Success Story

Magills Restaurant & Catering taps RestaurantOwner.com Resources as Guidelines to Assemble Proprietary Policy & Procedures Manuals

All that owner/operator Sheila Bentley needed was a guide to follow. Once she found it on RestaurantOwner.com many of her operational challenges were well on their way to being solved as she used the site's templates as a foundation to fashion her own, custom employee handbooks and operational manuals.

Owner/Operator Sheila Bentley's two restaurants - Magill's on Road 68 in Pasco and Magill's @ the Uptown in Richland - each seat 85 and feature a menu of American comfort foods with a per-person average dinner check of $17. The pair of locations is generating combined annual revenue of between $1.75 million and $2 million.

One of the issues facing Bentley was what she terms a lack of internal structure. "When we opened we were kind of flying by the seat of our pants. We had a basic policy and procedure manual that we had just copied off the internet, but we had no training structure, no what to do with the money everyday structure, or hiring procedures. Anything beyond that guide, we didn't have."

Bentley made the most of her access to RestaurantOwner.com, using the site's templates for policies, procedures and training guides to fashion her own, proprietary handbooks. The two Magill's restaurants now have a trio of handbooks: front of the house, back of the house and manager. "We started with your template on each position, and adjusted it to our needs."

It has, Bentley reflects, "made a world of difference to have everything in writing and not have to reinvent the wheel every time an issue came up; for instance, employees not following the rules, or how we handle an issue with a customer. It seemed like every time something happened that was out of the ordinary we would have to sit down and talk about it rather than just refer to our manual."

Each of the restaurants now runs more smoothly and efficiently as a result of what she has learned, she confirms. "The basics -- our checklist in place, side work like stocking and cleaning, the prep list that the cooks have now - are covered. Mistakes that used to happen no longer do. For instance, chefs no longer forget items because everything is on the list. They just have to write down how many they need. It took away a lot of the little problems that tended to eat up our day."

Entrees include an 8-oz. Grilled Sirloin for $17; Dry Fly Whiskey Sirloin, topped with a proprietary whiskey sauce and onion rings, $18; Chicken Fried Steak, lightly breaded and seasoned and smothered in sausage gravy, $14; Magill's Angus Chuck Meatloaf, $14; Pub-Battered Halibut, $16; Salsa Chicken breast topped with melted cheddar, avocado and fresh salsa, $12; and a Cajun Grill platter featuring spicy Cajun sausage and grilled chicken breast with onion and green pepper, served with warm tortillas, salsa, and sour cream, $12.

The additional expertise also helped with discipline, and came in handy when there were disputes over unemployment with former staffers who had broken the rules. As Bentley recalls, "We learned the hard way that if you don't have the rules in writing, and you don't actually follow the rules that you have in writing, that those employees can end up getting unemployment." Case in point: "We actually had one that got it because stealing money was not in our handbook as something that we didn't allow."