decal_filtaThe duties of a restaurant manager are varied and this career requires a great deal of multitasking and quick thinking. Depending on where you work, you will find that each and every restaurant manager has different duties in each food establishment worked in. In most, the restaurant manager is assisted in duties by sub managers, or assistant managers and crew leads. On occasion you will have larger restaurants who do have an executive chef that handles most of the kitchen management duties and takes care of the back of the line. However, for a general restaurant manager, there is a great deal of hard work and time put into the job that makes this a very broad range description.

For the most part, the restaurant manager’s duties begin with a heart of customer service. Yes, at times the restaurant manager will be the one that takes care of customer complaints, resolves issues and often, you will see the manager of any establishment out amongst the customers, helping the staff. A real hands on approach is always a benefit to being a great manager, and being able to be cautious and set a good example for the rest of your staff will enable you to do the work that is needed. There is also a great deal of organizational skill needed in this, as managers are more often than not responsible for taking care of inventory, stock, and doing everything from making schedules to analyzing trends in various sales to make sure that protocols are followed.

Being able to have a keen eye for detail is another area where managers must excel. Being able to keep accurate records of foods served, costs, losses, profits and sometimes making sure that a tip pool is accurately distributed is key. Also, being able to ensure that there are enough staff on at all times, and not an over staffing is very important to making sure that losses are kept under control and that customers are kept happy. A big part of this means being able to hire quality staff, from kitchen help to wait staff, to make sure that the employees on crew are reliable, friendly and helpful and that they can do the jobs that they are hired on to do. In keeping with high standards of quality, sometimes a manager may have to conduct certain interviews and disciplinary practices, and this can be something that requires a great deal of strength. Being able to discern when it is most appropriate to take action, and what those actions may be is another area where many managers have to take care to pay attention to detail.

On the whole, the role of a manager in a restaurant is a critical one, and a career path that is very carefully considered and worth working towards. Being able to be self motivated, hard working and committed to the continuing excellence of your restaurant are traits that all effective, efficient and forward moving managers posses.