[Bar Consultancy]

Curious why some bars seem to do so well, while others can hardly survive ? In many professional branches benchmarking is available to find ways to improve on business results. The bar & pub business in Hong Kong is changing and getting increasingly more competitive. It looks like a few popular places are very successful. They might be full in the weekend, but do they have the right crowd that is happy to spend some money ? Or do people come just to have one drink and stay all night to dance a bit or watch that sports game ? Is it really worthwhile to open so early in the afternoon, or to stay open that late ? Is having food on the menu really important, and does it contribute to the profit ? Is the high rent reasonable ? What would the other bar pay their supplier for the same bottle of liquor ? Is my inventory of liquor too high ? How much does the other bar spend on promotion ? How do I get more customers in ? Is a live band in the weekend a good investment ? Is my staff attentive and aggressive enough ? Should I offer 1, 2 or even 3 sizes of beer glasses ? What should the price be ? Does the bar play music the customers like ?

These are all simple but relevant questions to improve your business. Unless you run a bar as a hobby, you better constantly think of these topics. The easiest way for bar managers, bar staff and bar owners, is to use benchmarking. In many industries, benchmarking is available through an independent agency that collects and analyzes information to make this available to its members. Learn from the best in class. The pub and bar business in Hongkong does not work this way yet. A few bars are run very professionally, but some still seem to operate like they did 5 or 10 years ago, hoping the good old times will come back soon. That won’t happen. Following a model used in Europe by large breweries to tune and optimize its business, in Hongkong we could do the same assuming a fair number of bars are willing to do so.

How does it work ? Participating bars and pubs receive on a regular basis (for instance monthly) a questionnaire. The questions are related to the financials of the bar. The data is confidentially collected, analyzed and distributed by the market survey agency. Next to this, participating bars are visited on a regular basis by “mystery guests” who objectively assess and score the other characteristics of the bar. Each bar then receives a presentable report how their scores compare to the other members and relative to previous months. After a few cycles, trends become clear and specific action can be taken to improve scores and most likely corresponding results. Every now and then, a market survey can be conducted, if members think it is useful to find out more about a specific aspect of the bar and pub business.

If you are interested to participate in such a benchmarking program to better understand and improve your business, please send an e-mail. All reactions will be treated confidentially. Only if sufficient ‘similar’ bars participate, the benchmarking is useful. Participating members pay a fee to the agency. This fee depends on how often and how many bars join, and will be discussed with those seriously interested.

Please send your reaction by PM or by e-mail to hospitality_taipei@hotmail.com

[shri]

>> A few bars are run very professionally

Unfortunately, this is the problem with most of the bars and restaurants in Hong Kong.

F&B outlets are usually ignorant about issues like customer retention v/s new customer acquisition costs and focus on acquisition, while ignoring retention issues.

[doogle]

Shri-

I think your forums are being spammed.
But they can make for interesting topics of discussion.

I wonder if there is a cultural bias.
I hark frequently about my love for the "Dai Bai Dong"'s in the local areas of Hong Kong. These local diners don't have fancy menus or table cloths. They sport hand-written menus hung up by tape on walls and they are run by the whole family. What they do have is decades-old traditions of making food for devoted patrons of the establishment.

Are they run unprofessionally - sure. Or they are run professionally local.

Sometimes people just want beer. And sometimes they just want food. Any amount of fancy decor can detract from that. And sometimes people want beer and food their own way. Our (expat) perspective on that may be an attempt to pigeon-hole a cultural way of doing business, when our pigeon-holes are in short-supply.

"When all you have is a hammer, everything looks more and more like a nail."

>Unfortunately, this is the problem with most of the bars and restaurants in Hong Kong.

So I post that this perspective may be a cultural bias. Not a problem (if we consider the local establishments and not expat-centric places) but a quality of such bars, restaurants and other.

And maybe not. What do I know. A bar/restaurant can be in trouble for any such reason. I'm afraid I'm arguing generalities with vague arguments.

[Bar Consultancy]

hi doogle,
every now and then, there is nothing better than that local place to have some great food or drinks. the target in my e-mail are the many bars in wanchai, central, LKF or TST. some of them open to close down a few months later, because of a lack of professionalism. or, they should never have opened....

[Kevorg]

Hey I'm really interested in those local bars!
where can u find them?
I'm quite new in HK and only know the famous areas like LKF, TST, etc...

thx a lot
Kevorg

[nivantj]

doogle,
You have got an interesting perspective and definitely cannot deny it but on the other hand considering Shri's point, in simple terms, its a ground reality in HK by and large especially for small F&B outlets... Agreed with 'Bar Consultancy' also... have seen many such examples.. Interstingly, i have found many of them overlook/ ignore obvious and simple matters required to run a business and eventually close down very soon.
Regarding 'Dai Fai Dong' exp, Things do change with time and those simplicities of menu and table may not work forever... No matter what we call local professionalism or international but fundamentals remain the same.. they constantly need to look at whats the trend, what others are doing, what and how customer wants, how their demand changes with time and how to retain them etc.etc... Its true with any Buss and even more important for F&B, its as dynamic as people's lifestyle...

[doogle]

Originally Posted by Kevorg

Hey I'm really interested in those local bars!
where can u find them?
I'm quite new in HK and only know the famous areas like LKF, TST, etc...

I like the local bars in Prince Edward and Tsim Sha Tsui. The local ones in TST are pretty easy to find, such as right there off of Nathan Road outside the MTR exit. Stick to the Kowloon side of HK.

Simpler answer:
Just go to one. Just go find one. Sit. Point. Drink. Pay. Bring a friend maybe.
They're all over the place.

Keep your eyes open:
If you're at a bar and you're the only gwaih-lo there, it's local.
If you're at a bar and there's someone singing karaoke while sitting down - it's local.
If you're at a bar and there's dice and cups on the table...it's local.

[Bar Consultancy]

If you have an easy way to get a list of e-mail addresses of those (western) bars, I will approach them. Anyway I can get that list quickly ? Or do I need to go their websites one by one ?

[doogle]

Bar Consultancy-

I think you can be more professional by having a professional website,
complete with a professional website domain and professional email address.

For example, having a @hotmail.com address isn't so - professional. Companies may be unwilling to hire the services of a company to consult on improving their professionalism without having developed their own professional image.

Just a thought.
Good luck.

[auss]

is this a serious question proposal???????

I have worked as a Bar Manager in Hong Kong. And actually hope to be back there soon.

What your suggesting is unrealistic no bar is ever going to supply there finanacials or even an indication of thee financials to a company with no reputation that is getting the same from the competitior.

whats wrong with the bars is easy to see most but not all are bad management. In the bar i was running we did it our way we didnt worry about anyone esle we worked hard and we put the effort in.

About 1 year after i left a management change was had and from what i have heard and seen now they decided to worry about what the competitior did and didnt put in the hard work anymore and started to try and replicate some of the other bars. I have now confirmed that this bar is only on a fraction of the sales it is now and profit is non exsistent.

i say again BAD MANAGEMENT.

how to fix it hire good people who are willing to work hard and put the effort in and make sure that there is someone to push and push and push thats the start then the rest follows

there is your answer file it