How to Be a Better Restaurant Operator

As a restaurant owner, don't you want to be the best restaurant operator you can be? Are you in fact on a mission to find ways to be a better restaurant operator? In this video, I'm going to share with you the four basic things you need to always be improving to be a better restaurant operator.

Before I get into the four things you need to always be improving to be a better restaurant operator, you have to start by admitting you don't know what you don't know. And then you need to be on a mission to be continually learning. Then, ultimately, you have to practice what you've learned: you need to take action.

I believe there are four basic things you need to always be improving on to be a better restaurant operator, and they are leadership, systems, supervision, and making sure your team members feel appreciated.

Let's start with leadership. To be successful, you must become the leader your restaurant needs. You can't be a doer. You can't be working down, doing line positions. You need to be working up on the bigger more strategic projects. This includes budgets, marketing, leading your team, developing your managers, holding them accountable, being proactive in your business, and thinking strategically. You need to guide the group going forward and continuing your learning on becoming a better leader. What can you do personally to be a better leader that makes you a better owner, a better operator?

Now, second, you need systems. I'm the system's guy. If you've been following me for any time since 2003, I'm the systems guy. There's a system, a process, a way to doing anything and everything in your restaurant your way. It doesn't matter if it's counting out a bar drawer, or checking out a server and server banking, or something as advanced as menu engineering or dollars per labor hour worked. There's a system, a process, a way to doing anything and everything in your business. For you to be a better restaurant operator, you need to make sure you have your systems laid out step by step by step so you can train everyone how to use them.

Next, continue to develop your supervision. What I mean by this is you, as a leader, need to staff every shift with a supervisor. It can be an hourly supervisor, salaried managers, a manager in training, it doesn't matter. There's someone on all shifts making sure that shift is going well. They're supporting the team and leading the shift. What this does mean is there's one way to do something, and that every manager, supervisor, hourly, doesn't matter what they're called, are making sure everybody is held to the same standard. By doing so, by providing good supervision, you're going to have a better operator. But you also need to be a good supervisor. You need to inspect what you expect with your management team. You cannot give it up and abdicate. You must supervise.

Finally, appreciation is a big thing. To be a better restaurant operator, you cannot yell and scream. You cannot command and do all these things that make people feel small. A good leader brings their employees up, gives them the skill to be better at their job. All of the three previous ways to be a better restaurant operator affect this part, too. When everyone knows what their job is, what is expected of them and how to do it, they’ll feel successful and good at what they do. You can be there to keep them on task and call them out for doing a great job.

Great management, great systems, makes a great company. The fact that you're watching this video tip tells me a lot about you. And based on what it tells me, is you, my friend, are definitely on your way to becoming a better restaurant operator. Now all you need to do is take action on what you've learned.

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