Cheap is More Expensive!

This past summer, I enjoyed visiting with the owner of an Independent distributor customer of ours who stopped by to see our cannery in action.

His name is Frank, and he is the epitome of a seasoned hands-on businessperson. During our time together, Frank shared the challenges restaurateurs face to maintain consistently high-quality food.

The longer we talked, the more evident it became that Frank’s success in food distribution was not a lucky break. It came from his profound understanding of his customers and his commitment to service. Our discussion delved into the extra effort required by restaurants to ensure the top-notch quality of their dishes. From the meticulous selection of ingredients to the intricacies of the cooking process, every step demands attention to detail.

From his extensive experience, Frank shared many examples of difficulties chefs encounter with lesser quality or inconsistent ingredients. What was most memorable was when Frank passionately declared, “I tell my customers that ‘Cheap is More Expensive.’” Frank’s seemingly paradoxical statement held a profound truth. It immediately resonated with me because of my own past experiences, not just in purchasing ingredients for making sauces at our cannery but in operations as well.

For example, we once awarded a cannery project to an unproven contractor based on the lowest bid. In the short run, it looked like a smart move. The project was done on time and passed our pre-season testing. However, about halfway through the tomato season, a mechanical problem shut down two of our canning lines.

To put this in perspective, losing a canning line during our season has the same negative impact as a restaurant losing its refrigerator or oven during your busiest periods. Once you get behind, you can’t catch up.

The contractor came to fix the problem. But we lost almost a halfday of production on each of the lines. Technically, the cost of the service call itself was covered by warranty. But losing significant production during our busiest time cost us more than we “saved” by taking the lower bid.

Even worse, we knew it could happen again. So once the season was over, we had the whole thing redone by someone more qualified to avoid breakdowns in the future.

Getting back to my ingredient conversation with Frank, he seemed to really enjoy sharing why bargain ingredients may seem cost-effective in the short term but end up costing restaurants more down the road.

I think Frank’s passion comes from watching too many restaurateurs mistakenly try to “save their way to prosperity.” Inevitably, seeking lower-cost ingredients gradually compromised the quality of their food. In turn, this predictably led to slowing sales, lost customers, and tarnished reputations.

In Frank’s experience, the negative consequences often happened too gradually for restaurateurs to notice before it was too late.

Perhaps that is why Frank is so adamant about reminding his successful quality-oriented restaurateur customers that “Cheap is more expensive.”

Long after his visit, the simple truth in Frank’s words stuck with me. It was refreshing to hear someone with Frank’s experience echo what we have always believed – that quality superiority should always be the priority, even if the up-front costs seem higher. For businesses like yours and mine whose success depends on satisfying quality-oriented customers, spending a bit more for consistently premium ingredients (or consistently dependable equipment) is an investment which reliably pays for itself over time!

When my distributor friend Frank says, “Cheap is more expensive,” I couldn’t agree more!

Until next time,
Ciao!

Tom Cortopassi, President and Co-Owner