Ever thought about how the Food and Beverage (F&B) industry is constantly booming because of supply and demand, and how it is one of the things that people do not mind spending on? On the other side of the coin, it is a pretty tough industry to get into if you are looking to explore a career in the F&B industry, and only the best and toughest stay on.

Working in the F&B industry is admittedly tough; setting up a restaurant/cafe is even tougher. Daunting, in fact.

For all you F&B owners out there, have you thought about what makes or breaks your business(es)? It is not just about cooking good food, but also how to stay competitive in this industry by maximising efficiency, understanding diners, planning your menus better, and how to ace high volume cooking.

There are several workshops and courses, and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has come forward to aid people who are in the industry – to improve their work efficiencies and help them be future-ready, and to encourage the rest of the people to take that step into F&B.

Chefmanship is one to pay attention to, for they share the secrets behind successful F&B businesses. We went for a crash course organised by NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and Unilever Food Solutions, and what we learned in one mere day was enriching to say the least. It is one course that will benefit all restaurant and cafe owners, and here is a summary of what we learnt.

MENU PLANNING

This might seem like a small thing and because of this, many overlook this whole part of their businesses. Menu planning is actually one of the most vital aspect of setting up a business, or whenever you are revising your menu.

For example, did you know for menu placements, you should put the most profitable dishes on the upper right hand corner (where our eyes naturally look at first), and relegate the least profitable section to the lower left hand corner? Do you have too many desserts and not enough mains? Are your ingredients readily available throughout the year?

Other key factors to note include the production capability and skills of your available staff, equipment to improve productivity, reasonable food pricing that ensures you still make a decent profit margin, and good menu balance. And they will all make or break your restaurant/ cafe.

MAXIMISING EFFICIENCY

For F&B owners, cluttered spaces will impede your efficiency. Maximising efficiency of your kitchen, service flow and dining area is the key thing that everyone wants in their establishments – from purchasing logistics, to your kitchen layout and equipment, to clear work organisation.

F&B businesses should also define staff roles clearly to avoid duplication of duties and prevent service gaps, provide objective performance evaluations and have regular feedback sessions from the staff. Did you know that this alone will make a huge impact?

In one group exercise which required teams to suggest ways to save an ailing restaurant, participants had vastly differing views on what to invest on and divest. It was through hearing each other’s perspective that the participants realised they had to let go of their existing mindsets of running a viable restaurant business.

For example, one participant thought that it was not necessary to train his staff to be future-ready, and hiring part time foreign kitchen workers would be sufficient to replace a head chef, till he was convinced otherwise by fellow restauranteurs.

It is useful to join a bigger ecosystem of associations (which are linking up with NTUC and government agencies to form strategic partnerships and sector-specific programmes to support local businesses) to stay in touch with the latest trends.

HIGH VOLUME COOKING

High volume cooking is something important to note and impacts efficiency directly, especially if you are running chains or have more than one establishment in Singapore.

Having a central kitchen for your business can also help to cut costs, and to eventually improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your kitchen.

Tung Lok’s investment in a char siew pau maker, pressure cooker and artificial intelligence cooking machine allowed them to redeploy staff to other duties whilst maintaining the quality and consistency of the food.

It is still a personal business decision whether to invest in a central kitchen as the tradeoffs can be daunting. Businesses can tap on NTUC’s experience (through unions, e2i and U SME) to learn more about productivity options before making a decision.

YOUR GUESTS

Your guests matter, and they matter a lot.

Your dining area is very important for a smooth work flow and to make sure that your staff can keep your guests happy and satisfied.

From maximising seating capacities to customer-staff interaction space, you will learn that proper planning of all of these, will be very essential in helping you improve an environment that benefits your staff, as well as your guests.

And then, we have the rising trend of using technology (e.g. e-Menus, better P.O.S softwares) to increase efficiency of ordering, and to better track sales and inventory.

Are your staff empowered to make quick decisions to raise customer satisfaction, or proactively brainstorm for new ideas to grow the business?

Put more thoughts into planning the above success factors, iron them out and lay the foundation right, and your flow will be a lot smoother for day-to-day operation.

This message is part of a ladyironchef x Labour Movement project where we seek to share with you insights on the different initiatives by the Labour Movement to give workers in Singapore better jobs, better pay and better work-life balance.

Have you ever been to a restaurant that serves respectable (or even amazing) nosh, but somehow fails in providing you the overall desired dining experience? Listen up restaurateurs, we (the guests) have got the gold.

Here are 10 things restaurants can do to enhance the overall dining experience.

#1. GREETING YOU BY NAME

There’s something comforting about being greeted by name upon entering a restaurant. Taking the time and effort to remember each customer by name (despite the number of people coming and going each day) shows just how much a restaurant values its guests.

#2. KNOWING THE MENU

Service staff that are well-versed in their menu offerings are better equipped to provide better service. Knowing the full scope of ingredients, how the dish is prepared, and how it tastes provides servers with the knowledge to recommend something that’s best suited to the customer’s personal preference, as well as avoiding recommending items may result in allergic reactions.

#3. PROVIDING DIFFERENT SEATING SECTIONS FOR DINERS WITH CHILDREN

Let’s face it. If you’re taking a date out for a romantic dinner, would you appreciate listening to mothers trying to shush children who are making a scene at the dining table? (Unfortunately, there are people who bring ill-behaved kids to fine dining restaurants.) Experienced restaurants with good foresight would do well to seat guests with children away from those without.

#4. SEEKING YOUR PREFERENCES BEFORE DOING IT

While taking initiative is good, making assumptions is not. Asking a customer whether he/she would like to their wine to be decanted shows good initiative; automatically decanting wine without first seeking their preference, shows a lack of customer understanding—even if it is something the customer usually requests for. Clear it with them to absolutely sure, “Would you like your usual coffee order, sir?”

Restaurants should never assume they know what the customer wants. Guests may occasionally like to try something different.

#5. ALERTING YOU TO CURRENT DISCOUNTS AND OFFERS

Who doesn’t appreciate service staff that actively assists in helping them save money? Not all customers will be mindful to ask about current promotions and discounts. Alerting a customer to the restaurant’s discounts and promotions shows the customer that you care about them (instead of only focusing on increasing sales).

#6. BE GENEROUS WITH COMPLIMENTARY FOOD AND DRINKS

Restaurants often show appreciation by offering complimentary food and drinks to their guests. Offering complimentary small ticket items is a small price to pay to work your way into a customer’s heart, and they will remember you for it.

#7. BE ATTENTIVE TO YOUR NEEDS

“Miss, I noticed that you’re shivering. Is the temperature too cold for you? Would you like a shawl and some hot water?” Being attentive to guests before being asked to do so displays care and concern for the customer’s well being. It can be as simple as bringing extra napkins when a customer orders messy food. We appreciate it.

#8. GENUINELY ASKING FOR FEEDBACK

Service staff can make or break an experience. Be genuine when asking for feedback. Allow the customer to freely express their opinions and be honest about their experience. If the customer only has praises to sing, thank them for it. If it’s negative, take it. Show empathy and be professional when handling complaints, and your guests will appreciate it.

Service trumps quality. The likelihood of customers returning to a restaurant that serves sub-standard fare but offers exceptionally warm and friendly service is higher than that of a restaurant that serves good food by bad service staff.

#9. EFFORTLESSLY TRANSFERRING TABS

Diners may have had an enjoyable night at the restaurant and wish to continue having drinks at the bar. Effortlessly transferring tabs without requiring the customer to first settle the bill provides customers with a seamless experience.

#10. GRACIOUSLY OFFERING TO SPLIT THE BILL ACCORDING TO EACH INDIVIDUAL DINER

We all have that one friend who orders next to everything off the menu. In cases like these, splitting the bill evenly may not be fair for the rest. While it may be a hassle to split the bill according to each individual diner, service staff who offer to do so will be highly regarded—especially as this is rarely offered in Singapore. Do this, and it’s likely you’ll be seeing more group reservations.

About the writer:
Mandy Lynn is a former I-S Magazine writer and current columnist at Nookmag; her dining and nightlife features are published in Appetite Asia, Food & Travel, and Singapore Tatler Dining. For bite-sized food recommendations, follow her on Instagram and Facebook, or join her Gourmet Adventures to keep up with the latest openings in the dining scene.

Have you ever served in a restaurant before? Or wondered what is it like to be one of those wait staff with big trays? How long are they on their feet each day, and do you think they have it easy?

Waiters are very noble beings. They wake up each day with a common purpose – to bring their best service to your table. Many times, we may have taken them for granted, and they really deserve more appreciation and respect; appreciation from customers, and respect from their employers.

We spoke with a few friends in the industry, and have them share with us some hidden messages they wish to share with customers so as to help make their workplace a better one, and for them to be motivated to serving you better.

Here are 5 things your waiter wants you to know:

#1. WAITERING IS A VERY DEMANDING JOB. BE NICE, THEY ARE HUMANS TOO

It is physically taxing and very back-breaking. Waiters have to deal with heavy trays and kitchenware on a daily basis, and it is not as easy as it seems. Imagine having to hold five 1-kg plates on a single arm, or balancing a tray of three bottles of wines on one palm. Imagine reporting to work at 6am for two hours of mise en place, then three hours of non-stop rush hour breakfast service, another hour of turnover before the lunch crowd comes in and keeps you busy for another three hours, and finally another evening of dinner service. This is the daily grind of a full-time waiter, and you bet it is not easy at all.

Be nice to them. A word of encouragement suffice to keep them motivated and to tide them through the long day of work. The next time you meet your waiter, smile and thank them when they bring you your food and cutleries. Tell them you appreciate their service and promptness.

#2 A WAITER DOESN’T GET PAID VERY WELL

They are not the best paid, neither are they the most respected profession. But they are in a noble line of service, and without them, our dining experience is incomplete. While they play such an integral part in an F&B business, they are actually not very well paid, and more often than not, they are the ones to sacrifice their weekends and public holidays to be at your service.

Some may ask, “why not implement minimum wage for the service industry so that they get paid more?”. It is not as simple as it sounds in reality. By implementing a minimum wage of $10 per hour, it puts the worker at risk of losing their job because it would mean additional cost to the company, and in order to keep costs down, they will be sure to terminate workers with poorer performance.

In the long run, will the remaining waiters get paid more than the minimum wage if they become better waiters? What if it takes ten years to raise the minimum wage?

To help a waiter do well in his job and earn more, restaurant owners should invest in equipment and systems that allows him to do more without having to work longer hours. This will increase the profits for the restaurant and a part of these profits can then be shared with the waiters.

As customers, we can give our feedback to the restaurant’s managers to commend good waiters, as well as give constructive suggestions how the restaurant can be more productive, instead of complaining on social media.

Show them your support by tipping them. This is the most practical way to show your appreciation. It brings us joy to give, and it definitely brings sunshine to their days.

#3 WAITERS ARE NOT THE ONES WHO MAKE YOUR FOOD AND DRINKS

Waiters are always the first point of contact, and they are responsible for serving you. They set your table, they bring you the menu, they put your order on the table, but one thing that they do not do is to prepare your food and drinks. Waiters have no control over whether your steaks are cooked to the right done-ness, or if your drinks are well-concocted.

Many times, we see unreasonable guests kicking up a fuss and screaming at the waiters because their orders are not in place, but is it really their faults? Why take it out on them and spoil their days? It is alright to be disappointed and angry when you do not get your order right, but instead of making life difficult for the waiters, why don’t we convey our unhappiness to the chef instead? This allows better communication and parties that are involved can step in to rectify the issues properly without unnecessarily causing unhappiness and demotivating anybody.

#4 WAITERS TAKE ORDERS FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE CAPTAINS

And so, many times when you are displeased with a certain action or lack of, it is actually not their decision. They have their bosses too, and the bosses are the ones to come up with the list of do’s and don’ts’s, can’s and cannot’s.

For example, when the waiter in a Korean restaurant serves banchan (complimentary Korean side dishes), the manager will probably instruct the waiters to give smaller portions so as to save cost as well as to prevent food wastage.

If you’d made a request and it is not acceded, ask the waiters politely what the issue is, understand their predicament and try speaking to the captains themselves instead of making it difficult for them.

#5 YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY DINER IN THE RESTAURANT

We all hate waiting, and the frustration from not getting what you want (fast enough) sure isn’t a nice feeling. But let’s face it – every waiter is responsible for a section/ number of tables, and you are not the only one they are waiting on. We cannot expect our glass of water to come immediately.

As diners, we deserve good service, but we have to exercise patience and empathy, too. During peak hours and busy times, give your waiter a bit more time to get to you. Your understanding will be very much appreciated by them, and they will definitely reciprocate with the best service they can give.

Waitering, and in fact, no other job should be a dead-end job. Employers granting respect to their employees and the job means that they should pay waiters fair wages for their work, and ensure that their skills are being constantly upgraded so that they are able to progress in their career.

F&B establishments should also send their waiters to attend customer service courses to equip them with the necessary skills to manage customers who throw a fit. With skills upgrading, it also makes internal career progression possible for waiters so that it does not become a dead-end job and motivates them to do well in their job.

Why should waiters be limited to minimum wages when they can get a career that pays better with progressive wages?

This message is part of a ladyironchef x Labour Movement project where we seek to share with you insights on the different initiatives by the Labour Movement to give workers in Singapore better jobs, better pay and better work-life balance.