The Surprise Restaurant Manager

Chapter 1

WHY ARE YOU RUNNING A RESTAURANT?

You took the manager role because you thought it would provide more opportunities than your hourly position. Surprise! Now you are working twice as many hours for half the pay. Sometimes, you wonder why you stopped bartending. What should you do?

Choosing to manage a restaurant is like deciding to go to boot camp: You are committing to a challenging endeavor in order to progress to something greater. Your goal might be to become a GM, transition to other hospitality roles, or possibly open your own restaurant. Focusing on your motivations provides strength when facing struggles and returns joy when accomplishing your goals.

The following scenarios allow you to anticipate the level to which you can expect to be surprised by a manager position. Which scenario best describes you?

TIMED OUT:

Surprise Level: High

You were in an hourly position—likely a bartender, server, or host. The job was meant to be a stopgap while pursuing other career paths. Perhaps, you considered the role of restaurant manager as a fallback if your career in entertainment didn’t pan out. And when those aspirations failed to materialize, you turned to restaurant management as an alternative that offered more longevity. You know that you secretly despaired of becoming that club bartender in their forties.

You are also motivated to get to the next level, although more so for financial reasons. In moving from a tipped hourly role, you are not making the same compensation as before.

FAMILY BUSINESS:

Surprise Level: Medium

Restaurants have been in your family for years and always were a part of your life. You are now obligated to run the place. Although you might have hoped your brother or sister was saddled with the responsibility, you knew the family business might come to rest on your shoulders.

You do not have formal training, but you know the restaurant itself better than most of the staff. Now, your objective is to see whether you enjoy the industry.

VANITY PROJECT:

Surprise Level: High

You were very successful in other professions and likely near or have achieved retirement. You always thought it would be fun to have a restaurant so you opened one as a hobby.

What you considered a fun diversion is now eating away at your bank account. You have determined that you need to spend more time in the venue to figure out how to improve operations. You are working in an industry in which you have little experience.

Your goal is to make enough profit so you can hire someone else to run it so you can get back to the golf course.

EMERGENCY FILL-IN:

Surprise Level: High

You were working in other departments (chef, events, marketing, HR) but have been asked to help bridge current gaps in operations. Although you acknowledge the need for assistance, managing a restaurant has never been a dream of yours.

You are hoping this stint is temporary, but you still want to be effective before returning to your primary position.

CAREER CLIMBER:

Surprise Level: Low

You made a decision early in life to get into the restaurant business and studied hospitality management in college. Your objective is to either rise up through the rank to multiunit operations or to someday develop a place of your own.

Restaurant management is a necessary step to achieving your dream. As a kid, you were playing “restaurant” while others played “doctor.” Formal training provided you a foundation for understanding operations.

Now you are looking to improve your skills in order to move to a more senior role.

THE CULINARY ROMANTIC:

Surprise Level: Medium

You love to cook and have always dreamed of opening your own restaurant. The thought of providing your community with amazing food and service is exciting, and you have spent years planning what you would love to have on the menu. You want to create the newest hot spot in town and enjoy the fame that accompanies it.

You are passionate about the culinary aspect but far less so about the operational requirements of the restaurant. You enjoy working in the kitchen but find yourself struggling to embrace FOH operations.

WHY YOUR REASON MATTERS

Keeping your motivations in mind will help to alleviate some of the more demanding aspects of management. Running a restaurant is deceptively challenging. You are required to stop by tables where people are eating and ask them how they are enjoying their meal. You are obligated to remain calm when dealing with irrational guests claiming their nonexistent reservation was deleted by a vindictive host. You work long hours on the floor followed by even more time in the office coding invoices, verifying payroll, answering online reviews, and making schedules. You work to inspire your team, most of whom view their employment as temporary until they get “a real job.”

But this is your real job. And now that you understand “why” you find yourself running a restaurant, you can use this knowledge to help shape the “how.”

Surprise! Chapter Review: Six Categories of Restaurant Managers

1. Timed Out: You are worried about being the oldest bartender in the nightclub.
2. Family Business: Your parents did it, so now you have to as well.
3. Vanity Project: It seemed like an easy retirement idea.
4. Emergency Fill-In: This isn’t your job. You are just keeping the seat warm.
5. Career Climber: You went through school but didn’t learn all the ropes.
6. The Culinary Romantic: You are in love with creating a delicious menu and becoming famous.

Bottom Line: Understanding why you are running a restaurant will keep you focused on your end goals and provide motivation when you face common challenges.

Chapter 2

DON’T HIRE THESE PEOPLE

You never thought it would be this hard to find quality staff. So many applicants seem promising during the interview but once hired, they simply under deliver. Surprise! You are constantly dealing with team members arriving late, showing little self-awareness, or being generally negative. What should you do?

Think about how many hours a week you are around “work” people. It’s way more time than you are spending with good friends or even those few family members you actually like. So it’s smart to be very particular when selecting your team, not only for the functionality of your business but also for your general sanity. If interviewees are knowledgeable, engaging, and confident, they likely will move to the next phase. Are they a good choice?

If only there were red flags to signal the probability of negative tendencies and poor performance in advance. Fortunately, there are, and those warnings actually emerge within minutes of your initial meeting. If you witness any of the following eight offenses, you might want to strongly consider whether to bring them aboard.

I have listed them in descending order of severity, from questionable mistakes to outright offer-killers. Be on the lookout for them.

#8: No Resume or Pen: Showing up without either a resume or a pen shows a lack of preparation. Just because they emailed their resume to you does not mean you have taken the time to print it, nor should they expect you to do so. Part of hospitality is anticipating others’ needs.

If you are required to read their resume on your phone or computer throughout the meeting because they weren’t organized enough to bring a hard copy, it inevitably reduces eye contact, which reveals much unspoken information about an applicant. Such distraction is particularly problematic because other important concerns might pop up in your in-box during the interview, further averting your focus and possibly leading to a hiring mistake. Applicants truly interested in the position will anticipate the need to bring a pen in order to complete some employment paperwork, and your having to source a pen for an applicant is not great.

#7: Improper Attire: Dressing for the job starts with the interview. Obvious candidate errors include workout gear, sneakers, and ball caps. Depending on the restaurant, a suit and tie can be nearly as off-putting. Casual concepts appreciate trendy, contemporary fashion, while overdressing is a sign they didn’t do proper research.

The candidate should know enough about the position to foresee the attire worn. Not doing so should raise concerns whether the applicant will fit your culture.

#6: Bringing an Audience: Having a friend drive to the appointment might make an interviewee feel supported, but asking the friend to wait in the restaurant is codependence. It should make you envision their buddy hanging out in your restaurant every day, distracting the applicant from their responsibilities, because it is a distinct possibility. I mean, they brought an audience to the interview. Who does that?

#5: Lying About Termination: There is an unfortunate stigma surrounding being fired. Sometimes, a previous job just wasn’t a good fit. Unfortunately, many people clumsily attempt to cover it up in an interview.

It would be refreshing for an employer to hear the truth and a simple reason why. Restaurants offer employment to a broad spectrum of people, including those who might be attempting to overcome previous mistakes. Be open to those who are forthright about a challenging past and avoid those who attempt a cover-up. If someone is willing to be straightforward about being terminated, you should be impressed with their honesty.

#4: No Homework Beforehand: Walking into an interview, a candidate should already know several points about your restaurant, all of which should take no more than 30 minutes to review. Merely glancing at your website is woefully insufficient and, worse, demonstrates mediocrity.

At the very least, they should have:

• Viewed all available menus.
• Read several guest reviews online.
• Examined social media posts (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).

Use those areas in your questions to candidates.

Most importantly, they should have visited your place and more than once if they’re truly interested. How would anyone truly know if they were a right fit without taking the time to check it out first? It’s like buying a car without a test drive. Both seem foolish and a bit desperate.

When you find a candidate who did visit, ask them to speak to the positives and touch on a few opportunities for improvement. A few examples show they were paying attention. However, too much negativity will signal that the applicant is quite judgmental and probably not a good fit.

If your place is a new concept and research material on your restaurant is sparse, above-average candidates will have checked out a few direct competitors elsewhere. If you are opening a brand new BBQ place, a great candidate will do some research to see if other BBQ joints are in the area. This effort shows a solid level of commitment and interest on the part of the candidate.

#3: Being Late: Plain and simple, an applicant showing up late for an interview means they will do the same for work. It is disrespectful, unprofessional, and completely avoidable.

The same old “traffic” excuse is almost always offered, as if it is somehow an acceptable reason. It absolutely is not. They should have left their house one full hour earlier than needed, taking the extra time to prepare for the interview nearby.

Showing up too early is nearly as bad as being late. It still shows a lack of respect for your time and an inability for them to schedule themselves accordingly.

#2: Bashing Previous Restaurants: The applicant obviously has reason to be searching for a job, and it’s probably due to their previous place of employment.

“Why are you leaving (or have left) your current job?” is a basic interview question you should ask.

If it is a truly unfavorable place to work, a candidate might be tempted to justify their departure by disparaging their previous restaurant. Such statements say far more about the candidate than about their previous employer. It shows the individual is willing to step on the reputation of others to make themselves look better.

I often encounter interviewees who provide borderline slanderous allegations about their previous employers during our conversations, such as drug consumption, rat infestations, sexual assaults, and money laundering. Such occurrences definitely are reasons to seek other employment, but listing those faults just makes the applicant look like a gossip.

Instead, look for an applicant who focuses on the positives and new opportunities that may be available at your restaurant, such as different cuisines, elevated service, and a reputable training program.

#1: No Two-Week Notice: Anyone who is willing to provide less than two weeks’ notice to their current employer is unworthy of hiring. If a person will cheat on someone else to be with you, they will cheat on you to be with the next person. See it for what it is: a 100-percent offer killer.

REFERENCES

A quick note about references. Do not make the mistake of only calling the names and numbers provided or merely trusting the recommendation offered by the candidate in writing. Applicants obviously will not lead you to negative information, so you will need to do some digging. Call their previous locations and speak with managers who might not be on their list. Although many companies have a policy of not divulging much information during a reference call, you can usually tell in the manager’s tone if the applicant was a quality team member.

Also, if the references they provide list coworkers or others who were not their direct supervisor, see it as a definite red flag. Finally, avoid hiring someone out of desperation. It is like going to the grocery store hungry: You are going to make bad decisions and buy three boxes of Funfetti brownies. Perhaps, more importantly, always be open to meeting with applicants, even if you are fully staffed. This practice keeps the current team alert and helps to minimize last-minute hires. By not staffing in a rush, you will be able to better spot the eight warning signs of a bad candidate.

Surprise! Chapter Review: Eight Offer Killers When Interviewing Applicants

1. No Two-Week Notice = Doesn’t care about how their actions affect others.
2. Bashing Previous Restaurants = Embraces only negativity and gossip.
3. Being Late = Cannot show up on time for the first day; won’t most other days as well.
4. No Homework = Cannot be bothered to walk into the restaurant beforehand or know anything whatsoever about the place.
5. Lying About Termination = Unwilling to accept reality; would rather rationalize.
6. Bringing an Audience = Their personal life will definitely interfere with their work life.
7. Improper Attire = Has little self-awareness of how they come across.
8. No Resume/Pen = Doesn’t anticipate the possible needs of others.

Bottom Line: Applicants absolutely let you know how they will perform on the job during their interview. Learn how to recognize these signs to minimize hiring errors.