Comments on Lean Blog: Learning from Restaurants

Tom E. - great comment. You might interested in my...

2008-03-16T09:04:00.000-05:00

Tom E. - great comment. You might interested in my old post on Julia Childs' "lean kitchen."

To anonymous 3/15:I raised the question of "are wa...

2008-03-16T09:03:00.000-05:00

To anonymous 3/15:

I raised the question of "are waiters just material handlers" to be thought provoking (or so I hoped). Sometimes, material handlers are definitely necessary to support those who add value (the cooks). You're right that the waitstaff CAN do much more than bringing the food.

Bringing a glass of water might be "value added." Is taking the plates away? I'd argue that's "required waste".

Hi Mark, just got back in and saw your comment on ...

2008-03-15T16:56:00.000-05:00

Hi Mark, just got back in and saw your comment on the wait staff possibly being similar to material handlers. I see it another way. I think they are more like an operator in a chaku chaku line, although they are not just loading so it is not true load-load. Anyway, the wait staff can bring so much more to the restaurant by being visible and attentive to the patrons, something that the chef can not do from the kitchen. Maybe this could work in a small operation where there are only 6 to 12 tables and specific seating times. It would be interesting to know if anyone has seen this model work successfully, meaning how was the overall experience.

"As a cook, your station, and its condition, its s...

2008-03-15T12:56:00.000-05:00

"As a cook, your station, and its condition, its state of readiness, is an extension of your nervous system--and it is profoundly upsetting if another cook or, God forbid, a waiter disturbs your precisely and carefully laid-out system. The universe is in order when your station is set up the way you like it: you know where to find everything with your eyes closed, everything you need during the course of the shift is at the ready at arm's reach, your defenses are deployed. If you let your mise-en-place run down, get dirty and disorganized, you'll quickly find yourself spinning in place and calling for backup....."

This passage from p. 58-59 of Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. The chapter Who Cooks, and particularly the passage on the importance of a clean and prepared mise-en-place (the cook's setup) is about as lean as can be without mentioning lean.

In the quest for lean, what of the value in assign...

2008-03-14T11:04:00.000-05:00

In the quest for lean, what of the value in assigning costs where they're due? It is inappropriate that the dietary practices of vegetarians and vegans are subsidizing the notoriously inefficient and ecologically unsustainable meat eating practices of the average consumer, keeping their menu prices lower. Were costs attributed appropriately, perhaps more would abstain from participating is such wanton expenditures of energy costs and environmental degradation. Meat is neither lean nor green.

Restaurant failures are usually traceable to "comm...

2008-03-14T07:19:00.000-05:00

Restaurant failures are usually traceable to "common cause" problems--poor location, poor quality, and poor service. I have never decided not to return to a restaurant because of the price, but I have avoided them because of poor service. Only rarely do "special cause" problems--food poisoning, fire, rats & roaches--cause restaurants to fail. Restaurant owners must understand if their customers believe the goods and services they receive add sufficient value to warrant the price asked. If the answer is yes, they can probably raise the price a little and not lose business. If the answer is no, it does not matter how much they cut food costs, they are going to fail. In addition, restaurant kitchens are loaded with waste and would be prime targets for lean.

Mike - great point. Their obsession over materials...

2008-03-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

Mike - great point. Their obsession over materials cost might be similar to a manufacturer being obsessed over direct labor even though it might be just 10% of their cost. It's the most visible cost, but maybe not the most critical.

It sounds like your suggestion is that they should be optimizing the overall business, not just the materials side?

Anonymous - that's an interesting question about t...

2008-03-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

Anonymous - that's an interesting question about the waitstaff. Are they the equivalent of "material handlers" (just bringing the food and check) or are they "value adding?" If you're at a restaurant where re-fueling your body is the primary goal, then the waiter probably is "required waste." If you're at a restaurant where the "experience" is important along with the food, then the waiter might be adding value.

Having the chef bringing food out begs the question: is that the best use of the chef's time and talent?

One problem with the restaurant biz is that "Taylo...

2008-03-13T15:10:00.000-05:00

One problem with the restaurant biz is that "Taylorism" has often been applied to the wrong things and in the wrong ways. I've been in many restaurants where the words spoken by the phone answerer, the host/hostess and the wait staff were all highly scripted...yet clearly no one had analyzed the actual serving process from a logistical point of view, and obvious inefficiencies were in view.

I was in the restaurant business about a hundred y...

2008-03-13T06:20:00.000-05:00

I was in the restaurant business about a hundred years ago and I think the entire argument is out of whack. Food costs generally averaged us around 40%. What manufacturer wouldn't want that ratio? Labor costs were minimal--mostly minimum wage or close to it. Overhead averaged close to direct labor as a percentage of sales. Items like coffee or soft drinks were marked up by about 1000%. Mexican food had a material cost of about 15%, which made up for the higher material cost of steaks, etc. Maybe these restaurants just need to manage their business functions better instead of screwing around with the menus and the like. Food service is a pretty simple business, which is the main reason there are too many restaurants fighting for the same pie. It's probably time for a shake-out.

Not sure it is "lean" driven, but I heard in a rec...

2008-03-13T04:42:00.000-05:00

Not sure it is "lean" driven, but I heard in a recent news podcast (either NPR or WSJ, can't remember which) that some restaurants are cutting the wait staff completely, with the chef actually serving the patrons. This is like cutting an operation from a manufacturing process. Personally, I do not see the wait function as non-value added, but quite the contrary a very high-value add if executed properly. Just thought I would share this with the community.