How to Get the Most Out of Your Hourly Employees

How to Get the Most Out of Your Hourly Employees

This article has reference to my 19 years as a manager and multi unit owner in the fast food industry. When I sold my restaurants in 2005 I had 8 employees that had been with me for over 5 years. This is almost unheard of in this high turnover industry.

Imagine that you walk into my restaurant and are greeted and asked if you would like your favorite sandwich and toppings by an employee that knows your name and favorite sandwich. As a business owner you obliviously understand the value to your business and continued sales growth of having the same 4 people on the lunch line each day. People like to go for lunch where they are greeted and recognized, where the staff is friendly and makes them feel like they are glad they came.

What is the secret to having a competent friendly customer oriented staff? I believe it is an attitude towards people and the value that you as a business owner put on employees. I have heard very negative comments from business owners towards their staff. These people hold your ability to produce income in your fast food business in their hands.

Creating an environment conducive to having motivated and happy employees is an attitude.

Let me give you an example of a great lesson I learned when I was an employee. I was a salesman for a water softener company, and on one great Monday I sold 6 units, quite a feat. No matter how late I worked I had to report to my boss. I called in the 6 sales and was heartily congratulated. Them my boss asked me to be at work at 7:30 the next morning. I was very tired but complied. We got into the company van and headed out on … Read More

Finding the Right Commercial Oven For Your Restaurant

Finding the Right Commercial Oven For Your Restaurant

Every restaurant in existence uses an oven, and all but the smallest ones need an effective commercial oven in their kitchens. New restaurant owners may be overwhelmed with the wide variety of potential choices, and I’d like to help inform you of a few potential possibilities.

When you decide which type you’ll need, you should let a number of different elements weigh in as the basis for this purchase. The two most important factors come down to the type of food you’ll be serving and the number of guests you plan to serve throughout the day.

By developing an understanding for the different types of commercial oven, you may have a better idea as to which would be best in your restaurant. Let’s start out with the most popular style, and that’s the convection oven. The reason that so many people choose to go with a convection model is because of its reliability. A fan from within the oven blows all of the hot air evenly across your food, leading to consistently well heated meals.

This prevents the issue that other oven types may run into, especially in restaurants that commonly heat up frozen. While they cost some extra money, the price of a convection oven is well worth the money spent in most restaurants.

But another style of oven that is very popular is the conveyor oven. Who usually uses an oven like this? They are very popular in high-volume restaurants that need to prepare a lot of food at once. In heating food this way, you don’t need to keep opening and closing the oven because you have to serve every meal.

Speaking of high-volume businesses, pizzeria will definitely fall into this category. Although there are many types of pizza ovens such as firewood, coal burning, gas, brick … Read More