Chicago-area Sam Vlahos knows the secret to steady growth — it lies in his ability to be nimble and constantly improve

Sam Vlahos is no newbie to the restaurant business — he grew up in the industry while helping his father operate Johnathan’s Steakhouse in Lombard, Illinois. Sam and his sister Patricia have carried the family legacy onward with their two suburban Chicago-area restaurants, Pierce Tavern in Downers Grove and Fuller House in Hinsdale. Both establishments have grown quickly into highly successful upscale pub concepts within their respective neighborhoods.

Both Pierce Tavern and Fuller House share similar brand and operational characteristics. Each concept was named for the gentlemen who established these communities in the 19th century. From a menu perspective, the restaurants showcase elevated American cuisine with items like brisket grilled cheese, buffalo shrimp with blue cheese crumbles, and wood-fired pizza. Their approach to polished pub food and ambiance have made both locations wildly popular destinations for suburban dwellers who used to live or currently work in downtown Chicago.

Creating two new restaurant concepts that successfully compete with large chains is no small feat. What’s the secret? According to Sam, it’s all about community. “Our biggest competitive edge comes from our dedication to the communities we serve,” he explains. “We’re very active in giving back through community charity nights, school donations, and promotions that coincide with community events.” Beyond donations, Sam’s efforts to connect with the community lie at the center of the guest experience that he and his staff crafts on a daily basis. “We work hard to make guests truly feel like they are part of our place; that this is their hangout. This is our true success — to keep our customers coming back, some of them three or more times a week.”

Brand loyalty on this scale is enviable in the cutthroat restaurant business that pits the Goliaths of the industry against the David’s like Sam’s operations. One of Sam’s biggest advantages over the big guys lies in his ability to be nimble. According to Sam, “my chefs, my managers, and I look at food costs and availability of key ingredients every day. If an item isn’t available or is cost-prohibitive to serve, we’ll make menu changes on the fly. We print our menus in house so we can help manage food costs instantly.” But what about guest expectations? “Whenever we have to make a menu change, we’re very transparent with our guests about it,” says Sam. “For instance, over the summer the cost of green beans went through the roof. We serve a very popular fried green bean appetizer, but we were forced to take it off the menu for a bit. When customers asked about it, we explained that the price had gone up and we weren’t able to carry that item for an affordable price. We never want to just say that we’re out of something — to us, it’s important to have an open dialogue with our guests, so they understand why we make certain menu decisions.”

Being able to have these kinds of conversations with his customers begins with Sam and his managers maintaining an open dialogue with team members. “We spend a lot of time and effort making sure our teams at both restaurants understand what’s happening at all times,”

Sam explains. “Part of that effort involves technology. We use an app called 7 Shifts for scheduling and its messaging feature. If we have a menu change, we can communicate it to everyone on the team instantly. We also do pre-shift meetings before each lunch and dinner shift without fail, so everyone knows what’s going on.”

“We treat our training program seriously and have carefully honed it over the last year or two.”

– sam vlahos

Another area to which Sam is dedicated is team member training, an effort that reaps real rewards. Sam’s approach to training aligns with his approach to guest service — make everyone feel like a part of the place. “On their first day, each new team member receives a welcome email, packet of training materials, and a gift bag that includes their uniform. We want everyone to feel a part of the team right away,” says Sam. “We treat our training program seriously and have carefully honed it over the last year or two. For example, our servers have to pass a final test where they wait on me and our managers, and we purposefully throw them a few loops, especially around menu items that contain allergens. We have a lot of families that dine with us, and allergies are a really big deal for our customers.” Besides ensuring a great guest experience, this rigorous training program has helped Sam retain front-of-house staff.

Sam’s dedication to all aspects of his operations boils down to delivering one thing — amazing hospitality. “We are lucky enough to have customers who come in several times a week, but we don’t take that for granted. We want them to have a ‘first-time’ guest experience every time they come in,” declared Sam. “We spend our marketing budget inside our four walls by comping desserts and drinks to exceed guest expectations. Servers are trained to get to know our regulars as well as make recommendations and create a great table presence for new guests.”

Sam’s establishments have been met with outstanding reviews and financial success. To maintain his momentum, he is future-proofing his restaurants by embracing change. “We’re constantly keeping up with customer requests and the larger trends impacting our businesses,” says Sam. “When things like poké and kale started to catch on, we worked them into our menus. Even when we thought we were too small to get into the delivery game, we got on board with DoorDash and some of the other third-party apps. We’ve expanded our to-go packaging options when we found that our delivery customers were ordering whole meals for several people. We’re constantly learning and changing what we do to stay ahead.”

True to his work, Sam is now tackling the world of catering. “We’ve been working on a catering menu that scheduled to go live in the next couple of months, says Sam. “We’re excited about potential sales from catering, but we don’t want to rush it. We have one shot, and we’re determined to get it right.”

Today’s non-commercial foodservice providers face more pressures than the average restaurant. So how do you stay competitive and wow your guests?

The dining public has high expectations that continue to grow. Whether it’s organic ingredients, local sourcing, fair trade certified, or cruelty-free, today’s restaurant guests expect that their standards for quality, as well as their dietary needs, are met at every meal. Restaurants with experienced back-of-house teams strive to meet these ever-changing demands while keeping food and staffing costs at bay.

Whether ordering a post-workout smoothie at their gym, buying lunch at their corporate café, or treating their family to snacks at an amusement park, foodservice customers assume that they will have their pick of high quality, better-for-you menu options no matter where they’re eating.

This long-standing trend puts additional pressure on businesses that operate dining facilities but aren’t traditional foodservice operators. Amusement parks, family entertainment centers, corporate and college cafeterias, airports, and housing communities are just a few of the entities who have been forced to upgrade their menu options and food quality to serve a demanding dining public. Rather than seeing this challenge as an inconvenience, institutions and corporations with F&B programs can develop dining strategies that create a competitive advantage.

Amusement Parks and Entertainment Centers: Bringing the Wow with Wellness

In our recent work with water parks, family entertainment centers, and amusement parks, the challenge is to balance the expectation of “fun foods” with a growing desire for healthier options. We’ve addressed these needs by raising the level of food quality in ingredient sourcing for menu items with wide appeal. For example, using a blend of chuck, brisket, and short rib for burgers and top-shelf ice cream for milkshakes greatly enhances flavor and gives the operator a greater value proposition to promote on their menus. In addition, by building these items with greater plating presence and over-the-top garnishes, guests looking for these fun foods to complement their experience are willing to pay a bit more for visual appeal.

At the same time, not every amusement park guest wants burgers and shakes. Creating healthier options that still convey a brand personality infused with fun provides an interesting culinary challenge. Items like elote corn with herb garnishes and grain bowls with interesting blends of roasted vegetables deliver color, depth of flavor, and appealing  options for vegetarian and vegan guests. Offering these better-for-you items appeals to adults who bring children to amusement parks but want a better meal for themselves. This type of menu approach satisfies a wide range of guests and, if promoted correctly, can provide a compelling point of difference for the park operator.

Colleges and Universities: Aligning with Guests Needs and Values

The drab cafeteria offerings on college campuses are largely a thing of the past, considering today’s student demands and increased competition. The typical college dining hall has been replaced with vibrant food stations and grab-and-go options to cater to a generation more inclined to snack than sit down to eat. In addition, university cafeterias no longer have a lock on the student dining population. Restaurants looking to appeal to college-age audiences build a part of their real estate strategy around securing locations near college campuses and offering promotions and delivery deals geared toward students.

So how do college dining halls compete with the marketing power and brand recognition of large restaurant chains? One strategy is to align their operations with the expectations and values of their student customers. Besides being focused on ingredient quality and sourcing, college-age customers are also concerned with sustainability, reducing food waste, and eliminating food insecurity. Along with meeting the menu variety and student health concerns, university foodservice outlets can develop programs to donate leftovers to local food banks, collect food scraps for composting, and offering specially priced meals for students on strict budgets.

Solutions for Non-commercial Foodservice Operators

Considering the pressures on noncommercial food outlets for menu innovation and operating efficiencies, how do these hospitality providers stay competitive? Partnerships offer a compelling solution for companies who would rather pay an outside operator to provide food service within the facility. For example, Sodexo is partnering with plant-based chain Veggie Grill to install outlets on select university and college campuses next year. On the upside, contract foodservice operators like HMS Host provide a turnkey solution for institutions who don’t want the pressures of being in the food service business.

For smaller operators such as residential clubhouses or country clubs with a limited customer base, using a contract operator may not be an option due to low volume. So what’s the solution? Work with an experienced food service provider or consultant to help develop a scaled foodservice solution that can be operated successfully with a lean staff and minimal overhead. For example, smaller operators can take cues from restaurants who have scaled their operations to fit the smaller footprints of food halls and food trucks but still provide innovate and vibrant menus that appeal to today’s diner with minimal space and maximum food quality.

Meeting today’s expectations for food quality, convenience, and sustainability doesn’t have to be a chore. Contact Synergy to help turn your noncommercial foodservice operation into a competitive advantage and profit center.

Operating out of a ghost kitchen can save thousands in operating costs, but without marketing, your customers may not know you’re there

The spiraling costs of opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant has served as the catalyst for a number of foodservice trends, including food trucks, food halls, and container restaurants. Food entrepreneurs are now looking at ghost kitchens as the next step in this evolution. Ghost kitchens — rentable kitchen space for professional food production — provide a place for restaurants to prepare their menu items for pick-up by third-party delivery services like GrubHub and DoorDash. For cash-strapped restaurant concepts and small operators looking to expand their market reach, ghost kitchens offer the opportunity to set up shop without the expense of a full-blown restaurant to build and staff.

Despite the allure of drastically reduced facility and labor costs, ghost kitchens are not a cure-all for the single-unit operator. “Ghost kitchens are an amazing alternative for well-known restaurant brands since they have already established a high level of name recognition,” said Monica Challingsworth, catering and off-premise sales consultant for Synergy. “They typically incorporate a high level of marketing spend in their operating costs, so they’re less reliant on foot traffic for promotional purposes. For the small operator, ghost kitchens are a really challenging business model when trying to build brand exposure.”

Do the lower costs of the ghost kitchen model make it easier to break into the competitive restaurant landscape? Not according to Challingsworth. “When you’re operating without the visibility of a  physical location, all you have is your own marketing efforts and the third-party delivery services. You can’t completely rely on delivery companies to be your only promotional channel because the bigger brands are paying to have their restaurant featured at the top of the list of customer choices. Yes, you’re spending less on a location, but you must significantly increase your marketing and social media spend to gain any kind of market share,” says Challingsworth.

Ghost kitchens can provide expanded capacity and efficiency for operators with significant catering and third-party order volume.  As a former Catering Director for both Seasons 52 and Lemonade, Ms. Challingsworth says, “ghost kitchens are a great addition to a restaurant chain that does high-volume catering or delivery since it takes the food production and packaging responsibilities out of the hands of the restaurant locations. But you still must have a catering salesforce pounding the pavement to promote your services. Just having a production facility is not enough to ensure success.”

Despite the challenges of operating in a ghost kitchen, specific food concepts can benefit from this operating model. “Concepts who specialize in pre-packed ice cream or individually packaged frozen goods are great candidates for using ghost kitchens that specialize in frozen packaging and delivery, typically a big headache for a restaurant,” according to Ms. Challingsworth.

For single-unit operators considering a ghost kitchen to enter a new market without the brick-and-mortar costs, Ms. Challingsworth offers the following advice. “If you want to bump your restaurant higher on the third-party delivery lists, offer free delivery. Their algorithms favor restaurants who don’t charge delivery fees. You can slightly increase your menu prices to compensate but be careful not to price yourself out of the market. Your biggest consideration is your marketing spend and promotional efforts. Yes, you save money on operating costs, but you can’t cut corners on marketing. There really is no free lunch.”

 

Assisted living, retirement homes, active senior communities – all terminology referring to communities with a minimum resident age, typically starting at 55, and this demographic is booming. According to the US Census Bureau, the number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to nearly double from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060. The demand for senior living facilities and communities will continue to grow.

And with that ever-growing demand comes more options as consumer preferences evolve. These days, it is not uncommon to find senior lifestyle communities that are much like resorts, equipped with high-end amenities like movie theaters, fitness centers, salons, and restaurants. Of course, not all retirement options are this glamorous, but focus on improved food choices provided at these homes and centers is on the rise. Traditional meal options won’t make the grade for today’s more active and food-savvy seniors.

Consumers not yet living in senior living communities often have concerns about menu fatigue and uninspired foodservice.  Savvy residential operators are addressing concerns proactively to attract retirees with dining options that cater to their unique tastes and needs while offering a restaurant-quality experience and opportunities to socialize. Surveys show that retirees looking to join a senior living community are interested in having a variety of foodservice options from which to choose including cafes, restaurants, food halls and retail markets. They also want more access to snacks and room service.

 

At Garden Spot Village in New Holland, PA, you’ll find four unique restaurants (plus a Starbucks) each with a distinct menu and style—from table-side service to casual dining. Over in Westport, CT, Maplewood Senior Living offers residents locally-sourced ingredients from their own farm as well as other vendors. Yes, it’s senior-living with garden-to-table cuisine! Finding that they were behind the times, Elim Park in Cheshire, CT has recently overhauled its dining and common areas to give seniors a unique and engaging multi-restaurant platform experience. The building footprint expanded by 5,000 square feet, providing space for the new Springhouse Bistro and the Elim Park Baking Co. bakery café, connected through a common seating space that ties the concepts together and creates a sense of community. 

Other senior food trends to look out for

• Skilled chefs heading up the kitchen and delivering unique meal choices
• Open kitchens to elevate the dining experience and provide transparency in food preparation
• Food trucks to bring an array of culinary options
• Individualized attention for those with special food preferences, dietary restrictions or food allergies

Dining options and foodservice strategy can differentiate one senior living community from the other. We’ll be on the lookout for more of these trends as the aging demographic increases and becomes choosier. If you operate a retirement or senior living community and would like to learn how you can improve your foodservice operations or restaurant menus, please contact Synergy.

Dental, medical, paid time off, 401K…these are the usual benefits you might see listed on a job ad. However, as more and more companies compete for top talent, extra incentives are increasing. Many employers are now offering their staff additional perks such as tuition reimbursement, flexible work schedules, on-site gyms, and free meals, to name a few.

Corporate perks are not only a way to attract good candidates, but it can define your company culture—its values and what it stands for. Many companies want to create a nurturing work environment that balances work and life while promoting positivity and productivity. One specific element that employers like to incorporate into their company culture is health and wellness.

Don’t just take our word for it—studies have shown a correlation between employee wellness and productivity. Research suggests that employers save on average $3.48 in reduced health care costs and $5.82 in lower absenteeism costs for every dollar spent on employee wellness. A study of nearly 20,000 surveyed participants revealed that “…employees who rarely eat fruits, vegetables and other low-fat foods at work were 93 percent more likely to have a higher loss in productivity. Additionally, those who did not believe their workplace environment would support them in becoming physically and emotionally healthier were more likely to have a drop in productivity levels.”

There are various ways in which companies incorporate healthy eating at their offices. Some employers may simply stock the office kitchen with healthier food options like fruits and vegetables. Others may go as far as implementing a full-fledged cafeteria with chef-manned stations serving an array of healthy dining options. Some new trends we’ve seen include automated specialty food kiosks like Leanbox and Smartbox that offer fresh meals, fruit, and water on-demand. Let’s say your company doesn’t have the space for a kitchen or even a vending machine. “Virtual cafeterias” are another benefit you can offer workers. EAT Club is a service that allows employees to choose their favorite lunch from a curated menu developed by award-winning chefs. After choosing, the meals are delivered to the office all at once.

Whichever route you choose for meal perks, it’s important to remember to include a variety of healthy choices, options for those with allergies and dietary restrictions (I.e., gluten-free and non-dairy), as well as vegan and vegetarian choices. If you’re unsure where to begin, please contact Synergy so we can assess the best and most efficient option for your organization.

Over the last few years, the restaurant industry has experienced a broad range of significant changes that have made it very difficult for so many mature brands to achieve a level of meaningful profitability.

• The restaurant landscape has become very competitive and over-saturated.
• Many mature brands fail to innovate and have become fatigued.
• Once-loyal guests have gravitated to more innovative brands that meet their dining needs and fit their lifestyle.

In addition, rents continue to soar, staffing continues to be a real challenge, and continued pressure from minimum wage increases and numerous delivery options have made it extremely difficult to achieve a reasonable ROI or operating profit. Finally, many mature brands have lost or watered down their company culture, which is impacting their morale and the ability to attract best-in-class talent.

Many of the guests that frequented your restaurant 10 to 20 years ago have new dining needs, and their food and beverage expectations have evolved to demand a more contemporary experience. If your restaurant décor hasn’t been refreshed in over ten years, there is a good possibility the restaurant is looking a bit outdated. This could be having an impact on your guest frequency and top-line revenue.

While updating your décor is important, the bigger issue is your menu and your innovation engine. Are your food and beverage creativity and plate presentations keeping up with the changing dining trends? The reality is if your guests are not taking pictures of your food for their Instagram feeds or talking about your food and beverage on social media, that’s a problem.

If you agree with my basic assumptions, then you need an innovation strategy to pivot so you can refresh your food and beverage while updating some of your key décor needs. When it comes to menu innovation, the Synergy Team can truly help your drive frequency and top line sales with practical solutions that deliver results based on your budget. Give us a call; it will be one of the best decisions you make for the sustainability of your restaurant brand.

Do you feel like you’re constantly on the look-out for new hires at your restaurant? You’re not alone. It’s been reported that the restaurant and accommodations industry had as 74.9 percent turnover rate in 2018. This is nothing new for the hospitality industry, particularly since many restaurants, for example, hire teenagers who usually see the jobs as something short-term. Further, seasonal hiring is very common in the industry as well, lending to such low job retention rates. According to the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, the average cost of employee turnover is $5,864 per person.

So let’s cut to the chase. We know it’s costly to constantly be replacing workers.

So what are ways you can reduce employee turnover?

Low Pay: This is probably one of the top reasons restaurant workers leave–they simply aren’t making enough. This is particularly the case in states where tipped workers do not have to receive a standard minimum wage per the Fair Labor Standards Act. At this point, we can see how stress can mount for workers whose main pay actually comes from tips. So what can be done here? It’s worth taking a look at what other restaurants in your area are paying their workers to gauge how much you may need to raise your pay. Some businesses even forgo tipping altogether in lieu of higher base pay.

Poor Management: Have you noticed workers reluctant to follow restaurant protocol? Have you witnessed, or even been in, arguments with other staff? This is a clear sign of poor management. Are your physical work conditions sub-par? All of this can certainly lead to employee dissatisfaction. A great way to uncover problem areas is to conduct exit interviews or get into the habit of getting staff together for regular meetings where all feedback is welcome.

Uninspiring Workplace Culture: Do your staff members wake up looking forward to coming into work? You might find this to be a little laughable but a place with good workplace culture (and management) can mean all the difference, and can indeed be a place one feels excited being at. It starts from the top. As mentioned above, poor management needs to be fixed. But above that, examine what exactly is it that you sets your restaurant apart from the rest? Do you offer any employee perks? At Starbucks, employees are actually called “partners” and are entitled to full-tuition coverage to Arizona State University, medical benefits (for those working over 20 hours a week), 30 percent off food and coffee, and more.

Now that doesn’t mean that must to implement all these ideas–we know budgets vary widely. There are other economical ways you can incentivize employees. Recognition is key for any worker in any industry. Throw in the cherry on top to that kudos by awarding great employees fun prizes (movie tickets, amusement park passes, gift cards etc). Here are more great ideas on employee recognition via Toast.

For more information and tips on how to reduce employee turnover, check out these articles from Gallup and QSR Magazine .

 

A tailored and thorough recruiting process leads to top talent acquisition

Will all of the restaurants out there waging the war for talent, how do you attract top-shelf management and culinary talent to a tiny market? Sell the lifestyle, not just a list of job duties.

This was the strategy developed to hire a General Manager and Executive Chef for Buffalo Block, a polished casual steakhouse concept Synergy helped develop in Billings, Montana. “We started by getting crystal-clear on what the client wanted in a GM and Chef,” explained Rita Imerson, Synergy’s Operations and Training Consultant. “Most important to the client was creating a restaurant culture that was positive and had a family feel. He knew that the GM and Chef would have a huge impact on the culture, so it was important to find candidates that shared those same values.” Successful candidates also needed to be largely self-sufficient. According to Rita, “the chef and GM had to be self-starters since the owner was planning to be strictly hands-off when it came to day-to-day operations. They also needed experience in new-store openings.”

 

When it came to writing the job descriptions, Rita knew that a standard approach would not work in this unique recruiting situation. “The first few lines of each job description were crafted to describe why this was such a great opportunity for the candidate who best reflected the client’s mission and goals,” said Rita. “The owner wants to build not just the best steakhouse, but the best restaurant in Montana. They were looking for candidates who wanted to work for a family-owned company and were ready to tackle a big challenge.”

Another challenge was drawing quality talent to a small Montana town. Here again, the strategy revolved around selling a specific lifestyle. “Key to recruiting success was having a client who understood that they were making an investment in the right kind of talent, according to Rita. “We carefully studied the local market to survey comparable wages and benefits and made sure to offer more than the local standard.”

Attracting Qualified Candidates

To attract qualified candidates, Rita reached out through her network as well as posted the job descriptions on standard job web sites. Rita explained, “Oftentimes your best candidate is already employed, so we scoured LinkedIn for job seekers.” Once the final candidates were selected, they underwent three interviews before being introduced to the client.

The final test for the chef was to come in a cook a dish they felt fit the brand and personality of the restaurant. General manager candidates were individually interviewed and walked the restaurant construction site with the owner and Synergy as a group for an open-ended interview. The questions they asked about the restaurant and future operations helped determine the best candidate for the position.

Though this recruiting process required a great deal of time and attention, the efforts paid off with the owner hiring two exceptional candidates who are working hard to help open the restaurant this fall. “The client knew that the people filling these positions will have a huge impact on the restaurant operations and culture. This was much more than a recruiting process — it was an investment in the restaurant’s future success.”

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received from a restaurant manager or boss?

“When it comes to managing people, always be sure you’ve done your best to provide all the knowledge, tools and opportunity for the team to do their job.  If you can’t definitively say that you have, then the blame for sub-par performance lies with you.”

• Danny Bendas, Managing Partner
  

“A little bit of recognition goes a long way- be keenly aware of the overachievers. Never make a decision when you are angry.”

• Dean Small, Founding Partner

“Be a servant manager by adjusting your management style to suit the person and the situation.”

• Anne Haerle, Concept Development & Culinary

“Fail fast and pivot often.”

• Natasha Reta, Culinary

Or if you’ve been a boss in the past, what’s the best advice you’ve given to a restaurant employee?

“Learn! Learn! Learn!  The more you learn, the brighter your career path, the more valuable you become and the higher you can climb the ladder.”

• Danny Bendas, Managing Partner
  

It’s peak time at your restaurant. Your employees look frazzled and tired. Waiting guests appear annoyed with their arms crossed while glancing at their phones. The line doesn’t seem to let up, and the condiments counter looks like its been hit by a tornado. Your third party delivery drivers are queuing with the rest of your customers.

Does this look like an average rush hour for you? Perhaps it’s mid-day or after work– maybe it’s both times of the day. Either way, you know things can run better. But where do you start? What improvements will truly help to make a difference?

Firstly, pat yourself on the back, you recognize there is a problem, so that’s step one. Next, it’s time for a real, detailed assessment done during your problem hours. After careful observation, try to answer the following questions:

1.    Is there clear communication between the front and back of the house? (Do you hear people repeating orders often? Are tickets clear and easy to read?)

2.    Are your employees adhering to standard operating procedures, or are they taking shortcuts?

3.    Do you have a designated area (clearly visible) for third party delivery couriers and pick up orders?

4.    Are your hosts giving guests accurate wait times?

5.    Are tickets piling up in the kitchen?

6.    Do you often hear complaints from patrons? Are they usually centered around the same thing (i.e., wrong order, long wait times, quality)? Investigate your restaurant’s online reviews on Google and Yelp to help shed some light.

Let’s take a peek in the kitchen. If you notice a backup on tickets, you may be understaffed. Before jumping the gun and hiring a new chef, take note of whether your cooks are doing things efficiently (listen to customer’s feedback to get an idea of where problems are stemming). They may be taking unnecessary steps that eat up time or lack proper training in kitchen efficiency. This highlights why procedures and on-going employee training should be a high priority.

Your front-of-house employees’ actions require just as much examination. Are your hosts giving honest and accurate wait times? Do they know how to operate your Point of Sale system with ease? (And if you’re not using one, it’s probably time to make that investment). Are they communicating with the kitchen as efficiently as possible? Just as with the chefs in the back, these staff members should be well-trained on how to handle customers as well as the technology your restaurant utilizes.

You’ll notice a recurring theme here. Your staff will only perform as well as they’ve been trained to utilize the tools you have given them.  Their inefficient performance can be a reflection of restaurant management or operational inefficiencies.

A few bonus tips: entertain your guests and give them a comfortable area to wait. Consider TVs, music, and free Wi-Fi. To keep lines orderly, ensure you have a designated and clearly labeled “pick-up only” section.