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LEARN: Top 5 reasons restaurants fail (what to avoid) PT 3: how to avoid bad hires
DRINK RECIPE: SOUR ATTITUDE: A spicy gin sour with hints of vanilla /
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Let’s get into it…
The restaurant business is notoriously challenging, with a startlingly high rate of failures, but that’s not news to a restaurant owner.
Here’s a snapshot of the startling statistics:
– High Failure Rate: A staggering 60% of new restaurants don’t survive past their first year.
– Long-Term Struggles: Even more concerning, 80% of restaurants close within five years of opening.
These figures are a wake-up call for restaurant owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. But it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s a silver lining, and it’s this:
Success leaves clues. The failures of the past can be your learning ground. Mistakes are often repeated, which means they can be identified and avoided. Your restaurant doesn’t have to be another statistic.
Learn, Adapt, Survive, Then Thrive: 5 Reasons Restaurants Fail & How to Avoid Them
(PART 3 of 4)
2 .Poor Hiring and Training
We’ve all experienced it—a restaurant experience dampened by indifferent service, the ambiance clouded by inefficiency. At the heart? Poor hiring:
– Opting for experience over all else
– Rushing to fill a spot without vetting for a cultural fit
The Second Root Issue: The Impact of Inadequate Training
Poor hiring is just the start. Neglecting proper training is like setting the stage without giving your actors a script.
The result? A performance that leaves much to be desired.
In the restaurant world, this translates to a disjointed service experience, where every misstep from improperly trained staff, and more importantly, the lack of systems, amplifies the customer’s dissatisfaction.
Case Study: The Downfall of a Downtown Bistro
Consider the tale of a once-buzzing downtown bistro in Fullerton, CA. Rapid staff turnover led to rushed hires—a band-aid solution that soon revealed itself as a recipe for disaster. The lack of comprehensive training meant service inconsistencies became the norm, not the exception, pushing patrons to go elsewhere because they simply didn’t know what they were going to get when they dined in. Sixty days before the Bistro closed its doors, the owner looked around an empty restaurant on a Saturday and wondered what went wrong.
The Ripple Effect: From Staff Morale to Bottom Line
The consequences of poor hiring and training extend beyond the dining room. Staff morale plummets as team members struggle without guidance, leading to even higher turnover rates. Financially, the costs of constant rehiring and lost business add up, chipping away at the bottom line turns into jackhammering. Think about it.
Turning the Tide: Strategic Hiring and Empowering Training
The silver lining? This cycle can be broken. Strategic hiring focused on attitude and moldability, coupled with empowering, ongoing training, can transform your team into your restaurant’s biggest asset. It’s about investing in people who will grow with your business, turning short-term costs into long-term gains. #gains
Building Your Dream Team:
❌ Don’t hire off experience alone.
✅ Hire off attitude.
As a restaurant owner, you probably know that seasoned servers and bartenders can be some of the most entitled employees.
Sadly, I was one of them 😅. Early on in my career, I was one of the worst servers you could hire—great at my job but with one of the worst attitudes you could have. If I could sum it up in three words… it would be “me, me, me.”
But one day, my entitled attitude got me fired, and I went broke and nearly went home. I finally got another job and had to take the bus to work for almost a year.
Trust me when I say that changed my perspective from entitled to grateful real quick.
Unfortunately, working in the industry for 20 years has shown me there are more entitled FOH members than grateful ones.
And for your restaurant’s sake, you want to stay away from the majority and the toxicity it comes with.
When hiring, be very strategic in who you pick by asking the right questions.
Anyone will say anything to get hired, but throw them some curveballs and watch their reactions when you put them on their heels.
For example:
Ask them if they’d be okay cleaning the bathroom once a week. No, you’re not going to have them actually do this, but you will know a lot about an interviewee’s attitude by their REACTION to this question.
Get 4-5 questions like this going, and you’ll get an interviewee’s true intentions front and center.
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Stay tuned for PART 4
Can’t wait? Watch the full video now.
COCKTAIL HOUR
SOUR ATTITUDE
DESCRIPTION: A spicy gin sour with hints of vanilla /
A HIGHLY ELEVATED GIN SOUR WITH LONDON GIN.
THIS DRINK IS SO POPULAR, IT’S THE REASON WHY ENGLISH PEOPLE ALWAYS HAVE A SOUR TASTE IN THEIR MOUTHS.
INGREDIENTS:
London Dry Gin, Chambery Dry Vermouth, Tuaca, Jalapeño, Agave, Lemon
How:
¼ ounce Tuaca
¾ ounce Jalapeño-Infused Agave Syrup (*recipe below)
¾ ounce Dry vermouth
1 ounce lemon juice
1½ ounces Beefeater gin
Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail tin. Fill a fizz glass with 1¼-inch ice cubes. Fill the tin with ice, cover, and shake vigorously. Strain the cocktail into the fizz glass.
Glass: Tulip / Ice: 1 ¼-inch cubes / Garnish: Vanilla bean & mint sprig
*JALAPENO-INFUSED AGAVE SYRUP
1 medium jalapeño, chopped (scant 1/2 cup)
6 ounces agave nectar
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In a small pot, bring 3 ounces of water and jalapeño (including seeds) to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to steep 5 minutes. Strain and add agave. Stir to combine and let cool.
MAKES 1-CUP
I made a video explaining why Kitchen Nightmares is made for TV ratings and why it has such a high failure rate with the restaurants it saves. This gentleman took it personally. 😂😂😂
I’ll always tag my subject lines with this 🟢, so keep an eye out 😉
Looking forward to the next one,
