Service is about consistency and efficiency: who does what and in what order, the timing of each process, teamwork, training efficiency. Any restaurant is a living organism. There is a need to constantly monitor the quality of processes and analyze what is happening. Continuous monitoring will help to keep track of how the quality indicators are reflected in the restaurant and directly on the guests.
To qualitative indicators we include: feedback from guests about the restaurant and what they say in the feedback. In order for qualitative indicators to be met, you need to create performance metrics. And then measure it through evaluation forms – this allows to understand what the situation with service is in the restaurant and what needs to be worked on. We recommend to make a scheme of service assessment, through metrics:
- Welcome-Space Assessment;
- Evaluation of the hostess, the waiter on the basic steps of service;
- Evaluation of work with sales by the average check and sale of economically profitable items. It is important to understand whether employees collect a full check and sell the right items. When evaluating this unit, we recommend playing the role of the hesitant guest;
- Assessment of taste loyalty on the part of the hall staff. How knowledgeable they are about taste, can they recommend gastronomic pairings, do they control taste in the hall and at the food distribution..;
- Evaluate the shift manager on the quality of shift management and how he or she interacts with the team;
- Evaluating rituals and legends. How much they are performed according to the key characteristics of the brand;
- Evaluation of ticket-time service, time of approach to the table, time of taking out food and drinks, time of settlement;
- Evaluation of training events in the restaurant and on-site presenter feedback. For example: cross trainings, meetings and FBC.
We recommend taking measurements periodically on both a daily and weekly basis. Each restaurant chooses its own order and number of measurements. However, it is necessary to make several assessments, at least 3, to form an average result for the block.
After a measurement has been made, it is necessary to derive summary results and hold meetings with the management team to improve the situation. For example: managers, senior shifts, chef – in terms of kitchen and related issues. Meetings should be held once every two weeks, or at most once a month. However, the less often we have these meetings, the less responsive we are to problems we may find.
In order for these meetings to be useful and effective, we recommend:
A presentation is created for the meeting on the results of measurements, where the ratings of indicators are displayed.
A separate level of preparation is required from the meeting facilitator. His competence should include skills for managing group discussion, meeting dynamics, and timing.
For productive work at the meeting, it is necessary that participants become familiar with the results of the assessments in advance and come to the meeting with solutions to problems.
An important part of the meeting is discussion through the problem-cause-solution methodology. When ideas are generated, solutions should be recorded in an action plan with deadlines and those responsible. This will allow the improvement tasks to be carried out in a better way.
Before every next meeting, the action plan should be parsed with the completed tasks. You can even create a gamification among the participants of these meetings, where each task is equated to points. Accordingly, by completing the tasks on time and in full, managers get their points, and at meetings you can award prizes or gifts to the best on the points rating. This approach allows for a more competitive approach to completing tasks, because many employees are a little reluctant to get down to work on a fix.
This algorithm of evaluation and improvement of service will allow not only to keep it at the proper level, but also to develop in their business. It is important to understand that you need to be better than you were yesterday, not better than others.
