Tonight, Brandon and I will be closing managers. Being a Saturday, that means we close at midnight and after that is when we and the crew will be cleaning and restocking. Of course, the cleaning and restocking always come after the doors are closed.

Today is the last day of the month, so that means the monthly inventory will be taken. This is much more detailed than either the daily or the weekly inventories as every single item must be accurately counted and accounted for. There is no estimation of things like “half a box of X”. Whatever is in the box has to be counted.

This is always the longest shift of the month for us because we’ll be there long after the crew has gone home. I don’t look forward to it, but it has to be done. Our GM will be there to assist and record, so that helps a lot having three people doing the inventorying.

This is something I really want to learn about, though, so I can be a more productive member of the management team. Learning this means I can help spot where shortages are occurring and possibly help to reduce the shortages. Shortages cost the store money!

I can also help to spot where overages occur. Overages indicate that the customer isn’t getting their full money’s worth when they buy a meal at the restaurant.

Technorati Tags: manager, inventory, management

Posted: June 30th, 2007 under Flights of fancy, Work, Business and finance.
Comments: none

I had an opportunity last night to apply some of the management skills I learned during the ASM classes. The whole shift was busy, of course. It was Friday night. But I could more easily see where crew persons needed to be placed to do the best job, and what could be done to facilitate their jobs and get them motivated to perform up to expectations.

There’s more, of course, and I’m confident I’ll improve over time until a shift runs without a hitch - or at least fewer hitches. There are always hurdles to overcome. For instance, last night we were short by 4 crew again. That makes it harder on everyone who is there since we all have to take up the slack. But customer complaints were much lower last night because we were all pulling together as a team.

I did have one crew person comment to me, though, that I “looked” like a manager last night because I was doing nothing. Yes, it was a left-handed compliment. I replied that I actually wasn’t doing “nothing”, and smiled. I told him I’d just finished gathering orders for drive-thru for two hours before he got there, and that later I’d be on assembly because not everyone showed up who was supposed to. And that at that moment, I was indeed doing something since it was my job to see all areas and notice when something wasn’t right or needed changing. That it was my job to oversee the activity and crew and make sure everything kept moving properly, that proper procedures were followed, and that customers were satisfied.

Technorati Tags: management skills, crew persons

Posted: June 30th, 2007 under Flights of fancy, Work.
Comments: none

They’re finally over. Three long days of intensive classes in advanced restaurant management have finally come to an end. I’ve come away feeling more empowered to make a real difference where I work as far as increasing profitability is concerned.

Yet, the learning continues. I have 6 weeks of implementing action plans so that I can truly graduate from this class, although we did get our certificates today.

There are a couple more class sessions to attend after the 6 weeks is up. I will eventually be able to move into being a salaried manager, which means a lot more money coming in. It also means a lot more responsibility will be on my shoulders and I may be required to show up to work at a moment’s notice if they are shorthanded. The only thing that would prevent me being called upon would be if I were out of town.

Technorati Tags: restaurant management, manager

Posted: June 28th, 2007 under Flights of fancy, Work.
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We had a manager’s meeting Sunday afternoon that was supposed to have lasted between 30 minutes and an hour. Well, it went on for four hours. I’m glad we got paid for it!

A lot of issues were brought up, that I’m sure are common to all restaurant managers so I won’t list them all here. Besides, it would take way too long to do so. Primarily, though, our GM helped us to understand that our role as managers was NOT to always be working crew positions because the actual crew weren’t doing their fair share of the work. We are only to work in that capacity if there is a real shortage of crew persons and the orders are piling up.

We are to be managers in the strictest sense of the term. That means observing and controlling situations before they ignite into wildfires that become urgent. We are directors, of a sort.

Too many times, we managers want to jump in and do the work for the crew members. I know I tend to do that when it seems like the tasks aren’t being performed in a correct or timely manner. I think we all do that.

It’s time, though, that we step into our proper role as managers and actually direct the goings-on. That means being at our post and walking through the assembly and prep areas, making sure everything is done according to proper procedures, and making sure that crew aren’t goofing off. They are subject to goofing off frequently if we don’t assign secondary duties and follow up to be sure those duties are also completed.

Of course, the crew are mostly all quite young. And it’s true what they say: Trying to control them is like trying to nail jell-o to the wall. But the GM does it quite effectively, so I will follow in her stead and emulate the things she does. I want to be as effective as she is.

So often at the end of a shift, we managers are totaled and completely drained from the drama, stress, and other issues that went on in our shift. It shouldn’t be that way, and I commit now to improving my own managerial skills so that no one, including me, ever feels that way again.

We don’t do the young crew members any favors by not holding them accountable for their assigned duties. They only learn to be slackers by doing that. I like them all so much and care about how they’ll grow in their lives, so I want to be a part of improving them if I can at all.

Technorati Tags: restaurant, managerial skills

Posted: June 24th, 2007 under Flights of fancy, Work.