5 Dining Room Problems and How to Fix Them
There are all sorts of problems that you can encounter in the dining room of a restaurant. When you’re the owner or manager, it’s important to focus on flow. This ensures you have the best possible dining room in order to welcome customers into a dining atmosphere they will enjoy. There are several problems and knowing about these will allow you to plan ahead.
No Hostess Stand
It can be a problem when you don’t have a hostess stand because people come in and don’t know where to go. Are people supposed to seat themselves or do you have a host that will take people to a particular table? The stand can be a great way to keep order in the restaurant and make sure you have the storage necessary for menus and other supplies.
Lack of Storage
There may be a considerable lack of storage throughout the dining room as well as in the server side stations. You may need storage for napkins, straws, and other things that need to go out to the tables. Wood shelves can be added throughout the dining room so your servers can walk by, grab what they need, and get to the table. It can save time and ensure that speed of service is being handled in a timely way.
Wobbly Tables
Wobbly tables happen all the time, especially with metal tables. That’s because there are small footers on the table that disappear over time. Wooden tables are often more stable and when you have them made from quality wood, the wobbles rarely happen. You can make a one-time investment on wood tables and then not have to worry about replacing them for a long, long time.
Not Enough Chairs
One of the biggest problems you can have in a dining room is to be short on chairs. You need a place for everyone to sit, and this includes at the front of the restaurant when you’re on a wait. The more comfortable you make people, the easier it will be to keep people returning to your restaurant. Order as many chairs as you can to stay up to the level that the fire department has allowed for maximum occupancy and maybe a few extras in case something should happen to one or two.
Tables that Don’t Push Together Well
There is a reason why you see more square tables in restaurants than round ones. The square and rectangular tables will push together so you can create larger tables for larger parties. This will allow you to accommodate the larger groups that walk into your restaurant. There may be instances when you want to close to the general public and take banquets and special events – and tables need to push together well.