Running a restaurant requires attention to detail in every aspect of your business operation. When it comes to running a seafood restaurant, you have to be especially careful about the suppliers you use.
For your food items, it is imperative to find a supplier that can keep you stocked up and provide you with the best quality products at all times. You cannot sacrifice quality when it comes to seafood because it is so perishable. If your supplier isn’t up to par, you could risk selling bad seafood, which will harm your business’ reputation.
Characteristics of a Good Supplier
Food Safety Magazine explains that there are several things to consider when choosing a supplier for your seafood restaurant:
- Quality of product
- Customer service
- Reliability
Quality of Product
The quality of the product is something you cannot compromise. It will impact your relationship with your customers and your overall business success. You need to ensure that any supplier you choose provides the highest quality possible.
In addition, quality directly relates to the safety of the product. Delaware Sea Grant explains that when you use a supplier who has a high-quality product, it will mean the supplier carefully handled it from start to end. In general, this means there were safety standards in place to ensure the food items stayed at a temperature that would not allow bacteria growth.
Customer Service
A supplier also needs to provide you with exceptional customer service. This is incredibly important as it will impact your relationship with the supplier.
You need to know that you can contact the company easily and if you have an issue, it will resolve it quickly. You need to be able to trust the company is looking out for your best interests and honestly cares about the products it provides you.
A company with bad customer service typically will not provide you with the attention you need. It will drop the ball often and provide you with terrible overall service that will negatively impact your business operations.
Reliability
Reliability means the company has the products you need when you need them. For example, if you need Dungeness crab in two days, the supplier should be able to provide you with it within that time. Substituting another type of crab is not acceptable and a sign that the supplier cannot handle your needs.
Final Words
The bottom line when choosing the right supplier for your seafood restaurant is that you need to expect only the best quality service and products. When you compromise, you will hurt your restaurant. Focus on getting the highest quality products and service with the reliability you can count on, and you should be able to choose the ideal supplier for your restaurant.
