The hotel industry is a vast career field with numerous job titles. Besides being expansive, it is a sensitive field inasmuch as it deals with food preparation. Great caution must be exercised in hiring or employing people in this particular field to ensure that they have the right qualifications, because even the slightest mishap in preparing a meal may put the life of a customer at stake. Accordingly. One very important job title in the hotel industry is that of food service manager.
Food service manager jobs are taken up to ensure the effective running of a restaurant or a restaurant-related business. Food service managers are therefore responsible for ensuring that the day-to-day activities of a restaurant run as they should. It is also the responsibility of the food service manager to ensure that services offered to customers are of a high quality and standard so that the customers are satisfied with the restaurant and will come back again or make referrals. Food service manager jobs also involve making various orders in regard to food items and other equipment for use in the restaurant. In addition, food service managers are responsible for the general maintenance of the restaurants they run, ensuring that the finances and the accounts of the restaurant are in order and that all other operations of the restaurant are generally running as they ought to be. Although a food service manager may delegate some of the work to his or her juniors, the manager is the one who is ultimately in charge of the management of the restaurant.
Food service manager jobs at times entail the hiring or recruiting of new employees. This may be one of the most challenging tasks of a food service manager job. This is because it is not easy to correctly select individuals who are well qualified to work well in the sensitive hotel industry. At times, food service managers have to make tough decisions regarding the employees and must sometimes even fire some of them to maintain the required standard and quality of services. Other activities that make up the food service manager jobs are to ensure that desired services are given to the customers of the restaurant without undue delays. Should there be any reasonable cause that may prevent the availability of particular services to customers, it is the responsibility of the food service manager to ensure that the problem is solved as soon as is practically possible while in the meantime ensuring that an alternative solution is offered to the customers. Food service managers are also responsible for ensuring that customers’ complaints are handled professionally.
Food service manager jobs are quite demanding. As noted above, the food service manager is responsible for virtually every operation of a restaurant. That in essence means that without him it is possible that the operations of the restaurant may be adversely affected. The manager’s presence is therefore essential, and so the manager must ensure that he is at work well before the rest of the employees arrive, and he will often be the last person to leave.
The manager must be present at almost all hours to confirm that all is as it should be and to prevent the restaurant from incurring unnecessary losses. As such, food service managers typically work a minimum of 50 hours per week and sometimes have to work on weekends. Dedication and commitment to one’s work is crucial in this career. Flexibility is also required in order to be able to take up emergency jobs on short notice.
Qualifications and Training
In order to secure a food service manager job, it is mandatory to have knowledge or training in food preparation or a related field. As mentioned above, the hotel industry is a sensitive one and one cannot afford to give jobs to people who are not qualified to do them. Basic knowledge of food preparation is always required. According to common practice, food service manager jobs are rarely given to recruits. Instead, it is the junior staffers who are promoted to these positions. Experience as a waiter/waitress is normally an additional advantage when being considered for the position of a food service manager.
Job Prospects
For some time there has been a decline in growth in the hotel industry. However, it is anticipated that the number of food service manager jobs is likely to grow in the near future due to increased demand for their services.
