|
Posted on Sun, Jan. 30, 2005 |
||||
Waiting for servers
MANATEE - Beef O'Brady's on Manatee Avenue used to receive about
three employment applications a week for food server positions a few years
ago. These days, only a few people submit employment applications each month,
said owner Pat Goneau. "It's kind of dried up," Goneau said. The same scenario is playing out across the county for many
local restaurateurs who face a dwindling pool of qualified food servers. Many
operators are trying to meet the challenge by increasing employee retention
and cutting turnover rates, which can adversely affect service and the bottom
line with the cost of frequent training. "It's harder to find a strong core of professional waiters
than it used to be," said Sean Murphy, owner of Beach Bistro and
Mangrove Grill. Murphy thinks waiting tables is a less attractive option for
some because the tip reporting system used by the Internal Revenue Service is
more intensive and accurate than it used to be. "Twenty-five years ago, they didn't report their
income," Murphy said. Food servers are required to claim at least 8 percent of their
sales; the figures are automatically furnished to the IRS. Teresa Siriani, president of People Report, a Dallas-based
research firm that tracks 87 restaurant chains, including fast food
restaurants, said an area's unemployment rate can also have an impact on the
restaurant industry's ability to maintain staffing levels because fewer
people are looking for work when the unemployment rate is low. "We (the restaurant industry) tend to benefit from a higher
unemployment rate," Siriani said. Manatee County had an unemployment rate of 2.9 percent in
December, according to the State Agency for Workforce Innovation. This is
lower than the state's 4.5 percent rate and the nation's 5.4 percent rate. Servers can earn between $500 and $700 weekly in tips during the
high season, said Ruby Bartlett, a food server and bartender at Beef
O'Brady's on Manatee Avenue. During the slower months, a server may bring
home only $300 to $400 in tips per week, which may force them to take a
second job. In Florida, tipped employees currently earn $2.13 an hour; this
will raise to $3.13 per hour when the minimum wage increase voters approved
last November goes into effect May 2. Jeff Lyons, owner of The Breakfast Nook, said that organizing a
restaurant in ways that enable servers to make as much money as possible
helps retention. "If you create an environment where people are able to
support themselves comfortably, they'll be less likely to leave," Lyons
said. Server Erin Edwards agrees. "A lot of it has to do with the money you're making,"
Edwards said. "Also the way you're treated by staff and
management." Fewer applications are turned into the five Applebee's
restaurants in Manatee County, said Pamela Jones, director of marketing and
public relations for Casual Restaurant Concepts Inc., which owns the
locations. "The lower numbers are due to the lack of available people
out there," Jones said. Blake Hadley, a manager at Ezra, a Cafe, said his restaurant,
which opened in late 2003, has not received many applications, but he
considers his restaurant lucky because 80 percent of the employees are
original, and it's fully staffed. Murphy said half of his original employees still work at
Mangrove Grill, which opened in late 2003. At Beach Bistro, which just
celebrated its 20-year anniversary, servers stay an average of eight years. Goneau said his restaurant needs one or two servers to bring it
up to full staff. Most of his employees have worked for him for at least two
years. "It's pretty difficult," Goneau said. "We have a
core group of people who've stayed, but we don't get a lot of new
applications." Tom Durfee, who co-owns Beef O'Brady's locations at 1755
Lakewood Ranch Blvd. and 5942 34th St. W., agreed. "We don't have a huge amount of people knocking on the door
looking for wait staff positions," Durfee said. Staffing has been one of Central Cafe's biggest challenges, said
owner Donna Kripe. "It's been hard," Kripe said. Food servers at her
3-year old restaurant stay an average of 10 to 12 months. To retain their wait staffs, restaurants commonly offer
employees a flexible schedule that works around school or family
responsibilities. Most restaurants, particularly small operations, do not
offer health insurance. "We have flexible schedules, and I get requests for time
off every week," Hadley said. "We have single moms, students." Bartlett said creative scheduling inspires loyalty. "They work with my school schedule, and the management is
good," Bartlett said. "If I didn't make enough money, I'd go get a
second job." Keeping its restaurants staffed is a part of Applebee's culture
the company is always trying to improve, Jones said. "We're constantly trying to improve the hiring process so
that we hire the right people," Jones said. A high restaurant turnover rate has always posed a challenge for
the industry. According to the National Restaurant Association, median
turnover rates for restaurants with a check average of $25 or more was 45
percent in 2002. Operators with average checks of $15 or less experienced a
63 percent turnover rate. High employment turnover is expensive for restaurants, Siriani
said. The median cost of losing an employee is $2,400, which includes
expenses for training, recruiting, administration fees and lost
opportunities, such as failing to generate repeat clientele. Murphy said high turnover makes it difficult to maintain a high
level of service that encourages regular guests. "The idea is to make the dining experience memorable,"
Murphy said. "If you want to deliver food, go work for Domino's. A
patron expects that they're going to be greeted warmly, we're going to
remember their name, their favorite dish. The wait staff must know it and
anticipate it." In the worst-case scenarios, high turnover can mean long waits
for food and service, Lyons said. "The more turnover you have, people (servers) are a lot
slower," Lyons said. "They're not used to your systems. Sales might
not be as high because people don't know the menu or the wine list. And
guests feel a little more uneasy with newer employees," Lyons said. Server Brenda Hurley agreed. "You get people who don't know what they're doing
yet," Hurley said. "There's definitely a learning curve." Tilde Herrera, Herald business reporter, can be reached at
748-0411, ext. 7037 or at therrera@HeraldToday.com. |
||||
