Price of WVO

[Halitosis]

So... I have had a great relationship with my restaurant for the past 3 years. Getting about 40 gallons of grease a week for nothing.

My relationship has been with the restaurant MANAGERS, however... not the owner. The owner of the restaurant knew OF me, but we hadn't officially met.

The other day, I was picking up my grease, when the manager snagged me in the back hallway, and showed me a flier that was dropped outside their door last week... it was a company in Spokane (about 90 miles north of me) that was offering to purchase the waste oil for .25 a gallon...

The manager said that he really liked what I was doing, and just wanted to give me a heads up... because it was the OWNER of the restaurant that was the one that had picked up the flier from outside, NOT the manager.

I immediately got the owner's email address, and wrote him a letter... formally introducing myself, telling him that the manager grabbed me and told me about the other company's offer... etc etc.

I also said that it was becoming obvious that the waste oil suddenly has a 'street value', whereas before it was just a cost for them to get rid of.

I then mentioned all of the "informal" stuff that I do (the managers know, but the owner didn't).... use of the truck during local parades, entry of the truck in the local "redneck" car show every year, my passing out gift certificates to their line-cooks twice a year... etc etc etc.

At the bottom, I said that I wanted to merely plant a bug in his hear that it would be a SHAME for me to lose the restaurant relationship because of an assumption that I wouldn't be willing to match someone else's offer on a purely financial level.

It worked... got an email back from the owner, saying how he appreciated my response, and that he wasn't truly interested in chasing after anyone to "buy his oil". He liked what we have in place now, and said his manager's seconded the opinion (especially the giving away of the gift certificates). I keep the oil area clean, I keep his cooks happy, and I do a regular pick-up... (more than what he could say for any previous company that was picking up his oil).

Bottom line: I live in Moscow, ID... population 20,000. If companies are coming down to cities MY SIZE to get restaurant oil, then no one is immune.

My restaurant puts out 40 gallons a week. That's 2080 gallons a YEAR.

Multiply it by .25 a gallon, and you get $500 (+/-) a year for WVO.
Multiply it by $5.00 (cost of diesel), and you get $10,000 a year.

Would you pay $500 a year to secure $10,000 worth of fuel?

Of course you would.

HOWEVER: If an owner simply decides on a WHIM that he would sign a contract without even contacting you about it... (because he hates the fact that you are a Green Bay fan, or just assumes that you would be unwilling to pay... or WHATEVER...) then you lose that source FOREVER.

This are just some words of advice for everyone out there currently getting it for free. Go in and shore up that restaurant relationship.... NOW... TODAY....

I am glad I did... I would have been hating life if I just would have arrived one day with a notice from the manager saying that I couldn't get the oil anymore because the owner signed a piece of paper....

Now I can sleep a little better knowing that I am at least first in line to counter-offer if he ever wants to go down that path.

That is all.

Halitosis

[wilson & Co]

good advice right there

[hheynow]

I always deal with the owners first and then the chef. So far so good with free non-hydro oil. Knock on wood. I guess consistency, dependability and keeping their areas clean are plus.