Behind the Counter with DeVita & Hancock

Christine is back with Keith on the season finale of Behind the Counter. They talk about the boomerang effect in the industry, how to get ready for the Thanksgiving and Christmas peak, and what they really think about deep-fried turkey.

[01:35] The Boomerang Effect

Be Kind or Leave

Keith is reading about restaurants and hotels pushing back against customer tantrums and COV-Holes. As an industry that has not skipped a beat and made sure people had food to eat, they’re totally on board with restaurants putting up signs that say “Be Kind or Leave”. If you have no patience, either fill out a form and jump on board or just simply don’t go out and stay at home.

How Restaurants Should Get Ready for the Holidays

For Keith, the first thing he prepares for the upcoming holiday surge are sales projections. Secondly, he looks at his current staffing and how he can maximize throughput with what he has. Lastly, and definitely not the least, what his menu’s going to look like for the holiday season. Christine on the other hand would limit herself to what she would be capable of doing for that day by basing her sales off her schedule, the staff she would be needing, and then work out a reservation program which would save her from poor guest experience and disgruntled employees.

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

Keith is flying solo on this episode but is in good company with guest Jess Chuang, owner and operator of Ichiban To-Go alongside her father who first started the business in the 80’s. She shares how she runs things, how she keeps her staff loyal, and how she adapted Ichiban’s business model throughout of the pandemic.

[00:52] Introducing Jess

How Jess is Recruiting, Retaining, and Motivating Staff

Jess used to work in events and she understands the struggle of people thinking you’re just a cog in a machine. Her secret to having employees stay for over a year is that she treats them like family; she doesn’t under-pay and she acknowledges that every employee has a life and that they’re all working in a high-stress industry.

Adapting to the COVID Era

The most important lesson Jess picked-up from the pandemic was to listen and collaborate with the people around you. During the first few months of the pandemic, Jess decided to do some research and hear out her head chef who suggested doing take-out to adapt to the times. From then on, she stands by three things: doing your research, knowing your market, and most importantly, immersing yourself in your community and giving them what they want (like Pumpkin Spice Lattes).

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

Should we bring in robots or drones to serve our food? Christine and Keith discuss the future of automation in the industry. The two hosts also share valuable tips on how to stay consistent with your dining experience and the things that you might think customers don’t notice but actually do.

[00:43] Current Events

Automation

A number of chain restaurants are automating their labor, and both aren’t feeling too hot about the idea— Keith thinks burger “flippies” could work in stadiums and airports but not on the frontlines and a human body still needs to facilitate orders for cafes like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. Christine isn’t a fan of the whole “robots replacing humans” idea, which takes out the personal relationship out of the restaurant. The upside however is that robots eliminate errors, ensure portion control, reduce food waste as well as sick days of hourly employees. Having robots is still a novelty in the industry which is good for PR and can bring in increased foot traffic.

Putting on a Show, All Theater

Putting up a restaurant is all about creating the image, the guest experience, manufacturing, serving, and consuming the product in the same four walls. From bathrooms to parking lots, how wobbly the tables are and kind of toilet paper you use; what the guests see and how they see it should be very important to operators and even director-level roles.

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

Christine and Keith share their thoughts on proper communication in the industry and how easily you can get misconstrued through text. They exchange funny and cringe-worthy experiences about employees who are a little too noisy through both text and social media.

[00:29] Restaurants Closing Early

[03:31] Flipping on the Switch Right Away

[07:06] Proper Training and Proper Communication

[14:41] Communicating to New Hires

[17:23] The Effectiveness of Texting

[19:26] Lines You Should Not Cross

[24:10] Social Media Trickling Down the Work Force

[29:17] COV-Hole of the Week

Proper Training and Proper Communication

Keith and Christine have experienced miscommunication from managers and employees and still find it weird when managers message their staff. 15 years ago, things were entirely different; phones weren’t allowed and they didn’t even know each other’s phone numbers. Now, Christine sees employees sharing screenshots of their bosses’ misconstrued and inappropriate texts all over Tiktok, but on a more positive note, texting for restaurants has led to increased sales, streamlined seating, pick-up and delivery, while boosting employee productivity and engagement.

Lines You Shouldn’t Cross

Christine cringes at the thought that employees have their managers phone numbers. Keith reads out a timeless, rather charming message from an unhappy employee. They also advise to not make your social media public, especially if you’re a controversial person. Make it private, don’t announce where you work and what you do for a living, keep it within your safe space, and don’t let it trickle down to your work force.

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

The dynamic duo of DeVita and Hancock is back with some industry news and their thoughts on the evolution of gig work. They exchange stories on their experiences with growing multi-unit brands in New York, franchisers, and the right to open a restaurant.

[01:21] Industry News

Growing a Multi-Unit Brand

Back in the 90’s, growing a chain was taboo. People went into the industry for their passion, and everyone thought that working in the restaurant business was like being a celebrity with the rise of the Food Network until they realized it was nothing like that at all. Now, it seems that people who want to get into the business just want to be rich and have the next big McDonald’s instead of turning away from it. Keith gives some advice: to grow a multi-unit brand, get people to fall in love and gain emotional attachment with the brand.

Standing in the Middle of Times Square

Just because you build it, and there’s a hundred thousand people outside, doesn’t mean they will come: this is Keith’s advice to people who want to open a restaurant. Christine recalls being a barista at TGI Friday’s and feeling ready to become a manager until she was told that there’s more to being one than handling inventory and weekend shifts. They can’t emphasize this enough—if you’re not and have never worked in the restaurant business, just because you’re sitting on a mountain of cash, doesn’t mean you have the right to open a restaurant.

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

Things spice up on this episode of Behind the Counter with David Tillery (AKA Romance Dee back in the day), owner and operator of RMD Food Adventure. He shares how he founded RMD, food recommendations in and outside of New York, and his upcoming Netflix show.

[00:30] Introducing David Tillery

Great Food, Bad Service

The five things that David looks for in a restaurant is simple: cleanliness, a great attitude, good food (of course), clean silverware, and reasonable prices. But the trio admits that if the line is long, but the service is bad, they won’t think twice on lining up for good food. When it comes to chain restaurants, he notices that where it originally starts is where they serve the best food. When it starts branching out, the cooks change and so the taste changes too. Like with Tropical Jerk’s oxtail—if it’s not good, he’s not going to be impressed with anything else they serve.

From Romance Dee to RMD Food Adventure to a Netflix Deal

Back in the day, David was an actor and used to do improv as “Romance Dee”. A self-described “fat kid who loves cake”, he woke up one day and realized that he loved food and being with other people and so he waited for his kids to grow and decided to make his own food business. Now he has an upcoming food show on Netflix and Christine and Keith can’t wait to see what he has in store.

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

In this episode, Christine and Keith welcome their two friends on the show: Anthony Azzara, Corporate IT Manager from The One Group and Jack Copus, a Hospitality Accounting Executive from SpotOn and Behind the Counter’s first ever guest from Episode 2. They reminisce the old days from Pret, the changes and vulnerability they experienced due to the pandemic, and how the restaurant industry will soon change.

[00:32] Reminiscing with Anthony and Jack

Changing Infrastructure and Adapting

Because of the pandemic, Anthony and Jack share their experiences with adapting on a global health crisis. Anthony has always dabbled into partnering up with third-party delivery services and POS to streamline their services but was eventually forced to take it seriously when COVID hit. Jack felt vulnerable for the first time after the 2007 financial crisis and how even back then, he felt assured that he was always going to be employed as someone who works in the food industry.

The Vaccine Mandate

Christine, Keith, Anthony, and Jack are all vaccinated and they’re all on the same page: they’re doing it for other people. Anthony goes candid and thinks that it would have been much better if they weren’t forced to take it or forced to jam the vaccine in there dry. Jack also sees it as a health and hygiene issue because of an experience with a restaurant chain in St. Louis. They all wish it wasn’t so politicized so that they wouldn’t have to deal with adult customers fighting 15-year-old hostesses about vaccine cards, which is what the government requires them to do.

Future Predictions

Anthony predicts that things will soon go back to normal—2019 normal, rather. Jack also thinks that everything will soon change, and that technology will lead the way because of a shift in dining habits among customers. The pandemic forced the hands of the industry and Jack advises to be more conscious of being profitable and evolve with time. Will there be an Elon Musk for restaurants out there that’s going to come out with something crazy?

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

In this episode, Christine and Keith welcome back fellow DeVita Hancock teammate Richard Teaar. They discuss time management, how they married the restaurant industry and the never-ending battle with the vaccine mandate.

[00:54] Richard’s Time Management

Marrying the Restaurant Industry and When They First Caught the Bug

The restaurant industry has one of the highest rates of divorce and depression given the long work hours and almost little to no free time among its employees. Despite knowing this, Keith, Christine, and Richard have all chosen to dedicate their time to building their careers in this industry which they compare to a “disease”. The trio reminisce when they first caught the working bug and how different the younger generations entering the industry are now.

The Media Instilling Fear

Keith and Christine continue to stay firm with their stance against the vaccine mandate and how it remains an anti-restaurant industry. Richard joins in and sees how politicized the pandemic response has become, instilling fear among civilians and forcing vaccines to those who refuse to take it.

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.

In this episode, Christine and Keith share restaurant pet peeves and more tips on how new restaurant owners can maximize their throughput.

[02:22] How the Delta Variant Affected McDonald’s

Christine and Keith’s Pet Peeves

Running a restaurant is never not a challenge, so Christine and Keith share some of their top restaurant pet peeves throughout their career. On top of pet peeves, they also suggest customers to be more decisive with their orders and additional requests to avoid servers from going back and forth from the tables to the kitchen and for large groups of people (usually more than 6) to make a reservation ahead of time. They also share their experiences of picky eaters, freeloaders, and those who commit the biggest sin of all: non-tippers.

Six Steps to Maximizing Throughput

1. Use the throughput formula to measure how many customers can be served in an hour

2. Have a system at your front door for your hosts

3. Sequence of service is very important

4. Kitchen operations are the key to your restaurant’s success

5. Management presence and effect in the dining room

6. Track your results

Where to Find Them:

Facebook - DeVita & Hancock Hospitality Group Inc.