3 Time-Sucking Mistakes and How to Fix Them
Here are three mistakes restaurant owners and managers make on a daily basis that rob time, and make it difficult to get anything done in the restaurant.
1. Doing everything yourself
I cannot tell you how many restaurant owners and managers I come across who put themselves in a situation where they are the ones doing everything themselves. They are the only ones who can count the money and make the deposit; the only ones who can place the orders; the only ones who can write the schedules; the only ones who can pay the bills; the only ones who can manage a shift; and the only ones who can run their line. You get the picture.
To fix this mistake, you need to develop a team that can do things for you, with you. That team can take the shape as a full-time management team or can be several line employees who do some basic management duties. It will be different for everyone and depends on your sales volumes, hours of operation, etc. But the bottom line is you need to teach them how to do ALL of the various management tasks in your business. It’s your job to understand what needs to be done, to train your team and, most importantly, ensure the process is working by inspecting that everything is getting done.
2. Not creating you time
Once you have a team of people who can do what you’ve been doing, you must schedule time that you are uninterrupted. This is what I call You Time! This is time when you have a manager or manager type on the floor ensuring the restaurant is running well. You explain to EVERYONE you are not to be interrupted. And if you are, politely remind them to find the manager on duty because you are having uninterrupted office time.
This will allow you to review your numbers, work on marketing, plan for success and lead your team.
3. Chasing information down
Ok, so maybe you already fixed the first two mistakes, yet you still feel like you are on a treadmill going nowhere and not getting things done because you are waiting for your managers to give you the information you need to analyze your numbers to make real change in your business. The challenge is you find yourself chasing after your managers asking them repeatedly to finish their assigned tasks. You call. You text. You ask. And when you don’t get your information in a timely manner, the You Time you created is a waste of time because you can’t work on your business!
To change this, you must clearly explain what numbers, checklists, etc., you need, when they are due, how well they should be done and that it’s a non-negotiable request. They are so important, that if they are not done and handed into you as required, they may not be working for you for very long.
