Challenges of Working in the Restaurant Business

One of the greatest difficulties that the Restaurant business faces is drawing in and holding the correct ability. The representative steady loss rate is famously high around here. In this article, we will investigate what is it precisely that makes the business so difficult to work in and give the unsung heroes of the eatery business, the eatery staff, their due consideration.

While much is discussed about surviving the business as far as making back the initial investment and productivity, the real battles of the doing the groundwork is frequently missed. Here we have recorded the best difficulties that the eatery staff experiences each day.

Here are three of the biggest challenges facing those of you in the restaurant and food service industries today

Odd Working Hours

Working in the hospitality and food service industry can be the most satisfying. What's more, when you have an authentic love for sustenance and a plan to make individuals glad, working in an eatery can be exceptionally satisfying. Notwithstanding, even the best of your staff will have one regular objection that outperforms everything else: wrong working hours.

Eateries are scandalous for their famously long working hours. In any case, as the majority of the general population working in the eateries will let you know, it isn't the long working hours that are troublesome, its the wrong working hours. A run of the mill eatery begins its activities later in the day, post lunch, and remains open till late in the night. This gives the eatery staff a brief period to go through with their family. Also, the weekends and the holidays are the busiest days of the week; taking off on these days is next to impossible.

Dealing with Bad Customers

In the hospitality business, you encounter customers of all types. While not all customers throw a tantrum and demand free food, there are always a few customers who can be very difficult, to say the least. From complaining about the food to being a nuisance, customers can often be a pain to handle. Here are some handy tips for dealing with difficult customers.

Minimum Wage

There is a lot of unskilled labour involved in the restaurant business, which results in low wages. Even for the jobs that require skill and experience, the average salary for the restaurant staff remains quite low. 

Poor Working Conditions

No matter how much we decorate and design the interiors of our restaurants, the sad truth remains that the working conditions of the restaurant staff are still abysmal in most of the restaurants. There are few restaurants that actually have a designated area for the employees to take a break or which provide wholesome meals.

Unorganised Sector

According to the NRAI food services report, the unorganised market is expected to fall to INR 2,93,950 crore (59% of the total market share)  by 2021 from INR 2,07,635 crore (67%) from 2016. Although this is a progressive indicator, the restaurant sector for most parts still comes under the unorganised sector and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. There are usually no HR policies or a clear hierarchy structure. This lack of staff management policies and processes leads to dissatisfaction among the restaurant staff.

Keeping Your Restaurant Staff Happy

It doesn’t take much to keep your restaurant’s lifeline happy. A good pay as per the industry standards and good treatment is enough. However, to inculcate a feeling of belongingness in your restaurant staff you’d have to go the extra mile.

Once your restaurant staff feels that they belong to your restaurant, the services provided by them will automatically be better. You as a restaurant owner must also understand, that everyone, might not be at their optimum best, from day one. Hence, give them time to come out of their shell. Training them right, and investing your time and resources in them is going to make them feel enabled and empowered. Even then if you see that some of your restaurant staff is not performing well, you can personally talk to them, ask your manager to make them go through the training process once more.

Your main aim should be to identify the issues that reduce the productivity of your staff and then taking steps to rectify the problem.

Appreciating your staff is just as important. Arrange regular meetings with an agenda to not just review their performance, but to also appreciate and incentivise them. Also, be open to feedback and suggestions from the staff as well. Taking their reviews and giving them due consideration will make your restaurant staff feel valued. Once you can establish the fact that they have played a role in the success of the restaurant, they will with all their energy and strength work further to bolster your efforts.