How to Stop Your Restaurant Managers from Bringing You Small Problems

Hey there, restaurant pros. It’s David Scott Peters, and welcome to the Restaurant Prosperity Formula podcast.

For over two decades, I’ve been guiding restaurant owners to success with the proven principles of something I call the Restaurant Prosperity Formula. I originally created the formula based on the daily practices of the most successful restaurateurs I coached, and it’s now the foundation of what I teach restaurant owners like you so you can achieve success.

What do I mean by success? Success is a restaurant owner who dictates the terms of their life and their bank account instead of their restaurants dictating those things for them. Success is a restaurant owner who has freedom from the restaurant and the financial freedom they never thought possible.

How you define success is up to you, but I do know the way to achieving it is using the Restaurant Prosperity Formula.

This season, I’m diving even deeper into the core elements of the formula: leadership, systems, training, accountability, and taking action. Along with my insights, you’ll hear from special guests, industry experts, and inspiring success stories from fellow restaurant owners who’ve turned their businesses around and found their definition of success.

In this episode, number 121, we’re tackling something that challenges every restaurant owner: how to stop your managers from bringing you every little problem.

Let’s get started.

Restaurant pros, tell me if this sounds familiar.

You finally sit down to work on something important. Maybe you’re reviewing your numbers, planning your marketing, or figuring out ways to cut costs.

And then here it comes. Your manager knocks on the door.

“Hey, boss, we ran out of chicken. What do you want me to do?”

“Hey, the fryer’s acting up. What should we do?”

“Hey, a customer is complaining about their steak. How do you want me to handle it?”

And you’re like, “You got to be kidding me.”

You throw down your pen, you stop what you’re doing, you get up, and you fix the problem. It’s like they can’t make a decision without you.

At first, maybe it doesn’t seem like a big deal. It’s just a quick answer, right?

But let’s do some quick math. If a manager asks you 10 questions in a shift, and is that really unreasonable? Ten questions. And it takes you two minutes to answer each question, right? That’s not so long. Two minutes.

That’s 20 minutes of your day gone.

Now let’s multiply that by five days a week, assuming you’ve got two days off. That’s 100 minutes lost. Over a month, that’s six to seven hours of wasted time just answering questions they could solve on their own.

Doesn’t that sound crazy?

In fact, I’m sure it frustrates you when you start thinking about all the questions you answer.

Forget about knocking on your door. How about when they call you when you’re at home? When you’re out with friends and family and you get up from the table, saying, “Excuse me, I’ve got to take this call.”

You go outside. You thought you’d be five minutes. Thirty minutes later, you come in, and all the people you’re with have finished their meals, looking at you.

What happened?

You’re never present. Whether it’s working on things you want to work on or being present with family and friends, the reality is you let these little two-minute interruptions, which sometimes become 30 minutes or an hour, steal from your day and steal from your time.

And these are things they should be able to answer on their own.

Think about it: over a year, you’re losing 80-plus hours to these unnecessary interruptions. That’s huge. That’s two full weeks of wasted time.

Wasted time your managers could have given back to you, but took away from you because they don’t know how to make a decision.

But here’s the thing. It’s not their fault. It’s yours.

Now, before you get mad at me because I’ve said that, hear me out. The way you respond to their questions, the way you’ve trained them to think, is keeping them dependent on you.

And today, we’re going to fix that. I mean, we are going to fix that.

Before we fix the issue, we need to understand why it’s happening.

There are three big reasons your managers are coming to you for every decision.

Number one: You’ve trained them to depend on you.

If every time a manager asks a question, you immediately give them an answer, you’re reinforcing a bad habit.

Think about it like a kid asking their parents for help with their homework. If you give them the answer instead of teaching them how to figure it out on their own, they’ll always come to you.

The same happens in your restaurant.

If your kitchen manager asks you, “What do we do if we’re running low on a key ingredient?” and you always tell them the answer, they’ll never think ahead.

If your front-of-house manager asks, “How should we handle this angry guest?” and you step in every time, they won’t build problem-solving skills.

If you always provide the answer, why would they try to figure it out themselves?

Number two: They’re afraid of making a mistake.

A lot of managers don’t make decisions. And I mean they don’t make decisions because they’re scared of getting it wrong.

Maybe in a past job, they got chewed out for making a mistake. Maybe they worked for a boss who micromanaged everything and punished people for trying to be proactive.

So now they play it safe.

And it makes sense. If they don’t make a decision, they can’t be wrong. And if they can’t be wrong, they can’t get in trouble.

You see how that logic flows?

Here’s a reality check: Maybe the person who made them afraid is you.

And this could be as simple as when they come to you with their own solution, you say they’re wrong and tell them exactly what to do.

I can tell you that one of my very best members, who’s also a member mentor for me, Avery, was on vacation at one point. There was an employee issue. A manager asked him a question, or really just let him know about the situation, and he got fired up and said, “Get rid of the person.”

And they did.

When he came home from vacation, all of a sudden he was getting a bunch of questions over and over again.

He realized that they could have handled the situation. He failed to listen or wait and ask them what they would do. He immediately fired off the answer, which was against what they thought should be done.

So they learned very quickly: Don’t make a decision. Wait for the real answer. I don’t want to get in trouble.

And this is one of my very best people, which means we all have a tendency to want to answer a question because we know the answer, but that doesn’t serve anyone.

Number three: They were never trained to think like an owner.

Most restaurant managers were promoted from within. They’re great at doing the work, running shifts, handling customers, and making schedules, but no one ever trained them how to think critically about business decisions.

And if you want managers to think like owners, you have to teach them. Listen to me: You have to teach them how to make decisions.

And that’s where we’re going to go next.

So how do we stop, I mean literally stop, this cycle and get managers to start solving their own problems?

Stop answering their questions.

It seems pretty simple, right? Let’s walk through the steps.

Step one: Make them think first.

The next time a manager comes to you with a problem, say, “What do you think we should do?”

Or maybe you should ask, “If I wasn’t here, how would you handle this?”

Or how about, “What are your options?”

One of the things I like to teach my managers is that I have an open-door policy. Yes, come to me. But don’t come to me with a problem. Come to me with a solution.

I’d rather them come in the door with three solutions that I can pick from.

Instead of coming in and saying, “Hey, the broadline distributor didn’t drop off steaks for the party tonight. What would you like me to do?” and me throwing down my pencil, getting up, and starting to search and make phone calls, they should come through my door with three solutions.

If I handle it myself, I’m taking care of it because they’re asking me to. Then I get upset that they stole my time.

Instead, their job is to walk through my door with three solutions.

They should show up and say, “Hey, our broadline distributor didn’t show up with the steaks we need for tonight’s party. I have three options.

“One, I could go across the street to the grocery store and buy steaks. They’re probably going to be about a dollar more per pound, based on what I saw online.

“I could go to our broadline distributor and get the steaks, but by the time I’m done, that’s about a three-hour turnaround, and we’ve got to start prepping for the party.

“I could have our secondary vendor bring steaks. They’re going to be about 50 cents more per pound. No big deal, but they won’t be here until four, and the party’s at five.

“So I’m going to suggest I go across the street and buy steaks. What would you like me to do?”

You’d be amazed. You’d be like, “Holy cow, you’ve got to be kidding me. I get to pick. I love your answer. I like option three,” or, “I’ve got a new idea. Have you looked at XYZ?”

What a difference it is when they come through the door with three solutions instead of a problem.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We’re going to talk about responsibility and authority here in a second. But the reality is, if the air conditioner falls through the roof, they’re coming to you. We’ll talk about that in a moment.

Do know that when you ask them these questions, things like “What are your options?” can initially cause hesitation. They might even say, “I don’t know.”

Remember that fear part? But don’t cave. Push them to think.

Here’s a pro tip.

One of my past members, Dan Carr, worked on core values with me, along with Candy Meacham. They’re partners in business and partners in life, and they have an incredible business, or I should say businesses.

At the time, they were working their way out of the day-to-day operations. As we worked on their core values, they began to see their importance and ask how they were going to use them.

I left their place and came back to my office. A couple of weeks later, I got a call from Dan.

Dan said, “Remember those core values?”

“Yeah, I helped write them. I helped work on them with you.”

He said, “I did the most amazing thing. I had a manager come to me and ask one of those questions. We want to say dumb questions, but it was just a question. And instead of answering for them, I said, ‘What would you do based on our core values? How would you handle it based on our core values?’”

I’m going to talk about core values again.

These are our guiding principles, who we are as a person, that often never change. They’re also how we want our employees, team members, and managers to make decisions in our business.

Because if their decisions align with our core values, they shouldn’t ever be scolded. They may be coached. But the fact of the matter is that their decisions align with where we’re going, and I’m going to add something to that in just a moment.

The reality is, core values help them make that decision.

On a side note, if you do not have your core values documented, we need to get that done so that you can use them as a training tool to help your managers make decisions that align with what you want done.

Step two: Teach them how to evaluate a situation.

Yeah, teach them.

Once they give an answer, go deeper. Ask questions like:

“What are the pros and cons of that solution?”

Get them thinking about the good side and the bad side of each solution, especially if they have three options to bring to you. This way, they can pick the best one.

“What’s the long-term impact?”

Get them thinking further than what’s convenient right now. What is the right decision for the company moving forward, not just in the moment?

“How does this affect the team?”

That’s really important. We’ve got to make sure the decisions we make in management affect everybody in the business.

When you do this consistently, your managers will start thinking through their decisions before they come to you.

Isn’t that what we want?

If you want managers to stop running to you for every little thing, you need to be clear about decision-making authority.

What can they do?

Here’s a pro tip. I want to be very clear about the difference between responsibility and authority. Remember I said we’d come back to this?

It’s one thing to have a responsibility to do something.

Let’s say you have a responsibility to hire employees or run shifts, but you don’t have the authority to write them up. You don’t have the authority to hold them accountable. You don’t have the authority to fire them.

Then you don’t have any authority to do your job. You’re really just babysitting the employees.

Having responsibility is very different from having the authority to do your job.

So as we define these questions and these levels of what managers can and cannot do, we need to understand what their responsibility is and whether they have the authority to execute that responsibility.

Think about that as a leader with your team.

Here’s how you structure it.

Tier one: These are decisions they can make without you.

Anything under $50? Handle it.

Do I really need to be called about buying a ream of paper? I don’t need to be involved in that kind of decision.

“Can I buy the paper?”

“No, go buy the paper.”

We know that is not something that is going to grossly impact the business in a negative way. Go buy the paper. You don’t need to ask me for permission.

How about scheduling conflicts? Figure them out before coming to me.

As the owner, I don’t want to hear that Sally has a scheduling conflict. I don’t want to hear that Jose can’t make it in because you messed up when they requested the day off.

I don’t need to hear these things. I don’t need to solve these things. These are things I have you as a manager to figure out.

How about guest complaints? Follow the company policy.

You’ve mapped out your standard operating procedures, your SOPs. You should be documenting your comping policy so managers can make those decisions on their own. They don’t need you.

Those are things you want to list out as decisions managers can make independently.

Tier two: These are decisions where they need to check with you first.

It doesn’t mean they can’t do it, but you want to be in the know before it happens.

You’re trying to protect the company, the manager, yourself, and the customer in certain situations.

Tier two decisions include equipment issues. Let me know before you spend any money on repairs.

You and I know that all too often, managers can be quick to call out a repair person. Then there’s a trip charge, and it could be as simple as flipping a breaker.

How many times has something gone to the breaker, someone has flipped it, and you’ve been charged to have somebody come out and do something that simple?

On a side note, it’s really important that you have managers stand over the shoulder of any repair person who comes out when they’re diagnosing the issue. If it’s something simple, stay with them to learn how to fix it themselves going forward.

That becomes part of your standard operating procedures. When these lights go out, you know you don’t need an electrician. You need to go to the breakers and flip the switch.

Before you think that’s common sense, how many of your managers who are 21 or younger have ever had to flip a breaker?

We need to teach.

How about major guest complaints? That may be as simple as keeping me informed. Check with me, but just keep me informed.

Employee performance issues? Let’s discuss these together.

You’re listing out the things you’d like managers to check in with you about.

Tier three: These are the big-picture decisions that require you.

These are the ones that bother me. These are the ones where you come find me. These are the ones that are outside your authority to decide.

Any policy changes?

We’re going to change our tipping policy. We’re going to change our comping policy, our day-off policy, or our vacation policy. Any policy changes are something you want to be in charge of.

You want to make sure any decisions managers make are legal, fit your core values, and match what you want to do because it is your business.

Big-picture things include major purchases. You just can’t go out and buy a new bank of fryers. It has to fit within the budget.

These are things I need to be in control of. You can bring me the solution, but ultimately, I’ve got to make the decision on that major purchase because I know what my finances are like.

Decisions like terminating an employee also belong in this tier.

Again, I may have the responsibility to manage employees as a manager, and I may have the authority to fire them, but that doesn’t change the fact that I may want to make sure we’ve dotted all the I’s and crossed all the T’s.

What if it’s a harassment issue? What if it’s an issue based on age discrimination? What if it’s an issue based on the Pregnancy Act? What if it’s an ADA issue?

I need to make sure I protect everyone involved. That needs to come through me.

I’ll let managers make the decision, but they can’t execute that decision without checking in with me.

By setting these clear boundaries, your managers will stop second-guessing themselves. They’ll stop second-guessing what they can and cannot do because you’re adding clarity to their decision-making toolbox, if you will.

Here’s another pro tip.

In past podcast episodes, you probably remember me talking about two very important topics. I touched on them a moment ago: the importance of sharing your why and the importance of sharing your core values.

Your why is why you opened your business and why you do what you do.

This is incredibly important. You want to share your why with anyone who will listen on a daily basis. If you’re not, we’re missing the boat.

I want to share my why with all my team members, especially my managers, but also my employees or team members.

Why? Because they need to know why we’re doing what we’re doing. It’s the guiding light that steers our company.

I want my customers to know why we do what we do so they can buy in and I can manage their expectations of what we should be delivering.

When all my team members know what we’re supposed to be delivering, we’re all on the same page.

I need to communicate my why to my vendors so they know what we’re trying to accomplish. Maybe I want nothing but the freshest ingredients, and my broadline distributors come in and say, “We just got a shipment of the freshest XYZ from a local farmer.”

They know that aligns with what we’re trying to do.

The second piece is those core values again.

Core values are who we are as a person and almost never change.

These are things like honesty, hospitality, and cleanliness. There’s a whole list of words we could go down. These are who you are as a person.

How do you know if something is a core value? When somebody makes a mistake or goes against that core value, you literally lose your temper. That’s when you blow up.

If great hospitality is part of your core values and somebody provides the most horrendous guest experience, you blow up.

So we know what our core values are.

Generally speaking, I like anywhere from one to three core values, with five being on the long side. But I’ve got members who have seven or nine. Some people write a story. It doesn’t matter how you deliver them. They need to be documented and shared with everyone.

Again, if I know what your core values are, I can make decisions based on them.

Add your why, and all of a sudden, every decision your managers make will be congruent with your why and your core values.

They will never be in trouble. They still may make a mistake, but that now becomes a coaching opportunity.

You can say, “Hey, you should have done this. I’d like you to think about this,” instead of asking, “Why did you make that decision?” and losing it.

Know that those two things are extremely important in your business.

So here’s my challenge for you, restaurant pro.

For the next week, commit to not answering your managers’ questions.

You heard me right. Don’t answer their questions. Instead, make them think. Make them evaluate their options. Make them take ownership of decisions.

And I guarantee, I guarantee you’ll see a shift, a true shift, in your team, what they’re doing, and how often they bother you, or interrupt you, I should say.

Look, if this episode resonated with you, let me know. Also, subscribe to the podcast and share this with another restaurant pro who really needs to hear the message.

Until next time, take action and start building the restaurant and the life you deserve.

Hey, that was an awesome episode. I want to thank you for taking the time to take action on building a better, more prosperous restaurant.

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For more restaurant resources or to get in contact with me, connect with me at DavidScottPeters.com.

Be passionate about what you’re doing. Be persistent, but more importantly, become better and help everyone around you become better, and your restaurant is going to kick some ass.