Sunday, September 16, 2007

Process:

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man” Heraclitus


Successful management of a restaurant requires that the staff, vendors, and almost everyone that crosses your path, question everything all the time. Every restaurant has processes in place. Exacting recipes are followed to prepare menu items, purchases are handled in a predetermined fashion, record keeping follows a preset daily schedule. The question that must be asked continually is “is there a better way?”

The criteria for the answer to the question is simple, will this make it easier for the restaurant guest to buy from us? In reviewing any process, determine the guest perspective first. If the guest experience is enhanced, do it. If the guest experience is not enhanced, however you save money, do not, repeat do not do it. The notion that you can save money without enhancing the guest experience is a fallacy.

Restaurants need to question processes all the time for two reasons. One, there is always a better to do something, find it. Two, your competitor is developing a better process. If you do not improve, they will.

No woman ever steps in to the same restaurant twice, for it’s not the same restaurant and she’s not the same woman. All is change, all is Process!