Audit, schedule/manpower, equipments, products, communication, logbook, checklist, inventory, daily monitoring, FIFO, uniform, SOPs, order taking, guest complaints, complimentary and cash handling are some of the things that I have previously discussed.
To complete it we also have to look into staff training, food costs, labor costs and orher operating costs.
During staff training, at first they will be overwhelmed with all the details with regards to food familiarity, process or sequence of service and even with operating an equipment. It is normal and you just have to guide them. Usually it takes about 1-2 months training in restaurants but it can be shortened especially if you are behind the given time frame.
I have mentioned about service sequence above and I have realized I haven't discussed this before. Service sequence is by the name itself, it is a sequence of how the service goes.
For example, a guest arrived or entered the restaurant. What do you think should a restaurant staff do? Don't mind him, greet him or direct him to the table?
Having a sequence of service may help a restaurant to have a smooth operation. Each staff has their own important roles in a restaurant. A receptionist is the first person that should accommodate the guest. He/she is responsible to direct him/her to their table and that is the first step in the service sequence. If you don't have a receptionist, still you should direct or accompany the guest to their table. That is why all of the staff has to be aware if a guest entered the restaurant.
Next order of sequence is to welcome the guest by greeting them. Once they have settled in their seats, hand them a menu then give them water or your complimentary appetizer or tea, table set up (if there aren't any cutleries set on the table), order taking, serve drinks then food next would be dessert. If they didn't order a dessert, you might want to suggest it when you saw them finished their meals. Though suggestive sellings should always be done during order taking. Noticed how the restaurant staffs suggest a particular dish when you are ordering and then they would even follow it up with a dessert after you have finished ordering? Because doing suggestive selling helps the restaurant to increase their sales. It is ok if the guest didn't order the first time but you can always suggest it to them after they have finished their meal. When you ask them for the second time, you can slowly do pre-bussing of plates so once they leave, you only have a few plates to tidy.
Next order of sequence would be the bill when the guest asks for it and lastly is to thank them when they leave. Like I have said that we have to make them feel that they are welcome and that we appreciate them dining with us. And of course when the guest leaves, you can already clean the table and do the service sequence again to other guest.
I forgot what happened before but there was a time when a guest went up to me and complained about our trainee. The trainee was still a few days with us and was still adjusting and definitely the trainee wasn't familiar with everything yet. He was called by the guest and as a courtesy, he went to their table without a regular employee beside him. That is the importance of doing a buddy system. If only the trainee waited for his buddy or he asks other employees to go to the guest, there wouldn't be a problem. If only the guest called for the regular employee then he wouldn't complain about our trainee. I know it was a peak hour but just like they say, everything happens for a reason and we learned from that complaint.
But did you know what made me so mad? It was what the guest said. He said that our trainee isn't considered a trainee since he was already with us for days. He said that a trainee is considered a trainee for only a week. By the way that trainee is just a student who was having his on-the-job training with us. So imagine that he was balancing his studies and at the same time familiarizing with the restaurant's overall operations. But we only taught him about the front of the house. I know it was too much for him especially with a lot of different menu items. We couldn't position him in the kitchen because we divided them into 2 groups, there were some in the kitchen and the rest was in the dining.
Because of that experience, I only let the trainees do order taking alone when I know that they are ready. But if they still needed a little more time, they have to be with their buddy at all times.
In a business, you have to watch out for food costs, labor costs and operating costs. I bet most of you are already familiar with PnL (profit and loss). It doesn't only apply to trading but it also applies in restaurants and other businesses. In some chain of restaurants, they already have an Excel format of their PnL that you will have to input in some fields and you'll already know if you gain, loss or breakeven. There are also some who has accountants who does this work but it is much better if your manager or you as the business owner would look into these sheets so you'll know if there is something that needs to improve. It is better if business owners are hands-on with their business. But of course if you have a lot of restaurants then you have to have monthly mancom meetings or meetings with your managers to see the progress of your restaurants.
If you plan to manage a restaurant, my advice is to enjoy the process. Just like in life, we learn new things everyday. Be a good leader to your people. Always lead them by example. Lastly, everyone should treat the restaurant as their own and treat each other as family. Having a good working environment attracts positivism. Good luck in your business!
