Common Problems New Restaurants Experience Part 2
If your restaurant is new, maybe only a few months old, you may be wondering why am I running into problems so soon? I’m here to tell you it’s NORMAL.
Last week’s post covered the most common problem faced by a new restaurant, its FIRST MENU!
This week I will be covering the second most common problem your staffing and service setbacks.
It’s natural to make mistakes. Until you get out there and start a restaurant yourself, there is no way to know ALL the challenges that might come early on in your business.
Many new restaurants or, for that matter, most new businesses will have unexpected problems arise! No company is perfect, and I know from my years of being an entrepreneur, the beginning phase of your business is nothing but one big learning CURVE.
Let me put you at ease and go over how you can fix them!
The THREE Common Problems New Restaurants Experience
You are likely dealing with one, two, or all three!
Menu, Service/Staff, and Theme/Atmosphere.
Staffing/Service
They go hand in hand in the restaurant business, and they are intertwined.
As the owner, you oversee all the HR functions of your restaurant.
It includes all the hiring and all the firing plus everything in between.
It is essential to define your staffing needs.
Unfortunately, new owners wait on this task since there are so many other responsibilities to do!
Waiting for the last minute to hire a staff and then train them can put your restaurant’s first impression in jeopardy.
Luckily most customers who eat out have experienced grand opening and new restaurant jitters. You will most likely get another shot to prove yourself.
When those customers do return, and you have cleared and corrected the problems they may have experienced on their first visit, believe they will notice. They enjoyed something about your restaurant, and they want to give you another opportunity. Don’t let them down nip the problems as soon as you can.
Pointers For Rethinking Your Staffing & Service Needs
So by now, you have realized not everyone is good at waiting tables, tending the bar, cooking in a kitchen, being a cashier or hosting, and seating people. Each job takes a specific skill set and talent to do them well.
Find good people to fill your new restaurant’s positions will help establish your new restaurant and ensure continued success for years to come.
~Decide if you need full-time, part-time, or on-call.
~Second, begin creating jobs for those employees.
~List the respective primary duties and determine how much work is required to perform them.
Draft those job descriptions
Have a training process in place for ALL positions
Post advertisements for the jobs
~Create A Interviewing Process
How To Identify If Someone Is A Good Fit For Your Restaurant
It’s imperative, you, someone else, or two people that have interviewing experience in the industry do the hiring.
It’s also vital that you or your hiring personnel can read people and can ask the right question that helps qualify or disqualify the person for the position they are applying.
Most people hire for skills but fire for character.
Because of the overwhelming problems associated with hiring employees who lack the required character traits, it’s crucial to ask character-discerning questions when interviewing.
Finding a person’s potential during the hiring process means you must dig a little deeper with some creative restaurant interview questions.
As your new restaurant gets busy, you can use existing sales to work out the required levels of production when you need to increase your staff and the hours you need them.
Avoid The Common Problems New Restaurants Experience
Click On The Checklist
⇓
Making the best decisions during your startup is an absolute must in today’s rapid and competitive paced restaurant business world. If you have missed any of the steps in your startup checklist you need to be prepared as your new restaurant faces common problems that could of been avoided had you done those steps.
I recommend you download my FREE resource Startup Check List. It will help you avoid problems before they arise.
The basic steps are a “to do” list for starting a restaurant.
I developed this list during my restaurant ownership experiences. It contains a high-level listing of the tasks you need to complete in starting your new business.
Need Help Staffing Check Out The Link Below
The Best Food Service Staffing Agencies
Looking for a staffing agency with experience serving up the best of the restaurant and foodservice workforce? Our picks for the top firms can be found here.