With tight margins and increasing competition for customers, two of the biggest issues facing restaurants are maintaining a positive image and navigating rising labor and other business costs. These two priorities are often at odds and finding ways to balance both is crucial. Yet one major contributor to both of these issues often goes overlooked: the washing of wares.
Kitchenware may not be a top of mind concern for most restaurant owners and their crew, but warewashing is far more impactful on a brand’s overall health than many think. Manually washing and sanitizing wares can be a tedious process with a lot of opportunity for mistakes. These mistakes can risk both consumer safety and brand reputation, and it takes a great deal of time and money to regain consumer trust after a food safety scare.
As labor gets more expensive, many restaurant owners are re-evaluating their cleaning tasks. Many would rather pay their employees to better serve their guest rather than pay an employee to manually wash dishes at a sink. Manual warewashing is also a job most people don’t want to do, leading to frustrations and costly employee turnover. Automating warewashing with high-efficiency machines presents an all-around better solution.
“Machines are more consistent at routine tasks than humans,” says Kent Kidwell, assistant vice president and QSR warewash program leader at Ecolab. “Manual washing introduces a human error factor, for example if they don’t wash the same or soak in the sanitizer long enough. A machine does it the same way every time.”
Ecolab’s equipment can also help ensure that the proper cleaning products and temperatures are used every time.
“Ecolab’s newest technology ensures that the machine is run properly every cycle, utilizing product and temperature lockout programming which prevents employees from using the machine if products run out or if the water temperature is too low,” Kidwell says. “Our warewashing program can generate up to 40 percent savings by reallocating labor. Instead of spending five hours at a three-compartment sink, a restaurant can get that down to three hours, and those wares will be over 80 percent cleaner than they are when they are washed by hand.”
Restaurants can also save on long-term maintenance and repair costs by enrolling in rental programs, such as Ecolab’s. “Many people don’t appreciate how costly these machines can be to maintain,” Kidwell says. “Eventually, components need repair or replacement, and most restaurants don’t factor that into the purchase cost. But with our worry-free rental program, everything but the cleaning products are included in the cost—even emergency service and maintenance. You don’t get that kind of service with a purchase once the warranty expires.”
With so many challenges in foodservice, it’s important for QSR operators to look for advantages wherever they can find them. Though automating warewashing may not be the first place that comes to mind, improving the efficiency and consistency of this critical business function can provide restaurants with big results.
“Our warewashing rental program gives restaurants savings on energy, water, and labor, and we pair that with Ecolab’s solid detergent and sanitizer, which reduces freight costs as well,” Kidwell says. “Automating warewash delivers improved results and peace of mind.”
To learn more about warewashing rentals, visit Ecolab’s website.
By Peggy Carouthers
