Labor Pains & Profit Drains:How to Reduce Your Labor Costs

Cord traction to deliver the afterbirth

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Two authors assessed trial quality and extracted data using a standard data extraction form. We included three methodologically sound trials with data on , and 23, women respectively. Blinding was not possible, but bias could be limited by the fact that blood loss was measured objectively. In the World Health Organization WHO trial the reduction in manual removal occurred mainly in sites where ergometrine was used routinely in the third stage of labour.

The non-prespecified analysis excluding sites routinely using ergometrine for management of the third stage of labour found no difference in the risk of manual removal of the placenta in the WHO trial one trial , 23, women; RR 1. The policy of restricting the third stage of labour to 30 minutes women; RR 0. There were no clear differences in use of additional uterotonics three trials, 27, women; average RR 0.

Maternal pain non-prespecified was reduced in one trial women; RR 0. The following secondary outcomes were not reported upon in any of the trials: Cord traction to deliver the afterbirth The third stage of labour refers to the time between birth of the baby and complete expulsion of the placenta. Data collection and analysis: Answered 5 years ago by SeaJay. I have a pickup truck. They loaded it into the truck for me. I was able to unload and spin it into place myself after disconnecting the old one and rolling it outside. It comes with installation instructions which were very simple to follow.

Just be sure to buy one with the overflow pipe in the same location as your old one. There were plenty of recyclers in the phone book who were happy to come pick up the old one at no charge the following day. It took me one afternoon The short answer is "A whole lot less than it does cost" especially if you get the job done through a big box store. You should never ever get a water tank installed by a big box store unless they have some ungodly special going on. This is not sour grapes it is just a fact that Lowes or Home Depot or what have you all do it the same.

They contract the job out to a "plumber". You pay union rates for the plumber, plus tyhey will "upgrade you to code" at flat rate costs for each item upgraded. They will install ball valves for about 50 bucks each, usually 2 of them. They will install an expansion tank for another They will install a new gas valve, another 50 bucks. They will have an electrician install an outlet if you do not have one close enough lots of new tanks need volts even if they are gas fired They charge you for getting a permit even if none is required happened to me My township does not require permits and has no interest in your improvements to existing structures and also no building code to comply with.

But do not worry, the store will find a county, state or federal code to comply with to charge you more. Last but not least, to add insult to injury they "install" a cookie sheet underneath the new tank as a "spill protector" non-existant code again. For the cookie sheet you get a deal, just You guessed it 50 bucks!!!

Oh yes, I almost forgot, they did me a great big favor and hauled the old one away no doubt for scrap value or to re manufacture it I was out of town when my home tank failed and I had no choice but to let them handle it for me. So if convenience is all that matters and you have lots of money that obama did not take yet, make one call and get it done by a big box store. But if you are normal and have any other choice call a real plumber who will probably do it for bucks. The install also had some positioning issues the new tank was larger to avoid some shelving we had, requiring two extra 45degree bends in the hot and cold water inlets to avoid the gas vent which meant there were 8 new copper connections, not including the expansion tank.

All in all, I believe the install cost was a fair price. If your install is simpler, you don't need an expansion tank, etc. The expansion tank is not stricly necessary and he explained that , but if the city ever decides to put in check valves to restrict back flow, having the expansion tank will prevent stress and banging noises on the cold water side -- it is basically a good idea to have one. I was ready to ask for it anyway, and was pleased when he volunteered that I ought to install one while doing the other work. He was able to mount it in a way to keep the shelving space I wanted.

As for buying a more expensive tank with a longer warranty I'd recommend it. The tank I bought had an interior glass coating compared to the cheaper one, so it should last longer. Not to mention not having to deal with the whole thing for a longer time. Answered 5 years ago by SteveD I am so glad to see this question posed. As one of the answers did a good job of explaining; there is a substantial amount of overhead involved in operating a contracting business, especially in California. These kind of 'big box' stores have been a huge factor in changing the face of contracting.

His business model incorporated purchasing materials at wholesale and then re-selling the products at retail as part of the profit margin. Thanks to the manufactures, that has gone to the wayside and the purchase price I pay as a contractor is either exactly or nearly the same as the customer would pay. Therefore, for me to make a profit, I have to make it in the labor portion of the job.

This leads customers to believe they are paying too much or more than they should have to. But here is the reality Customers expect our prices to be in alignment with Home Depot or Lowe's, but what they fail to remember is two-fold:. The manufactures of plumbing products are producing two levels of products for the most part. The merchandise they market through the 'big box' stores and a product line distributed via 'wholesalers'. A good case in point is a lavatory faucet.

Though they may look indentical, if you purchase a lavatory faucet at one of the 'big box' stores, you will find that the pop-up drain included is plastic; whereas, the drain assembly from the SAME manufacture of the equivilant model purchased at a wholesaler will typically be brass. The same holds true for much of the inards of the product. As for water heaters, I recommend customers spend a few minutes reading reviews of the brands sold at the 'big box' stores before the consider purchasing. They will most likely find they should steer clear. It seems most customers fail to calculate or consider the costs involved in acquiring the materials.

Someone has to go shopping. It takes time, some product knowledge, and the appropriate transportation. To protect our common interests, I like to purchase wares that won't likely need serviced for many years and have strong customer support system if they do. It is very frustrating as a contractor to have a client assume I should provide a better quality material at the same price posted on the 'big box' retailers websites.

I won't deny that there are plenty of unscrupulous contractors out there, but if you are using Angie's List to source your providers, you ought to be able to weed them out easily. In general the 'ole adage still holds true Answered 5 years ago by Hermanhoggenflogger. I worked for a medium sized appliance and plumbing business for many years and the bottom line is they know you need a water heater. It is an installation they can and do make a large profit margin on.

Especially when you consider they also get a contractors discount for many of the supplies. I laughed at one of the comments here about paying more for their water heater installation because they needed a drain pan. The same thing is true for air conditioning installations. New Premier 40 gallon natural gas water heater installed on December 31, Not do it yourself people, so had it professionally installed. Having a water heater installed can vary from state to state. Size of water heater comes in to account as well and brand. Now I have seen people here stating they had home depot come out and install there GE water heater with a great warranty.

I'm sorry but who installed this water heater for you. A third party contractor no home depot. When your water heater fails you might want to understand home depot wants the whole water heater back for a warranty. Now do you think the contractor who works through home depot is coming back to remove this water heater and reinstall a new one for you. Guess again he just installed this for you and he doesn't warranty anything. Plumbers who sell top of the line water heater like Bradford White will warranty it. First there is a cost for a good water heater. Haven't you heard the old saying you get what you paid for well GE would be just that, bottom of the barrel cost for bottom of the barrel water heater.

Any customer can walk in and buy a water heater from Home Depot. You can't do that with Bradford Whirte. If you buy a good water heater from some person advertising they will sell this to you then watch out. No warranties from some on line sales. I don't care what they tell you. Bradford White only sells to qualified plumbers.

Many systems that are being replaced have old fill valves and the plumbers need to install a new ball valve, brass tee for expansion tank and copper plus fittings. They pick up the water heater and they take away you old one. How many of you own a car that's 12 years old. Labor is not free my friends and other than GE a good water heater will cost you. Bradford white is a limousine and GE is a Volkswagen so witch one is better quality and going to cost you for quality. Answered 4 years ago by USMC. I am a small person with no professional experience in the building trades. I just replaced my gas water heater with an electric.

I did about an hour of research. Labor time was about 45 minutes, most of which was finding my tools. Some of the big box stores will take back your old unit if you drop it off. That is what many of the local contractors do here, even when they haven't purchased from the store. I see that this is an old question so moot for the person originally asking but seems like people are still answering so I'll add my 2 cents.

A couple of months ago I had to replace a water heater. I ordered one from Lowes, that included installation.

Well - long story short, I just had him leave the heater. A couple of days later my brother installed the heater in just over an hour and it did not require ANY additional parts. So in my experience - the whole "add this much for this part, and this much for that part" is well These parts came with the heater. And it was an easy install. Frankly - IMHO, this is a common rip off. I have no problem paying for someone's time and expertise. Are there any additional materials? Is there a permit pulled?

Also, we also warranty the heater and labor. I recently replaced, for no charge, a heater that was 5yrs, 11 months old. You get what you pay for and I would expect you to be calling a plumber in the upcoming years, and will be unhappy about it. It also includes picking up and disposing of old heater. I live on Long Island and hired a plumber to replace my very old worn out 40 gallon gas hot water heater with a new 75 gallon one. This included everything - tank, expansion tank, labor, hauling away the old one, etc. Not knowing about codes, etc.

Answered 4 years ago by sethbonilla. This was for a gallon water heater and it was manufactured by Bradford White. The day after it was installed, I called the local vendor who sold it to me and installed it and said I was running out of hot water in about 10 minutes in my shower. I wrote the following letters to document what happened when I thought this would be going to court.

The time I wasted on this, plus the two months of cold showers me and my family endured, and the BS we got from both the Heating and Air Conditioner contracter who sold and installed the unit and from Bradford White were an injustice to paying top dollar to what I thought was a reliable vendor and manufacturer. I also found out how far Bradford White would go to invalidate any supposed warrantee that came with their water heater. It's been working fine and we get 3 or 4 showers with plenty of hot water to spare — no problem.

Here are the letters. I have left out the name of the installing sales and supplying HVAC contractor because when they didn't cash my check after 6 weeks, and I finally stopped payment on it first time I stopped payment on a check in 30 years. I hope you didn't get this water heater installed in your home after me Here are the letters:. This is to confirm what you already know, but I wanted to demonstrate a course of timed events in this formal correspondence. On Monday, January 7th your technicians delivered and installed it in my home. Then very next day when I showered I found I continually had to turn down the cold water to maintain a constant temperature.

My showers range from 10 to 15 minutes in time. It is in the same shower I have used in my house for the past 30 years. I called and alerted you to this on Tuesday the 8th, and you sent a technician to resolve this. Your technician called technical support at Bradford White who gave him a few tasks to perform to figure out the problem. Among the first was supposed to be a definite test to see if the problem was the water heater: Initially it was hot, after ten minutes is was tepid, proving the problem was in the hot water heater unit.

The problem continued, I called you and your technician came back. During this visit a temperature test of the shower flow showed after 3 minutes the water temperature dropped 10 degrees. After ten minutes the water temperature dropped 44 degrees, from an initial hot of down to Bradford White on the phone then pointed in every conceivable other direction than a problem with the water heater itself.

During the next visits additional tests were performed. I assured your technician that it was the same shower I have been using. Tech support at Bradford White continued to query everything else but the water heater, looking for - searching for any other reasons a gallon water heater of their manufacture was incapable of supply hot water for a fairly brief single shower.

I purchased a larger gallon tank for the reason of not running out of hot water for all of us. We all get up early for our jobs, and showers are taken in succession. I did my part, paid for the unit and the install. That was the hard part - paying one thousand seven hundred ninety five dollars. The ball is in your court. It has been almost two months after the installation of the gallon water heater I purchased from you, and you installed in my home on January 6th. Only one person in the house is able to take a hot shower, and this shower lasting only ten to twenty minutes until the hot water runs out.

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The other two people living in this house take either a warm shower or cold shower. In addition, the Bradford-White plumber-assigned technician was dispatched to my home, not to repair or replace the water heater, but to measure the flow, and take water and time temperature readings from the shower head I have been using for the past 40 years. I assure you my own findings are quite different: This condition is unsatisfactory on a brand new, one thousand, seven hundred ninety five dollar gallon water heater.

To wait for the unusual and severe cold weather to subside so the water from outside entering the tank was not so cold.

I advised you I had on Monday, Feb. This is the first time I have stopped payment on any check in over 30 years. As an aside, this is to let you know how dissatisfied I am with your not-so-professional services. While I paid list price for this unit because of a promise of a good product with a solid warranty from both you and your vendor, no warranty was provided at all.

Instead, you pointed in every possible conceivable other direction in order not to replace the unit that was delivered DOA - not working on arrival. To add insult to injury, you had the gall to tell me I have to wait for warm weather to take a hot shower. You can now argue with Bradford White as to who is liable for their - and your - warranty.

I just got excuses, a hard time, and two months of cold showers. I will now see if I can find a solution from other resources. I am not willing to take cold showers after shelling out one thousand seven hundred ninth five dollars for a new hot water heater that failed to deliver a single hot shower from day one. This is to confirm my disappointment that the gallon water heater you installed in January continues to fail to deliver hot water for even one single brief shower. Further, in our conversation on Wednesday March fourth, you continued to attribute the failure to deliver a reasonable supply of hot water to the two reasons you gave earlier: The severe cold of the outside temperature introduces very cold water to the unit tank, and 2.

You said you spoke with 5 plumber friends who also all agreed with you and said the same thing. In this conversation, you introduced a new resolve: You also said my outstanding balance was due a result from stopping payment on the check I gave you - the first time I have stopped payment on a check in over 30 years since the water heater is working.

You advised me it was working, as I could wash my hands and do the dishes or laundry in hot water. Since you have failed to 1. I have replaced this unit from another vendor and manufacturer. To have your water heater removed from service and a new one installed to replace it was not a decision I made easily, quickly, or without grave concern; and I was sorry I had to do this.

But I am not willing to take cold showers - or have my family take cold showers - for the next ten years. This letter is to give you the option to pick up the water heater next week, please call for a time convenient to you and I will allow you access. If you are not interested in picking this unit up, I will have it disposed of in accordance with township regulations. Answered 4 years ago by pattedobkin. Today the year it should cost A little extra for re-working the vent If your paying more than that you are getting ripped off.

I know I just got ripped off for I am from northern new jersey. Do your home work. It is a Bradford White 50 gallon gas hot water tank and it's been great so far. The plumber I called was Eric Schaffer. He works for himself and does excellent work. Here in Georgia, May I just had a plumber claim that the pressure valve was broken and that cause my 4yr old water heater to break- Therefore the warrantee on my 10 year water heater is not valid.

Answered 4 years ago by SoapySuds. The answer to that question depends on whether or not you're a homeowner with one house or an investor with many houses. I know what is involved and I am also running a business. If I did, I would go out of business pretty quickly. Seems like everyone forgets about the hidden costs Well good luck with that! Life just doesnt seem to work that way!

And this is all before they do what they have to do at ur house! And the first people to xxxx are the usually some business owner that wont get dirt under their nails and expect that u should for nothing and that its mindless work anyway White collars arent the only ones entitled to a reasonable profit,,,blue collars are as well Answered 4 years ago by anthony I have been a mechanical contractor in Chicago for nearly thirty years. My company installs an average of 22 water heaters a week based on the past 10 years. Do-it-yourself-ers are our best customers.

Especially, if they're trying to spruce up their homes for a quick sale. People always think they know and can do more than they really are capable of. We install only one brand of water heater for residential, commercial and industrial applications which are only available to plumbing contractors. They are the highest rated available and cost no more than the ones big-box stores sell. We replace mostly big box store water heaters because they are inferior in comparison and don't perform well.

They also overstate their efficiency. In Chicago, everything must be "hard-piped. Proper flu piping size and type is of extreme importance to prevent carbon monoxide build up and fires. What "was there," does not apply any more as building codes constantly change and improve. It must be sized properly so it provides an adequate amount of hot water.

BTU input and recovery rates are more important than actual gallon capacity. Old clogged iron piping and shut-off valves must be replaced. Expansion tanks must be installed as well as check-valves on newly water-metered now required homes with copper piping. Fire protection sprinklers are now also required. The manner in which a fire sprinkler and its piping are installed is very specific, complicated and must comply with strict building and fire codes.

Installing a water heater is something that must be done by a licensed professional who has experience, is insured and bonded. Legal liabilities by the previous homeowner can be a concern long after the house is sold. Installing a water heater is a lot more complicated and dangerous than unscrewing the connections and sliding in a new one in place of the old one. Answered 4 years ago by Northwest Plumbing.

I did it myself electric heater. I was going to have a plumber come over, but I started looking at it and it was just 3 threaded connections and 3 wires. It took me about an hour. The hardest part was getting the old one out, because the drain valve was full of sediment and I could only partially drain the tank. I would not have done if myself if it needed soldering, venting, new power lines etc, but it was pretty straightforward.

I just took the old one apart and put the new one together the same way. Answered 4 years ago by mattthecat. I agree with the last post, did my own, loaded it on the pick up and took it to the recycle place and got paid Answered 4 years ago by suebob. He told me that if I put it outside, someone will pick it up, which he did, and he was right. After he completed the installation and leaving my home, a truck was already outside picking up the old hot water heater. Has a 20yr warranty. We've saved enough in propane costs that it's nearly paid for itself now.

But, once it's hot, it stays hot. No more running out of hot water, no matter how many showers, loads of laundry or dishes are done. I absolutely love it. Would never go back to a hot water tank. And, it's energy efficient! As a plumbing contractor, I must caution those who want to install water heaters either Gas or electric, there is a liability risk here. If you do this on your own, and there is a problem, your household insurance will not cover the loss of property.

I was at a Home Depot last year and observed someone buying parts for his new gas water heater. He was trying to figure out what venting materials were needed.

The problem was he was looking at Dryer vent materials. That is not the proper materials to use. So i guess it would be worthwhile to spend 1, Us plumbers take on the responsibility , as I am insured for that. For 35 years I have never had a claim on my insurance. I figure at least 3 hours for the job. Answered 4 years ago by William Suburbs of St Louis. Bought from Home Depot. Code required an expansion tank. All other plumbing up to code. I want to be safe with someone who installs these all of the time. I've found that cheap in not always better.

I just got waterheater installed from lowes. I am not happy with the labor cost I paid to plumber. I wish I could find a less expensive plumber. It is very simple one tee connection. Labor charge for this is outrageous. I am not happy with labor cost they charged. Labor charge is way too much for this work but compared to other plumbers it is bit cheaper but still way too much. I find initial cost at lowes are reasonable compared to plumber quote. But plumber came and added extra for each connecting pipe.

Some one should put some regulation on plumber charges. I called home depot customer care and they came back said they can't control the price of plumber charges and customer support person is nice and I am happy with homedepot customer support service.

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Beware plumbers try their best squeeze maximum money out of customers. Their labor charges are outrageous. Many local plumbers strongly advice customer to stay away from lowes or sears. Do not listen to them.

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I have no clue how long they will be in business. I would prefer lowes, sears or homedepot than any professional plumbers. I called several plumbers and every one is giving outrageous price for installing water heater. Shop shop until you find a reasonable price and have patience.

I wish lowes, sears and homedepot come up with fixed installation cost of for this and make this easy for customer. I am surprised how many plumbers expect to be paid that much. The flaw in their logic is that there are other options, such as paying another less greedy plumber less. Answered 4 years ago by TexasNightOwl. This was in north Tx. It's impossible to give a specific amount, since installs are seldom the same. Plumbers are not the same either.

Electric is far esier than gas or propane. Do lines need changed? Was the old one even properly installed? Does venting need changed? Does roof work need to be done? How easy is access? What time of day? A drain man may charge But the plumber you hire to install your gas water tank tells you he needs to change some lines and fittings, change the flue, patch the chimney and it's 2. The only reason But crap won't kill you in your sleep. Replace any pipe that shows signs of stress. This is especially important in homes with plastic plumbing, shark bite fittings, etc.

Replace or completely re-run flue. It is not unusual to find a flue that was not properly run the first time. Upon completion of install, gas lines checked, the tank should be drained with water on to allow the sediment that infiltrated the tank because the lines were off to escape. You, the home-owner, should watch this so you can do it. Yearly flushings extend water heater life. The final check is exhaust.

With water heater burning maybe 10 minutes, the plumber should inspect the draw of the flue. There are many different scenarios, direct vent, etc.

5 Ways to Reduce Labor Costs

But if a handyman installed a gas water heater in my home for I know it's difficult to find good professonals in any line of work, but it has been my experience that you get what you pay for. A better plumber has no need to sell himself short. I do prefer an independant,local, family-owned and insured plumber to a franchise.

Answered 4 years ago by Shane. Don't like your pricey estimate? Fair shmare, most people who need a hot water heater do so because the old one is leaking or not working and they need hot water pronto. Who has the time to comparison shop then? Buying a water heater after it has failed is like trying to get a good price on a car on a very short deadline-- and the dealer knows what it is.

Good luck on getting a good deal from anyone. Even if you have time to get multiple hot water heater quotes, all the bidders are going to see that your water heater has crapped out-- if you wait until failure. Expect to pay full retail or much more Did you ever try to get a furnace fixed when it is 25 degrees below zero? I have been through that route before and prefer not to take it on my hot water heater as well. One possible way to mitigate your risks, is to replace your water heater preventively and proactively-- preferably after its warranty has run out, after you have gotten a good service life out of it and you can replace it at on YOUR schedule, after you get several competitive quotes, using Angies list to get best reliable and honest value.

If you have the luxury of doing that which is what I try to do. I realize this takes some planning but being proactive is at least one way to mitigate the risks of having to replace a water heater on the Plumber's terms and not your own. Finally, if you are going to wait until failure, good luck and you can always hope that it fails in the summer time for those of us with bad winters so you can be taking 70 degree instead of 40 degree showers, assuming your forty or fifty gallons have not already leaked out on the floor, while you comparison shop for high priced plumbers who know you are out of luck because your hot water heater has crapped out.

Its human nature to charge what the market will bear and if you need a hot water heater pronto, it is going to be very hard to get any plumber in my experience to sharpen his pencil when you need a new unit on YOUR timeframe. I have replaced after failure-- and proactively before failure-- and have made out far better doing the latter. Perhaps my three furnaces and four hotwater heaters of experience might be helpful to someone else, at some point in the future.

Answered 4 years ago by SeaJay. My brother came and started to install mine So we bought the water heater at Home Depot and most of the parts, and the pro finished it all up. Couple things I'd say is that I learned that codes change, and it's good to have a pro who is up to speed on thse things do the install as hot water heaters by nature are fraught with dangers during the install, and forever more, if not installed properly!!

Also, if the company you hire is going to take it away, that's a bonus! My old one is still sitting in my yard because I don't have a truck to haul it away. I think that's reasonable. However, I'd be careful with handymen. Ask to see their license or certifications which may be required by law. If they have it, they can warranty the work. Codes and location do make a major difference. I live in a suburb of Dallas, TX.

Now compare your targeted cost with the actual cost for the period. The difference is the potential cost savings lost to overportioning, theft and waste. Whether it's table condiments, chips and salsa, bread and butter, or frying oil, every restaurant has food products that make it difficult to allocate cost to specific menu items.

Often called plate cost or surround cost, this needs to be considered to have accurate menu cost expectations. Most restaurant kitchens are fast-paced, high-intensity production lines struggling to serve as many guests as possible in a short time span. Preportioning is not only essential to this process but is also necessary to control costs and stick to predetermined recipes. The first thing most cooks learn is to memorize the proper method for cooking a given menu item.

However, large menus oftentimes have very similar ingredients and portions and it can be easy for cooks to confuse them. One method for ensuring consistency is to display recipe quick- reference charts at each station. This chart contains a list of the ingredients and portions for each menu item so cooks can quickly verify correct recipe portions.

An order guide is a set of forms that contain a listing of all the products a restaurant uses. It is usually divided into separate sections such as meat, produce, cleaning supplies and paper. The order guide form is used as a tool for counting and tracking all the products that your restaurant uses and must reorder. The most effective order guides include as much order history as the form will allow.

By seeing historical product usage, you can adjust your pars as needed and keep inventory at optimum levels. First and foremost, restrict the void and discount functions to managers only. However, you must also have a system to hold managers accountable to maintain documented reasons for voids and discounts. Holding them accountable helps to reduce the likelihood of them using the void function to pocket cash sales.

Unfortunately, manager theft is often never caught because of the control they have over POS totals. The only way to combat this is to make them accountable for the number of voids and comps. Restaurants not only handle many cash transactions, they also must keep a significant amount of cash on hand for making change, paying tip floats and petty cash expenditures. The constant movement of cash makes it hard to spot when there are losses.

A proven method for tracking cash on hand is to first never mix cash received from sales with your cash-on-hand fund. Another technique is to maintain a constant cash supply-on-hand total that is large enough to meet the cash demands for making change. Third, reconcile all cash-on-hand funds for each cash drawer, change fund and petty cash fund at the end of every shift and have incoming and outgoing managers sign off on them.

One of the most common ways for cashiers and, of course, bartenders to earn extra money on the side is to "build the till. However, every fifth soft drink or small order of fries isn't rung up or rung up at a lower price. The customer, however, is still charged full price for everything.

This means more cash is going into the cash drawer than the amount of sales getting rung up on the register. Every so often during a shift on a surprise basis pull a cashier's or bartender's cash drawer swap it out with a different one and take a register reading, which will tell you how much cash "should" be in the drawer. Count the actual cash in the drawer and if you come up with a cash "overage," you either have a problem with incompetence or someone's cheating. To control freshness, waste and spoilage, you need to know the amount of food to prepare for each shift based on anticipated sales.

Kitchen managers and chefs who shoot from the hip when it comes to deciding how much and what needs to be prepared oftentimes end up shooting you in the foot. Too much product on hand results in nibbling, waste and spoilage. Too little results in running out of needed supply on the line, which in turn means the occasional comp to make it up to the guest. By establishing and constantly re-evaluating par levels for all prepped items, you help to reduce excessive waste.

Shrinkage, waste and trim are significant factors that can hurt your bottom line. If you cut your own steaks, seafood or poultry, or offer cooked meats such as prime rib, smoked brisket, ribs, roast beef or pulled pork, then it is a certainty that the true cost per pound of the finished product will be significantly greater than the original purchase price. If you are using a POS system to maintain time and attendance of your staff, then you may already have a built-in secret weapon for controlling labor costs.

Most systems include reports showing the amount of sales generated or customers served for every hour of labor expended. When sales or customer counts are too low this indicates possible scheduling or shift management problems. Likewise, too many customers or too high of sales per each labor hour expended could reveal understaffing problems resulting in poor customer service. Finding the optimum levels for your unique restaurant and meal periods ensures maximum productivity.

One of the most common methods for controlling cash at that cash register is to only allow the opening and closing of the cash drawer by ringing a sale or pressing the "No Sale" key, both of which provide an audit trail. Some registers feature compulsory cash drawer functionality, which means the next sale cannot be rang until the cash drawer has been closed. However, you may have noticed that many cash drawers are attached to your POS system via the guest check printer rather than directly through the workstation.

While this is not always the case, for many POS systems it is not possible to have drawer compulsion functionality when connected in this manner, meaning that a dishonest cashier or bartender could simply leave the drawer ajar to facilitate unrecorded cash sales. Customer displays are used to show the price of each item being rung and the total of the bill. Many customers will watch this process and ultimately challenge any discrepancies, providing a built-in safeguard for keeping your cashiers honest. One of the easiest ways for bartenders or cashiers to steal from you is to under-ring the sale in the cash register while still charging the customer the full amount.

When there is not a visible display showing the amount of the sale, then the customer has no way to challenge the amount being charged, thus making it appealing for dishonest cashiers. One of the hardest things to detect is when someone is stealing cash when multiple people have access to a given cash drawer, a common practice in quick-serve and limited-service restaurants or bars. Many operators defend this practice by saying they cannot afford or do not have the space to provide a cash register for each cashier needing access.

Controlling minimum staffing levels during offpeak meal periods is difficult because you never know when a busload of tourists or a rush of afternoon diners from a convention PR show decide to pop in. Rather than scheduling prep before you open, consider doing the majority of it during open hours and offpeak times. That way if you do suddenly get an unexpected rush you'll have enough bodies to meet the demand. One of the great mistakes many operators make is to rely on certain skilled staff members as the only one who can do a certain job. By cross-training some of your staff to be able to do multiple jobs it allows you to reduce the number of staff scheduled, especially for the kitchen line.

It also allows you to supplement an employee's hours by allowing them to work where needed rather than finding a few extra hours to make them happy. Retail businesses, including and in particularly restaurants, simply cannot give every worker a hour workweek. Retail businesses rely on the availability of part-time workers so that peak periods can have maximum staffing while allowing for staff levels to be reduced as demand wanes.

Having additional staff to take up the slack when full-time workers are absent or approaching overtime is also a great way to avoid excessive overtime. Most restaurants find that having at least one-third to one-half of their staff as part-timers helps in achieving comfortable yet affordable staffing. Change fry oil weekly. For restaurants that serve a lot of fried items such as seafood, french fries or appetizers, keeping oil clean and fresh not only enhances the flavor of the food, but also prolongs the useful life and therefore helps in controlling the cost.

An often overlooked opportunity for cost savings is utility costs. Unneeded gas or electric burners, exhaust hoods, steamers and ovens can use thousands of dollars in wasted energy each year. Add to that the additional electricity or gas for heating and cooling unused dining rooms. Utility costs typically range anywhere from 2. Incorporating the temperature setting and use of equipment into opening, shift change and closing procedures can produce significant cost savings.

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