Some of the problems that restaurant owners face include problems with equipment and tools, problems with employees and problems with customers.
- Problems with equipment and tools
Restaurants use a great deal of equipments, from ovens and dishwashers to cash registers and credit card readers. Each piece of equipment used by a restaurant is under a lot of pressure, as each will be used tens, even hundreds of times within the space of a few hours. As a result, it is unavoidable that equipment will break down - usually when you need it most, as that is when the equipment will be under the highest amount of pressure.
Lots of people are involved in making a restaurant work - chefs, waiters and waitresses, greeters and bar staff are all equally important. However, restaurant owners often find that their staff can cause the most problems. One common problem that restaurant owners encounter is that a member of staff calls in sick or is absent from work, and that it is too late to replace them.
This problem can be avoided by creating a "rota" - a timetable which states who is expected to work and when. Creating a rota two or three weeks in advance, and displaying it in an area which is accessible to all staff members will help to tackle this problem.
Eating in a restaurant with family or friends is, for most people, a luxury, and only occurs in times of prosperity. As a result, one common problem faced by restaurant owners is that not enough customers are eating at their restaurant, especially in times of financial hardship or economic recession. One way to encourage customers into a restaurant is to have a "set menu". This allows customers to eat certain meals off a menu for a lower price than usual.
