Banking on spring
March comes to a disappointing end at the Well House, with turnover nearly £3,000 adrift of plan, and owner Nick Wainford reflects ruefully on a lesson learnt: when staff ask for time off, check the calendar.
"Two months ago, one of the chefs asked for the weekend off at the end of March and I agreed, not realising that it was Mothering Sunday. I won't make that mistake again," says Wainford.
As a result, chef Wayne Pearson and his new commis chef Luke Simpson worked at full stretch: they turned out nine dinners on the Friday evening, 23 dinners on Saturday and 16 lunches and eight dinners on Sunday. Also, there was a full house for breakfast each morning because the hotel's seven rooms were full.
It has been a good test for Simpson's commitment to the job, and Wainford and Pearson are pleased with the way he's shaping up.
The challenge was not so much the dinners on Saturday, but mainly the 16 lunches on Sunday. Wainford and Pearson manage the workflow in the evenings by spreading the starting times between 7pm and 9pm, but most people want to start lunch close to 1pm.
So, although the Well House could have squeezed in more lunch bookings on the Sunday, Wainford put the lid on it at 16, and was happy to get takings of about £3,000 during that weekend.
That contrasts with his feelings on March 15, when the takings for the month stood at £5,036.40, against a target of £17,000 for the month as a whole. "In the middle of the month we had five days when we didn't do any business at all in the restaurant or rooms. This was depressing, especially after a good February."
The February result was so good that for February and March together, the hotel is £2,000 ahead of target. It's just as well: at the end of February Wainford had a quarterly VAT bill of £4,200, on top of the monthly bank interest charge of £2,200 and wages and salaries of about £4,000. "We're also being pushed to pay some big food and wine bills from the Christmas period."
Wainford has no complaint about these bills - all of which were planned for. But he continues to be frustrated by the unpredictable way trade fluctuates: "The first few days of March were quite good, then we had a dead period. Things seem to take off and then the brakes go on again."
While he is baffled by the trading patterns, Wainford speaks testily about the current attitude of his bank. "The bank is riding me very hard, expecting me to hold the overdraft close to the figure we had at the beginning of November. We've even had warning letters about not honouring our cheques if we don't stay within the £290,000 limit.
"We are slightly over our limit at the moment, but I do find their attitude a bit strict: two years ago we were on £340,000. We've brought that down to about £290,000, and from April onwards we should start making good money again."
The hotel is at its lowest in cash-flow terms during February and March. Bookings for April are looking reasonable, and this is when the Well House goes back to full season rates, after charging 75% of the room rates during the winter.
Wainford confirms a decision he made some time back: the room rates, which have not changed since 1990, will stay as they are for another year. He is not yet convinced the economy is picking up sufficiently to risk jeopardising the perceived value offered by the hotel.
As if to prove this philosophy works, he cites one April group booking. The Grimsdale family has stayed at the Well House about 10 times during the past six years, and are coming back for five days.
Repeat business like this is bread and butter for the Well House. Wainford depends for business largely on entries in guide books, personal recommendations and repeat visits. "The longer we stay in business, the bigger our customer base will be," he says.
There is another minor hitch on the staffing front. Of the two general assistants who recently joined the team, 18-year-old Pippa Hamilton is full of enthusiasm and doing well. Janet Masters, however, has already left - not for any shortcomings on her side, but because she was not available to work at weekends.
"We're now looking for another assistant. It is the slimmest team we've ever had but it's about the best team we've had, too," says Wainford.
To greet the return of full season rates, the ducks on the pond are laying. Signs of spring follow 60 days of rain. "We've got some damp in two of the rooms, but we can sort that out now that the workmen can get on the roof."
Next visit: 4 May, including a report of the Open Day at the Well House
