Dealing with left over sandwiches

If every person who has ever sold sandwiches could have one wish I bet it would be this: to know in advance exactly how many sandwiches would be needed on a particular day. Sometimes it does all work out perfectly and you end up with no bread, no made up sandwiches and an empty soup kettle – no waste. However, this is the exception not the rule.

There are a number of approaches to this issue which are not mutually exclusive. Follow what works for you

1. Keep your bread order low and only have a limited quantity of soup available

In this way, unless you are very quiet indeed you will find that there is little if any waste at the end of the day. The trouble is on many days you will spend lots of time apologising:

You: Sorry, soup’s finished.
Customer: But it’s only half past twelve.
You: Yes I know, but last week I had to throw some soup out, terrible waste.

Do you think the customer will be sympathetic? Not in the slightest. If this sort of thing happens regularly customers will be irritated and may well be inclined to take their business elsewhere. The same will be true if you have to explain repeatedly that you have run out of focaccia or baguette or indeed particular sandwich ingredients. If you want to follow this approach then you really must try to judge it well – and the longer you’re in business the better able you will be to do this.

However, you do run the risk of providing a limited service and appearing pennypinching – more interested in your needs than those of the customer.

2. Leave sandwiches on your refrigerated display shelves for two or three days

This approach certainly means you don’t need to worry so much about misjudging the number of sandwiches you make up on a particular day. But it also means you will have to be aware of the freshness of the sandwiches on the shelf. You could end up with sandwiches of different ages being displayed simultaneously. If you were the customer, which one would you buy?

The practice of selling sandwiches which are up to two or even three days old is fairly widespread. People do seem to accept it. It is not something I have ever done. I just don’t think sandwiches, the original fast food, were ever meant to be kept for more than a few hours. The quality diminishes – not least because the bread is liable to become soggy. If you planned to go for a picnic on Sunday afternoon, would you make up the sandwiches on Friday morning?

However, so long as you make up the sandwiches yourself for sale in your shop it is legal to display them in this way. Bear in mind, that if anybody does have cause for complaint you will have to be able to show that you had good reason to believe that the sandwiches would continue to be of an acceptable quality. This could be achieved by testing various kinds of sandwiches over a number of days to see what kinds of things can go wrong: increased sogginess, stale flavour, prawns going off and so on.

Whilst it is not essential, you would be well advised to have a ‘durability indication’ on any sandwich kept beyond the day it’s made – i.e. a use- or sell-by date. You might even want to give some sandwiches to your local public analyst. If they found that your sandwiches were biologically acceptable after two days then you would obviously have a good defence against anyone complaining about such sandwiches.

3. Install a bake-off oven and make some or all of your own bread

Bake-off ovens have been a godsend, especially now that they are readily available, easy to use and need not involve substantial start-up costs. You can have bread from freezer to operating table in about 20 minutes. Bake-off ovens allow you to make it up as you go along, to respond to the level of business on a particular day. This is in stark contrast to the usual situation of having to make a decision the day before when placing your order. They are used most commonly for baguettes. They are simple to bake and in my experience the results are reliable and excellent. As you will see when you start to receive catalogues from the big catering suppliers, there are many other products which can be produced in them.

Despite this, if you want to offer a wide range of breads you will probably still have to buy some in from local bakers. Bake-off ovens are not really suitable for the humble roll. Most sandwich bars order in a fairly large quantity of rolls each day and it would not be practical to try to bake these plus baguettes and croissants in the morning.

Another plus point is that bake-off ovens create a delectable aroma which adds to the customer appeal of the shop.

A bake-off oven helps you to be in control; you don’t have to order everything in the day before when you’re not sure what demand will be like. It can also be used for pastries and savoury snacks which could enable you to expand your repertoire. An oven suitable for most medium sized sandwich bars simply requires a 13 amp plug, although larger more powerful ovens may need to be hard-wired.

ONE OTHER POINT ABOUT BAKE-OFFS

Since it is now possible to bake reasonably large quantities of baguettes some places have a display in the front of the shop selling plain baguettes or croissants. I see the point: it looks good and it offers the customer more choice. But the trouble is that some people will buy a baguette and then go somewhere else to buy some avocados and tomato and put together a little picnic. You might sell a baguette for 70p and make 20p. A third-baguette with avocado, tomato and salad you might sell for about £2.60, allowing scope for making a lot more than 20p. Let delicatessens and bakers’ shops sell bread on its own – you should sell sandwiches.

Sandwich and Snack News will provide details of suppliers of bake-off ovens. You can also get information from the big catering suppliers which supply many of the products (not just baguettes) which can be cooked in the ovens.

4. Have plentiful supplies and be positive about what to do with what’s left

The customer generally likes to be presented with a good choice. Indeed marketing people will tell you that the sight of large stocks of particular items will make people more likely to buy. I’m sure also that the converse is true – people do tend to be unimpressed by the sight of one or two sandwiches dotted about the shelves, those not chosen during the lunchtime rush.

As I said at the start of the book, some level of waste is inevitable when dealing with perishables. Here are a few thoughts on how to make a virtue out of a necessity:

• If you have children, take the made-up sandwiches home, put them in the fridge and use them for packed lunches the next day. You will probably find that some of them won’t last that long because children do tend to like the immediacy of sandwiches. (Be warned: this can cause annoyance when it spoils their appetite for the evening meal!)
• If you have a particularly quiet day and it’s obvious there will be a lot of sandwiches left, phone a friend or two and invite them round for an impromptu sandwich supper. With the money you save on your evening meal why not buy in some good beer or wine to go with the meal?
• Bread can be frozen. It keeps pretty well for a month or so. You can simply take it out of the freezer and allow it to defrost. A quicker way is to put it in a microwave, select auto defrost and blast it for 20 seconds or so. Either way, the flavour is improved if you heat the bread briefly in the oven or under the grill. (In the case of auto-defrosted bread this should be done after the microwaving).
• Come to an arrangement with a local charity for homeless people whereby they arrange to collect bread and/or sandwiches that are left over at the end of the day. Make sure this is done through proper channels because with the best will in the world you do not want a lot of homeless people appearing in the shop looking for hand-outs.
• Use bread left over as an excuse to go for a walk in a park where you can feed the birds – seriously, it’s a very pleasant way of spending an hour or two. My favourite thing is getting the seagulls to catch rolled up bits of bread in mid air!
• Be philosophical and accept the inevitability of waste; throw it out and aim to have less waste tomorrow. It is all tax deductible after all.

Clearly you will take some food home on occasion. You may also buy the odd thing at the cash and carry for the house. Bear in mind that the Inland Revenue expect this and that your accountant may well ask you for a notional figure for the amount of food bought for the business which is eaten at home.

Offering a range of cold drinks

Put yourself into the shoes of an imaginary customer and consider what kind of choice you would like to be presented with. There are hundreds if not thousands of drinks available. However, many are just variations on a theme so a balanced selection of perhaps 25 or 30 drinks should have something for everyone.

• You should certainly have the most famous brand names – and don’t forget to have ‘diet’ equivalents.
• You should have some juices which are entirely free of sugar.
• As with the sandwiches I think it’s a good idea to include a few of the more exotic things.
• Whatever the health-conscious may think of them, energy drinks are very popular just now, especially with teenagers and students.
• Flavoured milks (for some reason only ever available in chocolate, banana or strawberry flavours) are steady sellers.
• Have some plain bottled water (fizzy and still) on sale.
• Keep up to date with new fashions (and fads) and be prepared to introduce new lines.
• Bottles with screw tops and sports tops are increasingly popular.
• Customers searching about for things can create chaos amongst the bottles and cans. It’s annoying but you really must tidy them regularly to maintain your professional image.
• When restocking the drinks cabinet always make sure you or your staff bring the older bottles to the front. I know it’s obvious and sensible but it doesn’t always get done, which means that every now and then you find you’ve got a batch of cans which are past their sell-by date. It can also mean customers pick up a can which is not chilled, which is bad for business.

You might notice that some of the bigger chains of sandwich-coffee bars now choose to have a very stripped down drinks selection; perhaps one famous best seller – you know the one – plus their own brands of fruit drinks and vegetable drinks, a mineral water and that’s it l think when starting up, you would be taking quite a risk in having such a limited choice.

Issues to consider if your life partner is also your business partner

1. What should you do if you and/or your partner are currently in paid employment?

Clearly one of you will have to give up work, but when? In my view the answer is as late in the day as humanly possible. You might be getting into the sandwich-coffee bar business because you are keen to get out of an unsatisfactory work situation, but the benefits of regular incomes for as long as possible should not be underestimated.

This is especially true since the first few months of trading are unlikely to be profitable. The numerous start-up costs will see to that. Frankly, you will be doing well to break even in the early stages.

2. Working patterns once your new business is established

It is, of course, quite possible for you and your partner to give up jobs and work full-time in the sandwich bar. The benefits are that you reduce your staff costs and you have greater confidence that things are being done properly. However, there are some points to bear in mind:

• Might it not be better to have the security of at least one steady income especially in the early stages?
• If one of you does keep a job going, full-time or part-time, this does not preclude that person from making a valuable contribution to the business. Someone’s got to go to the cash and carry, deliver orders, do the banking, book-keeping and so on. These tasks can be fitted round a job. In fact, you will find that running a small business involves a lot of tasks like this which it would be awkward to get an employee to do.
• Do you necessarily want to spend your whole working day with your partner? Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that – it also gives you more things to talk about over dinner.
• Be flexible in considering working patterns. You can do this. You’re the boss, it’s up to you. Perhaps you and your partner could each work part-time. If you don’t have a partner then perhaps you should consider working part-time leaving some time free during the day to attend the many other things that need to be done.

Your staffing needs

Assuming you are not going to try to do everything yourself or with your partner, you will need to hire staff. This is actually a task which can be left until much nearer the opening date and I will deal with it and other issues relating to staff later in the book. At this stage, however, there are some points to consider as you draw up your blueprint.

How many staff will you need?

How many full-time and part-time staff will you need? It’s obviously important that you have the right amount of cover when you open. The difficulty is that you don’t know how busy you will be – perhaps not very, initially. You may have staff who are under-employed. This is something you have to put up with for a while. You must think in terms of how you hope it will be a few weeks down the line and be staffed accordingly.

• Part-timers used to be cheaper to employ than full-timers. Now though, when it comes to the legal rights and entitlements of employees, there is no distinction between part-time and full-time. In my experience it is also uncommon to pay lower hourly rates to part-timers nowadays. There is one particular advantage in having a few part-timers. If they are able to be flexible then you can develop a small team on which you can draw if people go off sick. If you rely on one really good full-timer then if they are taken ill you have a problem.

Allocating tasks

Let’s say you plan to have a good-sized sitting area in addition to the core sandwich-making operation – say ten tables. This means that a considerable amount of time will be spent taking orders, serving people and clearing tables. Do you think you should hire one person whose only job is to attend to these tasks? And what about behind the scenes? One person to take care of washing up, slicing cucumbers and tomatoes, crushing cardboard boxes for the rubbish and sweeping the floor? And you’ll need someone – two people at least – to serve the customers, make sandwiches up to order, operate the till and deal with enquiries about deliveries and outside catering. What happens when one area of the operation is a bit quieter – can you then ask the person who does the washing up to serve tables? It all gets a bit complicated.

The answer is really quite simple. It depends on the size of the operation. If you plan to take on a large unit, possibly on different floors, then demarcation is not only desirable, it’s essential for the smooth running of the place. However, for the great majority of small independent sandwich-coffee bars operating out of moderately sized units, it’s vital that everybody does everything – and that this is made clear to people at the interview stage. There are always some jobs which are less popular than others, but working in a sandwich-coffee bar means taking the rough with the smooth. It’s essential for efficiency that everybody understands this from the start and that staff don’t feel they can turn their noses up at particular jobs. What’s more, if you plan to work in the place yourself (as opposed to employing a manager) it’s important that you set an example by taking your turn to do all the jobs involved in running the operation. It’s a case of leading by example.

Opening hours

When planning your venture you will develop an idea of your preferred opening hours. But the fact is that you won’t know what hours will work best for you until you have been trading for some time – I would say six months or so.

Be prepared to experiment. You’ll be surprised how even a minor change, opening quarter of an hour earlier, for instance, can ease your situation. It might mean that the journey to work is made easier because you miss the worst of the traffic.

You will almost certainly find that Saturdays and Sundays will be different from the rest of the week. If your trade is predominantly office people then it may not be worth opening at the weekend at all. If, however, you are in a tourist area then Saturday and Sunday could be your best days, although it might not be worth opening all year round. Experiment, yes, but don’t flog a dead horse.

Our first shop was located in George IV Bridge quite close to Edinburgh Castle Esplanade where each year they hold the Military Tattoo. We were aware that every evening for the four weeks of the Tattoo lots of buses full of tourists parked in George IV Bridge. So instead of closing at 5 o’clock we stayed open until 10pm. We stocked the shelves and waited for the deluge. Sure enough, regular as clockwork the buses arrived and disgorged masses of camera-toting tourists. Unfortunately the tourists had all eaten. They were marshalled with military precision by their guides and after five minutes of organised mayhem the place went dead. We got the occasional bus driver and the odd rebellious tourist. I remember one evening in particular when the best sale we had was when somebody bought four bags of crisps. That particular experiment lasted about a week!

Disabled Customers

Whilst disabled people will only make up a small percentage of your customers it is neither difficult nor expensive to make your shop a bit more user-friendly for them.

• For people with impaired vision, produce a few copies of your menu in large print. This can be done easily on a PC.
• For blind people, produce a copy of the menu in braille. For assistance on this matter you should contact the Royal National Institute for the Blind (transcription service). Their number will be in your telephone directory. For an A4 sheet of 400 words the cost of producing a master will be in the region of £10 with copies costing about 50p each.
• For people with mobility problems (whether in wheelchairs or not), organise the furniture in the shop in such a way that there is an easy route in and out. Make sure that wheelchairs can cross the threshold of the shop easily. If the pavement is a few inches lower than the entrance a sloped piece of wood will easily do the trick.
• For deaf people, have a notepad and pencil readily available as they might find it easier to give their order in writing.