Football season: planning the fall around the fixture list
Game days are among the busiest days a pizza shop has, and every one of them is on a schedule published before the season starts. Plan the whole fall now.
Every August I give the same advice to anyone who will listen. Print out the football schedule. All of it. The local high school, the nearest college, the pro team your town cares about. Put it on the wall next to the oven and plan the fall around it.
Game days are some of the best days in this business, and they are completely predictable. The kickoff times are known months ahead. The only question is whether you are ready.
Know which games matter where
Not every game is equal, and not every store sees the same games. A store near a college campus lives and dies by home Saturdays. A suburban store might care more about Sunday afternoon pro games and Friday night high school football.
Go through the schedule store by store. Mark the games that will drive orders around each one. Rivalry games, prime time games and anything with playoff stakes deserve extra attention.
Get the orders in early
The worst thing that can happen on a big game day is that everyone orders at the same time and you cannot keep up. Long waits mean angry customers and lost repeat business.
So spread the demand. Open preorders a day or two before big games and tell your regulars first. Offer a pickup or delivery window before kickoff for people who order ahead. Many fans would rather have their food sorted the day before than fight the rush at halftime.
Package it for groups
People watching games eat in groups. Bundles built for groups are easier to order and usually carry a better ticket than a pile of separate items. Several large pizzas, wings, a side and drinks, priced as one item with a simple name.
Make sure your staffing and dough plan match the bundles you push. Selling more than the kitchen can make is the fastest way to turn a great day into a bad one.
Talk to people at the right moment
The best time to remind people about game day is not the morning of. It is a day or two before, when they are planning, and then a short reminder a few hours before kickoff for the people who have not ordered yet.
After the season, look back at which games actually drove orders and which ones did not. Next August, your wall chart will be smarter.
