Anyone Currently Running A Business/Restaurant?

Well I ran a restaurant recently, pro tip, don’t place a pool on the lot, I don’t know why sims wanna go swimming while they visit a place to eat (maybe it’s because I set the attire setting to swimwear?) but other than that it seemed to run fine. Another pro tip, running a bakery is hard as pastries don’t sell for very much, try selling other buy mode items as well.

@filipomel Thank you so much for the tips! I had to delete a restaurant I downloaded because they kept swimming...glad I wasn't the only one who noticed!

So I converted a penthouse into a restaurant and learned the hard way that it was a terrible idea.
Well my first mistake was making it big and giving the restaurant a upstairs. So i always had customers walking around and never staying at their table,also placing plates on other tables once they finished.
(because they would stand and eat so, plates would be everywhere.)
My second mistake was also putting a pool on the deck which made them constantly go swimming/ returning to their food in their bathingsuit.
Half the time they would spend their whole time swimming so once the waiter brought them their food they wouldnt go to that table right away (giving my restaurants a 1 star.)
My third mistake was giving them a karaoke machine or radio (just.. just don't.)
So i ended up selling that restaurant and converting a premade one (which was smaller and easier to deal with.)

I currently own a vet clinic.

The employees that are assigned to clean are great; they're quick to find messes and mop them up.

Employees that are assigned to treat patients...well...it's kind of hit or miss. It takes them a while to actually greet customers, and sometimes the cat/dog will get off the exam table randomly, prolonging the whole experience. And I believe it's impossible for vet employees to get a 5 star ratings from customers.

Once my kids age up, I'm just gonna have them be vets so I can reach 5 stars (currently at 4.5) and make all my employees either clean or make vet treats. :D

"Sipop;c-16294246" wrote:
So I converted a penthouse into a restaurant and learned the hard way that it was a terrible idea.
Well my first mistake was making it big and giving the restaurant a upstairs. So i always had customers walking around and never staying at their table,also placing plates on other tables once they finished.
(because they would stand and eat so, plates would be everywhere.)
My second mistake was also putting a pool on the deck which made them constantly go swimming/ returning to their food in their bathingsuit.
Half the time they would spend their whole time swimming so once the waiter brought them their food they wouldnt go to that table right away (giving my restaurants a 1 star.)
My third mistake was giving them a karaoke machine or radio (just.. just don't.)
So i ended up selling that restaurant and converting a premade one (which was smaller and easier to deal with.)

Now that you mention it, it's an awful idea to run a large sized restaurant, especially with minimal staff, it's a nightmare. Try and keep a restaurant to one floor and no bigger than a general 30x20 lot size if not a little bit bigger.

"kalaksed;c-16294228" wrote:
my main family owns a restaurant, a retail shop, and a vet. they're three of the four lots in magnolia promenade, and since the family is at least part alien, the three buildings are designed to be alien-influenced (not that it matters, but the 4th lot is an alien bar that is set up as the meeting spot for my interstellar smuggler club)

the vet's is a giant flying saucer hovering over a pool. after the first day, i built a fence around the pool because the vets only wanted to swim. oddly, there's a pool in the restaurant and it only occasionally gets used. the retail store and restaurant both have aliens as staff. not sure if doing the same for the vet's, since already have over 20 aliens in my game... (same with vampires. 27 vampires)

as for what they sell, the restaurant has all the 'weird' stuff. all the experimental food, anything with 'alien' or 'exotic' in the name, walleye surprise, plasma fruit salad (then again, all my restaurants have this and the plasma jane, for visiting vampires) and so on. and it's quite a popular spot, even with prices raised 300%. it's finally started making money after the family didn't need it to (they've got so much cash from 'investing' each week, since every family member has finished the fabulously wealthy ambition that they've been using these three lots as places to stash their money when they hit max again...). the retail store sells all the alien and scientist themed stuff (the household matron, an alien, is also a max level scientist), space rocks, ambrosia, snaggleflusters, emotion potions, herbalism potions, and clothing. this family's been around since get to work came out, and the husband and wife have topped off different paths of every career in the game, so they have all the job-specific clothing unlocked and sell it as needed. so, if i want a sim to get a beret from the art critic career? buy it from the store. same with a teen who wants to be a cheerleader, someone who wants one of the business outfits, whatever. just have to have the household change one of the mannequins to have whatever i want the other household to buy. it works pretty well.

@kalaksed Your imagination is simply amazing. Unless I was stranded on an island with only the Sims and a PC, I wouldn't even think to play like this! I bet it took a long time to design and set everything up. It would be awesome to set up a vamp business with only vamps as the employees (since they are so efficient anyways). Do you share on the gallery or take screenshots? It would be great to see your work!

@Sipop Thank you for the tips about the swimming pool and the two floors. It would be my luck I'd try to make a clubhouse restaurant with a pool and a karaoke machine.

@HowGreatThouArt It's good to hear that the vet clinic employees seem to be generally responsive. I noticed that even when I visit the vet, it sometimes takes a really long time to go to the exam table. This is something I will definitely have to check out. Did you build your own or use a premade vet clinic?

"filipomel;c-16294062" wrote:
Well I ran a restaurant recently, pro tip, don’t place a pool on the lot, I don’t know why sims wanna go swimming while they visit a place to eat (maybe it’s because I set the attire setting to swimwear?) but other than that it seemed to run fine. Another pro tip, running a bakery is hard as pastries don’t sell for very much, try selling other buy mode items as well.

I'm actually going to make the need to sell buy mode items a plot point in my Dream Bakery story. They do seem to have a little morel uck while in a confident mood. Also: Just don't set the price markup to 100%, because you'll be lucky to get even one sale. 50% shoud work.

@MLadyAzzera I made my own clinic.