Why it takes double the time to serve customers in restaurants ten years on

[Ian]

I had my own fruit and veg distribution business supplying most of the major hotel and pub food retail chains in the UK.

We did as lot of menu development work with them on seasonal food / prepared foods etc but without exception the most difficult thing to manage in catering establishments is getting the balance right for - "peaks and troughs" - this affects labour and wastage!

Now they could do what one of my Customers started doing (original burger chain - same name as house builder) and have minimum wage staff in the staff room who clocked off when they were slack and then were asked to clock back on when a queue formed - disgraceful - but I would rather wait a bit longer than support that type of employment tactic!

The larger a la carte restaurants like De Vere's etc actually prided themselves on not having any  items ready prepared so you went there expecting a little wait - as Jacqui said - for freshly made ingredients.

The chef at The Corner Pub (recently criticised for the waiting time but same applies to many others) excels when he has sufficient time and I suspect the owners will gear up once a trend is established but in the meantime these things will happen unless off course he mass produces on Mondays - freezes and then serves it all week with his Ping machine but then none of us would be very happy with solution!

Catering - I was once assured by a reliable source was responsible for more divorces than any other sector due to the constant pressures they worked under at incredibly low net margins (not gross margins)

My business was in fresh food logistics and 20 years ago people would say to me "what does the word logistics mean on the side of your trucks?" - well the American definition was "right product - right place - right time" but I prefer the Oxford English dictionary definition - "the movement of manpower and/or materials (especially during periods of war)" - that was catering summed up perfectly for me!

Caterers - I salute you

[sadler]

Have I got this wrong, but isn't the originator of this thread highlighting that meals are taking longer to pass through restaurants because the customer is spending time on their iPhones etcetera instead of concentrating on eating and/or ordering! I didn't think that it was because the kitchens were taking longer to get the meal out! 

[Ian]

You are correct - I am just supporting the hard pressed and oft criticised caterer

[sadler]

And I am certainly not condemning them! I personally think they do an incredible job and years ago when I undertook a pub management course I learned that the catering industry has the lowest wages (but the highest profit margin) at point of sale. This is the reason I always tip generously unless I have dire treatment and also make sure that the tip goes locally and not to the company coffers!   

[Ian]

Absolutely - if the smartphone craze reduces the number of covers served then it will have a serious impact on an already hard pressed sector.

[davybill]

Macdonlds would suit you Gordon,hardly any waiting time,

[Scunner]

If you ever sit and think of your top (ten?) restaurants, ever & anywhere (could be a new CBF topic right there!!) - you may find that, surprisingly, a good number of them involved waiting - waiting for a table because it is so popular, and/or getting served way too quick because they want you out asap and/or everything is in trays/pots/bottles pre-prepared.

I find food that comes fast quite disturbing

[desmartinson]

Well said Keith, out asap,  Bela Mamas springs to mind there.