A Pre-Shift Exercise for Smoother Service
Storytime
I went out to eat with three friends at a mom-and-pop Italian place. Personally, it’s my favorite pizza in NY (that’s a story for another time), and they do a great job with American-Italian fare like chicken parm, penne alla vodka and other pastas, and soups. When we arrived, it was clear they were busy.
I held up four fingers to let the outside-server know that we wanted a table. She said she would need a minute to clean off a four-top. While we waited… and waited… I realized that she was working alone — hosting, serving, bussing, running food — all alone in a 10 table section outside. About 10 minutes later, she got that table clean.
Another 10 minutes pass and we get menus. The requisite debate over what to eat play out, and we eventually were ready to order. We had been there for at least 30 minutes, so we were really ready. From my corner seat, back to the parking lot, and facing the restaurant, I can see the entire outside section, the inside dining room, and the pizza counter. I watched this ambitious, friendly, hard-working young lady work unnecessarily hard.
The next table over was an older couple who’d finished eating and had struck up a conversation with the table next to them, a four top - two adults, baby in a highchair, and a very well-behaved four-year-old. The family needed food wrapped, the couple needed to be checked on, and we needed to order… What do you think she did first? What would you have done?
The details of what actually happened aren’t as important as the fact that it was clear: no one coached her on what to do. You could tell she was working as hard as she could, but she wasn’t efficient and didn’t seem to know how. If you’re reading this, you have a chance to help your team be smart about their actions and make sure that your guest experience is the best it can be.
The Drill
Of course, I don’t know the setup of your restaurant. You should fill in with the details like table numbers, section numbers, and think about the flow of service that meets your particular business. This exercise works for all positions in the restaurant: busser, barback, host, server, bartender, Maitre ‘D, managers, and anyone up or down the stack.
Goal
Run each service at peak efficiency because every second matters, especially with today’s additional challenges around with COVID-19. The aim is to train your team to be thinking critically about their actions, to be conscious and intentional about what they are doing during service. We need to serve the greatest number of guests in the time available, increase sales potential, increase tip potential for tipped employees, and maximize guest satisfaction to keep them coming back.
What to Do
Pick someone from the team service team and give them a scenario. You can use a dining experience you had somewhere else or use examples from previous services that could have been better managed or make one up. Just be sure that you don’t embarrass anyone by obviously calling out mistakes in front of the whole team!
Describe the state of their section or area of the restaurant and ask them to explain the order of operations they would use and why they think that’s the best way to do it.
It’s a busy night and we’re slammed. You have a five table section. One table is eating appetizers. One table is waiting for their food. One table needs to order. One table is dirty and needs to be cleaned for new guests who are waiting. One table just sat and needs menus.
Sometimes there isn’t just one “right answer,” but that isn’t the purpose of the exercise. It’s very likely that you will inspire conversation amongst the team, and that’s great, too! The value of this exercise is to help your team (and you!) understand how you can run a smooth service.
Tracking Success
When you run this drill two or more times per week, picking a different person each time, you’re demonstrating to the team that this is an important skill. It also reinforces the behavior, and you should notice a difference almost immediately. You could try and measure success in a variety of different ways
Have your turn times improved?
Has your RevPASH gone up?
Have Per-Person Check Averages improved?
Is there a positive shift in guest feedback?
Do you notice better team dynamics and teamwork?