What this calculates

Most unit problems arrive as a symptom rather than a diagnosis: sales are down on Tuesdays, the team keeps turning over, food cost crept up two points and nobody knows when. You describe what is going wrong in plain language; this returns the likely causes ranked by how often they actually explain that symptom, the actions worth taking this week, and the specific numbers to watch to know whether they worked.

What you will need

The symptom, concretely. What changed, when it started and what else moved at the same time. Sales are soft is not diagnosable; sales are soft after 8pm since we cut the closing shift is.

Any numbers you have. Even rough figures narrow the causes sharply. A labour percentage or a transaction count separates a traffic problem from a margin problem, and those have completely different fixes.

How to read the result

Work the list top down and change one thing at a time. The ranking is by likelihood, not certainty, so the value is in eliminating cheaply — the first two causes can usually be confirmed or dismissed in a week without spending anything. Commit to the metric before you act: deciding in advance what number would prove the fix worked stops you from declaring victory on a good weekend.

Questions about this tool

Does it know my brand's operating standards?

No. It reasons from general unit-economics and operations logic, so anything it suggests still has to be checked against your franchise agreement and brand standards before you change a process.

How specific should my description be?

As specific as you can be. Timing, day parts, which shifts and what else changed in the same period are the details that separate a staffing cause from a demand cause.

Can I use it for a portfolio rather than one unit?

Ask about one unit at a time here. If the question is which of your units is dragging and why, the Multi-Unit Benchmark is built for that comparison instead.

For reference only; not legal, tax, or investment advice. Results depend entirely on the figures you enter — check them against your own quotes and your franchise agreement before acting on them.

What this tool does

Describe what's going wrong in the unit; get causes, this week's actions, and metrics.

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