Why does the coffee grinder only play up the one day a week you have off? Why does the dishwasher start leaking as soon as you’re on holiday?
What happens next depends a lot on the procedures you have in place for your business.
One scenario is that your staff doesn’t tell you anything about the issue out of fear and decides to close up and let you deal with it when you return.
Another, which is easily achievable is that your staff deal with the situation, and you only hear about it on your return.
This is achievable in your business simply by having the right processes and strategies.
You must ensure staff are appropriately trained and have a set of procedures in place that they know about and also how to access this information.
If these things happen in your business with poor outcomes then you need to get a plan in place and establish a process that allows you to have time off and for your business to function as though you are there.
There are a few simple steps you can look to implement that will help you and your staff overcome these situations.
- Make an inventory list of your equipment
- Make a list of all potential breakdown issues that could occur.
- Create a service plan for your equipment.
- Check that your coffee supplier provides basic maintenance training for you and your team.
- Make sure that your key team members know what steps to take in each situation identified when you looked into potential breakdown issues.
- Prepare policy and procedure descriptions for equipment and what to do in case of a breakdown.
- Educate and train your staff
- Have a list of your equipment suppliers and technicians in your policy documents or somewhere that is easily accessible.
Do you get your car serviced regularly? Do the same with the equipment in your business as well. Don’t wait for your equipment to break down before you act.
Routine servicing can prolong the life of your equipment, reduce downtime and improve operating efficiency and ultimately your bottom line.
The critical part of this is ensuring that you and/or your staff are aware of the plan and options available to them and that they know what to do when needed. Doing this will help save time and money in critical situations.
After more than 10 years in the hospitality equipment business, I have learned a thing or two about how to look after your equipment and how to get the most out of it.
If you have any questions about appropriate servicing of equipment or if you are not sure what to do next please post comments below or DM me.
