April 9, 2012
Home for Easter, my edest daughter Aislyn and I were chatting as she prepares to hold her very first staff meeting as a manager @ Farmhouse, the Chicago hotspot that she has worked in for the past year. (That’s my girl!) She welcomed me to offer feedback to her notes. (That’s touching, right?) During the ensuing dialogue, my thoughts turned to how important, but challenging, it is to foster a real “team” concept in restaurants—an absolute-must goal when seeking excellence, and optimum guest service.
Time out from the story for a quick restaurant management lesson;
Team 101 “All oars in the water”
In restaurants, timing often requires the impossible—a server to be in two or more places at once. A server may be taking a dinner order, when the next table drops their fork, while the next table finishes their appetizer, or their glass of water. The fork needs to be replaced immediately. And although the appetizer plate can sit for minutes without being cleared, EXCELLENT service requires that it be cleared fast. That is only possible if “someone’s got your back” as we used to say back in the day. That’s the team. And, we teach, “what comes around goes around.” (Call it what you want—Hippies call it Karma, the Bible-set calls it The Golden Rule, and someone with an itch once said, “If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” .) At the end of the day…it is all the same–Cooperation, Team.
Fostering th Fostering this concept take an awful lot of work. Without filling this page with my Chapter 9 Team Building Like a Mo Fo, it begins with hiring the right people. Then, promoting the concept of team, teaching it’s benefits and setting examples and, very importantly, avoiding “arrogance” by any staff member (i.e. Arriving to work late, not doing their share of cleaning and side work, etc) At the end of the day, fostering such an environment makes the workplace enjoyable for all–and THAT is when the guests derive optimum benefit!)
How are MY managers doing? Case in point. Yesterday was Easter Sunday. Between both restaurants we were not too far from serving 1,000 guests! Halfway through the 1st seating, as one of our restaurants was getting crunched, a server who had been granted the day off (very few were off!) showed up in uniform to help out. Let that sink in for a minute. Easter Sunday. Sean got dressed, and came to work,to help the shift go smoother for his fellow staff members, for no pay and without being asked. That’s some serious shit. I am told further, that one of our youngest, most beloved staff members “Jesse”, was also given the day off and called the manager: “How are you guys set down there? Do you need me to come down and help out?” (How do you not love that kid)
‘Nuff said. I could seriously go on. But if you ever consider why you love our restaurants so much, please look around. Happy, helpful team members helping each other out, all rowing in the same direction. Yours.
Congratulations to my managers. They are doing an INCREDIBLE job, setting the standard and delivering the results.
(Good luck Aislyn. If leading by example is key in achieving such a goal–and it is–you are good to go!)
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