Just a personal question to people who's been in the industry for a while. What do you to do keep away the restaurant blues? Some days it just feels like it's the same or I'm going through the motion. For me, when I'm by myself doing inventory or reorganizing inventory is a nice break I save for myself to keep me from going crazy. I enjoy the quiet time by myself without interuption. Was wondering what's your treat to yourselves. I guess another to phrase it is what do you do to ensure longevity or from burning out?

Hey NewJack, The Restaurant business is full of highs and lows. Most of the Chefs I know have always been at their best at the busiest times. I heard someone say on another sit that, most Chefs act like Ramsay on Hells Kitchen when they are calling out orders and running a front line. I find the cooler I am, the cooler my cooks are, if I am yelling and ranting, it just shows how unsure I am of my abalities. Keeping cool is part of being a good/Great Chef. I always tell my staff, When they make a mistake, its my falt. I also tell them, I don't like making mistakes.

 Ok, back to the question. The slow times are hard, but this is a time I take to recost all the items on my menu, I want to know the cost per ounce, the each price of everything on my menus. When I'm at work I want to be busy, I could hire anyone to site and do nothing. I hire people to take care of the slow times, I want to be there when its time to Rock and Roll. ....................Take care................Bill

I agree, I am the happiest when I am the busiest. I have also noticed that when I am calm, my staff is calm too. If the chef is panicking, what chance would cooks have? 

Could you elaborate what you mean when you tell your staff that it's your mistake? I'm not sure I follow. Thanks!

I am firm believer in technology.  However, it is NO substitute for the environment/atmosphere and the quality of the food and service.  Those items are king. 

I agree with ChefBill... analyzing to the ounce is time well spent.  I would take it several steps further.  For those of you who use a POS system... take some time analyzing your historical reports.  Wait, I know, of course you know what sells, but reviewing the reports may reveal something new or something forgotten.  I find the historial reports most interesting and telling.  Restaurateur's can only benefit from historical reports if they use them.  Unfortunately, most do not and they blame the lack of time for not doing so.

We, like most, have a POS button where special instructions can be added to any item.  Sometimes just reviewing the special instruction history can identify a common theme which might lead in a new direction to slightly change an item for the better.  A small change in the menu description of an item or how it is accomplanied and/or plated... may just increase sales as well as encompass the change into your food costing analysis.

Another area to review and/or tighten is your liquor.   There are plenty of technologies which makes an attempt to sharpen your liquor costs.  However, the top of the line liquor management systems have large margins of error which makes them relatively inept and a huge waste of time and money.  Truthfully, it always boils down to the employees and what they do i.e. which POS buttons they push or not, and what liquor/drinks they make and/or consume or give away.   Humans can learn to defeat technology alone, but they can not defeat technology if the owner's are watchful and interactive with the reports.

Because times are tough and business is slow... you may have to spend more time watching and managing your bartenders.  Whether it is your employees sitting at the bar after a slow night or the bartender's friends keeping him/her company.  Take the time to watch out for such wasteful practices to avoid substantial losses.   Furthermore, review the POS Usage Reports and compare it with the actual physical liquor inventory/reports. 

Once the liquor is out of the bottle... it can't be put back in so remain proactive instead of reactive when it comes to your liquor management.   Keep an eye on your bartenders, inact bar polices, explain the consequences of theft, and reveiw your liquor usage against the actual inventory reports.  If your employees know you can identify and isolate liquor losses to the employee... they will be less likely to abuse your bottomline.  Here in Wisconsin... liquor loss will drain your business account ... be absolute and remain diligent to prevent theft.

Let the employees know... "Now is not the time to waste, consume, or lose any products or supplies".  Take the time to study your POS Historical Reports and determine what works and what doesn't.  Use the technology to it's fullest and it will be rewarding.

Robert Lehman

www.viewgistics.com

Hi NewJack, Or shall I just call you JD..........I want all my employees to be accountable for their jobs. If I have a cook making mistakes. I will have unhappy customers. If that cook is still working after making to maney mistakes, then whos at fault??? My answer is, ME. I am responsible for everything. I want the employee to care about their mistakes, and not just shrug them off. When I call an employee into my office, they already know. The first thing they say is, I know I screwed up, I'll do better, it will never let you down again. If an employee tells me that, I know I have a person with some values. If they sit there like its never their falt, then I don't bother. I don't have time to play games, this is a business, and the customer may not give a second chance. I feel when my customer has a complaint, I need to tell the customer it was my falt and not blame it on my crew. The customer just wants results and I want them to know the buck stops here. The best value lesson I ever learned is, how I felt when I let someone down, .............Take care.......Bill

Ah the burn out, yeah man it happens.   This February marked twenty-two years I've been running this place and yes I've felt the burn out more than once.  That's usually a good time to do something differant.  Change some things to reinvigorate both the store and yourself.  Drop some slow moving menu items and come up with some new stuff.  Change your scedule around.  Been wanting to redo something in the dining room, do it.  Get yourself out of the humdrum routine you've found yourself in.

I know what you mean about the quiet time also.  When times are good and I'm only working four or five days a week I would often come in on Sundays (I'm closed on Sundays) and do stuff that needed to be done.  But it sure is nice to be able to do it without dealing with customers, without dealing with employees and without dealing with that fracking telephone. 

A big thing though that has helped me long term to fight the inevitable burnouts is to find that good balance between the store and my personal life.  It's taken me three times but I've got a good wife now that is very suportive of anything I want to do.  We have (at the moment) ten cats and two dogs, so going home at the end of the night is always a blast.  And then there is the real reason I work so hard.

So I can go fishing.  Taking a few days off and heading to the coast for a couple of days fishing really seems to help me keep my head on straight and helps me keep my perspective on the professional side of my life.  In other words, finding something, anything, you can do that you enjoy doing, outside of the business can really help preserve your sanity.

Ray

http://www.dallasfamouschicken.com/

Something that helps me is to remind myself that no matter what job I might be doing, at sometime, I would have burn out.   Remind yourself that at least this is yours, you make the decisions, and don't forget to tell yourself the keys are in your pocket...you can lock that door at anytime!  (of course, you might have to face the music after doing so..lol).

Hi Newjack!

Welome to the forum! 

I have one rule I always live by - Keep work problems at work, and keep family issues at home.  Of course, I'm not an owner, so it's easier for me to keep my work life away from home.  But I try real hard to keep the two area's of my life seperate from each other.  I find I'm much easier to live with at both locations that way!  Also, I've found a shot or two of some good Kentucky bourbon after work does wonders to relive my stress level and help me sleep - In moderation of course.

Mark

Jack----

I'm with Ray.  If you are burned out, it's time to get out.  From my expirience owners get burned out usually between 7-10 years.

If you no longer have the passion you once did for your restaurant, it's time to sell and move on (even if it's opening / buying a new restaurant, but one that gives you that passion back.)

I've seen to many owners continue to operate past there passion stage only to end up running the business into the ground.

You can get an idea of what your restaurant would be worth by seeing restaurants for sale at www.FloridaRestaurantExchange.com