Is that easy to be a restaurant manager?

    Is that easy to be a restaurant manager?  Most people’s answer will be YES. I was working at a restaurant before, so i know it is not that easy to be a restaurant manager. On the contrary, it is under many pressure. Restaurant management involves in many different aspects, including inventory ,dealing with staff, public relations, customer service and so on. Managers are responsible for the business performance of their restaurant as well, such as service, health and safety, and maintaining high standards of food. Restaurant managers also ensure that restaurants operate efficiently and profitably while maintaining their reputation. They must coordinate all kinds of activities.  Moreover, restaurant management combines strategic planning and day-to-day management activities, such as shift pattern organization and so on.

As a restaurant manager, there are many tasks for them to complete. Tasks of the restaurant managers are depending on the type of the restaurant, but usually include:

Business activities:

-Taking responsibility for the business performance of the restaurant. – Organising marketing activities, such as promotional events and discount schemes  – Preparing reports at the end of the shift/week, including staff control, food control and sales and inventory. – Planning and coordinating menus.

Front-of-house:

– Coordinating the entire operation of the restaurant during scheduled shifts. – Managing staff and providing them with feedback. – Responding to customer complaints. – Meeting and greeting customers and organize table reservations. – Recruiting, training and motivating staff.

Housekeeping:

-Maintaining high standards of quality control, hygiene, and health and safety. – Checking stock levels and ordering supplies. -Preparing cash drawers and providing petty cash as required. – Helping in any area of the restaurant when circumstances dictate.

Absolutely, the working capacity of the restaurant manager  is very largePersonally, I feel like it is not that easy to be a restaurant manager. However, how to be a successful restaurant manager? Here I have two advices:

1. Start out in a small role and learn the business. Some of the best managers started with their  careers as waiters or hostesses, and they  worked their way up from that position.Once you know everything of the restaurant, no matter who make any mistake, you will quickly know what happened and how to solve it because you have ever experienced it.  As a restaurant manager, you must know everything of the restaurant. For this reason, try  doing all the role at the restaurant so that get familiar about all the position.  Career progression is very important when trying to move forward as a manager.

2. The customer is always right.  This is the  golden rule of business. It takes patience and a commitment to always putting the guest first and everything else second. Even if you don’t agree with a customer’s complaint, how do you handle it will determine if the customer comes back to your restaurant next time?  It is actually a issue about the image of the restaurant. If a customer complains for no reason, but if you still serve them as they are right, they will be happy and will give you a positive feedback. They may recommend the restaurant to their friends and visit the restaurant next time. On the contrary, if the restaurant tell the consumer that it is not their fault, they might be angry, and give the negative feedback to others about the restaurant. They will never come back again.

Hope these tips are helpful for the people who are interested in the restaurant management. So do you still think that it is easy to be a restaurant management?

Resource: http://www.themanagersoffice.com/advice-for-a-new-restaurant-manager/2013/01/18/

http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Restaurant-Manager

6 thoughts on “Is that easy to be a restaurant manager?

  1. Your post is really insightful. Like many managers, it seems that a restaurant manager has to wear many different hats. Although the job description may be simple when it comes down to operating the manager must be willing to fill many different roles. The attitude of “that is not my job” will not cut it when it comes to managing a restaurant. I agree with your two points on becoming a successful manager. The first one especially. It seems like some of the most successful individuals have started from the bottom. This doesn’t mean that it is necessary, but it gives an excellent foundation for when you are a manager. And the second point is the golden rule of business. After reading this I do not think it is easy being a restaurant manager!

  2. As a previously food and beverage focused hospitality major, I can personally attest to the fact that restaurant management is one of the most overworked and task full of hospitality positions. Working within Catering and Banquets myself, I too found myself wearing a plethora of hats in order to complete my responsibilities at hand. Front of the house, back of the house, and everything in between falls under the realm of a manager within the food service industry. I admire the inclusion of “the customer is always right”, as this truly distinguishes a restaurant’s class amongst its competitors. While simple, it is something much easier said than done and often forgotten in a world of less face-to-face interactions and digital reservation systems.

  3. Hey, I enjoyed reading your post about restaurant management. I did not know all this are responsibilities of being a restaurant manager. One thing that I thought was interesting in your blog post was when you gave advice for potential restaurant managers to improve their job. I believe your first point hits it spot on. Starting from the bottom and working your way up in the business is a great way to become familiar with all the functions and necessities that goes into managing a restaurant. You get a full perspective of the business. I propose a question to you, has there ever been a situation where the customer was not right? What makes you say that a customer is always right? Sometimes customers can make mistakes too and I believe it isn’t right blame those mistakes on your business. Sometimes customers can have intentions to do somethings for rewards or gifts, for instance, lying about what you ordered so the customer would receive a free meal. Is the customer always right in that situation?

    Craig

  4. I have worked as a waiter couple years ago, I can’t agree more that I often found myself in other positions that I didn’t sign up for. Regarding your advices, I agree that we should have a “customer is always right” attitude at work. But in fact, we all know that customer is NOT always right. Sometimes they were just trying to get something by arguing with you in almost any matters like craig3012f14 mentioned. I think a more appropriate advice would be think of that “customer is always right” idea as a cost of doing business. You need them to survive, run, and ultimately success in this industry.

  5. I find it interesting how working at a restaurant, in any capacity, seems to be extremely stressful. A lot goes in to managers decisions, and at a restaurant even more stress is put on them since a bad decision can have immediate bad results. I’m sure its very hard to be successful when dealing with things like this. Good read.

  6. I believe the position of restaurant manager is hugely underestimated. However, as you wrote on your post it is very hard job. I think most of us at some point in time have had a chance to work in the food or beverage industry. The responsibilities of a manager are very complex, and depends on the size of the restaurant and staff. A manger has to hire and train staff servers, cooks, bartenders, greeters etc. while running the day to day activities. Activities could vary from ordering produce, and necessary menu items to functional machinery like a heavy coffee maker. It takes a multitude of skills, adaptability, communication and personality as well as leadership qualities to lead a successful restaurant.

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