Introducing The State of Repairs Report: 2020 Data

Operators are wasting money (and time) getting broken things fixed.

Restaurant equipment repair and maintenance is a $26B industry. Ask any operator — they’d tell you repair and maintenance is the largest controllable expense on their P&L, coming in right behind labor and food costs. Yet there is very little data on repairs available to help operators make smart decisions about their operations and spend.

We exist to take the pain out of the restaurant repair and maintenance process.

For the second annual State of Repairs report, we analyzed a sample of 7,000+ service incidents performed in 2020 across on-demand repairs and preventative maintenance.

The State of Repairs contains industry-wide trends and never-before-seen data-backed insights to help you:

• Strategically manage your current repair and maintenance spend
• Identify areas of improvement in asset management, repair vs. replace, and strategic capital planning
• Explore preventative maintenance opportunities that make sense for your business based on your equipment performance
• Understand industry benchmarks across restaurant segments

Here are some highlights from the 2020 data:

Cold Side is Costing You

It doesn't matter what kind of restaurant you operate or in what market you operate in – cold side repairs are costing you. 31.88% of all service incidents fall under the cold side category, including walk-in coolers, ice makers, prep tables, and reach-in refrigerators. The average incident runs operators $765.50 – this is where preventative maintenance could really help you save.

Say No to the Status Quo

Now is the time to invest in technology, automation, and data to better optimize restaurant operations. As the industry navigated the 20% loss in revenue in 2020 and as we look forward to the 10.2% expected growth in 2021, the operators who will continue to win know that now is the time to invest in each of these areas.

Breaking out of the cycle of “doing things how they’ve always been done” can drive efficiency, improve the employee and customer experience, and ultimately, transform back-of-house operations.

We believe the best operators will continue to invest in technology to help them automate R&M processes and finally collect the data they need to drive actionable insights. That’s why we partner with leading restaurant technology companies, 7Shifts and xtraCHEF by Toast – so our customers can not only succeed in repair and maintenance but labor and finance management, too. 

Too Much Time on Repairs

What if you could spare your team from wasted time? On average it takes 24.15 touch points to detect, diagnose, and resolve an incident. 

Now more than ever, time is invaluable. As the restaurant industry faces post-pandemic labor shortages, there is plenty to do in back-of-house that isn’t repairing broken equipment. As 2021 sales are projected to climb 10.2% to attempt recovery from 2020, all hands on deck are needed to maintain standard operations and welcome back customers.

We connect the dots (and data) between service providers, individual restaurant locations, and the corporate office to improve consistency, visibility, and control of the R&M process.

What does this data mean for operations?

• Make better business decisions, like when to repair vs. when to replace a specific piece of equipment
• Make more strategic capital planning decisions
• Deliver the right approvals and decisions to the right providers
• Track total cost of ownership at every location
• Minimize operational distractions and business disruptions
• Maximize uptime and profits

Hungry for more insights?

Don’t miss out on industry-leading data. Increase visibility, consistency, and control of your repair and maintenance process with 86 Repairs.

Access the recording of our launch day webinar with 86 Repairs CEO and R&M thought leader, Daniel Estrada.