Success Story

Montana Ale Works Fine Tunes Training Manuals to Clarify Roles and Expectations

Mark Taché and his partners enjoy a close relationship with the people in their community and recently took steps to see to it that it remains just as close.

A definitive step taken during 2016, according to Taché, was revising the restaurant's manager and staff training manuals. As he explains, doing so "provided a playbook that gives the team a clear understanding and road map to follow."

"We had all the important manager information and duties, but not in a single document," Taché recalls. "This resulted in managers not being fully informed on the expectations of the job, and incomplete knowledge that led to inconsistent management."

Training and the kind of top-flight customer service that results from it are important to a restaurant like Montana Ale Works. That sentiment is underscored on the restaurant's web site, which greets visitors with this: "Welcome to Bozeman's beloved community gathering place since 2000, our retro-industrial railroad freight-house, turned award-winning restaurant and bar!... Experience a vibrant, energetic atmosphere, exceptional service and hospitality, and extraordinary food and drink - in one of Bozeman's most iconic, historic buildings."

In fact, the site makes specific reference to the restaurant's internal and local cultures, noting that its friendly dedicated staff has been serving inspired, innovative food, regionally craft brewed pints and classic cocktails in a retro-industrial, renovated freight-house beneath the stunning Bridger Mountains in downtown Bozeman.

The templates that Taché and his partners have received from RestaurantOwner.com have, he says, helped us tremendously by providing a roadmap to follow as we fine-tune the manuals to fit our concept and culture.

The result has been to clarify roles and responsibilities, which leads to greater efficiency. As Taché reports,Managers now have a single A-to-Z document that clearly outlines the details of their job. It has improved the consistency among our large team of eight managers.

The new manuals, he continues, have provided his team with an important tool "and increased their understanding of the expectations of the job. We are a high-volume, dinner-only restaurant that peaks in the summer tourist season, where we average over a thousand covers a night. The difference we've seen is a more confident management team that is performing at a higher level, which has translated to our guest experience and the leadership provided to our support staff."

The 16-year-old restaurant also undertook what Taché calls a "substantial" kitchen remodel. The new layout and state-of-the-art equipment have allowed the restaurant's management to improve both quality and consistency, "especially at higher volumes."

Taché says that his goal for the remainder of this year is to continue to refine all aspects of his business, "but at the top of the list is raising an awareness for providing exceptional service and hospitality. This foundation is the platform for all our training."

Taché adds that he and his management team and partners have likewise benefited from the webinars they have found on RestaurantOwner.com. "I personally have depended on the wealth of information you all provide. It has definitely deepened my knowledge of the industry over the years, and I continue to access the valuable resources you have available when I need direction or content."