If there is one job that really isn’t simple, it’s restaurant management. There is so much to oversee and understand when you’re managing a restaurant that it’s really easy to fall behind when things like maintenance come up. You are in the middle of rostering and people management mayhem, and it’s typical that managers often will fall behind in this. You have to think about maintaining your cooking area, the bar and the entire restaurant. You cannot drop any plates – no pun intended.
From the commercial refrigeration repair to the floor replacement when the wear and tear become too much, you are in charge of all of this. You, as a restaurant manager, will have the majority of your energy pushed into the customer experience. However, what you have to remember is that the maintenance of your restaurant kitchen IS part of the customer experience! So, with this in mind, here are some of the reasons that it’s important that you are looking after the maintenance of your kitchen equipment.
- You’ll have a restaurant that’s more energy efficient. The newer equipment that you invest in for your restaurant is going to be better for the environment and for your business. The newest machinery takes less energy to use and it’s not as greedy for energy as old appliances. The machinery you buy is going to use much less energy and is more efficient as a result. Not only will you save money but your restaurant food will be made faster as a result.
- User experience will be better. We’re talking about the customer experience but the user experience of the machinery is important, too. Correctly kept kitchen machinery is going to make your employees’ lives easier and it’s going to make their job easier to do in the day. You need people to have a smoother user experience if you want the restaurant to run well!
- Better food quality. The better the equipment you have in your kitchen, the better quality your food will be. If your refrigerator and freezer keep breaking down, your food is likely to spoil. It’s not easy to manage that but it’s easy to ensure that you serve good quality food if you make sure to keep up with the maintenance of your kitchen equipment.
- Your appliances are less likely to fail. Maintaining your equipment is going to be better for your kitchen over time. Unexpected machinery failures will cost your business a lot of money in both business interruption and in spoiled food and drinks. You need your appliances up and running as fast as possible so that you can get your business back on track.
If you are ensuring that you are maintaining your restaurant kitchen equipment, you need to make sure that everyone is well trained on what to do when looking for a problem. You shouldn’t ever wait until the dishwashers are spitting bubbles, but you should learn to look for the signs that it’s about to spit the bubbles out!