Chapter 9, Question 3 Mark Chaplin is the manager of Carsen's Rib Joynt, a restaurant specializing in baby back ribs, but serving them in a very upscale atmosphere. Mark has nearly completed calculating his prime costs for the months of July, August, and September of this year. He is seeking to forecast his staff costs for the month of October. He knows the following information: Monthly Management costs $53,000 Total benefits costs 25% of Management + Staff Labor Because his monthly management costs are fixed at $42,000 and his benefit costs are 25% of management and staffing expense, the cost of staff is the only labor-related cost he wants to estimate based on his forecasted volume. Complete Mark's prime cost recap sheet, answer the questions that follow, and then make the staff expense forecasts he needs to better predict his staff costs at the various number of guests served estimates he has identified Carsen's Rib Joynt July August September NUMBER OF COVERS 13,000 15,000 2,500 Food $298.500 $405.699 $325,650 Beverage $60,250 $88,500 $73,200 Total Sales COST OF SALES Food $103,500 $139,650 $121,100 Beverages $15,025 $16,250 $15,550 Total Cost of Sales LABOR Management Staff $129,000 $133,000 $134,500 Employee Benefits Total Labor PRIME COST (a) What is the operation's variable "staff" cost per guest? (b) What was the operation's total variable "staff" cost in July? (c) What is the fixed portion of "staff" costs in July? d. What will be the operation's total "staff" cost if the following numbers of guests are estimated to be served in October? Estimated Number Fixed Staff Costs ($) Variable Staff Total (Mixed) of Guests Served Costs ($) Staff Cost ($) 13,250 13,500 13,750 14,000