Top Of The Table

Christopher De Voss

Dec. 1, 2001

Yet another restaurant secret revealed:

It's all about Flow.

A lot of managers and owners have yet to learn this basic secret. When I troubleshoot a restaurant, nine times out of ten, I am just bringing everyone back to the basics and Flow is a major basic.

So what exactly is Flow?

Think of it like the Force from Star Wars. He who controls the Flow controls the whole tempo of the restaurant. This is job number uno from a manager. The good managers realize this; the bad always wonder why things always go wrong.

The Flow starts at the Host/Hostess stand with proper wait time quotations, quickly recognizing open tables, clean appearance, efficient, friendly seating. It moves into the dining room with table turnover, selling of food and drink, and cleanliness. Then it goes into the kitchen with ticket times, temperatures, and taste standards. Then finally into the dish room with quick, clean silverware and plates to start right back at the Host/Hostess stand.

Seems like a lot for one or two people to handle? Well not if you borrow from the Boy Scouts, and I'm not talking about the fancy shirt and short combo, but the motto; Be Prepared. Also the creed of my favorite Disney villain, Scar. (Lion King) Set yourself and your employees up for success by putting in the ground work for a productive business:

1) Check the podium - make sure they have all the tools they need, menus are clean, Hostess/Hosts are staffed, High Chairs/Boosters are clean, they have pens, paper, crayons, beepers, mints, or whatever is the normal stock of the stand.

2) Check the bar - make sure the bartender is setting themselves up for success with the pre-opening duties, cleanliness, bar stock, know what you have, what you don't have, and what you need.

3) Dinning Room - make sure your staffed; make sure you know what you need for a busy night or slow night. Learn the differences between over-staffed and under-staffed. Cleanliness of tables and floor. Make sure all stations are stocked. Check your staff for appearance.

4) Kitchen - once again know what you have, what you don't have, and what you need. Make sure you have proper temperatures, you are fully staffed, and equipped.

5) Dish Room - make sure one shift is not putting the other one behind, the dish machine is operating at correct levels.

Quality of product, staff, atmosphere, and experience comes from Flow. Remember I'm not talking about the waitress from Mel's Dinner; I'm talking about walking away from a successful night…every night. The more preparation and groundwork you put into the beginning of the shift, the less running around like a chicken with it's head cut off you have to do for the rest of the night.

I have worked with and worked for my fair share of managers who do nothing to ensure the success of the restaurant. They stand around, eat, talk, walk around the block, do paperwork, have a meeting, or anything else they can think of until business increase time. Then they run from the Hostess/Host stand putting out one fire, then back to the kitchen to find we are 86 calamari a half hour into the shift, only then to find out Server Bob is running late and the dish room is backed up….why? No Flow. No groundwork. No prep.

In closing let me quote the Beastie Boys:

Let it Flow, Let yourself go, Slow and Low, That is the Tempo.

Ok, it doesn't fit, but that song was stuck in my head the entire time I was writing this article.