Community Contest - How do you prepare for the Busy Season?

[jenni]

Hi everyone! 👋

I wanted to share some great news! From March 15-31, we want you to reply and share how you and your team get ready for the busy season in this post. By doing so, you’re automatically entered for the chance to win $1,000 to support your restaurant's busy season preparations! Terms Apply.

We'd love to get to know you and hear how your restaurant team prepares for the busy season. Reply and tell us more about you below!

• Name
• Restaurant Name
• Location
• How long have you been a Toast customer?
• What are your best tips on preparing for the busy season?

[PLASWEET33]

Lisa
Kuma’s Catering 
Chicago, IL
3 Years 
2023 Weddings are booked and menus are being finalized. I prepare for Wedding season by increasing my staff, take inventory in storage of all rental items, purchase any additional items needed and give myself a motivational pep talk ; )

[sdcgrund]

My name is Shiree and I manage Sweet Things--a quick service froyo/smoothie style shop. We are located in sunny San Diego, CA. We have been with toast for about two and a half years now. This is my first post in the toast community!

My best tips on preparing for our busy season (especially summer since we are proprietors of frozen treats) are probably different than your average preparation tips. We are a small family business, uniquely located on the bottom floor of a convention hotel on the bayfront of San Diego. Most businesses (including our previous location) are able to predict sales based on time of year, day, weather, etc. Our business comes from mostly events in the downtown area, conventions in the hotel or at the convention center, or vacationers. 

I prepare for our busy season by staying on my toes! Our business is never steady. It is dead, or it is slammed. There really isn't anything in between. This means my staff has to be ready to roll at a moment's notice. Toast has helped with this prep work by making it easier for me to track which items and modifiers are our best sellers. I am better able to adjust our inventory to prepare for unexpected surges of business. This way we can be prepared while also doing what we can to limit waste. Gotta make up for those slower winter months and get ahead enough to sustain us through next winter!

[CrispPDX]

• Name - Emma Dye
• Restaurant Name - Crisp Salads
• Location - 2 in Portland, OR & 1 in a suburb called Happy Valley
• How long have you been a Toast customer? - since 2019
• What are your best tips on preparing for the busy season? - We are hiring now to get folks trained up for the busy season of salads i.e. spring & summer! We are also having a meeting next week to plan out our Monthly/seasonal specials using ingredients that will be in season at the time through fall. I'm also ordering new outdoor tables for our newest location as well as repainting our existing outdoor tables. 

[BEpstein]

Ben Epstein

The Board and Brew

College Park MD

A few things that we do to prepare for the busy season:

- Evaluate current staff and additional needs about 1.5-2 months out and then begin sending out invites for interviews

- We are next to a major university so our busy season revolves around the school year, so it is very important for us to also pull up the schools calendar and look for all major events.. sporting events, graduations, holidays, breaks etc, and then to plan around those times to be prepared not just for normal business but the really big game days or the slower periods around spring break and such.

-evaluate the previous year and discuss where we came up short and what we can do to improve on those areas for the upcoming busy season. This could be upgrades to equipment or addressing flow issues, service issues etc. Could be as simple as adding a busser on the busiest shifts to relieve some of the pressure on the servers.. many items both big and small that can have great affect

[Bagelati]

Name: Tim Kahya

Restaurant Name: Bagelati

Location: Cinnaminson, NJ and Marlton, NJ

How long Toast Customer: We've been a Toast customer since day one when we opened our first location on June 24th, 2019 in Cinnaminson, NJ.

Preparing for the busy season at Bagelati cafe is essential to ensure that our business can handle the increased demand and maintain a high level of customer service. 

Here are list of things we do to prepare for the busy season at Bagelati:

1. Review and analyze sales data: Reviewing sales data from previous last two busy seasons can give us insight into which products were popular and which were not, along with times of day we saw most of the rush to help us schedule our staff efficiently. This can help us adjust our menu and inventory to meet customer demand.
2. Train and hire staff: Make sure that staff is trained and ready to handle the increased traffic. Hiring additional staff if necessary to ensure that our cafe can handle the rush.
3. Streamline processes: Look for ways to streamline processes to reduce wait times and increase efficiency. We will be adding Toast Go 2 handheld pos to serve more customers to reduce wait times, and to create a great customer experience.
4. Stock up on inventory: Make sure that we have enough inventory on hand to meet the increased demand. We have also ordered more of our branding material to not run out of branded items. 
5. Promote specials and events: having live music on weekends and create fundraising events. 
6. Evaluate out equipment: Making sure that our equipment is in good working order and that we have backup equipment available in case of any breakdowns.
7. Prepare marketing materials: Prepare marketing materials in advance, such as flyers or social media posts, to promote Bagelati during the busy season.
8. Adjusting hours: we will extend our closing hours for the season as one of our other main product which we make from scratch is gelato. Extending hours of operation to accommodate the increased demand. 

By following these tips, we can ensure that Bagelati is prepared for the busy season and can provide excellent service to our fans.

Regards,

Tim Kahya

Owner, Bagelati