A Tale of Two Restaurants

Case No. 1 A Tale of Two Restaurants

Tim Kelly founded Kelly’s Seafood Restaurant about 15 years ago. The restaurant is very profitable because of its excellent quality of food, but lately it has been having problems with consistency because of numerous suppliers. The restaurant operations are divided into front-end (servers) and back-end (kitchen). The kitchen has Post-It notes-trained in all areas, and the kitchen staff continually seeks improvements in cooking. Servers, however, have few perks and minimal wages, and turnover is a bit of problem. Tim’s primary criterion for selecting servers is their ability to show up on time. Little communication takes place between the front-end and back-end operations, other than full-filling orders. Tim makes sure that the servers refer any complaints to him immediately.

The restaurant uses no automation because Tim believes it would get in the way customers’ special requests. “ This is the way we’ve done it for the past 15 years and how we will continue to do I,” was his response to a suggestion of using a computerized system to speed up order and eliminate delays. Tim formerly held staff meetings regularly, but recently he went from one each week to one every five or six months. Most of his time is spent focusing on negative behavior, and he can often be heard to say, “ You can’t find good people anymore.”

Jim’s Steak House is a family-owned restaurant in the same state. Jim uses only the freshest meats and ingredients from the best suppliers and gives extra-large portions of food to customers so they feel they are getting their money’s worth. Jim pays his cooks high wages to attract high-quality employees. Servers get 70 percent of tips, bussers 20 percent, and the kitchen staff 10 percent to foster teamwork. Many new hires come from referrals from current employees. And asks them many pointed questions relating to courtesy, responsibility, and creativity. The restaurant sponsors bowling nights,...