Food & Beverage - Swine Flu: Tactics for Restaurants, Hotels, Clubs & Fast Food - By Ken Burgin

We need to be like ducks on the pond - floating calmly on the surface but paddling fast underwater. Keeping our smiles on and urgently thinking through the implications. Consider these issues with your senior team

- If you had a large number of staff away, how would you manage service and production? Make plans for a simpler menu and range of services. What shifts would you close down first?? Inquire about appropriate vaccinations for staff, but be ready for delays - everyone is interested.

- If customer numbers drop suddenly, how is the work to be divided between staff? Who stays and who goes? How do your hang on to talent while cutting costs?

- If customers start rejecting pork dishes, what else is on offer? This is a good time for widening the menu with a better range of non-meat choices. What new breakfast options do you have? Are there delicious vegetarian options?

- What's on the TV screen in your bar? If you run CNN or another panic-news station, change it! Our role is to create relaxation, not anxiety.

- What are the legal obligations of customers and groups who may want to cancel bookings? How strong are the agreements they have signed? Would insurance cover this? Should you play hard-ball at this time, or not?

- How do you reassure customers that everything is OK? What are the standard answers for staff who are asked questions, and what do they understand anway?

Eg: 'Health authorities advise that swine influenza viruses is not spread by food. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.'

'Please be assured that we take hygiene regulations very seriously, and we are watching official guidance from the health department.'

- Are your Food Safety Policies just words on paper, or a real guide to how you work? Now more than ever people will look for sparkling clean premises and faultless food handling. If they look into the kitchen, is the hygiene impresssive?

Official advice says 'Swine influenza viruses is not spread by food. You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.' (US CDC).

They also advise: 'there is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu - take these everyday steps to protect your health:

- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

- Wash your hands often, especially after you cough or sneeze.

- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

- If you get sick with influenza, stay home from work and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Food-related panics have occurred before - the SARS crisis in 2003, Bird Flu in 2005 and regular outbreaks of 'Mad Cow'. The attractions of vegetarianism grow by the day!

Profitable Hospitality offers management and cost-control systems (Manuals & CD-ROMs) for restaurants, cafes, hotels, bars and clubs. The systems are based on the extensive consulting and operating experience of CEO Ken Burgin, and enable busy owners and managers to set up complete operating and cost-control systems in minutes, not months. Profitable Hospitality also runs regular management training workshops in the areas of kitchen profit & efficiency, restaurant marketing and functions management. A free monthly e-newsletter keeps you up to date on the latest industry management issues. www.profitablehospitality.com.

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