- Excerpt from Richard Saporito’s latest e-book “How to Improve Dining Room Service”

This Tip will Help Maintain Staff Schedule Keeping Dining Room Service Staff Tight and Content which is Essential for Pleasing Paying Guests.

Staff scheduling is closely tied to dining room customer service and crucial for keeping your staff tight, happy and well connected. In every way, a balance must be achieved by matching dining room service labor needs to forecasted business.

There should be a system whereby staff shift availability days can be communicated in writing to person who makes up schedule. A simple staff shift availability sign-up sheet posted conspicuously will do. Each staff member should work a balanced amount of shifts throughout week. If schedule maker is burning out staff members with extra shifts or scheduling too many staff members to work only 1 or 2 shifts, it will subtract from customer service. Usually, a restaurant will get more efficiency from staff members working 3, 4, or more shifts per week rather than only 1 or 2 shifts per week. Though at times, one may have to bend this guideline to keep work schedule filled, but it should be kept to a minimum. Constant communication with staff while staying abreast of their available work shifts will facilitate scheduling process immensely.

The person who makes schedule should be highly aware of projected business in restaurant. The schedule should contain correct amount of labor needed to provide a proper level of service for each work shift. Seasonal aspects, (e.g. busy holidays/slow summers), special occasions, private parties etc. must be figured into schedule. Any outside activity that may affect business in restaurant such as food festivals, parades etc. needs to be taken into account. If there are separate dining rooms, busy times must be properly forecasted for each room especially if one dining room is more popular such as showing off a special type of décor or providing entertainment on certain nights. If there is outdoor seating, weather should be watched for it can change quickly.

Today, there are situations when we actually add a “middle person” instead of eliminating one for increased service efficiency. If it’s cost-effective and demand is high, then proper market positioning will make it a worthwhile endeavor. For example, my sister just informed me of a food delivery service in New Mexico that will let you choose one out of many different food outlets (all types of ethnic/fast food)- and then guarantees delivery within a specific time period. This not only gives customer assurance of reliability, but more choices for dining take –out style.

In other areas of industry, same idea holds true. There are electrical suppliers that no longer manufacture product of electricity, but now are involved only in delivery process of electricity to customers. Because of market fluctuations, new delivery supplier will utilize many other different energy suppliers to get product of electricity to customer efficiently and at best market price. Again, adding middle man seems to benefit all around.