Four Things Restaurant Owners Should Never Say – #4
Everyone has a phrase that when they hear it, they just want to go nuts. For me, there are four phrases that are like nails on a chalkboard. And I probably hear one of these phrases on a weekly basis as I travel the country giving speeches, consulting and coaching restaurant owners and managers just like you.
The four phrases that get under my skin are:
- “I don’t need a budget. I know my numbers.”
- “I can’t get my managers to do it.”
- “You don’t understand… our restaurant is different.”
- “Yes, but it takes too long.”
Last week, I discussed the #3 thing restaurant owners should never say. Let me explain the fourth one…
“Yes, but it takes too long.”
Why don’t you take inventory? Why don’t you use the reverse labor system in SMART Systems Pro? Why don’t you adjust your schedule based on your budget? Why don’t you fill out the manager log? Why don’t you balance your cash at the end of the night? Why don’t you set up par levels for ordering? Why don’t you set up par levels for prep and use the prep systems? Why don’t you fill out the invoice log and paid out log every day? Why don’t you cost out today’s feature menu item?
“Because it takes too long,” is what I hear all the time.
If your inventory takes too long, odds are you have too many products on your shelves. Everything else is a poor excuse.
Anything you do for the first few times takes longer. But after you have mastered the task, it becomes quick and easy. The only way to get better at it is to do it.
I can almost always tell you that this is pushback from managers who are used to doing nothing. When you start to raise the bar and set expectations, you are raining on their parade. You are making changes that kill their good thing and of course they are going to say this stuff takes way too long.
A case in point is we started our live SMART Systems Pro training at our World Headquarters. And to a person, after each one finished the training, the walls dropped and it became evident that systems are really easy when you know how to use them. Attendees are truly realizing the pushback is from managers who don’t want to do anything they can be held accountable for.
With this in mind, whether in SMART Systems Pro or using spreadsheet and clipboard systems, remember that running the systems is not a full-time job. Taking care of the guests and training your employees is.
That is the number four thing restaurant owners should never say. To read the other three, visit one, two or three.
Read more about how to be a successful restaurant owner in our free special report, Breaking Away from the Insanity: How to easily take control of your restaurant and make more money. Download it here.
