Four Deadly Restaurant Management Sins
Most of the time we like to read stories of success or else brush up on ways to improve our restaurant’s services. I admit, I’m guilty of both counts. But I’m also aware that sometimes we need to learn the sad truth before we could appreciate the brighter side of things.
As a topic related to restaurant management, it means we need to be familiar with the problem first before anything else.
For this article, I’ll enlist the help of Mr. Chip Evans, who wrote an article titled, “A Dozen Things That Can Go Wrong With Any Foodservice Business“. I’ll discuss the Top 4 most important ones.
1. Losing focus
Most restaurant owners start out with a lot of focus and very passionate about the business. A year or two later, an Italian-themed cafe, for example, now sells Chinese dimsum.
What happened along the way? The restaurant owner lost focus.
Chip Evans says,
Stay focused on what you do best. If you sell hamburgers, don’t over-expand the menu and forget your core hook. Do not confuse efforts with results.
2. Keeping unproductive people on the payroll
This is one of the strongest reasons why a restaurant closes down for good. Uncompetitive, unproductive staff is bad for business. Very bad. Sooner or later, their incompetence is going to show up in the figures, and you’re the one who’s going to have to pay the price.
Fire unproductive staff, even if it’s family. That’s the only remedy to this problem.
3. Not hiring the best people
Letting competitive employees go and not hiring them is just as bad as keeping unproductive ones on the payroll, maybe even worse.
Chip Evans believes the trick is to hire people who are better than you at doing “sector” jobs so you could focus all your attention on running the business.
4. Not having accurate business plans with clear objectives and timelines for execution
Every business needs a definite plan. The plan should lay out what you intend to achieve long term, plus a brief description of the timeline for their execution.
In today’s business environment a business plan can often be no longer than 6 months long. It’s no longer ‘business as usual,’
says Chip Evans.
When real capital is involved, it pays to think and plan first and act later.
Chip Evans is the current president of The Evans Group LLC. Based on his credentials, and my own personal experience as a former restaurant operator, Evans definitely knows what he’s talking about. More than anything, these tips will help you improve your restaurant service.
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