I'm gunna go to a tech school for restaraunt management. Is anybody else going for that is anybody else here a manager at a restaraunt? What is the work like?
Have you ever worked in a restaurant before? Hopefully you've worked in a few. The work is fast paced when your making money. It will involve quick decisions sometimes because your costumers come and go very quickly. You learn to deal with all types of people, from huge families, to couples who expect royal treatment. It is a lot more than just serving food though. Depending on the size of the restaurant, different departments will have different employees, some will get along, some wont, so you learn to move people around and fit them with each other so the work flow is smoother and more friendlier so to say. You might be the manager and also be the head cook. So not only will you need to be a great chef, but your book work as manager will need to be just as strong, if not MORE so. I have a friend who did really well on his own for five years in the restaurant business as a chef but he had to close the place because he was foolish with the money and things caught up with him. Hiring and rehiring people is very expensive. You still want to give everyone a chance to work so knowing a bit of basic psychology can really help as well. Some restaurants have people working in them 24 hours a day others only 16 to 18. That is still a long time to be open, and as manager you won't be able to be their the entire time. Every restaurant i've worked in always have employees who take advantage of the company some how and eat food, or take cups the costumers would use when they give you $$. Knowing your employees can help you bring this to a stop. A burger here and their adds up a lot. So don't let them eat your dollar! Paying attention to the little details is always important. Good managers in any form of business should be able to get along with everyone and be able to pass jokes along the side. You are the boss and you don't want any of your fellow employees to fear you for any reason because you are 'the boss'. be everyones friend and get to know them. It makes the work environment a lot more fun, your costumers will recognize it as well which could keep them coming back. Why would you want go out to eat and let people 'handle your food' when everyone looks pissed or stressed out? It says a lot how they might handle your lettuce or sandwich. Another bonus is if you can tell your costumers where your product is coming from (hoping that you buy as organic and local as possible only supporting your neighborhood grower) people will like this A LOT its always a guarantee; now not when you SAY its organic but you know just where it came from so its guaranteed, not a sellout slogan that is much blow out of context these days.
I have worked in quite a few restaraunts before all of them fast food which is where I hope to work when I get out of school. i'm also going to get a dual degree in Hotel Management as well so I have a better chance of finding jobs. I am usually good with dealing with the public. I'm a pretty laid back and likeable guy, although i'm not too laid back as in I will let my employees walk all over me. I am kind of shy so idk if that would effect my job at all. I'm a hard worker and I like to cook. When it comes to rules I always follow them and I always make sure that my co-workers are following them so I don't think I should have a problem with it if I'm the manager. I'm not going to be owning the restaraunt though just managing it, but I still won't let my employees waste the company dollar though.
I didn't know there's school for that. Anyways, you should start with basics. For example, it's restaurant management, not restaraunt. If you're going to make that your career, you might as well spell it right.
W/E not really the point of this thread, I'm trying to talk to people that have experience in the field that know what the job entails.
Sometimes I spell it right and other times I don't it's just one of those words that to me it could be spelled either way and it doesn't really matter to me because I don't really have any reason to write or type it except on forums like this one.
Well, I'm not manager, but I am assistant manager, so I can tell you about my particular job. I work in a smaller fast food type restaurant with crews ranging from 2 to 7 people depending on business. I've been in charge of every shift I work for about 3 and a half years now. I help the manager with inventory once a week (organization is key! You must must MUST keep things organized to make sure your inventory count is quick and accurate), and I give advice to my manager. She has a ton of paperwork, but the company made the paperwork really incredibly easy. Being in charge of a crew of people is...interesting. It's been a learning experience and a half for me. You have to assert yourself, you cannot let them walk on you for the sake of being the "good guy", but at the same time, you have to keep morale up. No one likes a dickhead boss, but a soft pushover boss is just as bad. You have to find a happy medium and stick with it. You can joke around and be friendly, but you need to have a side that means business and they have to know it. My boss has to worry about labor percentages (amount of money paid to employees vs. how much money is being made), food cost (amount of profit over what is spent ordering trucks), and projecting and making sales. The company puts a lot of pressure on her over sales and tends to blame the manager instead of the economy (or our dried up lake). It's stressful, but it can be an enjoyable environment if you allow it to be. Just don't forget that just going into management and not ownership means you still have to answer to someone else.
I probably will start out as an assistant manager, I'm only going to school for a couple years, but I'm also getting a dual degree in hotel management as well. I'm a pretty laid back type of guy, but I can be serious when I need to. I'm not particularly worried about that part, I'm probably going to work in a city enviroment so I expect that the restaraunt will stay pretty busy most of the day. I understand I still have to answer to someone, I have no problem with that, I'm doing it for the money and the job availiability so I have no problem with having a boss as long as I make a decent living and don't get drug tested lol.
Haha, well, as of now, the place I work for only drug tests if someone gets injured and needs medical attention and expects the company to pay for it. It's definitely a perk. It's always awesome when places have bigger things to worry about than drug testing, lol.
I'm just a student in my last year of Hospitality management degree, but from my classes I hear that a restaurant manager must be extremely detail-oriented, have very high morals and ethics when it comes to food serving and have the ability to convey the attitude to the workers. It is very important to show them the best example by doing it yourself and showing the way you want things to be, not just commanding everyone around while you're sitting on facebook. A restaurant will consume your life and will leave you little time to yourself and family. You have to develop menus, new food designs, manage money and workers, keep up the standards and beat the competition if differentiation is not an option. Only you know how you want your restaurant to be, so be prepared to little or no holidays ever..
Don't get me wrong, I love the restaurant business and are dreaming of having a hotel restaurant or a bar for myself too one day!
