Owning and running a restaurant is no child’s play. The difficulty level increases when you decide to steer everything by yourself, which is why most restaurant owners hire management staff to take care of the day-to-day operations. The management staff faces a great many roadblocks along the way, but many times the biggest of them all is restaurant owners themselves!
Restaurant owners often consider it their right to make decisions without prior consultations, and the management staff is often afraid of stepping on their toes. This creates a precarious situation where both parties suffer losses. In the expert opinion of Sanjeev Nanda, it is wiser for the owner to take the backseat when it comes to restaurant operations.
Nanda, who himself owns several restaurants in Dubai, points out that a major reason behind the owner’s obsessive meddling in restaurant operations can be their fear of the business failing. “At times we think that only we can get a particular thing done and that there is no one else that we can count on.”
He continues, “This is where the problem begins. Restaurant management staff are trained professionals who know how to manage operations and crises. They think not on emotional grounds but with the rationale that is needed to keep the business thriving. It is important for restaurant owners to see this point.”
According to Sanjeev Nanda, another factor in play can be control issues. In his opinion, many a times restaurant owners feel that by handing the reigns over to the management staff, they are giving up the control of their restaurant to other entities who might not be as invested in the success of the business as they are.
“Giving up control is scary for many people. It makes them feel lesser and lesser relevant every day. And to maintain their relevance, they often resort to irrational decisions which not only hampers the restaurant’s operations but also affect its revenue. It is important for restaurant owners to understand that giving up control gives you control,” he says.
Sanjeev Nanda points out that running a restaurant business requires teamwork and coordination, which is something that can never happen without mutual trust. According to him, restaurant owners need to trust the skills and training of their management staff, and their ability to share the great load of work that you might otherwise have entirely on your shoulders.
