First impressions make lasting impressions. Being in this business, I have entered a lot of kitchens, some were impressive, some were dated but the ones that leave me with a lasting impression are the clean extremes. The clean extremes are “Wow, this kitchen is very clean, I would eat here!” and “Wow, I hope they don’t offer me food because I don’t want to eat something from this kitchen!”
You can tell what the owner thinks of his business and his clientele by checking the cleanliness of 2 rooms; the kitchen and the bathroom. I feel that the kitchen shows how the owner feels about his or her business. Are they there to cash a check and go through the motions or are they actively engaged in the business, striving to make their product noticed by the customer. This is about pride in workmanship, in keeping the area where the creation happens clean – it shows a respect for the customer. I believe that this sets the average dining experience apart from the extraordinary.
It’s in the details.
Cleaning and maintaining cleanliness is hard work. Most often it is not done by the people that care the most – they are just pushing a mop around to get their job completed, they don’t feel that they are accomplishing anything important. There may be ways to incent people to do their job better, to your satisfaction.
How about giving the employee a bonus for cleaning the area well? Maybe after they clean the area well a certain number of times, they earn an award and a reward. It doesn’t have to be much. It can be money, gift certificates to a movie, Best Buy, I-tunes or a free day off. You can post their name on a board as the outstanding employee of the week – give them the choice parking spot – whatever, just be creative and make it mean something to you. If you make it important and meaningful to you, it will be important and meaningful to them.
Make it be a team bonus or accomplishment so that everyone gets involved. The better the restaurant looks, the better the customers will feel about eating there, they tell people about the experience and your business grows – everyone benefits. This also sets up for positive peer pressure, for them to push each other to get their job done correctly.
Give them goals to accomplish and hold them accountable for them. Reward them when they reach them and work with them to achieve those goals. If you do that, they will take pride in what they are doing – no matter if they are serving meals or sweeping the parking lot. Everyone likes to feel important, that their job matters, and that they have accomplished something.
You may be asking yourself, why would I want to spend more money to pay people to do their jobs? Great point. First and foremost, I will argue that a team that doesn’t have a lot of experience but has great morale, will outperform an experienced team with poor morale everyday of the week. Morale may be the single most important ingredient to your team. If they feel good about coming to work and doing a good job, you have a motivated employee. Motivated employees are easier to manage and do better work.
Secondly, how are you spending your money on chemicals? How do your people measure the amount of soap and cleaning solutions they use? If you are using the “Glug Glug” method, which is pour it until it “looks good” – you might as well be pouring money down the drain. More soap or solution doesn’t automatically mean better cleaning. It can also mean that harsh chemicals will shorten the life of what you are cleaning – costing you even more money in the long AND short run.
The solutions are simple and will save you money by using the appropriate amount of product;
1. Buy Ready to Use chemicals. Use these chemicals right out of the bottle, no dilution is necessary and thus you will not use 4 ounces of product when only 1 ounce is needed.
2. Get a measuring cup and make sure the people use it – you could tie it into the rewards program – if they are seen just pouring into the bucket, they lose points off of their bonus. This isn’t difficult, you probably already have a measuring cup somewhere that isn’t being used.
3. Incorporate a wall mounted chemical dispenser that mixes the appropriate amount of solution every time into the bottle or mop bucket. These are installed free of charge and help keep the area neat, clean and organized. The best kind of dispenser has the product metering device sealed inside the container of product – not allowing anyone to tamper or remove it so that you end up using more chemicals than are necessary. The correct amount is mixed every time, saving you hundreds or even thousands per year.
When not measured, we have seen people spend up to four times more on their cleaning supplies! By incorporating portion control on this often overlooked aspect of your business, you may be able to increase the money your profits. The chains usually have this area controlled. Having control of this area can help fund a program that rewards the behavior you are looking for in your employees. These suggestions will save you money, improve your restaurant, and increase your chances to grow your business, all at the same time.
Now for the bathroom, let’s get it out in the open. NOBODY REALLY LIKES TO CLEAN THEIR OWN BATHROOM LET ALONE A PUBLIC BATHROOM! It is definitely the most unglamorous job in existence. They have made a TV show about jobs like this – I think it is called “Dirty Work.” It is brutal. However, it is an important part of your restaurant. A dirty bathroom leaves an indelible memory for your patrons about your restaurant. It speaks volumes about how you feel about the details. It doesn’t reflect well on anything – I will often equate the bathroom with the kitchen – I don’t know why, but I do. If the bathroom isn’t sanitary, I immediately wonder about the sanitary state of the kitchen. It is just where my mind jumps to immediately.
Now, how to you get your employees to develop a sense of responsibility for the bathroom? Not an easy question to answer. I think that many of the strategies outlined above could easily be incorporated for the bathrooms too. Some restaurants schedule hourly bathroom checks. If you keep your bathroom clean, visitors will automatically keep it cleaner than when it is already messy. Patrons usually have a “one more paper towel on the floor won’t really matter” attitude when it is left in disarray. Take steps to insure that its cleanliness is maintained, and your patrons will partner with you subconsciously purely out of respect for the work that is going into maintaining the bathroom. I recently read an article about the impact a bathroom attendant had on the public’s perception of the establishment. Maybe consider adding an attendant during the busy hours – let them work for tips and see what happens. Another tip – if your bathroom consistently smells – it may be the ceiling! When a toilet is flushed, with the lid up, the water (or anything else in there) can be sprayed up to 15 feet. This means that an enzyme based, odor counteractant sprayed on the ceiling a few times per week will do the trick and keep your bathroom smelling fresh.
These are just a few ideas to help keep your image up, and your profits where they should be – in your pocket rather than going down the drain.
You can tell what the owner thinks of his business and his clientele by checking the cleanliness of 2 rooms; the kitchen and the bathroom. I feel that the kitchen shows how the owner feels about his or her business. Are they there to cash a check and go through the motions or are they actively engaged in the business, striving to make their product noticed by the customer. This is about pride in workmanship, in keeping the area where the creation happens clean – it shows a respect for the customer. I believe that this sets the average dining experience apart from the extraordinary.
It’s in the details.
Cleaning and maintaining cleanliness is hard work. Most often it is not done by the people that care the most – they are just pushing a mop around to get their job completed, they don’t feel that they are accomplishing anything important. There may be ways to incent people to do their job better, to your satisfaction.
How about giving the employee a bonus for cleaning the area well? Maybe after they clean the area well a certain number of times, they earn an award and a reward. It doesn’t have to be much. It can be money, gift certificates to a movie, Best Buy, I-tunes or a free day off. You can post their name on a board as the outstanding employee of the week – give them the choice parking spot – whatever, just be creative and make it mean something to you. If you make it important and meaningful to you, it will be important and meaningful to them.
Make it be a team bonus or accomplishment so that everyone gets involved. The better the restaurant looks, the better the customers will feel about eating there, they tell people about the experience and your business grows – everyone benefits. This also sets up for positive peer pressure, for them to push each other to get their job done correctly.
Give them goals to accomplish and hold them accountable for them. Reward them when they reach them and work with them to achieve those goals. If you do that, they will take pride in what they are doing – no matter if they are serving meals or sweeping the parking lot. Everyone likes to feel important, that their job matters, and that they have accomplished something.
You may be asking yourself, why would I want to spend more money to pay people to do their jobs? Great point. First and foremost, I will argue that a team that doesn’t have a lot of experience but has great morale, will outperform an experienced team with poor morale everyday of the week. Morale may be the single most important ingredient to your team. If they feel good about coming to work and doing a good job, you have a motivated employee. Motivated employees are easier to manage and do better work.
Secondly, how are you spending your money on chemicals? How do your people measure the amount of soap and cleaning solutions they use? If you are using the “Glug Glug” method, which is pour it until it “looks good” – you might as well be pouring money down the drain. More soap or solution doesn’t automatically mean better cleaning. It can also mean that harsh chemicals will shorten the life of what you are cleaning – costing you even more money in the long AND short run.
The solutions are simple and will save you money by using the appropriate amount of product;
1. Buy Ready to Use chemicals. Use these chemicals right out of the bottle, no dilution is necessary and thus you will not use 4 ounces of product when only 1 ounce is needed.
2. Get a measuring cup and make sure the people use it – you could tie it into the rewards program – if they are seen just pouring into the bucket, they lose points off of their bonus. This isn’t difficult, you probably already have a measuring cup somewhere that isn’t being used.
3. Incorporate a wall mounted chemical dispenser that mixes the appropriate amount of solution every time into the bottle or mop bucket. These are installed free of charge and help keep the area neat, clean and organized. The best kind of dispenser has the product metering device sealed inside the container of product – not allowing anyone to tamper or remove it so that you end up using more chemicals than are necessary. The correct amount is mixed every time, saving you hundreds or even thousands per year.
When not measured, we have seen people spend up to four times more on their cleaning supplies! By incorporating portion control on this often overlooked aspect of your business, you may be able to increase the money your profits. The chains usually have this area controlled. Having control of this area can help fund a program that rewards the behavior you are looking for in your employees. These suggestions will save you money, improve your restaurant, and increase your chances to grow your business, all at the same time.
Now for the bathroom, let’s get it out in the open. NOBODY REALLY LIKES TO CLEAN THEIR OWN BATHROOM LET ALONE A PUBLIC BATHROOM! It is definitely the most unglamorous job in existence. They have made a TV show about jobs like this – I think it is called “Dirty Work.” It is brutal. However, it is an important part of your restaurant. A dirty bathroom leaves an indelible memory for your patrons about your restaurant. It speaks volumes about how you feel about the details. It doesn’t reflect well on anything – I will often equate the bathroom with the kitchen – I don’t know why, but I do. If the bathroom isn’t sanitary, I immediately wonder about the sanitary state of the kitchen. It is just where my mind jumps to immediately.
Now, how to you get your employees to develop a sense of responsibility for the bathroom? Not an easy question to answer. I think that many of the strategies outlined above could easily be incorporated for the bathrooms too. Some restaurants schedule hourly bathroom checks. If you keep your bathroom clean, visitors will automatically keep it cleaner than when it is already messy. Patrons usually have a “one more paper towel on the floor won’t really matter” attitude when it is left in disarray. Take steps to insure that its cleanliness is maintained, and your patrons will partner with you subconsciously purely out of respect for the work that is going into maintaining the bathroom. I recently read an article about the impact a bathroom attendant had on the public’s perception of the establishment. Maybe consider adding an attendant during the busy hours – let them work for tips and see what happens. Another tip – if your bathroom consistently smells – it may be the ceiling! When a toilet is flushed, with the lid up, the water (or anything else in there) can be sprayed up to 15 feet. This means that an enzyme based, odor counteractant sprayed on the ceiling a few times per week will do the trick and keep your bathroom smelling fresh.
These are just a few ideas to help keep your image up, and your profits where they should be – in your pocket rather than going down the drain.
