May
09
Improve Hospitality Operations By Using A Restaurant Service Consultant
Byby Richard Saporito
Below is a brief restaurant service consulting report that I had written for an operation here in NYC. I was on premises for only about 1/2 hour, and these were my findings:
1-Proper restaurant floor diagrams and position points need to be posted for easy staff viewing–not hidden on a page in a computer.
It is impossible for a new waiter carrying 4 hot plates to stop at a computer to get to a floor diagram and find out which table that the food should be delivered to.
As a result, at certain times, this is what is happening at the restaurant:
1-Food is being delivered to the wrong tables
2-The runner is calling out the food to customers during the loud music (interrupting their conversation and fun)
3-Food is being delivered to the wrong customers.
Again, this confusion is heightened during the music nights when the dining room noise volume is very high. When the dining room service looks disorganized everybody sees it.
Without the above diagrams posted in place, the service is slowed down leaving less time for waitstaff to upsell menu items and provide excellent service–all translating into uneccessary lost revenue.
2-There is no special drink list, wine or beer list available.
There will definitely be more restaurant sales with these menus available, and also will cut down on customers draining the waitstaff with the same questions over and over again. This extra time can be used for upselling of menu items and providing excellent restaurant dining room service.
3-a) The menus themselves only list the restaurant’s website address, but no phone number.
There are still a substantial number of customers who prefer picking up the telephone as opposed going on the internet.
b) Also, with such a delicious menu, I believe it can be more descriptive using better superlatives.
4-In the kitchen, there is a large table directly in the path of employees moving back and forth to pick up food and send back dirty dishes to the dishwasher.
During busy times, this is bottlenecking staff and slowing down restaurant customer service. I believe this table should be removed completely to improve the traffic flow, feng shui and safety.
5-At the bottom of the stairs leading to the kitchen, a mirror should be placed so employees can see each other when moving up and down the stairs.
This will cut down on accidents/injuries because employees will more aware of each other better when moving up and down the stairs.
6- When taking phone reservations, try to get customers e-mail as well.
7-No answering message on the phone when restaurant is closed. For every one nasty message, there is a potential gain of 10 reservations.
******************************************************************************
After the owner implemented all of the recommendations above , there was an imediate uptick in the restaurant dining room service and sales. (Not to mention an improved morale in the entire staff). Do you know how much easy revenue and restaurant service reputation is lost by not paying attention to the simple details that I have just described above?
******************************************************************************
About the Author:
Richard Saporito is the Founder of Topserve Restaurant Consulting, author of “How To Improve Dining Room Service.” If you’d like to improve your restaurants’ reputation and increase sales, contact Richard today for a Free Initial Restaurant Consultation by calling (888) 276-4808 or visiting his Contact Page.
WAITER TRAINING DVD!!
Culinary Institute of America, Cornell University, NY
Highest Quality Waiter Training DVD (Exceeding Expectations)
$97 - Order Now - (888) 276-4808
Improve Your Restaurant Service Reputation and Increase Sales Immediately!
How to Improve Dining Room Service
