Every minute counts! How to gain more speed in the hospitality industry

Here are seven tips from this fast-service restaurant expert:

👉 Preparation is the name of the game. ‘Prepare your burger buns and rolls, get salad bowls and lids ready, line up enough bags for collection and delivery within reach’, advises Ahmet Elmaci. ‘If you’re having to run out to the back to get them, then you’re already losing valuable time.’ However, the expert who runs Pascha Grill in Dinslaken emphasises that you don’t have to pre-slice everything in advance in the morning. ‘We chop up fresh ingredients three times a day.’ This means that planning your day and processes well is key to ensuring that every employee knows what they need to be doing and when.

👉 And when it comes to employees: ‘When people are happy, then you can see that in their work,’ notes Elmaci. When it comes to ‘getting things done fast’, one factor that is not necessarily obvious but is essential is paying an adequate wage. Elmaci employs five people and is a trained professional in the retail industry who made a career change into hospitality. ‘Stable, long-term employee relationships,’ are the key to ensuring that employees are happy to work efficiently.

👉 Digital reservation and ordering tools save time because employees can prepare the food instead of accepting orders on the phone and writing them down. The tools, like those offered by DISH, are easy to integrate on your website. Another benefit for guests is that they can book a table at any time.

👉 Outsourcing: ‘I have everything delivered’, adds Elmaci. Instead of being out at the shops, he prefers to be in the store. The time saved can be invested, for example, in keeping the store clean: cleaning is done continuously during service. Then there is an additional final clean when the store closes and a professional clean carried out by a cleaner in the morning.

👉 Keep work processes efficient! Here’s a practical example: ‘The sauces shouldn’t be at the other end of the counter. They need to be right there where I can easily grab them’, explains Elmaci. His tip is to use a radius of two to three metres. ‘Everything should be within your reach there.’

👉 Another time-saver is to use flexible, modern devices like induction cookers which are ready to use really quickly when you need additional capacity. When not required, they can be stored to save space.

👉 Less is more. A small menu means fewer ingredients, fewer different cooking methods and, therefore, reduced waiting times for diners.

But in all that haste, you need to remember to stay cheerful! ‘I always make sure to crack jokes and make time to look after the guests’, says Elmaci. That’s why he also posts funny insights into his working day on social media, such as TikTok, every day. Having fun is so important in that kind of hectic environment.