The Importance of A Floor Manager

See and Be Seen: Why Managers and Owners Need to Be Highly Visible to Their Guests

by Patricia Luebke

If you read a job description for a restaurant manager, you appreciate the diversity of skills and flexible temperament required to be successful. A good restaurant manager has the insight of a psychologist, the discretion of a diplomat, the memory of an elephant, the strategies of a winning coach, the endurance of a marathon runner and the optimism of Pollyanna. There are a thousand details that have to be remembered and acted on, while a gaggle of servers and guests all tug on your sleeve needing attention and answers.

You may be the owner and also the manager or you may hire a manager. Either way, the manager wears many hats depending on your particular concept and location. Peter Parles is both owner and manager of the Straw Hat Restaurant in Anguilla, British West Indies. He has a distinctive view of his job description.

“I look at myself as a type of ‘translator’ in that I live here and appreciate the culture of Anguilla and the Caribbean in general but, as an American, I have a real understanding of what my guests are looking for, and I can bring the two together,” Parles says. “I am part tour guide, part host, part waiter and part problem solver.”

. . . I am part tour guide, part host, part waiter and part problem solver. -- Peter Parles, Straw Hat Restaurant

Like Parles, most restaurant managers are involved in ordering and maintaining inventories, hiring and recruiting staff — then training them, overseeing daily operations, record keeping, budgets, health and safety issues, food quality issues and the list goes on. In fact, Parles has a duty unique to his nonurban environment. “A small island doesn’t leave a lot of choice in the way of vendors and I need to get to the fishermen before they sell all their fish,” he says.

Where other employees concern themselves with just one aspect of the restaurant’s operations, the manager has to be involved in all aspects — front of house, back of house — and then make sure those two groups play nicely together. Others may leave for the day when the shift is over or their work is complete, but the manager gets to be the last one out — turning off the lights and locking up.

Four thousand miles from Anguilla, the manager’s role doesn’t change. Laile Fairbairn of Snow City Café in Anchorage, Alaska, says, “The staff tends to focus on the one thing in front of them, where a manager might be looking around at the bigger picture.” Put another way, “A good manager is detail-oriented, yet understands the larger view,” Fairbairn says.

If you look at a detailed list of the duties of a restaurant manager, though, it doesn’t take much to see that the restaurant manager is the person most directly responsible for the guests’ total experience. In fact, if the manager’s role were condensed to its shortest description, it would be this: The manager sets and maintains the customer service standards for the restaurant. This is accomplished both actively and passively. The manager may be the person who crafts the procedures for how the phone is answered, how guests are greeted or how each table is initially approached and handled. That’s the active part.

Of course, the manager is also doing his job just by, well, just by doing his job. Staff eyes are on the manager to see if he walks the walk as well. A manager stopping to pick up a straw wrapper on the floor makes a more powerful impression on those he manages than pages in an employee manual about policing the floor of the restaurant during your shift. And a manager who is known to routinely pick up straw wrappers, carry a tray, or bus a table during rush times does more to instill a feeling of teamwork than a wall full of motivational posters and a month’s worth of pep talks.

Keeping Up Appearances

A manager affects the guests’ total experience in many ways. For example, most managers are responsible for monitoring staff appearance, which makes a strong impression on customers and how they perceive your operation. When it comes to staff appearance, smart managers set the bar high and keep it there. This is one of those customer service basics that restaurants can slowly drift from. When a customer sees an unshaven male employee, he doesn’t wonder if he’s unshaven because he has “sensitive skin.” When the customer sees facial piercings, she doesn’t marvel at those “crazy young people.” Frankly, they probably don’t think about it much at all.

But each element adds up to an impression about the overall restaurant and the appearance of employees is an element of that. Of course, your place may be the type where tattoos and facial piercings complement your concept, but if they don’t — if you have a traditional or family-oriented clientele — you and your manager will want to keep your eyes on staff appearance, every day.

And it pays to keep your bar high. The manager must be willing to send staff home when they don’t meet the standards. This is a tough job. Ask the senior management of huge retailer Costco that recently won a protracted lawsuit with one employee who claimed that her facial piercing was part of her religion as a member of the Church of Body Modification. No, this is not a joke.

After four years, the court decided in Costco’s favor when it ruled, “It is axiomatic that, for better or for worse, employees reflect on employers. This is particularly true of employees who regularly interact with customers.

…Even if [employee] did not regularly receive any complaints about her appearance, her facial jewelry influenced Costco’s public image and, in Costco’s calculation, detracted from its professionalism. …

Costco has made a determination that facial piercings, aside from earrings, detract from the ‘neat, clean, and professional image’ that it aims to cultivate. Such a business determination is within its discretion.”

Winning restaurants have a strategy in place to ensure that every customer is greeted. No matter how good, friendly and efficient your servers, they will play catch-up when it comes to customer service if your guests enter your restaurant and no one notices. Does anyone care that new guests have arrived? Whether it’s just a manager or a host/hostess with a manager as backup, every guest who comes through the door should be greeted and welcomed. The busier the restaurant, the more important it is to execute this well.

Singing the Sweetest Sound

And when it comes to being greeted, there’s no better way to do it than by using the customer’s name. Way back in 1937, Dale Carnegie wrote about using people’s names in his “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” This is not some dusty old-fashioned book. In fact, this classic remains — nearly 70 years later — among Amazon’s Top 100-selling books and could be a people skills training manual for restaurant managers.

Carnegie wrote, “Remember that a man’s name is, to him, the sweetest and most important sound” and added, “The average man is more interested in his own name than he is in all the other names on earth put together. Remember that name and call it easily, and you have paid him a subtle and very effective compliment.”

That’s a concept Lori Lenzi, a manager at The Sound of Philadelphia in The Quarter (in the Tropicana Casino and Resort) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, knows well. “Everyone likes to feel like they’re VIPs,” Lenzi says.

. . . Remember that a man’s name is, to him, the sweetest and most important sound. -- Dale Carnegie

Again, greeting each customer by name is not always possible. You’ve got dozens of names to remember — your customers have just yours. Parles is challenged to remember customers’ names — not just week to week, but year to year as his customers return to Anguilla for vacation. “I have the advantage of knowing that Mr. Smith is coming in January, and I can look back at my old reservation books to remember where they sat, where they stay and I can check notes to see if I have any additional information about them,” he says.

But Parles goes beyond just remembering the names. Since customers typically make reservations via e-mail, the e-mails give him clues about the guest to remind him who they are. “I make notes in the reservation book and try to keep that ‘invisible.’ Simple things like tables are easy — food and wine get to be a little more difficult. The unusual things such as dietary restrictions tend to be the easiest to remember because there are so few of them.” Then he adds, “Of course, the easiest people to remember are the ones who spend a lot of money.”

Lenzi knows her regulars. She greets them, she hugs them, and she calls them by name. “We have a client every Saturday night in booth 13. They love their Moet and shrimp,” she says.

But if you or your manager can’t use each customer’s name and don’t know anything about their likes and dislikes, you can take a moment to make the rounds in the dining room to gauge the satisfaction level of customers. Customers like the reassurance of a manager who cares how their meal is faring and are flattered to be asked. In fact, that’s a rule at The Sound of Philadelphia. “Our standard is every manager has to touch every table, and every table is touched in some way, somehow so we do something special for every table,” Lenzi says. Something special includes 10 cherries in each Shirley Temple or writing a message on the dessert plate. “That’s the difference between good service and mediocre service,” she says.

Wendy Kovarik agrees. She and her husband own The Den Too Pub & Eatery in North Royalton, Ohio. She says that knowing customers names is very important, and acknowledging them is better even if it’s a quick hello. “Customers love it,” Kovarik says. “It makes them feel special and shows you care. Taking a couple of minutes to work your dining room or bar to stop and ask, ‘How is everything?’ is the key to making your business a success. It creates quite a terrific atmosphere that everyone will enjoy.”

Providing Reassurance

And if it’s too busy to make the rounds, just the sight of the manager tells customers that there is an appeals court available to them — even if nothing is going wrong. Customers like to know there’s a captain on this ship and someone who is in charge should they need it. Having a manager visible reassures customers just like seeing a restroom sign reassures them. They may not need either one, but it’s good to know they are there just in case.

And, if there is a problem, a manager can intercede on behalf of the guest. Your servers should feel comfortable calling the manager in if a problem arises. “Managers probably feel a little more empowered to do whatever it takes to make the customer happy — move guests to another table, refire the food, comp the meal, etc.,” Fairbairn says. But there’s another good reason for a server to bring a manager in early to resolve a sticky situation. “Managers are also a little more detached if a situation has gotten heated between the customer and the server, so they can intervene and make the customer feel important and smooth things over,” Fairbairn says.

When it comes to problem solving, Parles points out another good reason to be front and center in the dining room: “I can intercede when there’s a problem, but being so visible, I usually know about the problem before the guest does.”

If you’re the owner, but have hired a manager, Kovarik stresses the importance of the owner’s presence. “I always say customers do not respect an absentee owner. Customers do not like to give their money to an arrogant person sitting home collecting money. You must be on the front line with the customers earning their respect,” Kovarik says.

Remembering That It’s All About the Customer

With so many duties ranging from staff schedules to bank deposits, it’s easy to lose sight of a manager’s crucial role with customers. In short, a strong manager leads the floor. How can your manager coach the staff if time isn’t spent in the dining room? A manager poring over spreadsheets and inventories in the back office during peak service hours isn’t doing his job. Working the floor allows a manager to watch staff execute their basics. The manager is then in a position to praise strong performance and develop areas that need improvement.

At Antonio’s Cucina Italiana in Klamath Falls, Oregon, owner Chip Massie says, “Our managers and owners engage in direct contact with guests by serving food and drinks, busing tables, and answering the phone at peak times. Our managers lead by example because they must. They train it, they live it, and they all started at the bottom and worked their way up.”

Profitable operators know they’re in business for one reason: the customer. They know exactly who they are, what they do, and what they want. They know that their No. 1 priority is to serve the customer and maximize every opportunity to sell them.

It sounds like a no-brainer, but the fact is some managers seem to love to do everything but focus on the customer. Go into a variety of restaurants, and the chances are good that the manager will be doing something other than focusing on the customer. If you like to leave lists for your managers, always put “SERVE THE CUSTOMER” on the first line. There’s no reason to replenish inventories or set schedules without the customer.

Massie has developed some strategies to keep managers on the floor, rather than in a back office. “One small thing we did was to install the server for our POS computer system in the front host station,” Massie says. “This means the managers must be on the main floor while getting reports, updates, or making changes to the system.” Massie says he also tries to schedule administrative time for owners and managers outside peak service times, such as between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., or first thing in the morning. “It makes for some long days, but we delegate as much of the basic stuff as we can to our staff,” he says.

Massie shares another successful strategy. “We removed all the games from the office computers, and limited access to the Internet with stricter password use. This has always compelled our managers to stay on the floor and provide the best guest service possible,” Massie says.

A strong manager models behavior and provides feedback. Staff need to be acknowledged when they have handled a situation well with a customer. A manager might say, “You did a great job with the customer; I really liked when you [insert specific behavior] and I think you can [insert specific behavior] this even better.” The manager follows up with, “Now watch me [insert specific behavior] with this customer walking in.”

To maintain standards, expectations of how the customer should be engaged and treated must be articulated, documented, trained, measured, and then required by management. Most operators do not do a good job of articulating and documenting what is expected. Let’s take greeting as an example. Have you first set an expectation? Is the customer to be greeted in 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or whatever? What is an appropriate greeting? Have you made sure each employee knows how you want the restaurant phone answered?

Most important, have you told the employee why this is important to the customer experience and is a key ingredient of the restaurant’s (and employee’s) success? When expectations and routines have become second nature to your staff, the standards of the restaurant never change, whether the manager is on duty or not.

Leading by Example

Last but not least, the best managers know that being a leader isn’t about a title; it’s about leading by example. It’s about having the drive and passion to be the best at engaging the customer, the best at making sales, and the best at delighting the customer. It’s about being the best so others can learn from you, not about pride and ego. It’s about being as good a student as you are a teacher.

It is hard work and hard to do well. But as Lenzi says, “The biggest thing is to make customers feel they are important and special and we’re happy they’re here. You have to love this business or you shouldn’t be in it.”