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Importance of Hiring A Manager

Wanted: Restaurant Manager (Episode 6 FINAL)

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Wanted: Restaurant Manager (Episode 3)

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Seeking Restaurant Manager (Episode 4)

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We Met At The Center

Mojito Loco

It is Valentines Day and I am sitting alone in Mojito Loco. For a small place in a very out of the area, they are busy with about 16 people ... most of whom are couples. The place has not been adequately staffed. There is one guy running around looking like a chicken with his head cut off and a short dark haired latina woman who looks like Imelda Marcos who is running in and out of the kitchen. They are doing the best they can but it does come across as quite amusing.
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Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza

Farid and George

New Orleans for Xmas

Tomorrow, Christmas, is also my birthday and as a gift to myself I decided to travel to New Orleans. I just arrived and am very very excited about being here! Happy birthday to me!!
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Keep Your Employees Focused this Holiday Season

Keep Your Employees Focused this Holiday Season

by Patricia Schaefer

'Tis the season for all good employees to become distracted.

Stress. Gift shopping and giving. Sending holiday cards. Parties and holiday lunches. Decorating. Gift wrapping. Family obligations and gatherings. How can you keep your employees focused on their work-at-hand without them having visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads? Just what's an employer to do?

Set an example
Leadership is crucial to maintaining productivity during the holiday season. If your attitude and goals are lax during this time -- coming in excessively late and producing less than usual -- chances are your employees will take your lead and slack off as well. Stay focused on your end-of-year goals and chances are your employees will do the same.

Reinforce your mission statement
This might be a good time to remind employees of your company's fundamental purpose, and your short and long-term goals. Set some new goals, and let your inspired excitement and drive be contagious.

Don't be a “scrooge"
If you find yourself saying “Bah Humbug" to anything celebratory, think again. Perk up morale and productivity by giving your workers a holiday treat to look forward to or enjoy; i.e., a celebratory luncheon, festive decorations, or a holiday cookie or Secret Santa exchange. Consider giving each employee a company holiday gift, although this practice may be too costly for larger businesses. If this time of year is your busiest, keep employees' spirits high with small tokens of appreciation like bringing in bagels and coffee, or simply expressing your heartfelt thanks for a job well done.

If possible, try not to demand excessive overtime or weekend hours. When additional work time is necessary due to seasonal demands, consider using temporary help to augment your regular work force. If feasible, allow some flexibility in work-time shifts so employees can get those critical holiday errands accomplished. Contemplate scheduling company holiday celebrations and parties during normal business hours so you don't take away from workers' personal time.

Don't let history repeat itself
Did productivity suffer last holiday season? Identify what went wrong and come up with viable solutions, seeking input from workers whenever possible. If work time and employee relations suffered because certain employees took overly-long lunch breaks, set down strict guidelines about lunch-time limits for all. If company orders were up last holiday season but you didn't have enough customer service help to keep up in a timely fashion, plan on employing more people or temporarily shifting work responsibilities in order to handle the load.

Reflect on and share accomplishments
Take the time to think about all the great things you, your business and employees have accomplished during the year. Focus on the positive contributions and achievements, and be sure to share these with your staff, being certain to thank each and all for whatever part they played. Being appreciated lifts the spirits and goes a long way to staying motivated during stressful and harried times.

Employing some or all of these methods should help maintain your employee productivity level during the holiday season. But do keep in mind that realistically you may experience some decrease in worker output. If this should happen, eat one of those holiday cookies, take a sip of some company eggnog, smile and exclaim, “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Men."

Customer Raves - bogota bistro

"Dear Bogota"

I just wanted to write a quick letter to let you know that our party had a fantastic time last night. From the minute that I came in I was warmly greeted by yourself and all of your staff -- from the hosts to the other servers who weren't even involved with our party...all were friendly and accomodating. Bridget provided excellent service ... there was never a moment when we had to ask for anything because she was consistently attentive and made sure that were were never lacking drinks, napkins, plates, etc.

The busboy (I am unsure of his name) was extraordinarily friendly with us and was constantly pre-bussing our tables and filling our water. I was extremely impressed with the teamwork and harmony of your entire staff and how well they worked with us and with each other.

Everyone who attended the party was satisfied with the service and that says quite a lot. We are all involved in the restaurant industry and we understand that hosting a party like ours can be stressful. Your staff, however, from the back to the front of the house demonstrated remarkable professionalism and treated us like VIPs. Myself and my coworkers will return to your restaurant in the future and I will definitely recommend Bogota Latin Bistro to other people as well.

Thanks again,
Valerie P."

Yelpers Love Bogota Bistro

Yelpers love Bogota Bistro! Yelpers have been busy reviewing Bogota Bistro and have rated us an average 3.9 stars out of 5! Moomtaz!

Halloween at Bogota 2007

and the winner of the 2007 Halloween Best Costume Contest is...

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