Front and Back

I was once asked in an interview whether customer service or the quality of the food was more important.  Initially I was caught off guard by the question. I had never been asked this before and I had never thought of one without the other.  And that is exactly how I answered the question; I explained that in my experience, one cannot survive without the other. Subsequently, I got the job.

There is an old school mentality within the restaurant industry in which you have two teams working in a restaurant, Front of House and Back of House. Although the functions of these two groups are drastically different, they are working for a common purpose- to take care of the guests. But it is easy to always picture the grass being greener on the other side.  For example, the cooks were able to eat whatever they wanted and the servers worked less hours and were considered lazy.

I really disliked this separation and never really understood why it had to be this way. I began to think that if I truly wanted to be a great operator, I would have to leave the kitchen and experience the Front of House.

This was not an easy transition for me. In the Back of House there is always something that needs to be done. Restaurant kitchens are a 24 hour process; you are always prepping or planning for the next day or event. Sauces are simmering, proteins are marinating and the knife-work is always waiting for you. The kitchen has so much preparation to do before a guest even steps foot inside your establishment.

On the contrary, the Front of House doesn’t necessarily “go on” until right before the doors open.  But trust me; once those customers start to flood in, the Front of House staff is working just as hard as anyone. If you have ever served in a restaurant, you know that you don’t get to have a bad day. There is no shutting your office door and just pushing through the day. You are on stage and everyone is looking at you.

As a Front of House manager, one of your primary functions was just talking with the customers. This was relatively easy for me but at first I was surprised at how shy I could be in just approaching a table and starting a conversation. But as I got more comfortable with this, I realized I was like the host of a huge party. I enjoy playing the host of a party and ensuring everyone is having a great time.  I started to become familiar with our regulars and in essence I was just visiting with friends. I loved it.

 

As I started to see both sides of the coin, I realized how important each side of the team was to the success of the business.  I realized that both sides really were not that different, and actually we all were contributing to something that was very special. In today’s world, often times dining out is not something you do before the main event, it IS the main event.

 Then one day as I was preparing for a staff training, I realized that essentially we were all entertainers telling a story. The dining room was our stage, the uniforms were our costumes, and the restaurant was our backdrop. The menu was our plot, the chefs were the writers and it was up to the servers to deliver the story.

Once I started to think of the restaurant industry in this way, it just seemed to make a lot more sense to me.  So I immediately started preaching this at my daily line ups with the staff. The reaction was a little cold at first, but once I started explaining it and showcasing the similarities, the staff started to buy in. I would ask them “Where else does the entire staff stand and perform while the guests are seated and watching the performance?” And yes, every now and then, I would get the answer “a strip club” but they were starting to get it. I can’t say that both sides always worked harmoniously from that point on, but it consistently got better. As sales increased and the overall guest experience improved, I noticed a difference.  We had stopped focusing on our differences and started focusing on our common goal, thus becoming a stronger team. Maybe there is a life lesson in there somewhere.

I knew that with this ideology I would be able to train this moving forward and hopefully see the same results. Ironically, one of the next concepts I would be working with would only require one or two staff members most of the time. There was no Back of House or Front of House, there was one team and you had to play both roles. In the frozen yogurt world, one employee can do all the prep and still be at the door to greet the guest. Honestly, it was refreshing to think of operations as being that simple. But what I realized is that you have to find the right kind of person, who can play both roles well. Finding someone who can measure and use a knife, but who is also not scared of holding a conversation with a complete stranger is not an easy task! Yeah you can find people that can do the job, but do you want someone who can just get the job done? Or do you want someone who is passionate about what they do?

So the next time you are dining out, look around and notice all the performances going on around you. Is the stage set? Are the costumes clean and uniform?  And is the story melting in your mouth?

And don’t forget to tip your servers!