What to offer…Chlorine test strips and…

What to offer…vs. what we’d take

So you’re in a unique position. An attractive four unit nursing home prospect has put their business up for bid. Luckily you just happen to have a friend on the inside who’s provided you with the incumbent’s pricing. And to your glee, you find it’s ten percent above what you might have expected. Oh and it’s also another ten percent above the price at which you’d happily sell them.

So what about that apparent 20% advantage? Well first consider the validity of what you’ve been told. Not to say your insider hasn’t provided the actual invoice prices. But what about any possible headquarters rebate he’s not privy to? That might lower that 20% or even totally erase it.

Setting aside that possibility, what about the incumbent’s reaction? If he knows he’s getting rich, he might get real and lower his prices because he now knows he’ll be challenged. But let’s say he doesn’t and that there are no rebates.

The question then comes down to the price we’d accept versus what to offer.

That’s a tough call, and aside from any other complications, it’s tempting to rely on that inside information – versus putting the deal we’d otherwise offer on the table. But like a lot of decisions we make it’s a tricky balancing act.

Chlorine test strips and…Monitoring compliance

With our high temp customers assuring sanitized tableware is a pretty straight forward matter of having an adequate final rinse temperature. And conveniently high temps have always had that temperature gauge to confirm that temperature.

If we need to check that instrument’s accuracy temperature change tape strips are available as a second line of defense. But when it’s a low temp, that chlorine test strip – or our titration kit are the only methods we have to assure compliance.

So having chloring test paper in a convenient location where it can be accessed (and teaching operators use it) is the only practical way to assure sanitized tableware. And making sure that at least one other responsible person in the kitchen knows how to use and interpret that all important color change is a good idea.

Yep, it would be nice if there was a chlorine level gauge on low temp machines to attest to having the required sanitizer level. But despite the wide use of low temps for more than fifty years, there’s no such animal. So in the meantime, it’s test paper and the disciplined use of it.

Next up: The foundation of sanitation.