How to Reduce Mistakes in Restaurants: The Cause Lies in the System, Not the People

When working in a restaurant, everyone experiences mistakes.

No matter how much experience you gain, you cannot completely eliminate mistakes.
So, what can be done to reduce them?

To put it simply,

Learn from mistakes and create an environment where they are less likely to occur.

It sounds obvious, but that is what it comes down to.

However, it feels like many restaurants in the world
for some reason, do not turn this into a system.

Do they not know how to create a system?
Or do they not know the cause?

There are two types of mistakes

The types of mistakes are:
Are they mistakes caused by the situation,
or are they mistakes caused by the task?

A situation is an event that happens on the spot.
Are they mistakes that were unavoidable due to various circumstances?

Or was it a mistake made during the task?
Mistakes during tasks are what we call 'lack of experience'.

If experience is high, task-related mistakes can be prevented with a high degree of probability.
This is because individuals learn from their mistakes.

It is obvious, but let's break it down a little
and explain it in an easy-to-understand way.

What is the cause of mistakes?

• Overcapacity

• Carelessness

• Unclear accountability

I think there are others, but I feel that most mistakes are caused by these three things.

You are too busy to keep up.
You are idle and your focus is slipping.
You pretend not to notice, thinking it is not your responsibility.
Or, you know what to do but do not take action.

All of these are things that can be improved.

When you are over capacity

First, as a staff member, I will share how to handle situations when you have exceeded your capacity.

I used to work as a waiter in a section of a restaurant that handled 13 tables.
It was the star section of the restaurant, where the most skilled people were assigned.

However, when the restaurant was full during lunch or dinner, there were times when 13 tables
were simply impossible to manage alone, no matter what I did.
(Though the timing of the receptionist's seating was also a factor.)

And, inevitably, that is when mistakes are most likely to happen.
Every time it happened, I would swallow my frustration, thinking, 'I got beaten today.'

However, as I got used to it, grasped the tricks, and started to gain confidence,
I realized something when I found myself in that same situation of being short-handed again.

The reason you make mistakes when you are busy is generally because you arepanicking.

And I realized that the panic was caused by the obsession
that I was 'making the customers wait.'

At that time, I had the audacity to pride myself on the fact that
'no one could handle this 13-table section better than I could'
(I was convinced of it),

so I thought, 'If I can't handle it, no one else can either.'

I decided to stop worrying about it.

I didn't slack off at all.
I just changed my mindset.

Then, strangely enough, the mistakes stopped.
It was an event that made me realize how important the effect of mental composure is.

Preventing staff from exceeding their capacity

Thanks to that, it was a good experience to learn about the limits of human capacity
and how to deal with them.

Above all, I became able to see when staff members were exceeding their capacity.
I also learned what kind of words to say when a subordinate is in that state,
and what kind of follow-up is desirable.

Because through experience, I know what I would be happy to have done for me,
and what must be done by the waiter themselves.

It happened at a certain restaurant.

I entrusted the section with the most tables to one of the most capable student part-time staff members.

I was at the dish-up area, where I could grasp the overall situation, and because I knew what help the staff in that section needed and what was required,
I would sometimes take the initiative to do things they hadn't noticed,
and at other times I would call out,
"Let me know if there's anything you want me to do."

That action, that one word, prevents staff from becoming overwhelmed.

Management needs the ability to identify "holes" in operations and a lack of individual skills.

Conversely, I can also tell when a staff member is
not yet working efficiently
or
probably still has some capacity to spare.

Complacency and the Location of Responsibility

Isn't it a common occurrence in the service industry that there are more trivial mistakes when things are slow?

The primary cause of this stems from "complacency."

This is entirely the responsibility of the manager.

It's not about tightening the reins, but doesn't someone always end up getting absorbed in chatting when they have free time?
They ignore the customers and talk while laughing.

I'm not saying they shouldn't talk.
In the case of student part-timers, I fully understand that workplace connections are important.
I think communication is important, but they can do it while still keeping an eye on the customers, right?

And often at such times, doesn't the manager disappear to go smoke without permission?

The moment the manager is gone, the workplace slackens.
It is all the manager's responsibility.

Devising Behavioral Guidelines

Effective for preventing complacency are "behavioral guidelines."

In the behavioral guidelines of a company I worked for in the past, there was a sentence that read,
Never turn your back on a customer.

It's fine if you talk while standing side-by-side facing the customer.
The key is that you were able to explain it that way.

Carelessness appears in many places, but
if the manager is solid, mistakes will decrease.

Every staff member is watching the manager's back.
You need to be aware of this.

By setting this phrase,
it becomes easier for them to understand
how you want them to work on the floor.

Do not leave the location of responsibility ambiguous

Also, please be careful about ambiguous responsibility.

Rarely, when I help out at restaurants,
I am stunned to find shops that haven't defined sections.

Not having your own area of responsibility means you don't take responsibility,
so naturally, your response to customers will also be ambiguous.

When, who, what, where, how, and why should it be done?
Do not leave these things ambiguous.

Thinking 'they probably know,' 'someone will do it,'
which is wishful thinking,
or simply not noticing that part,

or thinking 'it's a hassle to say it every time,'
'I don't want to be hated for being nagging'...
there are also people who cannot say it due to the desire not to be hated or to be liked,
or due to interpersonal relationship concerns.

However, by clarifying the location of responsibility,
mistakes caused by falling between the cracks will decrease.
Let's clearly define the location of responsibility.

Summary | Instead of blaming mistakes, review the system

Mistakes will not reach zero.
As long as people are working, they will always happen.

That is why what is important is not to blame the person who made the mistake,
but to think about why it happened.

• Was it overcapacity?

• Were they being careless?

• Was the location of responsibility ambiguous?

Identify the cause, improve it, and turn it into a system.

By repeating this process, the workplace will gradually become stronger.

And,

It is not about eliminating mistakes, but about creating an environment where mistakes are less likely to occur.

I believe that is the true job of a manager.