Troubleshooting
Something not working? Find your symptom below and follow the fix.
My Food Truck Is Losing Money
Check Your Prices
Are your prices covering ingredient costs + wages + overhead? Calculate: selling price - ingredient cost = gross margin. If COGS is above 40% of your selling price, either raise prices or switch to cheaper ingredients. See Pricing for more detail.
Check Your Ingredient Costs
Are you buying premium ingredients that your training level can't exploit? Burger Boss staff (Level 0) cap quality at 40 points — expensive ingredients are wasted money. Match ingredient quality to your staff's training level.
Check Your Location
Are the customer segments in your district willing to pay your prices? Students won't pay premium. Managers won't buy cheap-looking food. Match your prices to the segments in your district.
Check Inventory Waste
Are ingredients expiring before you use them? Track what you order versus what you actually sell. Reduce order quantities, use FIFO (first in, first out), and switch to manual ordering if auto-replenishment is over-ordering. See Inventory_Management.
Check Staff Costs
Is payroll too high relative to revenue? Don't overpay if revenue doesn't support it, but don't underpay either — low morale hurts both quality and speed.
Customers Are Not Buying
Low Foot Traffic
You may be in the wrong location. Check whether your district actually contains the segments you're targeting. For example, Foodies and Tourists concentrate in the Tourist Zone, not the Residential area.
Customers Leave the Queue
Your service is too slow. Train your staff — each training level adds 10 speed points. Level 0 staff have only 40 speed points. Also check whether you're understaffed for your volume.
Customers Look But Don't Buy
Your price is too high for the segment, or your recipes don't match what they want. Check segment preferences in the Quick_Reference.
Low Satisfaction or Bad Reviews
Food quality is too low. Remember that your training level caps quality — a Level 1 employee maxes out at 50-point food no matter what ingredients you use. Train first, then upgrade ingredients.
Can't Afford Anything
Cash Flow Crisis
Cut ingredient costs first — switch to cheaper recipes. Reduce order quantities to stop waste. Consider relocating to a cheaper area. Only take a loan if you have a clear plan to become profitable. See Banking for loan details.
Debt Spiral
Taking loans to cover losses is the fastest way to fail. Stop borrowing. Fix the business model first: lower costs, adjust prices, relocate if needed. A loan won't fix a fundamentally unprofitable setup. See Common Mistakes for more.
Staff Problems
High Turnover
Your wages are too low. Staff leave when morale drops. Increasing wages improves retention, which is cheaper than constantly rehiring and retraining.
Low Morale
Pay fair wages. Training also boosts morale. Overworked staff burn out — check your scheduling and staffing levels.
Quality Not Improving Despite Good Ingredients
Training level is the cap. A Level 1 employee produces maximum 50-point food regardless of ingredient quality. You must train your staff before premium ingredients make any difference. See Training_and_Development.
| Level | Title | Quality/Speed Cap |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Burger Boss | 40 pts |
| 1 | Grill Starter | 50 pts |
| 2 | Flame Rookie | 60 pts |
| 3 | Sizzle Pro | 70 pts |
| 4 | Blaze Expert | 80 pts |
| 5 | Inferno Chef | 90 pts |
| 6 | Michelin Maestro | 100 pts |