There comes a time in every establishment’s existence where
you experience a volume of business you never thought would come. Usually when you’re busy you tend to refer to
it as being slammed. This is the big one however. This is THE SLAM.
The day starts normally. The staff arrives, shift meetings
occur, prep lists are made out and mise en place is begun. The proper hour arrives and you flip the
sign, turn on the light or whatever indication is used to indicate that you are
now open for business. For a while
everything runs as it should. Maybe the
place fills up and a brisk pace is established, or maybe you get a few guests
and then there is a lull for a while but for some reason at some point of the
day all havoc breaks loose. Sure you’ve
been busy before. Hopefully busy is an environment that has been set as a
benchmark and the staff is used to high levels of production and rapid but exemplary
service. For some reason however, this
day is different. Perhaps some staff has called in and so you’re running a
little short. Or maybe the delivery
truck is running late or you are expecting the delivery on the day after this
one and so stock levels are a bit depleted. Who really knows how these things
happen but one thing does. The place suddenly is packed with people and they
keep coming. The day flies by at first
but then suddenly time goes into slow motion.
Who are all these people and where did they come from? The kitchen is rocked and the dining room is
packed. Little by little things start to
back up, the bussers can’t keep up with the tables turning, the dish room gets
backed up and you start running low on plate ware, silverware, cups etc. You run out of to-go containers, the prep
staff can’t keep up and so the mise en place starts running out. As the line sacrifices staff to help prep,
the ticket times increase and so someone from management jumps onto the line to
help out. Gamely you continue and for a bit the tide seems surf-able.
Then the unthinkable happens….you start to run out of
product. Maybe it’s something somewhat
manageable and so you ’86 the item from the menu and go on or maybe it’s
something integral to several items and so someone is dispatched to the store
or will-call, again shorting the staff further.
Still the flood of hungry customers continues to pour through the door
clamoring for food and a table. With no
break in sight you set your resolve and continue. As the hours now creep by stress sets
in. The shortages of tables, plateware,
and product add to the stress bearing down on the cooks, servers, bussers, and
dishwashers. Fatigue sets in and tempers
wear thin. In addition the customers who
want only to get fed and get out but can’t due to increased ticket times and
slow turnover start to get restless and snippy, again adding to the stress
factor. As the pressure mounts some of the staff begin to break down. Tempers
flare among the staff, cooks yelling at the dishwashers or prep staff for more
product and plate ware. Wait staff arguing with the bussers or hosts about why
their table is not cleaned or about table rotation. Patrons chastising wait
staff about slow service and management chastising everyone including…yes…each
other.
All hell is breaking loose. The head waiter is on the verge
of slapping a busser. A bartender is yelling at the expediter…why in the hell
isn’t food making it to the bar patrons.
The cute mild mannered hostess is fighting back tears after being
berated by patrons who have been waiting for “an hour” (really only 30 min),
and you have the gut feeling that all the cooks are on the verge of starting a
knife fight with almost everyone.
Finally…mercifully the slam comes to an end and you step
back and survey the carnage. Both front
and back of house looks like a bomb went off.
The lead server looks catatonic-ally at the dining room, the hostess
whimpers as she straightens menus, the bartender looks longingly at the bottle
of Jack he’s wiping and the cooks eye each other suspiciously as they clean
their knives and tools. Meanwhile the
management look like deer in headlights slightly starting whenever someone
talks to them. It is the end however
the building is still standing with the staff still intact.
Is there any thing that could be done to have prevented
this? My belief is yes and no. These
days happen and will happen again. So in
light of this I believe that the best thing to do is to set up a system of
stress management techniques. I’m not
talking about going out to the back dock or walk-in and letting loose with a
string of profanity but if that helps…well hey.
Instead I’m referring to taking the time to build in safeguards against
this inevitable day.
Managers trying to find solutions to this constant cascade
of voracious visitors will often do what seems like the best solution and jump
in to help aid the staff, bussing tables, waiting tables, prepping and
cooking. This isn’t necessarily a bad
thing. Throwing bodies at the problem can definitely help if you’re
understaffed or overwhelmed by customers.
The right bodies however. I
have no problem with a manager jumping in to help but if he/she ends up slowing
things down then it only exacerbates the problem. This is where effective cross-training is
essential. As a chef I need to identify
who would be the best possible candidate for cross-training and for what. Cross training in the kitchen is fairly easy
given the hierarchal system that seems ingrained in most kitchens. Many start their careers in the dish room and
then graduate to the prep kitchen and then later rotate through the various
line stations. It makes sense then that
most everyone in the kitchen could be shifted around to great effect. It is similar in the front of house from
busser to server to bartender. The
position of expeditor is where the problem often lies. The “expo” needs to understand both sides of
the window.
In addition to cross the manager needs to be able to survey
the situation and identify possible crises before they occur. Is the hostess’s lip starting to quiver,
maybe she needs to take five and regroup.
Has the line gone completely quiet? Talk to the cooks and find out
what’s going on. Kitchens should have a
constant chatter.
Effective management teams will often switch with each other
if only for a few minutes allowing the other to take a breather and
re-focus. Throughout this beast of a day
take a moment to remind yourself that:
- It’s “Burgers and Fries” no matter how complex the menu you’re not curing cancer.
- You are the leader. The staff will take their cue from you on how to react. You panic they follow.
- This too shall pass.
So when it’s over pitch in and help the staff reset and as
you do so let them know they did well and thank them for their help.
So what are some other techniques that can be used to
assist? An “on call” position? What do
you think?
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