No False Waits!

One of the most difficult things for any restaurant is matching the staffing level with the actual flow of customers. If you have too many employees working, you have high overhead costs. Too few and you can't take care of your customers.

We are in San Antonio this week spending some time with friends. After a fun day at SeaWorld, we left in search of somewhere to have dinner. Several weeks ago, we had had a good experience at a particular restaurant chain. We again found one of their locations off of Loop 410 in San Antonio. It was 8:00 p.m. when we entered the restaurant. The two hostesses greeted us and asked for our name to add to their wait list. They informed us it would be a 15-20 minute wait.

I gave them my name and then looked around the restaurant. Thirteen tables were clean and ready to accommodate customers. (This was about 25-30 percent of the entire restaurant.) I asked the hostess why they were not seating people at those tables and she responded by telling me they were short waitresses tonight.

I asked to see the manager. He came out and was polite, but told me they were short kitchen staff and he had told the hostesses to hold up on the seating so he did not have to "comp" any meals due to slow food delivery.

So instead of letting us sit down and at least have a coke or water, we were asked to stand in a crowded entry way with 10-15 other guests. There are better ways to handle this situation. First, do your very best to ensure you have adequate staff on hand, especially on weekend nights. Secondly, if you do run into this situation, you are better off seating your customers and explaining the situation. You may need to offer a complimentary appetizer, but at least you will keep their business.

We were hungry, so we left and went next door to Olive Garden. They were also busy, but immediately took us to a table. Part of their training for their managers is a policy called "No False Waits." This means if they have a table ready, they should be able to handle your party.

They were very busy and our waitress had a lot of tables. She quickly stopped by the table and introduced herself and let us know that she had a lot of tables that had been seated at the same time and she would be with us as soon as possible. She communicated the situation! We were fine with the short wait. At least we were seated and could enjoy spending time talking with friends. She eventually came to our table and did a great job taking care of us.

Remember: The number one customer turnoff is a long wait! This includes waiting in the entryway of a restaurant when you can see empty tables ready for you.