Starting the day: When Todd works the opening shift, his work day at the restaurant begins at 6:00 A.M. The first thing he does is make a "To Do" list that will tell him and the night assistant manager all the things that have to be done that day. Many items on his list will be routine things that are done each day. While making up this list, he looks at the maintenance and cleaning charts to see what is scheduled for that day. He then adds these items to the list. During his shift, Todd checks off items from the "To Do" list as he does them. At the end of his shift, he gives the list to the night manager to complete.
After his "To Do" list is made up, Todd counts the money from the day before and makes up a deposit slip. He also makes up a money change order which requests so many rolls of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters from the bank. Then he goes to the bank and makes a deposit and picks up the day's change. On returning to the restaurant, Todd checks all the time cards from the night before. He has to make sure that everyone's hours are correct and that all the workers clocked out. He will make adjustments, if necessary. Todd also has to assign positions for the shifts. The work schedule had been made out six days earlier.
At this point in the morning, Todd walks around the restaurant with another checklist called the BOA, which stands for "Be Operationally Aware." He checks such things as store cleanliness, stock levels, the appearance of the restaurant's parking lot, and whether the equipment is on and ready to go. What he must check is spelled out in great detail. According to Todd, it becomes easy to complete this list with experience. If he discovers something that needs to be done, it is added to the' 'To Do'' list.
Next, Todd makes up a product order listing the food and supplies needed in the restaurant. He phones the order into an answering machine. Orders are made three days of the week and received three days of the week. On the days that orders are received, Todd checks that the entire order has been received and supervises the putting away of the order. This involves dating the incoming products and rotating existing products to meet the company's freshness standards. This job needs to be done by 10:00 A.M. as breakfast ends at 10:30, and then it's time to start getting ready for the lunch rush.
Late morning tasks: Everything has to be ready to roll for lunch, the busiest time of the day. The stock level chart has to be changed according to sales, and Todd must judge how much stock should be in the transfer chute and the steamer. The produce must be ready, and the freezers and stations have to be stocked. All these tasks are Todd's responsibility. He must also check little things like making sure the cheese has ice under it to keep it fresh and that the condiments are at room temperature. It is during this time that Todd checks off several things on the BOA operations checklist. He checks the temperature of a sandwich by putting a probe in it, he checks the weight of a shake to make sure it's the proper consistency, and he sees if the C02-to-syrup ratio is correct in the drink machine.
Lunch time: By lunch time, Todd has completed most of his paperwork, so he is ready to supervise employees during the lunch rush. He has to make sure that they follow standard operating procedures in making and serving Burger King products. All of these standards are spelled out in corporate manuals and instructional videos. During lunch Todd may have to jump in and help during the busiest time. Every 15 minutes, he takes what is called a travel path and walks through the restaurant to see that everything is in first-class shape. The lunch rush will last until about 2:00 P.M.
Afternoon tasks: Once the lunch crowd has thinned out in the restaurant, Todd determines how many people are still needed. He may send some workers home if the restaurant is not as busy as anticipated. He then goes back to working on his “To Do” list. He will usually come close to completing it before the end of his shift. After lunch, Todd also counts all the money in the cash drawers by hand. This takes only about five to ten minutes per drawer. He compares the cash in each drawer to the amount on the register and puts the money in the safe. Then Todd counts all the money in the safe and compares this total to the drawer receipts. Another count that Todd has to make is the waste count. This involves actually counting all contents of the waste box-the paddies, pieces of cheese, and whatever else could not be sold because it was held too long or perhaps dropped on the floor.
The end of the shift: Before his shift ends, Todd does another travel path to make sure everything is operationally ready for the next shift. He then talks to the assistant manager of the next shift about what has been going on in the store. He tells this manager about the day's problems and what still has to be done. On his way home Todd will make the bank deposit. The swing shift. Todd's duties are basically the same when he works the swing shift, which is from 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. or from 3:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. However, this shift is easier because he is usually dividing responsibilities with another manager. He will do travel paths but won't do BOA operations checklists or make up orders.
The night shift: This shift begins at 5:00 or 7:00 P.M. and lasts until the store closes, which can be as late as 3:00 A.M. on Friday and Saturday nights. Todd spends the first part of this shift supervising the workers on the floor during the dinner hours. Before beginning the numerous tasks involved in closing the restaurant, he makes out the staffing schedule for the sixth day ahead. He uses a formula to do this, which ties anticipated sales to personnel needed.
Between 8:00 and 10:00 P.M., Todd counts the cash drawers and does a report on sales every half hour during the day up to that point. He will complete this report after the restaurant closes. Since an inventory of such things as Whopper paddies, chicken, fish, buns, and such is required at the end of the shift, Todd begins a pre-count inventory around 10:00 P.M. His restaurant has a very tight control system, so he must make a very accurate count.
After midnight, Todd usually does a pre-count of the waste and catches up on the half-hourly sales reports. Once the restaurant is closed, he uses the computer to complete a number of reports, including the inventory, waste, and sales reports. Once all the reports are done, he walks through the restaurant and checks that everything has been done before he leaves.
