Keep Your Restaurant Equipment Running With These Basics

Your restaurant equipment may not include a dispenser for money, but it does provide money every day by making your customers happy and making them visit often. If that equipment is malfunctioning, however, the whole operation could descend into a spiral.  That’s one of the reasons that your equipment should be looked at every single day for problems.

Here are some ideas on how to keep your equipment working in tip-top shape.

• Get a service contract on your equipment with a reputable maintenance company in the area.
• Read the manuals.  Those manuals offer insights not only in how to clean the machinery, but in what special tweaks need to be done to maintain it.
• Take a look at the equipment on a daily basis.  Make inspection a game with your personnel. If you’re able to get them interested in it, they’ll also be first to point out the problems that they’re experiencing.
• Little things grow into being very big things.  When you have a tiny service issue, see about getting it fixed immediately before it turns into something larger.
• Listen for rattles and other anomalies in your equipment.  Sometimes, a slight change in the sound can indicate that something larger is going on.
• It’s good to clean off your equipment, at least with a dry cloth, every single day. Not only does clean equipment reveal imperfections, but it looks better for your customers.
• If something big does happen with the equipment, use that maintenance contract to get it fixed – repairs often cost a lot less than getting the unit replaced.

Your equipment is your livelihood. When it’s poorly maintained and rarely serviced, your business suffers. Don’t let your tools become neglected!

Special thanks go to Magnus* on Flickr for the Creative Commons use of the picture.