Sunday, December 03, 2006

Secret to Service Success



Okay we've been discussing this Restaurant Service Journey long enough, what's the bottom line? Is there one key to successful service in all restaurants.? Yes! OUR SERVICE STAFF. This includes management, utility, bussers, servers, cooks, hostpersons, etc. Anyone which is everyone who contributes to the service of your guests/customers. Today usually minimum amount of time and resources are spent on having the best staff possible. We spend huge amounts of money on marketing, equipment, decor and produce. We then cut costs in wages, uniforms, benefits and training. Then we have countless meetings on why we have little repeat business, high turnover, poor morale, theft and unprofessional service. Very few industries would send out the key people who represent their organization improperly attired, without proper tools, insufficient training and underpaid. We in the restaurant business do it daily. Let's think outside the traditional restaurant management box for a second. We build our business from the ground up. Demographic surveys, menu engineeering, market analysis, etc. We do look for that unique chef to fit our cusine and maybe a front of the house manager that understands our vision. We get the latest cool uniform for service staff (of course we don't think of getting input from anyone who will be working in them) maybe a Head server, hostess or captain, they haven't been hired yet (save that labor) NOW last but not least we have a job fair and hire 100 people for 60 permanent positions. Never would have thought of hiring 60 people who will stay with our restaurant if we offer professional working conditions similar to other professions. Rush through an accelerated training program and Viola! Opening night. What's wrong with this picture. You do the math. Honestly their are many restaurants and restaurant organizations that train and provide service staff with a professional environment to succed in. However generally the aforementioned scenario is the norm in our business. My love for the restaurant service and optimism for our industry tells me this is changing.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more!!! Its all about cut here, cut this and cut that...all of which is hours/wages. No time for training, its not in the budget!! We are here to service our guests, not build big fancy store fronts and decorative ambiance! That is why we chose this industry! Touché my dear friend!

8:39 PM  
Blogger Cora Bullock said...

Hi Augustus! I'm glad that I came across your blog. You have provided excellent tips for restaurant owners and staffs. I'm a pizza owner and I agree with you that training your crew is very important. Keeping our staff updated with the latest trend in the restaurant business and equipments like perhaps the new restaurant paging systems is a must to ensure proper service to customers. I remember when I let one of my top attendants attend this training on paging systems and its benefits. After the training, he was able to teach us how to troubleshoot such gadgets. Growth truly starts with training!

Thanks again Augustus. You really inspired me man! More power to you!

12:57 AM  

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