Question:
Should managers adhere to no-cellphone policies?
–
Answer:
As phones become more and more of a lifeline, command center and extension of our brains and hands, policies surrounding them will continue to be a challenge. My feeling is that phones distract staff from prioritizing guests, and introduce an unnecessary and unsanitary item into a foodservice setting. But whether the same policies should apply to management introduces a new dimension.
Managers increasingly use their personal phones to log into POS systems, view security cameras, and take calls and questions from employees and vendors. A manager’s cellphone is basically his or her office, and the benefit is it keeps the manager on the floor longer, interacting with guests and mentoring servers rather than holed up at a desk.
The problem, of course, is that managers are prone to the same phone distractions as a line-level employee, and guests (and even employees) may think a manager visibly on her or his phone is disinterested. Further, if there is good reason for management to disallow cellphones for other employees, what message are they sending by using them?
My advice is that managers should make an effort to keep to the overarching policy of the operation. Tablet devices can do most of what phones can do, are easier to clean and more sanitary as they are not held near the face. They keep managers on the floor and look more polished than texting away on a phone or sitting behind a laptop screen when necessary.
—Jonathan Deutsch
Professor of Culinary Arts and Food Science
Drexel University