How common is common sense

How Common Is Common Sense In The Hospitality Industry?

Running a successful business means having effective restaurant management strategies in place. And as we’ve noted previously, waiter and waitress training is an essential part of a good restaurant management strategy. Training breeds common sense in inexperienced staff members, and with the younger generation making up the bulk of hospitality wait staff, the need for an organized approach to that training is obvious.

In my over 35 years in this industry I have come across some beauties when it comes to lack of common sense. I have seen kerosene thrown on an open fire. I’ve seen a customer enquire as to what the soup is, only to be told "it is the liquid that comes out in the bowl". Now whichever way you look at it both these issues needed serious work and they got it.

While staff problems may seem like the biggest headache you face in your business, they can be dealt with within an integrated approach to restaurant management. Strategies such as a team meeting before every service can make a huge difference to the attitude of the staff. An investment in staff training will have long term pay-off. There is no doubt that there are many restaurants and cafes out there that spend far too much money on décor and far too little money on staff training.

If you could buy a robot that could do the job of a human in a restaurant do you think they would sell? I feel sadly the answer is yes. As we see in many other industries computers and machines are taking over many jobs and as a result fewer people are employed.

Why do you think some of the franchises are so successful? In my opinion it’s because they keep their concepts so simple they could just about train monkeys to do what they are asking their employees to do ( slight exaggeration but I am sure you know what I mean. ) So it is not that important how much common sense or experience their staff have. They have simple procedures and easy to follow systems to guide their staff at all times.

Some of the restaurants and cafes are not that simple and just to compete in the market place they have to offer a larger variety of product, with that comes difficulty and complication.

So what can be done?

Well the first thing to do is make an appraisal of any restaurant management strategies you have in place, and if you don’t have any, get some! Basically it comes down to systems that simplify tasks and create consistency within your business. Many people will talk about how important consistency is to your customer, this is true but it is also very important to your staff.

Another important thing to remember is that your staff must know what you expect of them. Think back to when you were 18 years old; were you that good at communicating? Maybe not, this is why you have to be the one who communicates well. If you pass on the message well "They will get the message" and hopefully find some common sense along the way.

Good luck in your search