Pizza Hut not hitting its numbers

[Crusher]

So I just got word that the new pizza hut in our small town of 7,000 people is way off of its projections and they are some upset people in the corporation (this store is owned by a corporation that own about 35 PHs). I’ve been told it was supposed to do $12,000 a week and has only been doing about $7,000 after 6 weeks of being open. The highest it got was after week 2 it hit $10,000 and has been dropping ever since. My source says the manager is already about to get the boot. How long will a PH stay open if it is this far off on its numbers?

 

[Deacon_V]

I don’t know from the inside anymore so I’m not the best authority, but the Hut in my little burg of 3,500 has been poorly performing for YEARS, and yet, it remains. I suppose it’s all going to depend on how strong the other units are in this franchise group, and how long the owners will let it all average out between them.

My unsolicited advice though? STOP sweating the Hut. Focus on YOUR place and what make YOU the best in town. There will always be a percentage of the population that is looking for a $10 pizza…that or a cheap laxative. Let them have them.

 

[Crusher]

deaconvolker:

My unsolicited advice though? STOP sweating the Hut. Focus on YOUR place and what make YOU the best in town. There will always be a percentage of the population that is looking for a $10 pizza…that or a cheap laxative. Let them have them.

I have to agree with you on this. It’s so hard not to though.They came in with such an arrogant attitude and I want to see them go down.

 

[system]

Crusher look at this in an entirely different way if you would. Ask yourself what you goal as a business owner is? Are you satisfied at your current level of sales and profit? Would you like to see more? Now… just forget about all of the competition out there… they are not a factor in your next steps. You cannot survive playing catch up or trying to run head to head with the big pizza operations. They can support a non-profiting location because they have 100 that are making money. You need to work on the steps to promote your business and help expand and profit as you do it. Unless you are selling $5 pizzas… stop worrying about the big 3! You won’t win a battle at their price level so make good pizza…give good service… and sell yourself as a better offering to your town. People still want too support the little guy. Has everyone here read about Nick’s Pizza near Chicago and what happened in the last couple of months. He runs two locations and spend way too much on them. Large dine-in high dollar… million dollar setups. Also, makes really good pizza my cousin that lives in Crystal Lake says. He was going under and out of money. He sent an email to his customer base saying just that. Thank you for years of support but since I over spent and made some bad choices I am now at a point where I need to ask you, the customer, for help. He did not ask for charity or a handout…he simply asked that if you are going out too eat… eat at Nick’s Pizza! If I remember right…the article said his sales were up 46% within a week. Two weeks into it…his cash flow is positive and he is surviving. People help when the can. Now ask one thing…why did they all come to his aid? Answer: Good food and good people to deal with. Would you help the place with bad service? Bad food? Etc… No! Bottom line…sell yourself and build upon that and not the other guys. Do you think the people in your town would bail-out PH if it was going under? I doubt it. Take a step back and a deep breathe and really look at your operation from the outside.

 

[goodmank]

Pizza Hut opened shortly after I did also. Small town around 5000. I have also heard that they are not happy with my shop being open. Just tonight We had the managers of Pizza Hut in our parking lot watching us. I only know this because we were so busy that I had to take a delivery because my drivers were all on runs. The Pizza Hut managers pulled out of our parking lot in front of me and I followed them down the road to their shop (only because it was actually on the way to my delivery). My wife was not happy that they were watching us but I take it as a great sign that we are doing something right and they (Pizza Hut) are trying to figure out what we are doing.

Of course they have way more money and could easily operate at a loss longer than I could. Will they? Who knows, but like another poster has stated, I do not and will not worry about them and will continue with what has made me successful. I just find it amusing and satisfying that they watch me.

 

[bodegahwy]

Pizza Hut closed their location in our town just over a year ago Oct 1st after 25 years. (Lease ended and they decided not to renew) We saw ZERO change. (The growth I have reported in posts kicked off 120 days later) Lesson: their customer is not our customer. I think that if we had been at the low price end of the equation fighting for $8 pizza sales we would have seen change from day one as PH customers looked for another pizza source…

After 13 years I believe more than ever that what our competitors do makes only a minimal difference to us. Certainly less than the economy and how many visitors are in town and less than the results of our marketing efforts, service and quality. We are in control of our own destiny and spending time and brain power worrying about what others are up to is wasting those resources.

 

[wa_dave]

bodegahwy:

Pizza Hut closed their location in our town just over a year ago Oct 1st after 25 years. (Lease ended and they decided not to renew) We saw ZERO change. (The growth I have reported in posts kicked off 120 days later) Lesson: their customer is not our customer. I think that if we had been at the low price end of the equation fighting for $8 pizza sales we would have seen change from day one as PH customers looked for another pizza source…

After 13 years I believe more than ever that what our competitors do makes only a minimal difference to us. Certainly less than the economy and how many visitors are in town and less than the results of our marketing efforts, service and quality. We are in control of our own destiny and spending time and brain power worrying about what others are up to is wasting those resources.

True words spoken from a successful operator.
Also a good answer for those who ponder should or shouldn’t they charge for delivery.
Dave

 

[BBH]

goodmank:

Pizza Hut opened shortly after I did also. Small town around 5000. I have also heard that they are not happy with my shop being open. Just tonight We had the managers of Pizza Hut in our parking lot watching us. I only know this because we were so busy that I had to take a delivery because my drivers were all on runs. The Pizza Hut managers pulled out of our parking lot in front of me and I followed them down the road to their shop (only because it was actually on the way to my delivery). My wife was not happy that they were watching us but I take it as a great sign that we are doing something right and they (Pizza Hut) are trying to figure out what we are doing.

Of course they have way more money and could easily operate at a loss longer than I could. Will they? Who knows, but like another poster has stated, I do not and will not worry about them and will continue with what has made me successful. I just find it amusing and satisfying that they watch me.

Do your self a favor - install visible security cameras around your building. Make sure if you have an external gas regulator/supply on the outside of the building that you have it in camera view, enclose it and secure it if at all possible (which would be best). Not saying anything against anyone but people watching you no matter who they are is not a good thing. it’s not a joke.