If morale is low in your restaurant and if getting people to smile a rare occurrence, this garbage challenge may be just what you need. The garbage can challenge was something I learned in the 70's. I used it for the next 30 years with great success.
Here is the garbage challenge:
If you are a dishwasher... and I am an assistant, manager, district manager or restaurant owner, you should hope to hear the following challenge:
"I am going to DUMP everything from your dish station garbage can onto the floor. If I find any silverware in the garbage on the floor, you clean up the garbage off the floor. If I don't find a single piece of silverware in the garbage, I will clean it up."
In the early days of starting this challenge, I wore a suit and tie. To dump a 30 gallon garbage upside down and begin to poke through it while wearing a tie is messy and gross.
It did not take long for a crowd to gather and they began to smile when they see me on my hands and knees looking for the forks.
The smile on the dishwasher, however, soon went away when I found a fork or spoon, hold it up for all to see and then point to the garbage on the floor. I would say with a big smile:
You lose the challenge. You have to clean it up."
The benefits:
- The silverware cost goes down. Guaranteed.
- The team's appreciation increased. They knew their boss was someone who was willing to take a risk and not just talk (or criticize).
- Smiles and chatter about an unusual event lifted morale, even if it was for a moment. Work wasn't all dreary, there were fun moments.
- Team members greeted the manager or owner at the door with a smile; ready to accept a new challenge.
Over the years I would make the challenge over and over. Even as a restaurant owner I would approach the dishwashers with the challenge as a random test.
The dishwashers would greet me at the door and say: "Mike, give me the challenge today. I am ready! You won't find anything this time!"
I never cleaned up the garbage. Not once. There was always at least one piece of silverware (and often times plates) in the garbage can.
I confess there were several times I had to dig through the garbage for some time to find that one fork or spoon. With a sigh of relief, I would hold up the silverware for all to see. (A change of clothes was soon added to my automobile inventory.)
What does it take to send a message to a team? How far are you willing to go? Does it seem a bit silly? It is silly. In fact, it is just a bit crazy. That's the point.
If you are a restaurant owner or manager, can you say that your team greets you at the door with a smile and enthusiasm?
What is it going to take to keep the team making an effort to do what might seem to be the same dreary job?
