Photography: Cunard QM2. Brittania Restaurant by Tom Mascardo

Being a Service Manger in a restaurant requires a person to make very many decisions at work every day.  Decisions must be made for everything from: "What to do if a server doesn’t know the menu entirely?" to "Why do my bussers keep grabbing glasses with their fingers on the inside of the glass when I keep telling them not to?".

Many of decisions can be defined as common sense to most people.  Also the ease of the decision often is determined by the experience of the Service Manager.  However, all to often I see Service Managers making decisions half-heartedly and without the proper level of reasoning.

There is a tool I have used to teach service staff members that interact with guests to make the correct decision when asked a question by a guest. I tell them this:

"When in doubt, say yes."

There is a certain attitude among the employees of many restaurants that it is a privilege for a guest to dine at their restaurant.  They feel that because their menu offers great food, at high prices, and with a beautiful ambiance that the guest should be great full that they even exist.

"Once a Service Manager has this idea firmly engraved in the back of their mind.  They will realize who actually writes their paychecks, the guests do."

Because many employees hold this attitude, making decisions that benefit the guest is often not accomplished.  I have seen guests walk into a restaurant and ask to be seated in an uncommon area for dinner, such as the lounge.  The hostess, with very little knowledge of working in a restaurant makes her decision based on what she knows: that she has never seen anyone eat in the lounge, and she says NO.

The guests walk out the front door, confused, never to come back.  She doesn’t know why she would say no, yet somehow she believed she had the power to actually say the word "NO" to a guest.

Service Managers must take into account only one factor when making decisions.  Is this best for my guests?

This can be said about almost every decision I can think of that a Service Manager can make.  Think about these decisions.

• Should I order more beer this week, or wait until next week?
• Should I ask a new server to not wear so many earrings?
• Should I fire Suzy because she was late for the 3rd time this month today?
• Should I ask the bartender to use a jigger for measuring amounts of liquor?
• Do I need to have a mandatory gratuity policy on groups of 10 or more?
• What time should we keep the bar open till?
• How many different types of Champagne should we carry?

Photography: WE / Sara Restaurant by Hamed Saber 

To even be able to ask these questions, a Service Manager must have a good knowledge of a restaurant.  Yes, to make these decisions many factors come into play.  Factors when making decisions include:

• Will I go over budget If I add another beer to our menu?
• If I fire Suzy for being late, will we be short staffed?
• If I ask the bartender to manually measure the liquor, will he get irritated with me and do a crappy job?
• If I carry more Champagne how much more inventory will I have on hand?

These are all valid concerns, and useful in the decision making process.  However, when it boils down to it, all Service Managers must always be thinking with this in mind.

What is best for the guests?

Once a Service Manager has this idea firmly engraved in the back of their mind.  They will realize who actually writes their paychecks, the guests do.   Also if you make your staff aware of how you make your decisions they will be able to carry-out your ideas, lessons, and orders with a higher purpose in mind.

Additional Resources

• The Restaurant Manager’s Handbook - Amazon
• Restaurants that Work - Case Studies of the Best in the Industry - Amazon Book
• Restaurant Marketing Blog