HR in restaurants (part 1)

Sometimes I get comments because I use the term ‘HR’. One line of comments states that it should be ‘HRM’ (Human Resources Management) and not ‘HR” (Human Resources). Of course these critics are right. The title of one of my recent blog posts was “Do start-ups need HR”. Justin C. from Nashville commented: “Yes Tom, they need HR = human resources, because without people there would be no start-ups!”. Clever Justin.

The other line is that it is wrong to speak about Human Resources or Human Resources Management, because people should not be considered to be resources. It is better, they state, to talk about People Management or People Operations. Laszlo Bock of Google goes with the job title “SVP of People Operations”, and if Google uses People Operations it should be good.
Please note I have heard all the comments, and that I am happy to comply with the global HR and/or People Operations standards, but that for the moment I will continue to use the term HR, as abbreviation for HRM. Changing the label will unfortunately not necessarily change the image. Sometimes I mean the profession (people working in HR), more often I mean “People Management”, disregard-less if HR professionals are involved or not.

This article is about HR in restaurants. I think most restaurants don not employ an HR manager. The chef does most of the people management.

Why are restaurants often delivering ‘below expectations’?

Last week my daughter graduated and we had a meal in a new local restaurant in her university town. The experience at this restaurant was very typical for the experience I have had in many restaurants, especially new ones. I tried to outline my experience in the graph below.

On the x-axis the time (as experienced by me), on the y-axis my mood prior to and during the restaurant visit. You can see the sequence. When I entered my mood was good, and my expectations were high. The first 45 minutes were positive. The waiters were friendly, the menu was nice, and around 20 minutes after we ordered the starters arrived. The food was good and we had a lively conversation.
Than the waiting started. 30 minutes, 40 minutes…… Only after one hour the main course arrived. Inevitably my mood went down while waiting. I tried to stay cheerful, but my mood took control (my fault). My course had been waiting too long in the kitchen, apparently, and was coldish.

After the break the performance often deteriorates

This is not a complaint, but an observation. Why do so many restaurants manage to underperform especially in the second part of the performance?

In the second picture I drew three possible situations (of course there are more).
What you want as a client is situation A: the restaurant exceeds your expectations. Meeting expectations (C) is second best, but what you do not want is situation B: leaving the restaurant in a bad mood!
I have never worked in a restaurant, but I have eaten in many. What are some possible explanations for performance according the B-curve?

1. Not enough staff in the kitchen, or too many tables in the restaurant.
   Most of the time, when you can see the kitchen, the chef and his or her brigade are working very hard.
2. Inexperienced staff in the kitchen. I can imagine this happens in new restaurants. Some dishes take longer to prepare than they expected.
   Good planning is required, and experience helps.
3. No clear organisation in the restaurant. In many restaurants in the US, your table gets a personal waiter. “My name is Sheila, and I am your waiter tonight, and I will make sure you have a fantastic evening”. In The Netherlands this is rare. Probably because the costs of waiters are higher. The US model has the big advantage that you know who your go-to person is. In The Netherlands waiters often try to hide, especially when things go wrong. Like last week. Of course the waiters also knew that it took too long before the main course was served, but they tried to avoid eye contact, and tried to act as if this was normal.

Also restaurants need good HR

Also starting restaurants need good HR. Often you only have one time to make a good impression on a customer. There are many restaurants, and why would I go back to a restaurant where I had a poor experience? Under-promise and over deliver is also the best strategy for restaurants. Do not start with too many tables, and have some over-capacity in the kitchen. If you exceed expectations, the customers will come back. If things go wrong, do not try to hide this, but communicate clear to your clients.