As minimum wage and labor costs escalate nationwide, managing overall expenses has become even more crucial for sustaining competitive compensation while maintaining profitability.
The key may lie in maximizing savings in places hiding in plain sight. We’ve identified three ways to save money by automating the cooking oil process and flue cleaning.
Labor Efficiency and Employee Retention
Employees often cite managing hot cooking oil as one of the worst tasks in a commercial kitchen. By removing this task with the power of automation, employee morale can be significantly boosted. A simple switch to automation can create a more positive work environment, increase employee morale and, in turn, staff retention. In 2023, Restaurant Technologies received the Labor Saving Solution of the Year award from Buyer’s Edge Platform, in recognition of the safer, cleaner, and more efficient work environments for commercial kitchen employees created with Total Oil Management® and AutoMist® solutions.
Eliminating the dirtiest jobs in the kitchen with the Total Oil Management and AutoMist also creates a more efficient business operation by freeing up their time to complete other tasks that can help drive revenue such as customer service.
Controlled Claims and Insurance Costs
The potential costs associated with manually handling cooking oil can be astronomical. Burns, along with slips and falls—accidents due to cooking oil spills—can result in thousands of dollars in preventable workers’ compensation claims.
You can dramatically reduce this risk with automated oil management.
“We have had no burns since implementing Restaurant Technologies’ Total Oil Management system. Not only has it improved employee wellbeing, but it has also been a tremendous saving in workers’ compensation claims. It has just been incredible. In addition, this previously dirty job is no longer a chore. Sure, it’s still part of the nightly duties, but people no longer fuss about it. This has been good for the kitchen, the employees, and the management,” explained Bobby Williams, CEO of Lizard Thicket.
Additionally, ignored or subpar hood and flue cleaning can increase the likelihood of fires. By reducing—or even eliminating—these incidents, businesses can keep insurance costs at a minimum, while retaining valuable employees and keeping them safe.
Potential Savings in the Cost of Oil
Another cost savings is in the oil itself. When oil is automated, it’s only replaced when needed. There’s no more guesswork that can lead to replacing oil too early or too late. The former can lead to costly oil waste while the latter can lead to poor food quality, which can have the underlying cost of losing repeat customers. Our customers have found substantial savings in oil cost by monitoring usage and maximizing oil life without compromising food quality.
“We were able to reduce our overall oil expenses, giving our profits a boost. On average, we save approximately $1,600 per year per restaurant just in oil alone,” reports Michael Flores, a seasoned Jack in the Box franchise owner with Central Coast Restaurants, Inc. “We also reduce labor costs by eliminating manual oil handling and can redeploy employees to more valuable tasks and rewarding such as customer engagement and service.”
Bonus Benefit: Increased Customer Satisfaction
Consistent oil quality also safeguards the quality of your food. This translates to consistently delicious menu items that keep customers coming back for more, creating a healthier bottom line and helping you offset increased labor expenses.
Rising labor costs are here to stay, but implementing Total Oil Management and AutoMist can save money and boost kitchen efficiency. It’s a win-win for you and your staff—and your customers, too.
About Restaurant Technologies
Restaurant Technologies is the leading provider of commercial kitchen solutions for nearly 40,000 customers nationwide. Since 1999, its Total Oil Management and AutoMist® solutions help “Control the Kitchen Chaos” for quick-service and full-service restaurant chains, independent restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, resorts, casinos, hospitals, and more. By automating the hardest tasks in the kitchen, Restaurant Technologies improves food quality, safety, and efficiency for its customers.
Total Oil Management eliminates the manual handling of cooking oil through an automated solution that delivers, stores, filters, monitors, and removes oil. Restaurant Technologies also works with renewable energy partners to recycle used cooking oil into renewable fuels for a more sustainable business. AutoMist automates hood and flue cleaning to reduce fire risk and create a cleaner, safer work environment.
Headquartered in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, Restaurant Technologies is privately held and operates 41 depots nationwide with more than 1,400 employees. For more information, visit www.rti-inc.com, or follow on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or X @RTIoil.
