Top Of The Table

Christopher De Voss

Aug. 26, 2001

Insanity Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Someone wise once told me that Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results every time.

We tend to run our restaurants this way. Often a client will ask me my opinion on changing the way things are done, changing sidework, changing closing duties, or changing just about anything they ever done in the past to look like some other restaurant in the all-too-distant future. My first question is always,
"Have you ever done it this way before?"
The answer is usually, "Yes."
To which I come up with the brilliant follow up question,
"Did it work well that way before?"
With which the answer is usually, "No."

So why try it that way again. Of course it didn't work well before, you would still be doing it that way if it did! If it didn't work before, why is it going to work now? What has change? Anything? Nothing? Everything? Is the Moon now in the seventh house?

It's not. Don't make it harder on yourself and your staff by changing things that are working and working well.

Now the things that are not working, that's when you can experiment. Your staff will respect you more for taking a chance on fixing a problem that needs addressing, even if you do not succeed, then changing something that…well…should be left alone.

A good way to determine the needs of your guests and your staff is to actual ask them. Believe or not this works. Ok, stop laughing, I'm telling you it works. Ok, I'm going to wait till you stop laughing, then I will go on…. For example, let's say your looking to increase your beverage selections, or change your menu in some way. A great idea is make Server comment cards. You have them for guests; true…but what percentage of people fill those out? Would you say 50%…. 40%…30%? I would venture to say the percentage is very low. However your servers talk to these people every day and are able to collect a verbal database of what people want. Have your servers fill out comment cards on what the guests are asking for most. Let's say you pass out 20 comment cards and 15 come back saying the guests want Spam Smoothies…then by god Spam Smoothies go on the menu immediately! You could put anything on these cards, such as; ways to close/open efficiently, ways to turn the dinning faster, ways to increase revenue for the restaurant and staff, or any problem areas you may have.

Another way to touch base with problem areas is to do the job…seat tables for an entire shift, wait tables for a meal period, and/or work in the kitchen if that is where the problem arises. Ok, once again I'll wait till you stop laughing. Ok, really stop laughing. All right, I'm going on anyway. Observe the way things are done, and if it's weird to you, ask why it's done that way. This way when you make your changes you're not banging your head against the wall, or repeating history for the fourth time in three years. We all know the results from doing that.

Now, I'm not saying change is bad. Change can be good, even if we don't see that right away. Just make sure your changing the things that need changing. Being an effective leader is not changing every nuance, nook, and cranny of your establishment. Being an effective leader involves the ability to address the issues as they happen, think opposite of a politician.