Coaching the pre-shift meeting
By Jeff Hookham

I went to the dentist last week for my semi-annual cleaning. The doctor asked me how often I floss. “Just give me a rough, weekly estimate,” she said. I didn’t need a pen and paper for this calculation. “Not very often,” I replied. She looked at me and said, “Just start flossing the ones you want to keep.”

I like her.

Pre-shift meetings are a lot like my flossing. You know you should be doing them daily and you think about implementing them every week. But for whatever reason, it’s just the act of running a pre-shift that you are having trouble with.

Why run a pre-shift (also called alley rallies, pre-shows, action assembly and warm ups)? Most restaurants don’t because they don’t know how and they don’t know what to say. So again, why run a pre-shift?

Because it’s a great opportunity to coach your team and help them stay focused on what’s important to the success of the restaurant. Let’s explore how to run a successful pre-shift meeting.

When you watch your favorite college basketball team, right before the players take the floor to start the game, the team is in a huddle around their coach. This is their “pre-shift” meeting.

What do you think the coach is saying? “John, can you hustle a little more today and, guys, I’ve noticed that some people aren’t keeping their hands up on defense, and can we please not turn the ball over today. Oh, and if you miss a free throw I’m sitting you on the bench.”

Of course that’s not what the coach is saying. They’re giving them last minute instructions and motivation. “If we play as a team we’ll win as a team. On defense keep your hands up and keep an eye on 23 at all times. Now lets get out there and put the ball in the basket and show these people what a winning team looks like!”

The coach is coaching the team to get the most out of their talent. In a restaurant, the manager is the coach. And during a pre-shift meeting, that’s what you need to do—coach.

You don’t need Knute Rockne speaking skills to have a great pre-shift, just follow these simple guidelines:

• Keep it short and sweet (another variation on the K.I.S.S. acronym). Two to two and a half minutes, tops. These meetings should be quick hits that inform, instruct and motivate right before the revenue period starts.

• Stay positive. Keep the meetings positive, coach. I’ve seen managers let these meetings turn into bull sessions—don’t let that happen. You don’t need negative energy right before your team hits the floor and interacts with your guests.

• Be interactive. To keep your teams attention, you have to make it interactive. For example, when you mention the daily special, have someone give a sales presentation around that special or ask servers what their check average goal for the day is. Look for things that you can bounce off the team that they can respond to.

• Focus. Focus on one primary area to talk about. Whether it’s maximizing sales, providing remarkable service or menu knowledge, pick one topic and focus on that area during your meeting.

• Plan. The manager should have a plan before the meeting starts. Mention the daily specials, soups of the day and any 86’d items. Talk about team goals you have and any goals or objectives you have for different areas of your team, like your servers, cooks, bussers, and hosts. These meetings are also a great time to make announcements, discuss contests and to recognize excellent efforts. Lastly, talk about incoming groups or restaurant happenings that will take place during the shift.

There, no more excuses about not knowing what you need to talk about when running a pre-shift. Follow the guidelines outlined here and you will soon be reaping the benefits of a well-coached wait staff team. Now if I had a coach to help me with my flossing…