When business just doesn't add up

First, the good news. The final part of our refurbishment has fallen into place with the delivery of the remaining new uniforms.

We placed the order on 1 February from a next-day delivery catalogue, only to be told some sizes were unavailable but would be delivered within 28 days. That extended to 56, and on 5 April they arrived, nine weeks late.

Now for the bad news. My long-suffering wife, Susan, is once again on the staff following the departure of our administration manager. That in itself is bad enough, but the situation worsened when our accountant began looking through our computer records. While we have not been the subject of fraud, we have been the victim of some lax recording procedures, which have meant our system has not balanced for some months. In fact, it's in a mess.

New procedures are now under way to tighten up how we input data, and we will be allocating time each month to go through the records and identify entries which don't look quite right. This way, we can rectify errors quickly.

The weather and pay day both have a tremendous effect on our business. The last Saturday in March produced excellent trade for all three restaurants, with Louth having its best day since opening in 1994. Yet the following Monday it rained all day (and snowed in many places), ensuring sales were 50% less than expected. Even though the weather improved as the week went on, sales remained depressed and only Scunthorpe managed to hit target.

Once a month Susan and I, together with a group of friends, go walking - nothing too strenuous, but it works up a healthy appetite and thirst, necessitating a simple bar meal and a pint afterwards.

We reached the first pub at 7.15pm on a Sunday. It used to enjoy a good reputation but was empty, had only two copies of the bar menu and didn't try to sell us a drink.

Contrast this with the pub in the second village, which was busy, had a large specials board, plenty of menus and a welcoming barman.

Perhaps the first is satisfied with its turnover. But it's easy to become complacent, and that's the first stage of the downward spiral.

JOHN DOWNS is managing director of Lincoln-based Jay-Dees Family Restaurants

Next diary from John Downs: 1 June