Donald Burns argues that many restaurants settle for being merely "good," which commoditizes brands and forces unhealthy price competition. He urges objective, data-driven operations (use product-mix/PMX reports to identify hits and remove misses), continuous staff training to reduce turnover, and courageous, example-led leadership — framing leadership as an active responsibility rather than a title.
You know, running a restaurant requires a wide facet of skills and being objective. It should really be at the top of that list. But instead, too many restaurants are preoccupied with what I like to call the fates of restaurant demise, which are ego, pride, and denial. Now, it's not totally your fault. Surely people out there have been telling you that your food is good. Maybe even you got quite a few good reviews on social media. But let's have a talk about being good. See, good has become the new standard. Everyone, everyone out there expects good, Good food, good service, a clean restaurant. Good has become diluted to become really not good at all. We become content with just being good. The restaurant industry is fast approaching market saturation. Now, it might even have approached that. And you already reached that level in your market. So see, the economy can only support so many restaurants. Think of it kind of like economic survival. The fittest good restaurants get drawn into the middle of the market and then they become a commodity. When your brand is a commodity, you compete, most likely on price. That pricing war erodes away your precious profits and kind of leaves you doubting, is it all worth it? All you know is this. All the hard work you're doing, is it worth it? It is. But, but you need to escape the realm of average and you need to focus on the fundamentals. So maybe your food needs help. I know, I know you don't. You don't want to admit it, but just kind of go along with me here for a second if it does. The first thing you want to look at, you want to look at is your product mix report or your PMX report. You want to know without question, without hesitation, which items are the most popular with your guest. Most people spend their hard earned money to discretionary income. That's the key to long term success. You got to know where your people spend their money at. So you need to detach your ego from this exercise and instead ask, what else can you serve that resonates with what your guests are currently buying? Now, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know you love that quinoa bowl. However, if you only sell two a week, is it really worth it to keep it around? So get your menu out. Sit down with a lens of objectivity. What items are hits? I mean hits, hits, hits, and what items are misses? What items does your team execute without missing a beat? And which ones end up kind of on that bad online review list? Stop guessing. Or worse, you know, not being sure. Without data to back it up, you've got to know what's hot with your guest and then get back to teaching the elements of hospitality. We often train only when people start with our restaurant. That is the biggest mistake out there. Lack of continuing education is the one main reason we have high turnover in the restaurant industry. We all have a need to grow, to learn, to develop. It's hardwired in our DNA for evolution and survival. And when you fail to provide consistent, constant training and and sometimes even retraining to your team, they soon fall right back into those bad habits. And that sends a ripple effect to the bottom line. See, training is never out for the true professional. As a leader that starts with you, you must be setting the example and the standards that you want your team to emulate. There are no bad employees, just bad leaders who failed their team by not setting and living the standards they talk about. It's easy to go in there, go out there on the floor, be the boss, bark some orders, do this, do that. You know, few have the courage, real courage, to step up and really be the leader within their restaurant. See, that's exactly, exactly what you need to do to be a true leader. You need courage because he'll tell you what it takes courage to stand up and declare your standards are high and that you won't compromise them. It takes courage to say you will lead by example and not be a hypocrite. It takes courage to put others before yourself. See, leadership is an act. It's not a title. It's a conscious act in helping others become their very best.
If your restaurant only works because you work 80 hours a week, it doesn't work.
