Seven habits to avoid in order to be a better restaurant manager The main reason this blog exists is to help restaurant management professionals seeking insight on how to be a better restaurant manager. As a result it is filled with tips on what restaurant managers can do to improve their effectiveness. Today, I wanted […]
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The Pre-Shift Meeting (Part Two)
Yesterday, in part one of my discussion of pre-shift meetings, I discussed the things a manager can do to harm the effect of a pre-shift meeting. It was by no means a comprehensive list. There are many other mistakes managers can and do make that harm their pre-shift meetings. It does however beg a very […]
The Lost Art Of Suggestive Selling
“Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way before it is understood.” –Anonymous We as a society have really lost the power of subtlety. It could be because we have lost the patience to unravel it. We receive far more information on a daily basis than our ancestors […]
Leadership: Leading by Example
“Good leaders must first become good servants.” -Robert Greenleaf The reason why the notion of a “natural born leader” is so offensive to many leaders is that it is often used as an excuse. Rather than using leaders as role models too many people will say that the leader has some sort of intrinsic […]
Leadership: Empowering Others
“If you don’t understand that you work for your mislabeled ‘subordinates,’ then you know nothing of leadership. You know only tyranny.” -Dee Hock You have two choices as a manager. You can force every staff member to do things as you would do them or you can encourage them to achieve the results you […]
Leadership: Creating A Shared Goal
“Leaders don’t force people to follow-they invite them on a journey.” -Charles S. Lauer The fundamental question behind the desire to manage rather than lead is, “How can I get people to do what I want them to do if they do not want to do it?” Failure to answer this question is what leads […]
Making a Difference
The weekend is upon us. Friday and Saturday nights get busy and take a lot out of us. The pace is faster, the side stations are more crowded, and all of the saucers in the restaurant seem to hide. The guests do not seem to understand any of this and have far less patience. This […]
Set Schedules As A Manager
One of the most time consuming tasks a manager faces during the week is writing the server schedule. Hours can be spent digging up scraps of paper and consulting server availability just to get coverage for a particular shift. This is followed by the inevitable complaints from people who work too little or too much. […]
The Advantages of Set Schedules
Yesterday I discussed the disadvantages of having a set schedule. While I think I managed to make some valid points, it was sort of hollow. The primary reason I am still at my current job is because of my schedule. It took about two and a half years, but I managed to get my ideal […]
Cost vs Profit
In a previous post about why restaurants charge for different extras, I discussed the difference between the guest’s perception of profits and reality. It is not uncommon to hear a guest say, “I can buy this for half as much at the grocery store.” The problem is that food in a restaurant carries far more […]
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About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.