The Modern Server
A Day in the Shift – Putting Yourself in Your Employee’s Shoes
Anthony Bourdain once said, “If anything is good for pounding humility into you permanently, it’s the restaurant industry.” One of the most well-versed warriors on the front lines of everything from fine dining to dive bars, Anthony knew exactly what it took to run a kitchen, coach a service staff, and entertain an array of diners. He served positions through the entire hierarchy of hospitality before finally running some of the top restaurants in the world and he knew one thing for sure – it’s not always easy.
At Bear Robotics, we were educated in the same academy of that “at-your-service” sentiment, running our own restaurant and learning firsthand just how hard the industry can be. We’ve been there; getting orders ready with four different languages spoken all at once and making sure each dish was prepared properly, running plates, pillaging supply closets, piling dishes in the sink, and dashing drink orders from one table to the next. Don’t get me wrong, it’s in flashes just like these that we found some of our most rewarding moments of this journey, but we also thought, “What if the rewarding moments were just a little easier to come by?”
To do that, we created a ten-thousand-foot view of our current predicament for solving problems with the perspective of those who live them. Thus, we decided to play out a shift in the life of a server. If you’re in the hospitality industry or any service-centric profession, we encourage you to do this too. It’s a great way to get a clear understanding of the obstacles your employees face and how you might better equip them to provide excellent service.
It All Starts at Dinner
Picture a clamoring kitchen and a dining room full of hungry and impatient patrons. You’ve got six tables and they’re stacking up fast. At the door, there are more customers, these even hungrier, more impatient – they’ve been waiting.
“Okay, okay, okay,” you think to yourself. “Dessert and check for table 20. Silverware, napkins, kid’s menu for 12. Two beers and a daiquiri for 32.”
You’re running through your mental checklist and bam(!) you’re hit with a tray of food. It’s that new server, Carla, on her first night. She’s getting flak from table 15 and wants to know if you can run them an order of appetizers.
“I got this,” you say. The table is at the opposite end of the restaurant, and you still have a dessert to place and a check to settle for your first table of the night. It’s cool. Anthony Bourdain did this with a head cold and a half night’s sleep.
“Apps to 15. Dessert and check for 20. Silverware, napkins, kid’s menu to 12. Two beers and a daiquiri for 32.”
You get to table 15 with the apps and can tell instantly why this task was handed off to you. The customers look angry enough. They have a collection of empty drinking glasses and a crying toddler in their midst. They need beverages stat and a coloring book for their kid in tow.
This is where things start to get hairy. Your memory goes blank as you begin trying to sort out table 20 from 32 from 12.
“Dessert and check for 20. Silverware, napkins, kid’s menu to 12. Two beers and a daiquiri for 32. Oh yeah and a coloring book and drinks for 15. Do I bring those or tag Carla back in?”
You get to the kitchen and are handed the dessert and check for 20. Thank goodness. You’re on your way to deliver it and realize the dessert is not on the check. You race back. You are met by your manager. Bad news, Carla just quit – It’s happening a lot lately with the labor shortage. 15 is yours and yours alone now. You just have to get this check to 20 first. The dessert is a sundae. It’s getting warm. What was your assignment again?
“Dessert and check for 20. Silverware, napkins, kid’s menu to 15. Two beers and a daiquiri for 32. Coloring book and drinks for 12 or was that 15?”
You start to panic. There must be a better way to handle this.
We Think So Too
In recent years, Scientists at Southern Medical University concluded that being a server in the restaurant industry is actually more stressful than being a neurosurgeon. After this exercise, we can certainly see why.
The physical and mental demand that is placed on servers led Bear Robotics to come up with a smarter solution to hospitality work – Servi. Servi is an automated service solution for eliminating repetitive tasks so that servers can focus on creating better experiences. Our robots do everything from running food to bussing tables to serving drinks. And it’s making a huge difference in the lives of service employees.
By tackling the problems from the perspective of service professionals, we built an entire business around automating the repetitive tasks inherent to the hospitality business so that servers and hosts can focus more on creating incredible guest experiences. Seriously, if neurosurgeons are assisted regularly with the help of robotics, then why shouldn’t we use the same tech to take the hard work out of an arguably more stressful profession and make the future of daily work in hospitality for millions of people so much better?
Especially for those looking to add an automation element to their small business, it’s essential that you take the time to understand how it will benefit your employees and how your staff might react to a sudden shift in the way they approach work. We encourage you to try this exercise with your own business, putting yourself in the mindset of any and all employees. Where could your staff benefit from automation? How could leveraging technology transform the way your guests are treated? We think even Anthony Bourdain would’ve agreed, running a restaurant is due for an upgrade.
