Building Teamwork

Hello to all,
We had a great live chat on Sunday discussing building teamwork between the FOH and BOH. Lots of great ideas were shared and I am curious who has challenges in this area and what if anything you are doing to over come these challenges.

[Nicko]

Kristi,

What a great chat, thanks for giving ChefTalk your time. I think one of the biggest challenges can be getting botht the front and the back to understand the different dynamics of what each is doing to give the customer the absolute best experience possible. It was common that the cooks felt their job was more important and that the waitstaff came second.

There has always been friction between FOH and BOH staff. I've seen tempers flare and dishes fly through the air. FOH has a problem understanding that it takes time to prepare cook food properly. Also, you have to take time between serving each course, and it's the chef who knows when it's time to serve it! Waitstaff attitude sometimes is, "get'em in and get'em out," as quickly as possible. Solution: Educate and orient staff upon hiring. If that doesn't work suggest they find another avenue for obtaining tips.

[Greg]

Originally posted by JeniDaChef:
you have to take time between serving each course, and it's the chef who knows when it's time to serve it!

I'd have to disagree with you here, Jeni. Unless I'm working in an open kitchen, I have no idea whether a table is ready for a course. Even when you can see that a table done with one course, you still might not want to send the next. Some people like to take their time. The only person who is in a good position to know all these things is the server. The server, in turn, must know the timing of the kitchen and communicate well with the kitchen. This is where the teamwork and training issues come into play, in my opinion. Solution? Educate and orient foh and boh staff continually.

[ March 15, 2001: Message edited by: Greg ]

[CWK]

About 15 years ago I had the great experince
of working under a "Renagade" manager whom I will never forget.One of her peeves was the constant B.S. between Foh and Boh.I was a Lead cook and no angel myself.She MADE us
crosstrain and when she was done the wait staff cooked and the cooks waited on tables
for 2 weeks.
At first It didn't go over well with the staff untill the point was made that this was not an option.I have had great respect and for the most part patients ever since.
But once in a while a bullhead comes along and we all know what happens then;It's not pretty.BTW the wait staff didn't do too bad.

[shroomgirl]

CWK~ I'm still trying to figure out how waitstaff can take over a kitchen?....Then duh I had another cup of coffee and figured out you didn't have them all in at the same time. what a morning, what a scary concept....we go out front and you guys cook.
As in all at the same time.

Absolutely, I need my servers to tell me how a party is moving along, and they need to be able to direct it to a degree....I don't want food waiting to be served because one person is gabbing on and on.

[CWK]

Shroomgirl,
It DID happen but like you said not all at once.There were a few days where if Kaye was
confident in us we switched (we had notice to wear or be prepaired to have the uniform)
and worked without a hitch.Cool, huh? I was a part of the deal and like I said I have a lot of respect plus a better understanding of the game knowing how the gears mesh.BTW this was not at a "Dennys" kinda place.Sometimes I'm sorry I didn't stay on the floor.Bill

[layjo]

[ March 17, 2001: Message edited by: Layjo ]

[layjo]

Yeah I agree that effective communication is one of the key factors of in any business. I tend to keep my eyes peeled and ears open at all times. I'll be doing something that I need to do and all of a sudden I'll here another situation come into play, it may not involve me, but I tend to give some aid to the other worker in need weather it be the FOH or BOH, especially if it's a new employee. There is nothing worse than having an employee to fend for themselves (well there are worse things, but this one worse thing)in a new job situation and clueless where to start and "how to find this" and "how to do this and that". I tend to help out these individuals in a "pinch". But sometimes, (i don't understand why) I am told I shouldn't worry about other employees, and should let their supervisors worry about it....but I still help out anyway.

Greg,

I was being subjective and too general when I made that comment. I've had the misfortune of working with some servers who weren't interested in teamwork or customer satisfaction. I think this thread brought back some bad memories.

Even though I'm BOH, I have some idea of how long it takes to finish salad, soup, and appetizer. No sooner was one course brought out when they would be back in the kitchen asking, "When are you going to be done with that?" They wanted to put all the dishes down at once, so the guests would hurry.

In less dysfunctional establishments, the servers usually do help the chef with the timing of of each course to be served.

[Greg]

I've been there, too! I think it has a lot to do with the level of commitment of the staff. If you've got a server or a cook who is only in it to make money, these problems will arise. It's up to management to see that they do not. The staff should be trained well and perform their duties. If they don't, as you said, they need to find another job.

[CampChef]

My experience is a little different, I started in restaurants working FOH as a GM. I slowly gravitated to the kitchen, because we all know that's where the real fun is. Now I can fully appreciate all positions in a place because I have worked them all, and it's easier to relay that feeling to the kitchen staff. I think it's important for the Exec Chef of a place to have a firm grasp of what it takes to run the front. Have you noticed how many "chef" run restaurants fail?