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Undercut by the Competition!

1K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  luis de vence 
#1 ·
Hello, this is my first time posting in the professional forum.

My name is Luis, I administrate a small, 30 seat restaurant in Anserma, Colombia, a small town.

The business of now is going great, we depend a lot on our daily lunch specials and our weekend dinner services. 

Our lunch specials go for a marginal price of $8,500, roughly three dollars. This includes the daily soup/cream, choice of the 2 protein for the day with sauce, starch and salad, juice and a small dessert.

After careful calculations we now know what can be sold for this daily special while still earning a profit at the said price.

As of two days ago the restaurant across the street started selling a lunch menu, offering the same concept as us, plus additional appetizer and coffee for $8,000.

Now, i'm one to continue my business and ignore that unscrouplous competition. But my kitchen staff and my other employees say that what they have done is wrong, that I should look into doing something to compete against them.

I don't really have the experience to deal with a situtation like this, like I said, I'd go about my business and continue selling, but I would really like to get some opinions on this matter. Thank you.
 
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#2 ·
  • Luis de Vence, Welcome to Cheftalk. There are a few ways to look at this. They are undercutting you to establish their business. After they establish a clientele they may raise the price higher to make a profit. What you need to look at is, are you measuring apples to apples. Is the quality and service the same. If everything is equal then there isn't a real big solution. If your quality is better, than you can just tell people we are better, our serve is good and our quality is the best. There are reasons why people come to your restaurant. You can't compete with a restaurant that may have a lower labor cost. The only thing you can do be is better.........Good luck.......ChefBill
 
#3 ·
Hi chefs!
So I have a ? for you all...

I recently opened up a gyro(yeeroh) Greek fast casual eatery. We r currently hand stacking our own meats of pork, beef & lamb and a chicken gyro.
So my ? Is does anyone know why the chicken gyro of primarily thighs give off a fishy taste after being cooked?
It doesn't smell fishy or bad and feels good but sometimes we get feedback that the chicken tasted fishy??? We don't even carry any fish in the restaurant. It's starting to be a lip of a concern for us since we r a brand new establishment...

Thank you
 
#5 ·
Besides the obvious answer of not using pots/pans/equipment that has been used recently for fish (which you seem to have answered) you may be getting poor quality chicken that is being fed fish meal as part of their diet.

Freshness may be a concern. Bacteria can make food smell any number of different ways, and some of these odors (ammonia, etc) can be perceived as "fishy." Are you properly handling and storing your food to prevent contamination and spoilage? Food safety is paramount...make sure you aren't serving people off chicken. If you are cooking, cooling and re-heating the chicken for your sandwiches, make sure you are following protocol and not doing it multiple times. 

Also, it is impolite to post in someone else's thread...if you have a question you should start your own thread so that the original poster of this thread continues to get answers for their question. I take it you are new to forums--it is sometimes called "hijacking" and is kind of rude. I'm sure you'll get a pass because you probably didn't know, but I thought I would tell you. 
 
#6 ·
  • Luis de Vence, Welcome to Cheftalk. There are a few ways to look at this. They are undercutting you to establish their business. After they establish a clientele they may raise the price higher to make a profit. What you need to look at is, are you measuring apples to apples. Is the quality and service the same. If everything is equal then there isn't a real big solution. If your quality is better, than you can just tell people we are better, our serve is good and our quality is the best. There are reasons why people come to your restaurant. You can't compete with a restaurant that may have a lower labor cost. The only thing you can do be is better.........Good luck.......ChefBill
Thank you, Chef!
 
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