I work as a driver for a small indie shop and there doesn’t seem to be a readily apparent solution to the problems.
One thing that jumps out right away is that the sales volume needs to be high for it to be profitable, and I need to take more than 3 deliveries per hour average for it to work out well. Most nights my sales don’t top $200 for my 7 hour shift, and in the end the cost of just MY labor usually is around 35% of MY sales. On days when it is really slow I’ve seen that as high as 60%. My tip average is a whopping 23% of my sales at this store. The customers are happy and loyal. My pay and delivery fees work out to an average of $7.33 per hour ($6.50 on the clock going up to 7.05 in Jan.) With tips the average is a solid $12.75 per hour with low days no lower than $10 p/h and good days no better than $16.
Last week I worked 34.33 hrs, sold $834.70 worth of food, made $411.15 total, or $11.98 p/h before expenses and taxes. 18% tips for the week means I took home 49% of my sales total.
I doubt my employer did as well as I off of our arrangement. Here’s the problem. Rent and bills took $170. My CS took $130 more. Gas and maintenance took $90. I have about $20 left to eat. Now what?
At $12 an hour I’m the best paid dishwasher in town. And I give them my best. I still have to work a second job, hustle, scrape, bum and beg to get over. I can’t very well ask them for more money, but I’ll be grateful for the .55 raise right after christmas. That’s another $18 in my pocket, or double the cheeseburgers.
It’s a good thing I don’t smoke, drink, or get out much. Sometimes I have to choose between the $10 bag of cat food, and the $2 bag, ya know?
If it weren’t for that lousy, liberal, self-defeating, inflationary law, who knows where I’d be?
Riding the bus to a factory or the shipyard probably. Pays about the same.
The solution for me is to go into business for myself because I think I can do it more efficiently and productively than the other guy. In the end, I think that will be the winning ticket.
Payroll is merely the cost of doing business, it costs what it costs. It’s how well you manage your assets, including human ones, that will determine the profitability.
Where I work I can easily handle twice the volume they give me. Unfortunately my job detail involves doing dishes and mopping, not running advertising campaigns. What a waste. If I were twice as busy, I’d be making twice as much per night in tips. Always have before. But what do I know, I’m just a driver…
Lone*Star
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