Donald Burns (video, Nov 30, 2023) argues that restaurants should treat staff as "internal guests" whose experience directly shapes the external guest experience. He stresses that top restaurants prioritize team experience — building people and teams — because a strong team produces a better guest experience and business outcomes.
The very best brands in the world understand they have two types of guests. You have the external guest who comes in your restaurant and they purchase your goods and service. Then you have X, you have internal guests that actually create the experience for the external guests. The very best restaurants in the world focus more on the team experience than anything else. Focus on the team experience. It's going to enhance and improve my guest experience. There's a great saying out there. You don't build business, you build your team, you build your people, and then your people build that business.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
