Clean & Ready Restaurant

Roll Out Guide June 2017

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Introduction Walking into a neat, clean, and organized restaurant gives our guests a good feeling. It lets them know they can trust us. Guests expect restaurants to be clean—that is the most common, basic expectation they have of any restaurant they choose to visit.

Here’s what our guests are saying when we do it right:

On the other hand, when a guest walks into a dirty restaurant, they feel like the owner/manager of the location doesn’t care about their business and they may decide to never come back.

Here’s what our guests are saying when we don’t:

Based on our Voice of the Customer (VOC) scores, we need to focus on cleaning up our restaurants. We are currently at a score of 69.1% for “Cleanliness of Restaurant.” Our goal for the system is 75%. Remember, this is one of the SMG key drivers that play into the OSAT score. People who are highly satisfied have a strong connection to our restaurants.

“I was seated at a spot where I could see behind the counter at the cooking area. Everything in the area looked very clean and well organized. If Toni is the head waitress or the manager, she is running a very nice place”

“I was impressed with the clean practice of the cook. Silverware was spotfree as well as tables. Highly satisfied.”

“(It) should have been a sign to go somewhere else. The place had dirty dishes piled all over the counter

and table were not clean…(the server) said they were out of clean silverware and cups they were in the

dishwasher... Overall it was the worst $25.00 I ever spent and really should have just walked out without

paying... Will not be back at this or any other Huddle House location. “

“Kitchen floor area very dirty, littered with food.

Whole store just not clean and inviting.”

“The cleanliness of the restaurant was poor. The cleanliness

says a lot when you walk in. I sat at the counter and there

was food particles all over the counter.”

“Made me feel more comfortable knowing that

they were so attentive to keeping everything

clean.”

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Introduction There is a large gap between our top performers (87.1%) and our bottom performers (27.1%). Unfortunately, our guests make assumptions about the brand as a whole based on one location. It only takes one bad visit to make someone decide to spend their money at another restaurant. And it can take just a few poor visits to lower our reputation as a brand.

Keeping the restaurant clean and well organized doesn’t take a lot of effort. It just takes dedication to following systems and getting your team into daily routines. At first it will be hard to change their habits—you will have to say the same things every day, all day. But once habits are formed, shifts will run a lot smoother.

One of the most important factors for a smooth shift is communication. Every day you should be coaching your team members into, through, and out of each shift.

You may have heard, “Manage the systems, the systems manage the restaurant.” That is true. Communication and follow-up is the key to managing a successful business.

We have new tools & modified systems to make it easier and more effective. These are all described in more detail later in the guide.

Manager Pocket Card: Weekly planning tool

Manager Checklist: Daily workflow for all shifts

Rush Ready & Shift Change Checklist: Daily manager checklists

Hourly Round: New hourly manager system—upgraded version of Zone Walk Through

Team Member Walk Through (TMWT): Reduced frequency to one time per hour

Cook & Server Checklists: Divided by number of people working

Weekly/Monthly Cleaning Chart: Detailed cleaning work that should be done regularly, but not daily

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Management Systems Manager Pocket Planner

Each manager on the team should have Pocket Planner they use to keep them organized throughout the week. These should be filled out weekly and kept on them while they are working. This is an electronic Excel file that will be emailed to your restaurant in the System Communication.

Save this file to your desktop

Print one for each manager weekly—it will have the pocket planner on the front and schedule on the back

Fill out during weekly manager meeting

The front side of the pocket planner is used to keep track of everything you have to accomplish throughout the week.

List of items you need to discuss

with your supervisor

List of training items to

focus on

Items to communicate with

rest of the management team To Do list for the restaurant

Restaurant Goals—should be

the same for all managers on

the team

TM Communication—should be

the same for all managers on

the team

Reminder of our daily systems

(See “Systems” page for details)

Reminder of our hourly systems

(See “Hourly Rounds” page for

details)

Meeting planning—

who, when, where,

goals

Items you are

responsible for

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Management Systems Team Member Schedule—Back of Pocket Planner

To stay organized, it is helpful to know what team members are working each shift and when they are expected to arrive. Keeping a completed copy of the schedule on you at all times will help you be proactive when someone lets you know they’re running late or calls out for their shift. You can quickly look at the schedule and call someone else to cover the shift. In addition, you can also notice if someone is lingering on the clock and determine whether the volume needs them to stay or if you should cut them to hit your labor goals.

Adding Schedule to Pocket Planner

Print the Manager Pocket Planner

Turn paper upside down and print Crew Member Schedule

Keeping the weekly planner and weekly schedule on hand at all times will help the management teams stay focused on their goals for the week. Managers should bring their sheets to the next manager meeting to discuss results from the previous week.

Back

Team Member Schedule

Front

Planner

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Management Systems Systems

Rush Ready Checklist New! This checklist is designed to make sure we are properly prepared for each shift, all day.

Pre-shift Huddle Plan for a great Pre-shift Huddle using the sheet from Cost Control and notes from your Pocket Planner.

You should have goals/training tips for both cooks and servers. This is how you coach your team members

into the shift.

Hourly Rounds New! Hourly Rounds are completed once an hour to take a good look at the operations of your restaurant

and address any issues quickly. This is how you coach your team members through the shift. See details in

“Hourly Rounds” section of this guide.

Verify Cash Drawers This is a system that has been in place. It’s important to trust your team, but you have to verify that

nothing goes missing. It’s your money—keep an eye on it.

Establish build-to pars

for Prep & Ordering

This is a system that has been in place. You should look at these levels often and make adjustments as sales

trends shift in your business or for holidays. Having too much product on hand wastes money, but not hav-

ing enough looks unprofessional to guests.

Cost Control Same system that has been in place.

Sales & Labor Activities Being aware of your sales trends helps you be prepared for business and helps you spend money efficiently.

Build your schedule based on sales—not just what you’ve done historically, but based on where you want

your business to go.

Track Waste The waste tracker has been in place. Use it helps you prevent/identify theft. You can improve your par

levels for prep and inventory by noticing what gets wasted the most and if there are any shifts that have the

most waste. Based on what you observe, coach your team or adjust par levels as needed.

Pocket Planner New! This tool is designed for you to plan your time effectively. It is a reminder of what needs to be done

this week to keep the business running well. See details in the “Pocket Planner” section of this guide.

Maintenance Duties Maintenance is ongoing. Taking good care of your building and equipment helps it last longer. Spending a

little time and money regularly help prevent having to spend large amounts of money later.

Shift Change Checklist New! This checklist was developed to help manager make sure shift transitions are smooth and fully

completed. This is what you use to coach your team members out of the shift.

The “Systems” area of the Pocket Planner is a reminder to follow the processes we have in place to ensure we are prepared for all shifts and we are focused on managing the business.

Some of these systems are the same and some are new. Details below.

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Management Systems Hourly Rounds

Hourly Reading/Check

Audit

Check sales and audit at least one server check for all items being rung in.

Staff Sense of Urgency Everyone should be moving quickly & efficiently - you set the example. Coach as needed.

Exterior/Parking Lot Verify no trash visible and there are no safety issues present. Direct team members as needed to

complete tasks. Make note of any maintenance issues on your Pocket Planner.

Clutter-free Entrance and

Dining Room

Clean windows & vestibule. Only HH marketing materials, hours of operations, and mandated postings

should be in entranceway. Remove all additional clutter (flyers, non-Huddle House advertising, etc).

Welcoming Atmosphere Friendly, smiling staff, music & lighting at good volume, TVs on sports or news channels.

Happy Guests Stop by tables in the dining room and ask guests about their experience. Resolve any issues quickly

using the LAST method.

Friendly, Attentive Servers Sharp looking team with smiles and desire to make the guest happy. If one of your team members looks

overwhelmed, ask what you can do to help.

Cook’s Line Clean, organized, and stocked line. Verify cooks have stirred product and there’s enough to get through

next hour and that there is no expired product on the line. Cooks should be removing dirty dishes and

restocking with clean. Surfaces should be cleaned & sanitized and no debris on floor. Change out

Perfect Product and

Plating

Look at items as they are completed. Do they look like the picture on recipe card? Are all items on

tickets coming out together? How long is it taking to complete orders (ticket times)? Coach or jump in

as needed.

Clean & organized dish,

prep, and beverage areas

Walk through these areas and direct team members to correct any issues. Is the beverage area clean

and stocked with ice, cups/mugs, etc? Is the prep area clean and all items not used put away? Spot

check cooler or day dots and organization. Help out with dish if needed.

Back door locked Verify this for your team members’ safety and to prevent theft.

Follow up with Team

Member Walk Through

Direct team members to complete any unfinished tasks from TMWT. Jump in and help if needed.

“Hourly Rounds” is an updated way to think about Zone Walk Through. It is very similar, but the focus is slightly different.

In addition to looking at the physical appearance of the building, we are also looking at our sales and the quality of the guest experience that is happening in the restaurant.

These should happen once an hour with Team Member Walk Through. Coach team members as you see issues.

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Manager Systems Manager Workflow Checklist/Rush Ready Checklist/Shift Change Checklist

These checklists contain a master list of the tasks the management team have to do throughout the day to for a successful open (morning shift), a smooth shift transition, and detailed close. Following these checklists will keep the managers in routines and keep the staff and restaurant organized and focused.

The Manager Workflow Checklist helps managers organize their day.

These are laminated sheets that should be kept on a clipboard with a dry erase marker.

Side 1: Daily plan

Designed for use in both 24 hour and modified hours

locations.

Side 2: Closing checklist

Designed for use only in locations on modified hours.

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Management Systems Manager Rush Ready / Shift Change Checklist

These checklists are used to coach the team into and out of the shift. This is the system that the managers should follow right before and after each shift. Use a dry erase pen to check or initial the lines on this laminated sheet. Erase and re-use before starting for each shift.

Rush Reay list is used to

coach your team into the

shift.

This should be completed by

the manager/shift lead who

is going to be working

through the shift.

Shift Change list is used to

coach your team out of the

shift.

This should be completed by

the manager/shift lead who

just finished the shift.

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Cook Systems

The cook checklist has been color-coded to split the workload between the number of cooks working. There are versions of this checklist for 2—6 people shifts. The 2 cook checklist is shown below. Assign each cook to a specific color. There is no 1 person checklist—they will just complete everything on the 2 cook checklist.

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Server Systems The server checklist has been color-coded to split the workload between the number of servers working. There are versions of this checklist for 2—8 people shifts. The 3 server plan is shown below. It is a best practice to customize your floor chart to match the color coding as shown below. Otherwise you will have to assign each server to a specific color. (There is not one for 1 server—they need to do everything on the 2 person checklist).

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Cook/Server Systems Detailed Cleaning Duties

The following checklists are to help us improve the cleanliness of our restaurants. There are some cleaning duties that don’t need to be done every day but do need regular attention. The manager will assign servers and cooks to each of these items on a weekly or monthly basis.

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Team Member Walk Through We have reduced frequency for Team Member Walk Through to once an hour. You will need to re-set this button on your timer to 60 minutes. With the reduction in frequency, the expectation is that we can do it better. When the timer goes off, the manager should start their hourly rounds and the cooks and servers should start TMWT. As the manager completes their round, they should point out any opportunities they see that the team members have missed.

The goal of this change is to put action in place. The timer going off should start some activity—not just a verbal “Thank you.”

Servers

We are all responsible for keeping the restaurant clean. You may be assigned a specific area to check

during team member walk through, but if there is nothing to clean in your area, help out in another

area.

Check restrooms

Clear floor of debris such as straw wrappers, napkins, etc.

Sweep or mop as needed

Take dirty dishes to the back

Clean & sanitize all dirty surfaces (dining room & work stations)

Spot clean the windows as needed

Clean debris from exterior of building (parking lot, sidewalk, etc.)

Wash your hands

Cooks

Stir all items held hot in the steam table—look to see if you need more of any product

- Looking every 15 minutes will prevent you from running completely out of a product. There

is nothing worse than needing an item to sell a ticket and find out it is empty at the last

second

Temp all hot food products

- Should be held at 170°F (+ or - 5°F)

- Do not serve anything in the Danger Zone (40° - 140°F)

Clean and sanitize all surfaces in your area. Replace sanitizer and towels as needed

Sweep your area

Remove all dirty dishes and utensils from the line and replace with clean ones

Re-stock plates and product as needed

Wash hands and replace gloves

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Roll Out Plan You can start rolling out these systems as soon as you get all the materials. The key to a successful roll out is communication and follow-up. The team will not remember how to do it right the 1st day. You will have to keep talking about it in daily Pre-shift Huddles, coaching the team into, through, and out of the shift

Auto-ship Items

Laminated Cook/Server Checklists & Cleaning Duties

Laminated Manager Workflow Checklist

Laminated Manager Rush Ready/Shift Change Checklist

Electronic Files sent via System Communication

Manager Pocket Planner

Take Down / Remove

Cook Checklist (tear-off pad)

Server Checklist (tear off pad)