CategoriesEmployees
by 1

Theft by employee from cash counter


About Ganesh Prasad
Ganesh Prasad is from Mangaluru (at Katipalla near Surathkal) and came to us through another employee Yashawanth. He has been dating Yashawanth’s Cousin. He had all-around restaurant experience but at small restaurants. He worked with us as captain for 1 year. Used to coordinate well with another captain Ranjith for the evening session. While everyone was using smartphones, he used to have a basic feature phone. He earned well through tips and used to give it to his girlfriend every day. Once in July, Yashawanth behaved irresponsibly, and Ganesh mediated and saved his job.

Ganesh recently
Since October his behaviour changed dramatically. He bought a smartphone. We thought he had changed because of the emotional ecstasy of getting married in 2 months. His attendance was erratic. His focus on work deteriorated. He started asking for an advance salary. He could hardly work for minimum hours, let alone work overtime when required. We thought he would get back to his original form once he got married. Now he is in so much financial trouble that he got advance (hand loan) from the restaurant, other restaurant employees, family, and relatives.

Incident
He got so desperate for money that his eyes caught the money on the cash counter. He pestered the cashier at night to go for dinner while he took care of the counter. The cashier on duty refused and didn’t succeed in his endeavour to steal at night. The next morning (Sunday, 11th February), he went to relieve the cashier on duty for breakfast at 8:45. She felt hungry and immediately agreed. She was given a list of people who could relieve her from the counter. But she missed the instruction. Barely did she go out of the counter. Ganesh took all the 500s and 100s notes (Total value 62,500) from the counter along with the restaurant smartphone, put them in his pocket, and immediately fled the restaurant by bus to Mangaluru. Other employees immediately got to know about the incident and informed the management about it.

Action
Keshava Ram immediately called the Police helpline (112) and registered the complaint. He also went to the Puttur town Police Station and informed the constables about the same. They asked for the facts and proof of the theft. CC TV Footage clearly shows the incident from multiple angles. Police tried to catch the thief by informing Parangipete Police Station by searching inside the bus. But that didn’t work out. Then owner Suprabha registered an FIR and went for the search operation. 2 Police Constables, Suprabha and Keshava Ram went to Mangaluru in the afternoon. First, we searched for his house at Kaatipalla, met his mother and niece, and informed them about the incident. Then we traced his phone to find that he was near the State Bank Bus Stand. Then searched for him there and found him at a lodge at night 9:00 pm. When enquired, he said, he used all the money for betting on online Rummy Game. Then we brought him to Puttur police station at 12:00 am midnight. He is now at Jail in Mangaluru.

Learnings

  • Procedures or SOPs are required and to be followed. This is the case of the cashier on duty not following the procedure of keeping bulk cash in the locker and letting any random employee instead of an approved person to substitute for her at the cash counter. The responsibility is also on her supervisor and management for not adhering to the SOPs.
  • Take warning signals seriously and take immediate action. We had recently fired people who got into drinking habit and attending work irregularly. His game addition is equally bad and should have been identified and acted upon.
  • A police department job is not easy. The constable worked continuously for 18 hours to help nab the thief and get the work done. We generally think government servants are incapable. This act by the police has shown how they get the work done silently. While we had gone to register the complaint, there were 4 other similar complaints.
  • Take strict action against the culprit, lest he not repeat the crime in the future. Also let others not dare to perform similar crimes.
CategoriesRestaurant
by 0

Serving Size Standardisation

With the packing of coconut oil, we are used to the standards of weights and measurements. And proactively maintain consistent weights across all the packs done at our oil mill. Though the standards allow 2% variation, our variations are less than 0.2%. We achieve this by weighing each box to gram-level accuracy and approving only packs within an acceptable weight range. The same attitude is carried to the restaurant as well.

Serving Size Standardisation

There is no authority here that defines serving size nor is it declared anywhere say a menu. Still, we like to define the right serving size and serve as per size consistently.

How is the serving size determined?
The following factors are considered to determine the serving size

  • The restaurant is mostly frequented by middle and upper-middle-class customers. They don’t work much physically and hence have a lower appetite.
  • Customers get bored of eating the same food, however tasty it is, after some time. It is like listening to a 5 minutes song. We hymn with the song for the first minute and then we don’t listen to the song. Similarly, we enjoy the first few bites of the food and then just keep eating
  • Customers like to try and taste different varieties of food. So, after eating one plate, they should have space to try another.
  • Food waste is a national waste and it benefits nobody. So, we need to control its waste by optimising the serving size. Customers sometimes tend to overeat in order to avoid wasting it.
  • The cost of food for the restaurant and the amount of calories and nutrients for customers depends on serving size. Again it should be balanced

How is the serving size ensured every time?
A particular Sout or bowl is assigned for picking and serving every food item. This way it gets standardised despite any change in person at the counter. The plates and bowls that we use for serving customers are also standardised so that the look and feel are the same every time.

The quantity we serve may be higher/lower for different people. We respect the views of different people, however, the quantity is selected based on the target audience we have in mind.

CategoriesRestaurant
by 14

Announcing our intention to start a restaurant

I intend to start a new vegetarian restaurant from Puttur within a year.


Why new business?

Our existing coconut oil business has matured. We had taken massive loans to start and now we have almost cleared all the debts raised. The product variety and quality is established, distribution network is established, internal team is set up, e-commerce channel is doing well. To grow the business we need to hire more sales staff. Hiring and managing them is a tremendous challenge. As plan A, we will keep trying to grow the sales team. Plan B is to start a new business to grow.

What will be different in this new business?

When I started last business, I was unmarried, in my late 20s. Now I have reached 40, married and have 2 kids. So my risk appetite is much lower. So, the capital invested will be much lower, accordingly debt if at all raised will be much lower.

Selling coconut oil was through retailers. If providing a quality product is the goal of the brand, earning more margins by selling a cheaper product is the goal of the retailer. So retailer acts as a huge barrier between brand and its consumer. So, in this new business I want to reach out directly to the consumers.

What will be common?

Brand Cocoguru and the values it stands for that is pure, hygienic, safe, high quality, technology enabled, professionally managed, innovative, green food products.

Why Restaurant?

I am a foodie, I like eating. Till I reached 30, I only looked at the taste value of food and used to eat chats, Chinese, North Indian, spicy foods. Now my body is not liking them for its unhealthy nature. Restaurants are known commonly for their dirty kitchen and use of cheaper ingredients. So wherever I go, it is always difficult to find a restaurant of my choice. I believe there will be a few people like me whose needs are not met currently.

How will this be different from other restaurants?

There are many hard decisions which will upset many customers by reducing their choices and narrow our offerings significantly reducing the income opportunities.

  • Local – The food items on offer will be traditional Tulunadu vegetarian dishes. That exactly is the idea, it should be “just like how it is made at home”.
  • Simple – The number of items on offer are only a few. Menu should fit in one page. This way we will be able to best serve the few dishes on offer.
  • Fresh – I don’t like to eat leftover food the next day. So, though it is commercially tough, we will serve only freshly prepared food.
  • Hygienic – Hygiene has been a glaring feature of our coconut oil mill. Since it is about food we take into our body and for calmness of mind, it has to be clean and hygienic. It may come with a cost but I believe people will value it.
  • Healthy – Purpose of going to a restaurant is to satisfy our taste buds. But in the long run, health is more important. So purpose is to provide food that tastes good and is yet healthy.
  • High Quality Ingredients – Restaurants are commercial ventures and customers are very price conscious. So restaurants usually end up making food with low quality ingredients. We have the experience of making and selling premium coconut oil. So, though it is tough we have to make it happen. One key ingredient is the cooking oil, all hotels use only refined and hydrogenated oils as it is cheap and can be reused a few times. We will use only coconut oil and ghee.
  • Technology enabled – I am a fan of technology and very well understand how it makes our lives easier and benefits the customers. The menu presentation, ordering, payment, order fulfilment, marketing will all be technology driven.

When do we plan to start?

The idea was thought about a year ago but execution didn’t take off. There were a lot of uncertainties due to corona virus. Also, I thought of funding the venture by selling off the land I was holding. I wasn’t able to sell it. Now it is time to move on despite the excuses. So, I have set the deadline as June 2023. Plan is to use the next 10 months to learn hotel management, perfect the recipe and taste of the dishes that will be served, work out a thorough business plan and acquire all resources required.

Where will it be located?

With lower risk appetite, lower capital and keeping it more flexible, restaurant will be at a rented place. So it will be somewhere in Puttur town wherever a suitable place is available at the time we start.

What will be the name?

Name thought as of now is Cocoguru Adigemane. Cocoguru to leverage the brand already built. The values of this restaurant will be same as that idea with which coconut oil brand was built. Adigemane to indicate that it is a local, homely, coastal Karnataka food business.