Ken Burgin

Restaurant Productivity

Employees

ChatGPT for training

How to Use ChatGPT to Create Training Material for Restaurant & Cafe Employees

June 6, 2023 No Comments

I love using ChatGPT to develop training activities and materials for restaurant and cafe employees. I’ve used it here to brainstorm ideas for training modules for waiters, managers, cooks, head chefs, and baristas. The prompt I used is at the beginning of each section, and notice how I’ve built on one training suggestion (for tea) in the Barista section at the end, asking for the idea to be expanded. This is using the Chat in

Read More »
Employment Page

How to Create a Powerful Employment Page on your Restaurant or Café Website

January 24, 2023 No Comments

With ever-increasing staff shortages, it’s time to use your own website as part of the recruitment drive. A good employment page will attract quality applicants and ‘sell’ them on the benefits you offer. Even a small business can make a big impact, especially as many of the large operators are doing very little in this area. On the internet, every website starts as equal! The employment page should talk about what you offer and why

Read More »
Improve Restaurant Management

Using the 80-20 Rule to Cut Costs and Improve Restaurant Management

August 28, 2022 No Comments

The 80/20 Rule is simple – it says that a relatively small number of causes (about 20%) is responsible for a great number of effects (roughly 80%). This is good news – if you find out what the 20% are and work on them, you can have a significant impact on sales improvement, cost reduction and improved restaurant management. This often means 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers (particular individuals, or

Read More »
Staff health and wellness

Staff Health and Wellness Means More Speed and Productivity

August 14, 2022 No Comments

At a recent management workshop, a restaurant owner asked in exasperation, “Just how much do we need to be ‘mother and father’ to our staff?” This followed a discussion about staff, healthy eating and the junk food that many of them choose to consume (like cola drinks loaded with sugar). So how much? The key is to be a modern parent – supportive, not nagging, open-minded, firm but flexible. Recognise that staff want a job

Read More »
Health & Wellness Guide

Health and Wellness Guide for Restaurant & Cafe Staff – Sample

August 14, 2022 No Comments

Our employees often lead high-stress lives: long hours, heat, tension and a lack of proper breaks or time to unwind. It’s the nature of hospitality, but we can’t ignore the negative effects on health and wellness if we are going to fix the problems of staff shortages and our failure to attract career-minded people. The broader issues of health and wellness also underpin concerns about mental health – the old saying ‘a healthy body means

Read More »
Restaurant Employee Welcome Pack

How to Create a Welcome Pack for New Restaurant or Cafe Employees

July 19, 2022 No Comments

What’s in your Welcome Pack for a new employee? These are easy to set up, and will have you standing well above your competitors – most of them just say: ‘hello, there’s your apron and locker, now get to work!’ A great way to make a positive impression right at the start. Present the pack in a ring-binder that can have documents easily added or taken out – better than in a folder that can

Read More »
Customer service problem

Using Restaurant Negatives to Create Positive Improvement

July 10, 2022 No Comments

A little negativity can sometimes be useful – tapping into the very human tendency to complain can yield a whole range of useful material when teaching customer service. A recent workshop I ran on ‘quality service’ was going nowhere fast: a group of strangers, a cold room and first topic in the morning. So I decided to pop the cork and ask each table to come up with their 10 pet hates when visiting a

Read More »
honest staff

Creating a Culture of Honesty in Foodservice

July 10, 2022 No Comments

The hardworking and committed staff you want are looking for a positive, honest and respectful workplace. Creating and maintaining that is a powerful way to attract and keep good people. It also flows through to the quality of service and care of customers. The elements of a positive culture include: A Code of Conduct – in writing and publicly available. Short points about your commitment to honesty and hard work, plus care and respect for

Read More »
Restaurant Systems

Hospo Reset’s Product of the Week

July 6, 2022 No Comments

Every week in the Hospo Reset Newsletter, we share a product or service that’s caught our eye – for kitchen & beverage management, staffing, facilities management, marketing and overall productivity. This is not an endorsement, please do your own assessment of suitability for your business. Here’s the list so far, and it’s updated every month. Food, Menus and Kitchen Management Restoke manages back of house functions like recipes, menus, ordering, work lists, staff training, plus

Read More »
Building Teamwork

Podcast 17: Building Teamwork in Restaurants and Cafes

May 22, 2022 No Comments

Wherever there are people working together, there will be team dynamics, negotiation and the sharing of tasks and responsibilities. A good leader guides this process to get the best from their people – and chef Glenn Flood has many years of experience making this work. It was great to talk with him about Building Teamwork in Restaurants and Cafes – in the kitchen and front of house, and improving relations between the two sections. In

Read More »

Recent Highlights: