrow's another day :)

Join the Taste Of Asia Facebook fan club.

Boot Camp (BMT) Was Easier

Just finished remodeling the restaurant. Just closed on a house. I am now setting up the restaurant, remodeling my house, and shopping for furniture and appliances.

I do not wish this on anyone. In the last three weeks, I've been surviving on very little sleep. I have to furnish both restaurant and house. I have to shuttle between job site, house, and furniture and appliance stores several times each day. Boot camp (BMT) was definitely easier.

Here's a sampling of my week to date.

Monday: Arrived at the restaurant at 8am and waited till 6pm for furniture that never arrived. Extremely pissed off as I am very busy. Went to Home Depot to buy door handles for the house. Went to the house to install the door handles.

Tuesday: Morning, the truckload of restaurant furniture finally arrives. Then I drove back to the house because Terminix came to take care of a fire ants problem. Terminix also found termites in the wood mulch. Noon, drive back to apartment to check on termite warranty. Afternoon, met with Amica's home inspector. Drove back to restaurant to check on the security system and walk-in cooler installation. Check on home remodeling progress.

Wednesday: Morning, had the fire inspection for the restaurant. Met with the Terminix termite inspector. Requested the termites to be terminated with extreme prejudice. Buy storage equipment for the garage. Check on home remodeling progress. Went home and finally got to spent some time with the kids. Later, look through over a thousand photos for restaurant art.

Thursday: Morning, a truckload (literally) of restaurant equipment arrives. Set up equipment pass 10pm. Check on home remodeling progress

Friday: Morning, I had a meeting with a service provider. Then there was the electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and A/C inspection for the restaurant. Called in roofer to fix a leak. I also had the air ducts for the house cleaned. Set up shelves for the restaurants pass 9pm. Check on home remodeling progress.

Tomorrow, I have a staff interview in the morning and have to set up more equipment.

Tired. Need sleep. G'nite.

Just when you think you've hit bottom...

So how low can Ris Low go? Seems like nobody knows. Just when we think it's over, Ris Low plunges even lower.

Now, Ris Low has to retake her exams. Ris Low was caught with notes in her pencil case during an exam.

Ris Low is using clinical "memory loss" as an excuse? Wait! Didn't Ris Low use the "bipolar disorder" excuse for credit card fraud? They should just lock Ris Low away is a loony bin.

Can't believe this nut case almost represented Singapore in the Miss Singapore World?

This is getting old. Ris Low is gonna have to earn another post from me.

Gab, you need to rein in your girl ;P