Article contributed by Mike Berman, COO, Day & Nite/All Service
Swift, significant and sustained profitable growth is best propelled by velocity and momentum working in tandem. Easing of Covid-19 restrictions has certainly created favorable hospitality momentum as diners are rushing back to favorite restaurants and leisure travel demand surges. By every apparent measure, return to normalcy has more than met even the most optimistic expectations. With Memorial Day kicking off the unofficial start of the much-anticipated summer 2021, every foodservice segment has momentum. Capitalizing now requires at least equal doses of velocity; a much tricker force for the industry to harness.
From oil sitting in fryers that haven’t been used for months to improperly shut down equipment, instead of velocity too many establishments are caught in traps of slowness for building on high rates of pent-up demand. Foodservice equipment is made to be used, lengthy periods of inactivity have created a host of unprecedented breakdowns. New equipment installed prior to the pandemic but lightly or even never used is no longer under warranty, while small unattended things like minor leaks holding over from as far back as late winter-early spring 2020 in some instances, are now anything but trivial. Without exception, manufacturers have diligently planned for resurgence but none could properly prepare for the unparalleled, massive global scale-up now in progress. The conspiracy of timing and events compounds already compromised supply chains, a subject this weekly column has featured several times. Just as none of us had seen anything like covid-19 before, we are now living through no less daunting unrivaled circumstances—further factoring in severe labor shortages throughout hospitality’s ecosystem—at the exact time velocity is most needed for building on hospitality’s momentum.
At this point a debate about whether unheeded warnings vs managing through unique circumstances is worse than immaterial, it’s counterproductive; precisely executed acceleration for all industry operating gears is foodservice’s imperative. Realizing today’s momentum will be crushed without accompanying velocity, leading foodservice managers are wisely prioritizing equipment supply chain and service evaluation and oversight as a crucial strategy for building on reopening momentum. In many instances the wisest industry leaders further recognize the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware wasn’t an aberrant event, but a reflection of growing cyber-attacks coming in waves at the exact time cyber thieves know global supply chains are most vulnerable. It is hard to imagine a time hospitality’s reward-risk stakes could be any higher or more likely to fall into the extreme, it’s even harder to imagine that any of us haven’t learned invaluable lessons from these past 15 months or so for mitigating risk in favor of substantial reward.
Commercial installation, maintenance and repair equipment service companies are the hospitality industry’s fulcrum and most sensitive touchstone at this most critical time. At minimum, learning about the depth of your service provider’s IT resources, measures and professionals on staff to manage against cyber-attacks and business interruption; the extent of your service provider’s advanced relationships with leading manufacturers to minimize any supply chain disruptions; the nature of your service company’s carried (parts) inventory; the volume of authorized warranty repair agreements; the scope of your service provider’s innovations for delivering superior equipment uptime as a way to ignite velocity on top of the positive momentum you are experiencing in your business is nothing short of essential. The risks of not doing so are only overshadowed by the risks of relying on an equipment installation, maintenance and repair company not equipped to meet current and expected market conditions.
In fact, a mere fraction of the Day & Nite family of companies attention to and investment in each of these areas—and more—has been reflected throughout this weekly series since the column first appeared April 6, 2020. Layered atop the company’s proven pedigree for consistently delivering superb customer experiences through superiority of commercial HVAC, Refrigeration, Cooking and Plumbing equipment installation, maintenance and repair execution, Day & Nite/All Service/Popular Plumbing/Performance Air Mechanical brings Parker Solar Probe like velocity to the foodservice industry’s already established momentum.
To assure vital operational velocity to your already established demand momentum, email jbf@wearetheone.com
