Consider this scenario: it’s 8:30 a.m. and you’ve just opened for breakfast. Customers are steadily trickling in, and the kitchen is already heating up for the morning rush. Then, one of your bussers comes to you with a frantic look. “The dishwasher’s leaking,” they say, and point to the puddle that’s getting bigger and bigger in your back room. As the restaurant manager or owner, what do you do?
Whether you own a local cafe or are the franchisee of a highly successful chain of restaurants, you may be at equal risk of equipment failures. Something as simple as a missed maintenance check on your dishwasher could result in an entire day’s revenue loss. Restaurant equipment failures are often the most expensive operational cost to cover. Not only will you have to replace the equipment or pay for expensive emergency repairs, but you lose income and reputation due to downtime.
Downtime at a restaurant can lead to negative reviews, and be detrimental to your business’ reputation and thus profitability. As a restaurant owner, you need reliable and sustainable equipment to keep your doors open. The first step to preventing these failures is preventing their most common causes, including:
- Unskilled or improper operation
- Lack of prioritization for regular cleaning
- Lack of monitoring
- Failure to perform preventative maintenance
The two most common causes of equipment failures in restaurants are improper operation and skipped preventative maintenance. Ensuring proper training for all staff as well as regular preventative maintenance scheduling is the responsibility of the restaurant owner or manager, and should always be prioritized. When you train well and take care of your equipment, emergency maintenance calls will be reserved for true emergencies.
Preventative maintenance will save your restaurant unintended costs and downtime by predicting, preventing, and troubleshooting equipment issues before they become failures.
Preventative maintenance is agile. Tasks are determined by the potential for issues of specific equipment, rather than simple routine checks or reactive maintenance services. MaintenX uses a comprehensive preventative maintenance plan to safeguard your restaurant from unexpected equipment disasters.
Not only will preventative maintenance help to reduce downtime, but it will increase the performance and lifespan of your restaurant investments. MaintenX wants to ensure that your doors stay open for years to come. Talk to us to schedule preventive maintenance for your restaurant or local business.
