It’s easy to pay attention to the front-of-the-house functions when you’re running an organization, but the back-of-the-house functions often are what make the front-facing work possible. This was evident at Chipotle this weekend when there were workers taking orders from customers — but left without food to serve them. Once again, the restaurant was out of guacamole even though the revenue from their lucrative add-on could have paid the wages of the employee to make it.
All the attention was on the food line, but it appeared that no one was assigned to address the other aspects of running the business. Trash cans inside and out were overflowing. Tables were dirty. The cash register had no one tending to it unless someone was pulled off the line.
Whether you work in an office or restaurant, don’t overlook the infrastructure needed to support the main product. The food can be great, but if the whole experience isn’t, customers leave with a bad taste in their mouth.
