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SYMPTOM
SOLVING VS. PROBLEM SOLVING
November/December
2006
I began
strolling towards the front door of a waterfront restaurant,
already in operation for years, at about 10 minutes before my
meeting was scheduled to start. Like clockwork, all of the design
team members started to file in and our meeting began at 10:00am
sharp. We initiated the get-together with an introduction of
the team members and quick review of initial concept drawings
and renderings that had been completed to date. Several conversations
ensued, as did questions regarding the design. We broke from
the initial part of our session and began to walk the facility
as part of our site evaluation, when we stopped in front of
the display kitchen.
Often, as part of my information gathering effort, I will ask
a client "if you had three wishes to improve this facility,
what would they be?" This is a technique I picked up from
a colleague long ago. Without hesitation, the operators unanimously
agreed that they needed more heat lamps for staging meals in
the pick-up window. And before they could finish this request
for additional heat lamps, puzzling music began playing in the
background. Wavy lines blurred the room - just like a television
show transition. I soon found myself in a totally new wardrobe,
dressed like Sherlock Holmes. Pipe, hat, and all. Another mystery
had fallen in my lap. There was a need for additional heat lamps,
but why? Fortunately, I had solved similar cases before.
Today's Episode: Heat Lamp Hysteria
I have heard this request from other operators, and, just like
the previous instances, this plea for additional hot holding
space sent up a red flag in my mind. Let me show you why. First,
let's look at the real purpose of these heat lamps. These heated
elements, which typically hang or are mounted above the pick-up
window, are designed to keep appetizers and entrées warm
after they have been plated, but before they have been delivered
to the guest's table. The time that a plate spends below the
heat lamps should be minimal. In fact, in a perfect world, heat
lamps might not even be required, as the food would be delivered
to the guest immediately after it was prepared. A request for
more heat lamps would indicate that additional space was required
for staging dishes between plating and service, and that the
time between delivery and service would likely be increased
as well.
This is an opportune time to share with you one of the most
valuable lessons that I ever learned in college: there is a
huge difference between a symptom and a problem. The difficult
task is identifying which is which. Often times, what we believe
to be a problem is really just a symptom of a much larger problem.
Solving a symptom will usually not solve a problem. Rather,
if the root problem remains unsolved, additional symptoms can
pop up - which we may mistake for another problem. Seem a little
confusing? Think of a weed in the yard that grows tall above
the rest of your grass. When the lawn is mowed, the weed may
seem to disappear, as the visible portion of this backyard invader
is no more. However, you and I both know that the root of the
weed is still there. In time, the root weed will grow again.
In order to solve the root problem (a little pun - see where
I was going with this whole "weed" analogy?), we need
to kill the weed at the root. Once the root is eliminated, the
weed cannot grow again. In other words, solving the problem
eliminates the chance for additional symptoms to occur, but
not vice versa. Taking another look at the need for additional
heat lamps, was a shortage of heated storage for items in limbo
between preparation and service really the problem, or was it
the symptom of a much bigger problem? That was the real question,
and one I would seek to answer.
The Investigation
There were numerous possible problems that could be leading
to what I believed was, in fact, a symptom - a requirement for
additional heat lamps. Here are just a few scenarios that could
have led to this perceived need:
- The kitchen might have the wrong equipment.
- The kitchen might have the right equipment, but in the wrong
location.
- The menu mix might be overloading one station, slowing down
production from this portion of the kitchen and holding back
the rest of the order.
- Disproportionately fast or slow production from any of the
stations on the cooking line could also be holding up orders
in the pick-up window.
- There could be a problem with the expediter.
- The problem could stem from the service staff. They could
be unnecessarily burdened with extra steps, as a result of an
inefficient facility, left with little time to keep tabs on
the food in the window. Additionally, the staff may not be trained
to deliver food residing in the window, regardless whether it
is for their customer or not.
The real problem could exist as a result of the facility's configuration,
the operational team, or a combination of the two. But I am
confident, based on previous experience, that having too few
heat lamps was not the problem.
A couple of years ago, I was having dinner in a restaurant in
San Francisco. The restaurant had about 185 total interior seats,
a full bar, and roughly 30 seats outside. Being the restaurant
geek that I am, I seized the opportunity to sit at one of the
two dining counters on the perimeter of the display kitchen.
The a la minute line was about the size that I would have expected,
and really featured what I would consider to be a standard equipment
mix. The real surprise was in the pick up area. There was a
counter top, about 60" long, situated between the two dining
counters. I was more amazed by what was not there. There was
no double overshelf. There were no heat lamps. Just the 60"
counter.
Amazingly, each and every order came out together, in its entirety,
and sat on the pick-up counter for no more than 60 seconds before
being picked up and delivered by one of the service staff. Intrigued
by this display of efficiency, I asked to speak with the manager
and ask why they decided to abandon the typical pickup configuration
and how he was able to execute service with such efficiency.
He explained that the pickup counter had been strategically
placed to ensure that the servers would constantly be walking
by, and all servers were trained to run any items sitting on
the counter to the appropriate table, whether it was their table
or not. Granted, this would not have been possible if the kitchen
had not been properly designed, the culinary staff were not
delivering all items in perfect synchronization, and the expediter
were not conducting this effort with the efficiency of leading
an orchestra. Nevertheless, I was observing a fine tuned machine
working in full harmony.
Defining the Problem
Feeling as though I had missed part of the conversation while
all of these thoughts were whirling through my mind, I re-engaged
in the discussion with the five members of the operating team
who were standing before me and the adjacent display kitchen.
With each of them awaiting my thoughts on their request for
additional heat lamps, I advised them that "there might
be a need for more heat lamps, but there is also the possibility
that the need for additional room to stage between preparation
and service might be the symptom of a much larger problem."
Sensing their intrigue, I elaborated on my hunch, and indicated
that we would conduct our detective work during the course of
the pending design process.
I would challenge you to consider whether the problems that
you face on a daily basis are truly problems, or merely symptoms.
If they are only symptoms, identifying and solving the true
problems will be the next task at hand.
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