My boss had a kick butt business. He listened to his "friend" who he hired. (who is a "me" person, a "know it all" and somewhat of a control freak) In the two years hes there, our customer base has dropped enormously, some wont come in at all because hes there.... He convinced my boss to "star" items from the menu, jack up the prices on everything else, because "volume doesnt matter"...which I think is a load of you know what. You dont mark everything up 300 % to get 50 people to buy that item, you make a decent profit to get the 150-200 people in the door like it used to be....We used to go through 50-70 steaks on Thurs nights. Now were lucky if we sell 25. Price is absurd. And we live in a small town, so news travels like lightning speed. The only thing saving his behind right now, is we have great pizza, and serve Beer and Booze... (but, weve lost customers because our beer is the highest around and people dont like the "friend") Which personally, Friends and Business, unless you are damn lucky and have that really good one, just DO NOT MIX) He gets a paycheck for doing next to nothing, and boss I suppose feels sorry for him because thats all he has after bankrupting his own business, TWICE!!! Would LOVE to hear business experienced peoples thoughts on this one....Anybody????
      Answer1:America has cut back on dining out, so change by itself is not conclusive. Nothing is like it used to be. While waitstaff makes more when busy, sometimes owners do not. But if the word is out, you may be on a sinking ship. Talk to the boss about your concerns (do NOT tell him how to run his business). After that, you will know whether to leave now or later.