Yeah, come on in.
Hey, boss, I wanted to chat with you about something.
Okay, so I had this idea that I really wanted to share with you.
Okay. You know how you want us to be using jiggers at the bar and
I know you're always talking about how they
make sure that the drinks are all the same and promote consistency and this way,
no matter who's making a drink, they all taste the same and
they help eliminate waste and we make sure that we're not over portioning and
all that stuff,
but you know, a lot of my bartenders just aren't really
using the jiggers and they think that they're kind of a waste of time
and I was just kind of wondering what your thoughts were.
They're all really good employees. Can we just get rid of the jiggers completely?
Well, we really do need them, it's part of our policy and for all the reasons, you just listed,
it's really really, important, but more importantly,
can you tell me about the particular staff members that aren't using them?
Well, I don't really want to name any names, but I mean you know,
it's kind of mostly everybody.
Okay, well thanks for sharing your idea. I really appreciate it,
but we definitely have to make sure that we're using the jiggers.
Yeah, come on in.
Hey, boss, you got a second?
Hey, everybody. Ryan Gromfin here – author, speaker, chef, restaurateur,
and founder of TheRestaurantBoss.com, as well as ClickBacon.com
and ScaleMyRestaurant.com.
I'm sure you've had a similar situation like that happen
to you where you're trying to get work done and you just have distraction after distraction after distraction.
Now please don't take this in any way the wrong way,
but I like to call these time-sucking vampires.
It's not that their intentions are cruel, they're not out to harm you in any way.
It's just that they suck time away from you from your
day with again,
with again, please don't take this the wrong way, it's not meaningless, 3
it's not that the information they need to share with you isn't important,
it's just that it's distraction after distraction after distraction.
So what I want to share with you today is a method that I use to eliminate
to keep some of these time-sucking vampires at bay,
because really what's happening here is,
they're coming to talk to you when it's convenient for them,
but when it's convenient for them is usually when it's not convenient for you.
When they're slow, you're also slow. Like,
when the floor is slow, you're slow, but you're trying to get a lot of work done
and they're just slow.
It's not that they don't have work to do, but they're just slow also. And they figure,
well, if they talk to you late at night, that's when they want to go home.
If they talk to you early in the morning, that's when they're sleeping.
So, it's convenient for them to come talk to you when you're trying to get
your most focused work done.
So the number one method that I have for eliminating a lot of these distractions
- this is going to sound a little odd to you. It's going to sound a little counter culture to you,
but please try this because trust me it works.
I implement this process with a lot of my clients and it works really, really well for them,
but you have to follow the system and it's basically a system of closed doors
and office hours.
We need to eliminate this idea of our door is always open to you, right?
Come on in whenever you need. I'm that kind of owner,
I'm that kind of manager, I'm always available to you.
And while we want to be available to our staff,
we want to be available when it's convenient for you,
not necessarily always when it's convenient for them
because you have really important things to do.
If you don't keep growing the business, if you don't work on the marketing,
if you don't work on the financials, if you don't work on new menu ideas,
if you don't work on creating systems and processes and procedures,
there may not be a restaurant in a couple of years
for your employees to get their paychecks from.
So, the work you're doing is important just like the work they're doing,
but sometimes in an effort to be the cool boss, the cool owner;
we put their priorities ahead of ours.
When you're on an airplane, what do they tell you to do in the event of an emergency?
Do you put your oxygen mask on first or do you put
your kid’s oxygen mask on first?
It's always your kid because… I’m sorry! It's always yours,
not your kid. I totally screwed that up, right?
It's always your oxygen mask first, it's not that your kid's not important,
that's your natural instinct is to put the oxygen mask on your kid.
I can tell you right now, if I’m flying with my five-year-old son
and those oxygen masks come down in my body,
my instincts are going to put the oxygen mask on him to take care of him first,
but they've tested it and it has been proven over and over again
that if you pass out while you're trying to get a mask on your kid,
you now serve no purpose to yourself or to them.
So, you must get your mask on first. You could get your mask on first
very quickly without any fight.
once you're breathing good oxygen. then go and help your child.
I know that's counterintuitive but it has been proven over and over again,
that's why they teach that method.
I need you to put your oxygen mask on first.
So, here's how we do this. You keep your door closed,
you put a sign on your door that says do not disturb,
busy,
please come back later,
whatever words you need to use, but literally do not disturb, like don't bother me.
Well, they're still going to bother you because they're used to that,
but when they come in, ask this question - is this an emergency?
The first couple of times they might say yes. They might say no, but…
But the point is, we want to draw a line in the distinction of, is this an emergency?
Does this have to be dealt with right now, or can it be dealt with later?
If it's not an absolute emergency, then inform them of your office hours.
Tuesdays from 11 to 12 and Thursdays
from 4 to 5, my office is open.
The door will be open. I'll be in here working, but you can come in and talk to me about
anything you want for as much time as you want between those hours.
You don't need an appointment, but if you want to make one, that's fine.
So if it's on a Monday and they're knocking on your door, is this an emergency?
Well, no, kind of.
Okay, well if it's not an emergency, why don't you come back tomorrow
between the times I just said or Thursday, and then chances are
they're likely going to solve the problem themselves because they don't want to come back.
Or if it is really important, they will come back and that's great.
You can sit down when you have the time scheduled like we talked about in the calendar video
to handle that.
If it's truly an emergency, if it's truly a fire that needs to be put out right now,
deal with it. Help them deal with it, but then always be reminding them
that you have your office hours.
Come back during office hours, come back during office hours.
Within a week or two of doing this,
again because I did this myself and it worked
and I’ve done this with dozens of clients and I know it works.
Within a week or two, your staff will stop knocking on your door as much.
The ones that have real issues will write them down, will bring them up in meetings,
will bring them up during office hours, will go to their managers,
will figure out a way to solve them without your involvement.
And the others, well, we're just going to have to figure out what to do with that.
But the point is, you can't always have your door open.
You can't always have this open-door policy where you can be
available at any time for anything.
You have priorities, you have things that you have to do in your business
to keep your business going.
You have things that are very, very important that you have to do
to keep them employed and to keep their incomes growing.
So, please, please, please keep the vampires,
the time-sucking vampires at bay
by putting your oxygen mask on first.
Ask the question of, is this an emergency?
If not, can you please come back during my office hours?
Set up those office hours. Put a do not disturb sign
on your door and please, write in the comment section below.
Let me know how this method has worked for you
and I’d be happy to comment on those. I’d be happy to help on those.
If you have any questions, post those below.
Thank you so much. I hope you've enjoyed this five-part video series
that we did all through the month on getting more done,
improving your productivity, becoming more efficient just,
in general, getting more done in less time.
I hope you enjoyed this. My name is Ryan Gromfin. Of course, with The Restaurant Boss.
Remember, systems equals success.
I look forward to bringing you another video just like this next week.
Have an absolutely wonderful day.
Are you struggling to grow your restaurant business?
Are you failing to find the time to do all the things you need to do
because you're stuck doing everybody else's jobs?
This sucks. I know, I've been there.
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and where you want to be is a plan and some new tools,
and that is why I created Scale.
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Learn more at ScaleMyRestaurant.com.
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