The power of buying wine and the politics of managing a beverage program make for odd business relationships. Sometimes these relationships can become contentious. Eleven years managing a complex on-premise wine account has caused me to realize that a partnership based on mutual benefit for my employer and my suppliers is the best outcome. Buying wine for a large property such as Four Seasons Resort and Club (my employer), or any establishment, is about finding “the best” for my guests and my employer. This keeps the guests returning and the hotel or restaurant profitable. A good working relationship with suppliers is key to making this happen. In order to fulfill this goal, and to help supplier account representatives understand my expectations of both them and myself, I developed two lists: a wish list for reps; and a list of promises from me. I can’t say that I abide by all of these promises all of the time. However, I do my best to make certain that the standard I set for myself is always considered when engaging with suppliers. I still hear of buyers who threaten reps with banishment from a restaurant if unreasonable demands or concessions are not met. But I do believe that such practices are diminishing as the sommelier position is increasingly accepted as a business profession. I hope these lists will spur you to consider your relationships with your suppliers, and how we all might improve the image of our profession through our interactions with business associates.
What do you do about reps who try to "go over your head"?
Thanks for this James! Great resource for people on both sides.
Great article. I found it after David Keck recommended it in his Wine Business Seminar. Fantastic advice!
James,
Thanks so much for the information. It is very helpful, and incredibly relevant to my career. Thanks again! I am passing this on to my team of reps today.
Edward Morgan and Ion Bratianu , please excuse the lapse in replying to each of you. I will reply to both, since you ask similar questions.
My parameters for the performance as regards the banquet list are simple:
- Guarantee the negotiated cost for a one-year period.
- Ensure supply of the wine for the one-year period. Due to Texas laws, I must rely on distributors for inventory control in their warehouses. I do not require the same vintage throughout, but do reserve the right to make changes should a new vintage prove substantially inferior or drastically different in style. And, a wine that switches appellations will be reviewed.
- Penalties for non-performance of what amounts to a contract is removal of the wine from the list, and replacement of the selection with another distributor's wine. There is a grace clause for stocking issues which allows for distributors to give fair warning that a product is low stock or that an issue is anticipated. This allows time for the hotel to react with guests, and to create a satisfactory solution.
Maintaining cost is not a concern, as almost all distributors are excellent at honoring agreements. Stocking is the main concern because the hotel's usage pattern can change due to business patterns. Therefore, I often do need to order wines on a quick turnaround. I work with the wholesalers to keep a reasonable stock at the hotel, and to help them determine reasonable stock for their warehouses.
All wholesalers are treated with equality under this system. All know the system, and there are no arbitrary penalties.
My commitment is to list the wines for a one-year period. There are various ways, all well-known, for negotiating cost. I utilize Four Seasons' small selection of core wines as much as possible, since I help select these and cost is quite good. For the rest of the selections, I utilize relationships with national accounts representatives and suppliers in addition to my distributor relationships to achieve cost targets. I do allow for proposals, but have experimented with several methods for determining selections. The list is not "bid out", but rather selected based on a number of factors. Essentially, the method used to create any other high-volume list.
Training consists of a roll-out tasting, either sit-down with presentations or a walk-around "wine fair" format. We do follow-up training on a regular basis, though most of this is in-house. Most wines perform as expected. In some cases, I will place incentives on a market basket of the wines, but never on individual items. My reasoning is that placing an incentive on a single item encourages salespeople to sell what benefits them and ultimately the supplier, rather than selling the wine that is best for the most important person,...the guest.
I hope this helps answer your questions.
All the best,
James