Research Paper on Restaurant Management

Nicholas Marshburn

Peggy B. Price

Honors English 12-3rd period

17 February 2005

Restaurant Management

Running a restaurant can be one of the most stressful job as well as the most fun and rewarding job. If the manager is a good leader with excellent leadership skills and has great followers the restaurant will be rewarded. If not the restaurant will plummet in sales and no one will be pleased. While developing a business' staff is important to running a successful restaurant, it is also essential that management focus on its public relations as well as its sales and marketing strategies.

Staff developing is vital for restaurants to run smoothly. A restaurant is composed of two sectors; a Front of House (FOH) and theirs a Back of House (BOH). The front of the house is what is visible to the customers' eye. Customers can not see the back of the house. Back of the house is where cooks prepare the food and where the dishwasher is located. Manager Brian Aycock explained that if a manager develops his staff, it makes the restaurant run smooth. The store will profit, the employees and the guest will be satisfied (Aycock). If the staff is not getting along, a lot of tension will grow inside the restaurant and co-workers will not work with one another as a team. In return the customers will not be happy and the profit will not be as desirable. When customers are not happy with the visit they had at the restaurant, they will then spread the word to all their friends.

Each staff member of the restaurant should have nice and clean hygiene along with good manners. Having good hygiene is very important whether an employee is waiting tables, washing dishes, or cooking. If an employee does not shower friction will start to grow between the staff and no one would like to work or even be around that employee. Working in the food service industry with overgrown nails or dirty nails is against the health code and could contaminate the food being prepared by the employee. Being around a customer with bad hygiene could possibly hinder the customer from having a memorable time at the restaurant. Having good manners is also mandatory for every staff member so that no problems can surface between the staff and customers. Steve Marchetti explained that each employee are to meet the minimal standards set forth in the employee handbook and also deliver on the company's commitment to their customers (Marchetti). A restaurants commitment to its customers is to provide a friendly, safe environment along with awesome food and service.

The employee handbook includes information that each employee should abide by. This includes the rules and regulations, benefits as well as an introduction to the company. Rules in the handbook are actions that no employee should act out and the regulations explain the consequences if a rule were to be broken. Benefits are only available to staff members; usually they consists of discount prices on meals and insurance. The Hiring process of restaurants usually consists of filling out an application with a minimum of two interviews and one test (Marchetti). When the restaurant tests future employees, they usually give a brain test testing the mathematical skills in case the computers are down. A test on how to deal with customer problems and issues that may occur.

After each employee is hired they must go through an orientation introducing and welcoming them to their restaurants' staff. Following the orientation the new employee will go through a training phase. Pending on the position the person was hired for; they will be trained by a peer in the same field that they desired to work in. The training process usually takes five days for the employee to be fully trained. Local restaurant owner of Bonefish Grill, Brian Aycock explained that each new employee has to go under a five day training period (Aycock). The first day of training is normally when the new employee shadows an employee that has a great deal of knowledge about that field. Usually the first day is when the person is being taught how to operate the appliances and meet fellow co-workers. Second day of training is when the new employee will be shadowed by an veteran employee and will be helped only when needed. Third day through the fifth day of training is when the trainee is typically by themselves and if in a bind, they have to try to work themselves out of it themselves. After the fifth day of training, the employee will be given a test testing them on how to work the appliances, dishes on the menu and how they will or can be prepared and a test on the restaurants' rules and regulations located in the handbook.

Mostly all restaurants serve alcoholic beverages, so each employee is required to monitor how many drinks the customer has had and how intoxicated they are. It is also the responsibility of the restaurant to make sure an intoxicated customer does not drive a motor vehicle and to make sure it leaves the restaurants' premises without being harmed. Each employee is to check the identification of a customer who asks for an alcoholic beverage and to make sure that no under aged customer be slipped an alcoholic beverage. If an incident like this should happen, a manager should be notified and further action will be applied if needed. Brian Aycock declared that if an unruly customer came his restaurant they would be asked to leave (Aycock). If an unruly customer comes in and creates commotion while disturbing guest, the unruly guest will be given a warning. The first warning usually will come from a restaurant employee asking the customer to calm down and if there is anything they can do. After giving the customer their first warning, a manager should be informed of the problem. If the problem should consists the manager should come and issue another verbal warning to guests asking them what the dilemma is and state to the if the problem should occur they will be asked to leave.

If for some reason a customer is unhappy, an employee should do everything in their power to make the customer satisfied. Mr. Aycock explained, "Let the customer know the problem is being corrected" (Aycock). It is very important to let the customer know that the problem is being resolved so the customer will not feel they are going unnoticed. An employee should never argue with a customer; even if the customer is wrong. Arguing with a customer does nothing but make the customer feel disgruntled and irritable because in the customers mind; something was not done the way it should have been.

A customer should feel wanted and appreciated soon as they walk through