Restaurant waitstaff Training Article.
Allocation of waitstaff duties.
The most efficient way to manage a restaurant is through the exact allocation of duties. In other words, every single waitperson should be told exactly what he/she is required to do and given to him or her in writing.
Write down what needs to be done in all areas of your restaurant daily, weekly and periodical duties, for example, dispense bar:
Before opening check:
- fridges are in order
- all required stock is there
- fruit used for cocktails
- cleanliness of glasses and surfaces
- all serving equipment is there and working
- etc.
Put a time on every area to be managed and how long it should take, for example, refilling your fridges at the end of the night should be done at the finish of liquor serving, for instance, from 12 to 12.15 pm. It is best if you do it once yourself and sees how long it took you. Give a few extra minutes for an employee to do it. Then you know that from 12 to 12.15 pm the dispense barperson is replacing the used stock.
This way you have an accurate check of employees movements, and no-one is going to tell you ”he or she is not doing anything, why should I do it?”
This, in fact, will cut your staff by at least 20% and you will get your money’s worth because you will allocate a full eight hours work. And no one can say “I didn’t know”, because when you engaged them you put their name on the duty list, and gave them a copy.
All duties allocated should be put onto a master sheet. At any one time, if a duty has been neglected you can pinpoint the culprit, and make enquiries as to why it happened. If it repeats itself very often, you will know that you have to find someone else who will follow your written instructions
Cleanliness is all important
Assure at all times that chairs are scrupulously clean. Make sure there are no breadcrumbs on them. People are very fussy, especially women, and they usually decide where they are taking us. They are also a lot fussier with their clothes. Once they get a dirty seat mark on their dress, they will never return.
It’s also the look of your waitstaff. Never try to save on the quality of their uniforms or try to save on the cleaning of their uniforms. At all times make sure that all your serving staff is scrupulously clean. This means from their shoes to nails, hair and uniform, etc. In other words at all times demand, and get absolute hygiene.
Once your business has established a standard of cleanliness, try to maintain it at all times, even through busy periods. I know this is difficult, but do not try to save on serving staff. Because waitstaff has only to serve one to two customers properly and he/she has paid for their wages for the night. If you are short-staffed, you can easily lose a lot more.
Please spend as much time as possible training your staff on how to clean your premises.
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