1954 Practical Bar Management by Eddie Clarke

PRACTICAL BAR MANAGEMENT

6. When the stock is completed, Bar Accounts Books, Requisitions, Wholesales, etc., should be examined. Particular care should be taken to check the duplicate barman's copy of any Cellar Indent containing an alteration. 7. It is a safeguard periodically to inspect measures and glasses in use and examine selling prices. 8. Remember that there is no unwritten law that a stocktaker should have a drink at the end of stocktaking. Unnecessary fraternization with bar staff is to be deprecated. Far rather should there be an austere friendliness—the barman being appreciative of the fact that the stocktaker is a third party whose interest is to protect both the hotel and the barman. Preparation and Assessment of a Stock Report From a purely control point of view, the Management when considering a Bar Reportis basically interested in the figuresshown at Estimated Selling Price. As will be appreciated,this is,in effect, the comparison of actual revenue with the consumption of stock calculated, as has been stated, on the theoretical sales value of the items. Dependent, therefore, on the style of bar and the pro portion of measured and mixed drinks,there wiU be an overage or surplus which is then shown as a percentage of revenue. It is generally true that no two bars even serving the same ratio of items—ever show the same result. This is occasioned by a number of factors, and it is perhaps because of this that so many people fail to assess the value of this surplus percentage. The preparation of this return is dependent on the approach of the stocktaking organization to the unit value to be charged, and the degree of allowances to be made, and although it is the operation of the bar which, so to speak, writes the story, it is the stocktaker who provides the framework and produces the piece. Clearly, then, one must appreciate this factor as well as having a knowledge of the style of the particular bar business before commenting on any particular bar percentage result. It is for this reason that records of surplus percentage covering bars are normally held by the Management as a confidential document. It follows that these are not confided in detail to the bar personnel, and the logic of such a policy is obvious. However, there is no hard and fast rule in the matter, and the managerial approach will 140