Case Study
Staffed in the Kitchen
Sally is the general manager of one of the best restaurants in town, known as The Pub. As usual, at 6:00 P.M. on a Friday night, there is a 45-minute wait. The kitchen is overloaded,,Pn they are running behind in check times, that is, the time that elapses between the kitchen getting the order and the guest receiving his or her meal. This is critical, especially if a corn • plaint is received because a guest has waited too long for a meal to be served. Sally is waiting for her two head line cooks to come in for the closing. shift. it is now 6:15 P.M. and she receives phone calls from both of them. Unfortunately, they are both sick with the flu and are not able to come to work. . As she gets off the phone, the hostess tells Sally that a party of 50 is scheduled to arrive at 7:30 P.M. Sally is concerned, knowing that they are currently running a six-person line with only four cooks. The productivity is very high, but they are running extremely long check times. How can Sally handle the situation?
Discussion Questions
1. How would you handle the short-staffing issue?
2. What measures would you take to get the appropriate cooks in to .work as soon as possible?
3. What would you do to ensure a smooth, successful transition for the party of 50?
4. How would you manipulate your floor plan to provide great service for the party of 50?
5. How would you immediately make an impact on the long check times?
6. What should you do to ensure that all the guests in the restaurant are happy?
Shortage
It is 9:30 A.M., Friday morning at The Pub. Product is scheduled to be delivered at 10:00. Sally specifically ordered an exceptional amount of food for the upcoming weekend because she is projecting it to be a busy holiday weekend. Sally receives a phone call at 10:30 from J&G Groceries, stating that they cannot deliver the product until 10:00 A.M. on Saturday morning. She explains to the driver that it is crucial that she receives the product as soon as possible. He apologizes; however, it is impossible to have delivery made until Saturday morning. By 1:00 P.M, they are beginning to run out of product, including absolute necessities such as steaks, chicken, fish, and produce. The guests are getting frustrated because the staff are beginning to “86” a great deal of product. In addition, if they do not begin product the P.M. shift soon, they will be in deep trouble. On Friday nights, The Pub.does in excess of $12,000 in sales. However, if the problem is n immediately alleviated, the restaurant will lose many guests and a great amount in profits.
Discussion Questions
1. What immediate measures would you take to resolve the problem?
2. How would you produce the appropriate product as soon as possible?
3. Who should you call first, if anyone, to alleviate the problem?
4. What can you do to always have enough product on hand?
5. Is it important to have a backup plan for a situation like this? If so, what would it be?
