1. Front Of The House Functions

2. Key Terms General Manager Residence time Front-of-the-House
Call-ahead seating
Seating
Point-of-Sales System (POS)
Reservation
Culinary
Walk-ins
Pass-through
Open seating
Booking a reservation
Overbooking

3. General Manager
The general manager (GM) is responsible for the overall operation of the restaurant
Often, the owner of the restaurant is the general manager
They are accountable for:
The entire restaurant operation
Front-of-the-house employees
Back-of-the-house employees
Supervise the other managers in the restaurant
If the restaurant is apart of a corporate chain, the GM will be responsible for communications with the corporate headquarters

4. Front-of-the-House Functions
Front-of-the-house refers to the area in a hospitality business that guests usually see
In a restaurant, the front-of-the-house usually includes:
Lobby or entrance
Hostess/ Host stand
Dining Room
Front-of-the-house employees work directly with guest

5. Front-of-the-House Functions
The front-of-the-house is responsible for the following six functions:
Seating guest
Selling food
Transmitting orders to the kitchen
Serving customers
Bussing tables
Obtaining payment form customers

6. Seating
Seating is the process of finding seats for customers in a restaurant
When customers enter a restaurant, they are seated by a host or hostess
Customers should be seated as soon as they enter the restaurant
Customers should be seated so that they will be served in the most efficient way

7. Seating
A specific server is responsible for the tables in his or her station
The host or hostess must evenly distribute the guests so that one station is not filled while another is empty
Many restaurants have a computerized table management system
If there are no tables available when the guests arrive, the hostess will give them a pager
The customers will be paged when the restaurant has a table available to sit them at

8. Seating
A reservation is a promise to hold something for a customer until the customer needs it
In the restaurant industry, a reservation is a promise to have a table available for them
Customers call ahead to reserve a table for a specific number of people for a particular date and time

9. Seating
Walk-ins are customers who arrive at a restaurant but have not made a reservation
These customers walk in the door and expect to be seated
Open seating is when a restaurant will not accept reservations
Customers are seated on a first come, first served basis

10. Seating
The process of taking a reservation is called booking a reservation
Reservations have advantages and disadvantages
The main advantages include:
Tables are ready when the customer arrives
The restaurant will have an accurate account of the people to expect
The main disadvantages include:
Guest may not show up for the reservation
The restaurant will lose money

11. Seating
To avoid losing money when guests do not show up, some restaurants make more reservations than there are tables, this is called overbooking
Residence time is the time that it takes a party to eat a meal, pay the bill, and leave the restaurant
90 minutes are usually needed for a party of four people to eat a complete meal that includes appetizers, beverages, the main course, and dessert

12. Seating Call-ahead seating is a fairly new seating method
It is also called priority seating
Call-ahead seating is when a customer calls the restaurant and have their names added to the waiting list
It does not guarantee the guest will have a table
It guarantees them a place in line

13. Sales
The sales function occurs when the server takes the customer’s food order
Servers use a process called suggestive selling
Suggestive selling is recommending menu items that the customer may like
Suggestive selling also increases sales for the restaurant and usually increases tips for the server
Ways restaurants use suggestive selling:
Include wineglasses in the place setting
Sitting wine on the table
Offering additional items to an entrée
Offering dessert
Offering an after dinner drink

14. Transmitting Orders
A critical part of the restaurant business is getting the customers’ orders to the kitchen, then getting the correct orders back to the customers
This process can be broken into five steps;
Taking the order
Transmitting the order
Preparing the order
Checking the order
Retrieving the order

15. Taking Orders The server takes the orders from the guest
Each table in the restaurant has a number
At each table, the guest have a number
Each restaurant has their own way of filling out checks for the guest
The server must ensure that each order is recorded accurately

16. Taking Orders 2 3 2 1 1 4
Entrance 3 4

17. Taking Orders
Many restaurants use computers to improve the process of taking orders and transmitting them to the kitchen
This computerized system is called a point-of-sales system
A point-of-sales system (POS) is a computerized system for recording an order at the place where the order is taken

18. Transmitting Orders to the Kitchen
Once the orders are accurately recorded, they must be transmitted to the kitchen
There are two basic methods of transmission:
Computerized
Non-computerized
In the non-computerized method, the server goes to the kitchen, places the order on a spindle, cook prepares the order
In a computerized system, there is at least one printer in the kitchen. The orders are entered and sent to the proper printer

19. Transmitting Orders to the Kitchen
The POS also improves ordering and transmission accuracy
It will calculate and print out all the checks
Other capabilities of the system include:
Track the number of menu items sold
Alert servers of items that have sold out
Keeping track of inventory
Credit/debit card processing
Employee time clock
Employee schedules
Payroll
Accounting
Frequent diner loyalty programs
Sales reports

20. Preparing Orders
Once the orders are in the kitchen, the culinary staff takes over
Culinary means related to kitchens and cooking
The culinary staff consists of:
Chefs
Cooks
And other staff involved in preparing food
While the main course is being prepared, the server can serve appetizers, soups, and salads

21. Preparing Orders
Timing of food preparation is a critical skill in the restaurant business
All guest of the same party should be served their main courses at the same time
However, different courses take different amounts of time to prepare
In many restaurant a team member called an expediter will organize the timing of the food

22. Checking Orders
After an order is done, but before it is packed up and served, it should be checked for accuracy and appearance
The order should first be checked against the original order, either on the POS or the guest check
The portion sizes must be correct, and the food must be properly cooked and arranged on the plate

23. Retrieving Orders
Food should be served as close to the time that it is finished cooking as possible
Most restaurants will have a special area equipped with heat lamps to keep the food hot until served, this area is called the pass-through or the window
Restaurants have various ways of alerting the staff that the food is ready
Neon Number Board
POS Alert at Computer Terminal
Wireless Paging System

24. Serving
Serving food and beverages is a major function of the front-of-the-house
Regardless of style of service, quality service is the primary responsibility of the front-of-the-house staff
Quality service takes place when guests in a restaurant never have to ask for anything
Guest often do not realize that they have received excellent service until after they have left the restaurant

25. Bussing Bussing is: Setting the place settings on the table
Clearing the dirty dishes from the table
Assisting the servers whenever needed

26. Payment
After dessert and additional beverages are served, the check should be given to the customer
If the server cannot determine who the host of the party is, the check should be placed face down in the center of the table
Actual handling of payment is done in several ways:
Customers take payment to a cashier
Server takes payment

27. Payment Many restaurants only accept cash
Others will accept credit and debit cards
Restaurants within hotels will often allow hotel guests to charge restaurant bills to the room

28. Front-of-the House Functions
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Front-of-the House Functions