Over the past week, I spoke to a number of chefs (here in the US) and the overwhelming majority dreaded the Mother's Day marathon.
They would throw in the same bag of dreaded workdays Valentine's Day and New Year.
Maybe the holiday they hate most of all to work on is Thanksgiving...
Let's be honest, these dates are also the times that beef up restaurants bottom lines and make up for slow ones.
The root of the problem in the US might lie with the hospitality industry obsession with volume.
So on a day like today, many eateries cram as many reservations as they can and try to move diners in and out as fast as they can, praying that everything will go according to plan.
Is it a positive experience for customers, I am not quite sure.
So how to mitigate the negatives and accentuate the positives for customers and kitchen staff (and servers)?
Opening on these days for less hours (what I call civilized times), say 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm would give restaurant staff a chance to get some rest before the big day and also spend time with their loved ones.
Offering a special menu with less items than the full one would reduce the prep time in the kitchen and facilitate delivery and service.
Charging a bit more for a better experience would mitigate the possible loss of revenue from reduced volume.
In the end, you don't gain and keep customers by rushing them.
A rested and pleasant service is more memorable than a harried one.
Related: On Mother's Day, Be Civilized, Wait Until around Noon to take Mom out
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