Managing Restaurant Peak Hours: Safety Tips And Techniques

Restaurant peak hours are fast-paced and stressful. If you don’t prepare for these hectic times, it can quickly turn into chaos in the front and back of the house. However, if you’ve been running your operations for any length of time, you know that there are measures that you can take to alleviate these issues.

We’re going to explain how to make peak hours in a restaurant safer for everyone involved, from employees to your guests.

7 Tips to Manage Restaurant Peak Hours Safely

1. Train Employees on Leading Safety Procedures

Peak restaurant hours are when it’s easiest for safety protocols to breakdown. You can have everything in place to run a safe shift, but employees can freeze and make mistakes. The key to a successful, mistake-free shift is training employees.

You should have protocols in place to train new and current employees on:

• Safety procedures
• Ways to reduce the risk of slips and falls
• What to do in the event of an accident or safety issues

If you spill chemicals or food ingredients become contaminated for some reason, you need to have protocols in place to reduce the risk of issues escalating further.

Note: Initial training is just one part of the process. You need to retrain employees in new safety measures and provide some form of continual training, too.

2. Offer Additional Ordering Options

When your restaurant fills to capacity, it increases the risk of:

1. Slips and falls
2. Arguments between guests
3. Germs spreading

Your staff will also need to go into hyper-mode to be able to accommodate a full house of guests.

What can you do?

Instead of offering just in-house orders, you can allow customers to:

• Order pick-up
• Order from Doordash, Uber Eats, etc.
• Order deliver
• Place orders on an app

If you allow your patrons to order using multiple different methods, you’ll find that it alleviates the “rush.” You’ll also have the opportunity to cater to more patrons and sell more food as a result.

3. Provide Caution Signs for Spills

Not only will your restaurant be packed at peak hours restaurant, but there is also a greater risk of:

• Guests spilling drinks
• Waitstaff spilling or dropping something

Spills happen every day in restaurants, but you can reduce the risk of falls by providing your staff with caution signs. “Caution wet floor” signs are some of the most important to have in your establishment.

During your training, as discussed previously, you’ll want to outline the key times when employees should:

• Put signs up
• Ask for help from management

Immediately placing one of these caution signs on the ground will allow you to allow employees the time to clean up the mess.

Otherwise, if a guest falls, it can lead to significant injuries and potential lawsuits against your eatery. You may be required by law to have caution signs readily available to your employees, too.

4. Cross-train Employees on How to Use Equipment Safely

Your employees are the backbone of your restaurant’s safety. If you lack training employees on best practices and equipment usage, you risk a rise in safety incidents. You need to, even if it seems obvious, work to train employees on how to use the safety equipment that you have, such as:

• How to properly use a fire extinguisher (more on fire safety below)
• Best practices when using food prep and cooking equipment
• What to do if an appliance is faulty, sparking or catches fire
• Etc.

You must train all employees in how to use the safety equipment available to them.

5. Practice Fire Safety for Peak Restaurant Hours

An estimated 5,600 restaurant fires occur each year. Practicing fire safety can help keep everyone safe during peak hours.

Always ensure that your kitchen staff are alert and attentive when cooking dishes. Additionally, make sure that you’ve installed fire safety equipment.

• Install exit signs and emergency lights in your space.
• Have fire extinguishers throughout your establishment — not just in the kitchen.
• Consider investing in equipment with fire suppression systems.

Employee training is also crucial. Implementing fire safety procedures can prevent fires. Train staff to know how to:

• Put out grease fires properly
• Use a fire extinguisher
• Turn off power sources
• Keep flammable objects away from flames

Creating an evacuation plan is also important. Keep the plan posted in the back of the house where staff can see it.

Fire safety protocols and evacuation plans can help prevent injuries and deaths.

6. Follow Maximum Occupancy Rules

A restaurant’s maximum occupancy rate is determined by local health and safety regulations. Make sure that you follow them.

While rules can vary from one location to another, generally, you should allot 12–15 square feet per person if you’re running a full-service restaurant.

Exceeding capacity is a fire risk and can even lead to fines or having your restaurant closed down temporarily.

To keep your staff and your patrons safe during peak hours, ensure that you’re adhering to maximum occupancy rules.

7. Don’t Be Afraid to Turn Customers Away

If you run a restaurant, you may assume that being busy is good — and it can be. However, if your staff is stretched too thin and you simply cannot handle any more customers, you may need to take drastic measures.

In today’s social media-driven world, one good review can lead to crowds and lines out the door. For some establishments, it’s more than they can handle.

If your restaurant is so busy that it’s beyond capacity, don’t be afraid to turn customers away. It may be better to turn away customers than to provide a negative experience. Consider offering them a discount, a free appetizer or a special promotion to entice them to return to your restaurant.

Additionally, if you find that you’re unable to maintain a safe environment in the restaurant, turning customers away could save you from liability concerns.

Conclusion

Peak restaurant hours can be hectic for any establishment. While being busy can be great for business, the situation can easily lead to poor customer experiences and accidents if proper protocols and procedures aren’t put in place. Use the tips above to ensure that your staff and customers are safe even during your busiest hours.

Source: https://mcdonaldpaper.com/blog/managing-restaurant-peak-hours-safety-tips-and-techniques