The restaurant marketplace is becoming more complex than ever with food safety, marketing dominance by the chains and globalization on the minds of owners. Also, frivolous lawsuits against restaurants abound, so it behooves restaurant owners to take notice of the many risks.
Consultants commonly use Operations’ Checklists to not only evaluate and improve business performance, but also to identify potential risks to restaurant guests, employees and owners.
Subjects covered in a typical assessment include ingress and egress, parking facilities, patron and server traffic patterns relative to facility floor plans, restaurant cleanliness, food and equipment handling, safety procedures, employment issues and general business practices.
For example, a fast-casual suburban restaurant had frequent problems with guests running into each other and furnishings. The owner became increasingly concerned as patrons, often distracted while conversing leaving and entering the restaurant, had to ambulate through a blind L-shaped corridor.
Checklist questions
Starting at the entrance of the restaurant, employees assisted in an operational evaluation as to how to remedy this problem using a simple customized questionnaire:
Is the restaurant receiving area and/or doorway free from obstruction so that guests may enter and leave the restaurant without risk of injury?
No.
Are both carpets fastened securely to the floor and all thresholds fixed level to the floor so that no one will trip or fall?
No. (Thresholds were raised.)
Q: Is there adequate lighting, with light bulbs replaced as necessary?
No. (Scant artificial lighting present near the blind corner. Natural lighting from large windows was evident during daylight hours, but the restaurant was open until 11 p.m.)
Are there any “sharp edges” in furnishings or fixtures that may pose a risk if someone passes by, especially near corners, turns, or doorways?
Yes. (A clumsy, decorative coat rack and brass easel were both situated too close to one of the doors and the hostess stand was obstructing part of the main dining room entrance.)
Are the outside walkways or sidewalks free of water and mold that could cause slippery conditions?
No. (Evidence of mold on the sidewalk and a plug in a downspout posed risk.)
Confronting situations
Restaurant owners should consider all areas and aspects of their operation from a risk standpoint. They may have to confront risky situations themselves and even turn to outside help in some situations.
The pastry chef at an upscale restaurant didn’t wash his hands or clean his workspace except at the end of the day, and sometimes re-used dirty utensils. Obviously, there is potential risk here. After a private showdown with the restaurant manager, this pastry chef immediately cleaned up his act. Employees, including de facto management employees need to be reminded about personal hygiene and safe food handling processes.
Restaurant X found itself in an employment controversy surrounding an arbitrary tipping-out policy, where a wait staff mutiny seemed to be ensuing. The restaurant owner was also privately being threatened with a lawsuit by a disgruntled former employee about this same policy. With information readily available online, simply winging-it with regard to employment and business law matters today is quite foolish. For further information, owners should visit: www.dol.gov/esa, and/or contact a lawyer who specializes in employment law.
Weighing costs
An upscale restaurant located in a major West coast city began offering valet parking. But when a customer claimed an expensive jacket had been stolen out of the back seat of his car, the owners had to reevaluate whether it was worth the risk of offering valet service.
A fast-casual restaurant owner felt fortunate being able to lease space on a busy thoroughfare near a major university. But the owner soon found himself being sued when one of his patrons collided with a group of students and fell on the sidewalk while trying to exit the restaurant’s crowded front doorway.
Because some risks are unavoidable no matter what a restaurant owner does, most owners have commercial insurance policies to protect against basic risks. Insurance policies can also be written to meet other, more specific needs of each restaurant.
For example, a restaurant located in a mid-rise building that is only accessible by a long and steep flight of stairs had to determine whether it was worth the additional coverage, costing many thousands of dollars in insurance premiums. It had never once in over 10 years had a claim related to these stairs and wasn’t sure the money spent to protect the restaurant from a possible claim was worth it.
A good insurance provider can (and did) assist in making these difficult decisions.
Maren L. Hickton is the principal of Maren Incorporated, a hospitality consulting and marketing firm based in Pittsburgh, Pa., and a regular contributor to Restaurant Report (restaurantreport.com), a Web site about restaurant management and operations for hospitality professionals. Hickton can be reached at MarenInc@aol.com or www.mareninc.com.
Topics Risk Management
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Viewpoint: Deepfake Fraud Is On the Rise. Here’s How Insurers Can Respond 
Study Urges Rethinking of Disaster Management in Era of Compounding Events 
AIG Files Amended Suit Against Former Execs, Dellwood Insurance 
What Disruptions Have Been Reported After the Global Tech Outage? From This Issue
