Tenaya Lodge Food and Beverage

In late winter, Delaware North Companies (DNC) Parks and Resorts had hired a new Controller for Tenaya Lodge, the Company owned resort outside Yosemite National Park. I was asked to travel to Tenaya and train the new Controller in DNC policies and procedures.

While staying in the Hotel, I had dinner in the dining room. I ordered a glass of wine and shrimp cocktail to start. For the main course, I ordered a filet mignon, cooked rare with a baked potato and sour cream. Halfway through my steak, I ordered a second glass of red wine. For dessert, I ordered Chocolate Cake and coffee. The service was great, the food was terrific, and I had the ideal spot near the fire place.

When I got the check, I noticed something was wrong. I was not charged for the second glass of wine or the coffee. While not being charged for the coffee was bad enough, not being charged for the second glass of wine was a cardinal sin! The dining room utilized the Micros Point of Sales (POS) system so there should be no way a glass of wine could come out of the bar without being recorded. I figured that I had better take a look at the bar.

I went over to the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. I observed the bartender prepare my drink. He poured directly into the glass without measuring the liquor with a shot glass. The bartender recorded the sale in the POS system and charged me the correct amount. When I paid him, he recorded the payment on the POS and put the money inside the cash drawer. I tasted my drink. It was quite strong.

Not using a shot glass to measure the liquor was a problem because the bartender was probably pouring more than the standard one ounce shot. But that was nothing compared to what I saw next!

“I need 2 Buds, 3 Lites, a Chard, and a Scotch on the Rocks, Tony,” the waitress cried out. “Sure thing, Mable,” Tony replied, and started to fill the order. Where is the POS printer? I wondered. I looked around, and at the far corner there stood the POS printer with a bunch of chits hanging out. About five minutes later, Tony crumpled the chits without looking at them and threw them in the trash can.

That was how I got the free glass of wine! If the bartender doesn’t fill orders off the chits, waitresses can get drinks from the bar without them being recorded in the POS system. The waitress hopes that the guest will notice and add an extra dollar or two to her tip for her extraordinary service.

A busser dropped a wine glass and it shattered on the floor. “Tony, have you got something that I can put these glass pieces into?” the busser asked. Tony handed the busser a drink glass and the busser began picking up the broken pieces and putting them into the drink glass. He handed the glass with the broken pieces to Tony who threw the drink glass into the trash.

In reviewing the P&L for the previous year, I had noticed that Liquor and Wine Costs were about 15 percentage points higher than the Plan percentage. I also noticed that Tenya Lodge had spent $26,000 on China, Glassware, and Silverware. With such poor controls and carelessness, it was a wonder that these costs weren’t higher!

I reported my observations to management and recommended that the bartenders be retrained to fill orders only from orders documented on POS chits, and use shot glasses to measure the shot prior to pouring the liquor into the drink glass. In addition, employees needed to be more careful in handling China, Glassware, and Silverware. Implementation of my recommendations lowered Liquor and Wine Costs 15 percentage points, and China, Glassware, and Silverware replacements were reduced by 50%.

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