The first thing it means is more $$$$! Business will certainly pick-up now that football season is here, however, there are some unintended consequences to football season.
Guests will show up more often and stay longer.
You might be thinking, "More guests and they stay longer? That means they will be ordering more and my revenues will increase. What's wrong with that?" What's wrong with that is that they may not order more- just stay longer. Instead of ordering beer after beer after beer for the entire NFL game, they will order a beer or two and finish with water or soda. Then they will sit until the entire 3.5 hour game is done. Not only is the guest not ordering anything to increase revenue, they are taking up a table someone else may want.
The College Football and NFL DirecTicket Packages are expensive.
Costs vary depending on the size of the restaurant, but fees for the DirecTV NFL DirecTicket package can be more than $10,000. Add another $5,000 for the college football package and you are shelling out at least $15,000 to show football. Add that to any promotions, signage and increased labor and food costs and football season is getting expensive.
You have to get the football packages because your competitors are.
You really don't have a choice but to get the football package because all of the restaurants down the street are getting them. If a guest comes in looking for a certain game and you tell them you won't have it, they will walk out and go to a place that does. Plus, they won't be back for any games during the season and they will tell their friends you don't have the good games.
Promotions can be costly.
Everyone has the football packages, so what are you going to do to differentiate your business from someone else? Offer some sort of promotion! Well, that promotion is costing you money every week you run it. $.50 wings during football when wings normally cost $.68? You are losing $.18 per wing. What does that do to food cost? Are you willing to sacrifice that cash per wing? Selling $2 domestic drafts when they are normally $3? Not only are you losing $1 per draft, but how many people who would normally order the $4 micro brew are now ordering the $2 domestic?
There is always a game on and you need to know what channel it is on.
There are football games on 7 days a week. College football games run Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Pro football is on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. Even if you don't care that Little Brothers of the Sick and Poor are playing Western Community College of Northern Alaska, one of your guests might. Be prepared.
There will be fights over the TV and the sound.
You think that people will want to watch and listen to the match-up between the #4 ranked team and the #9 ranked team? Guess again, they want to watch State U take on #24 in a meaningless game. Even with 400 TVs in your restaurant, this guest wants to watch this game on this TV. My advice, stick to your guns- put a game on a certain TV, let your guests know what games will be on what TVs (make a TV map) and don't change anything until the game is over. That way, no one gets mad when you change the channel.
Certainly, with football season here, traffic increases in stores that carry the football games. If you manage the season well you can make a really nice profit heading into the doldrums of the year (February and March).
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