Problems and Crises

If there is one certainty that a restaurant owner must face, it is that he will be exposed to a continuous flow of problems, only interrupted every two or three months by a true crisis.

This is a fact of life and there’s nothing we can do about it… or is there?

As a small business owner, you must be mentally prepared to deal with the many problems and crises that you will face during your years running your restaurant. All industries have problems, however the main difference between a successful business and a failed one is how well the business owners can cope with the problems and crises that will arise (because they will, make no mistake about it).

To put things in perspective, you need to realize that troubleshooting and problem solving are staples of the small business owner mindset. Although you can’t predict when something bad will happen, there are steps you can take to reduce stress and cope.

First, let’s try to catalog the problems.

Basically, they come down to three categories:

1. Problems with people related to work.
2. Problems with equipment or facilities
3. Personal problems

Let’s look at each of them in more detail:

1.- Problems with people related to work

We can divide problems with people into three new categories:

A. Problems with employees and food providers

B. Problems with People Who Provide Services to You (Like Lawyers, Accountants, etc.)

C. Problems with Clients

Let us now try to analyze each of them in more depth:

A. Problems with employees and food providers

This category will probably be one of the recurring ones.

We have all been there. One of your servers (or your chef or hostess) gets sick on the very day you have a big party, and it’s too late to replace him.

Your supplier, who promised to deliver the special food for that super-exclusive dinner you’ve been preparing for a whole week, is nowhere to be found.

One thing after another happens. A good way to deal with this problem is to always have a plan B.

When creating your schedule for your staff to work, always have at least one person on call in case something happens.

Tell your staff that they won’t be called unless absolutely necessary, and that you’ll make it up to them by giving them an extra bonus if they have to come to work.

Explain to them that this is not a “nice to have”; this is a necessity and therefore non-negotiable. You can be flexible in the order (rotation) of the guard state.

The people who leave have other commitments and other plans, but if they understand how important this is and know that it will be exceptional and that they will be generously compensated, they will accept the conditions. It’s also a good idea to have your staff trained so that a server can be a replacement host or your host can fill in for a server if necessary.

The same in the kitchen: Your cooks should be able to cook any of the dishes even if the chef is sick or taking a well-deserved vacation. If you’ve read Module 1 of my Seminar, you already understand how important it is to have great staff and why it pays to surround yourself with the best staff you can find. If necessary, reread the module-; And make sure you do your homework!

Regarding vendors: make sure you get everything you need for your meals ahead of time so you have time to plan if something isn’t delivered on time or arrives in poor condition. Don’t wait until the last minute for any shipment, even if the suppliers promise it will get there.

If for whatever reason you have to wait for delivery, make them sign a contract (it doesn’t have to be very long or formal, a sheet with some clauses will suffice) so that if they don’t deliver the goods on time, you have the right to get the missing products from another source, and also the right to reject products if delivered late.

They should also compensate you for the difference in price. I think this is fair and they should not refuse to sign it.

B. Problems with the People Who Provide the Services to You.

This is more of a nuisance than a real problem (at least if it’s your attorney lying to you, or your accountant messing up your books, etc. But that’s beyond this newsletter to fix).

If you are not satisfied with the services you receive from your service providers (either they do not provide good quality work or are rude, often unavailable, etc.), just switch to another provider.

Life is too short to deal with less than excellent professionals and the world is full of good ones. Try to get referrals before committing to one of them.

C. Problems with Clients

I cover in the first three modules of the seminar how you need to put customers as your number one priority. For those of you who have subscribed to the Seminar, I encourage you to re-read these first three Modules.

For those of you who haven’t subscribed yet, I’ll give you a brief overview: Basically, you have to fall in love with your customers and try to make their experience at your place as pleasant as possible.

They are the ones, at the end of the day, giving you the money to keep your business alive, and they should be your first priority.

An unhappy customer is bad business, and you’ll tell others about your (bad) experience instead (including thousands of readers on forums and restaurant review websites), so do everything you can to make up for your unhappiness and make feel good again.

However, there are some cases (a few, very few) where you are better off without a problem customer. In this case, be firm and ask them to leave your premises. Never confront them directly, and don’t hesitate to call the police if they become aggressive or violent.

This should never be tolerated behavior.

2. Problems with Equipment and/or Facilities

Things break. This is a fact of life. And it always seems to happen when you least expect it (well, we never expect things to break, right?) or when we need them most (again, we always need the stuff we use, right?).

However, there are a few things you can do to prevent/mitigate these types of issues:

1. Perform routine maintenance on all your equipment.

Although you’ll spend some extra money, it’s worth it if it saves you complaints and costly emergency repairs. There are companies that specialize in maintaining and servicing your equipment and appliances on an ongoing basis.

You can get an annual contract with them with scheduled visits to check all the equipment, change filters, grease moving parts, etc. Think of this as insurance for your well-being.

2. Have in place a list handy with the phone numbers of all businesses and professionals who can help you when something goes wrong with your place.

If you don’t have the maintenance contract, something will break down or malfunction, and your stress level will increase rapidly as you can’t find the phone number of the company or professional who can fix or repair your equipment.

It’s a good idea to carry a warranty folder with all new equipment you buy, so if something is still under warranty, they’ll fix it for free (or just for the price of parts).

Whenever you buy something new from a dealer, also ask them who services and repairs the equipment if it breaks down and is no longer covered by warranty.

Take note of the person or place and add it to your contact list. Also write down the expiration date of the warranty, so you know if it is still covered or not. Include on your list the names and phone numbers of other professionals who may be helpful when something goes wrong. Be sure to keep copies of this list (things get lost) at home and post a copy where everyone can see it.

Don’t forget to tell all your employees where you keep the list.

Not only will they be able to quickly find and contact the necessary repair person, but you’ll also ensure they call the people you want instead of blindly looking through the Yellow Pages.

Here are some categories of professionals and their phone numbers that you could start collecting on your handy list. This list is limited (you will have specific needs to cover depending on the type of restaurant and appliances you have), but you will get an idea:

• Dishwasher
• Fridge
• stoves
• ovens
• Coffee machines
• Deep fryers and other kitchen appliances
• electrical technician
• Plumber
• Maintenance and Repair of Heating and Air Conditioning
• Locksmith
• Taxi service
• sheets service
• Food Suppliers
• Beverage Suppliers
• Owner
• Handyman (for minor repairs)
• fat removal
• linen company
• Telephone equipment
• Fax
• computer
• Point of Sale or terminal
• software support
• Miscellaneous

3. Personal problems

These are the hardest to deal with, as emotions always run high when the issues involve our own personal issues.

We are all human beings with families, relationships, etc. so personal problems are inevitable.

Restaurants are stressful environments because we have to deal with many variables: suppliers, staff, customers, services, financial issues, accounting, insurance, marketing, sales, food, beverages, etc. On top of that, the hours are often intensive with last-minute shifts for dinner and drinks (especially if you have a full bar) and always-busy weekends when other families can spend quality time with loved ones.

This busy life often takes its toll on restaurant professionals and their families.

Although it’s hard to balance your business with your family’s schedule (unless you’re single or your spouse also works in the industry), there are things you can do to mitigate this problem.

First, we have to get back to your employees. You have to surround yourself with top-notch people. You also need to have a manager that you can totally trust so that you can delegate some of your tasks.

If your venue is too small to have a dedicated admin, train one of your servers to perform some of your duties.

Pick someone who is motivated, ambitious, and especially honest and spend time with them. Train them the best you can without hiding information.

Many restaurant owners are cautious and afraid to share their knowledge, thinking that their employees are just waiting to quit and open their own place. This may be true, but the cargo you’ll offload and the loyalty you’ll build with them will totally dwarf the possibility of another competitor.

Also be sure to compensate them generously for any additional responsibilities. I often see in this industry, owners give their people extra work and responsibilities for nothing. This won’t work!

After you’ve trained someone to keep the business running, allocate at least two days off a week (you can choose Sundays and Mondays which are normally slower than the rest).

Your manager should be able to cover you. Once you’re confident that your manager can get the job done, take bolder steps: take some vacation time, get away with your family for a week at a time while your place continues to run on autopilot. Again, by shifting your focus from your business and venue to your customers and employees (as I explained in my Restaurant Marketing Strategies Seminar), you should be able to excel in all aspects and have a much more relaxed and happy personal life.

So there you have it. Are you going to avoid problems by following these steps? No, you won’t, that would be impossible. But I can assure you that you can significantly mitigate many of them by having a plan that you and your employees know about and follow.

It’s like being in the military. The more trained soldiers are to respond under fire, the more prepared they will be when a critical situation arises.