There's No Such Thing as Bad Staff
No Such Thing as Bad Staff
We went out for dinner last night, and honestly, I felt sorry for the team.
The host looked exhausted.
The bartender paid more attention to her phone than the guests.
Our server had to ask the kitchen both times I asked basic questions about the menu.
And I don’t blame them.
I blame leadership.
Don’t put people on the floor who don’t care about hospitality.
Don’t charge full price while giving your team 10% of the training they need to survive the shift.
That host was in the wrong seat.
That bartender had been allowed to believe guests were an interruption.
That server had been thrown into the deep end without a life jacket.
That is not a staff problem.
It’s:
→ a hiring problem
→ an induction problem
→ a training problem
→ a standards problem
→ a leadership problem
And where was leadership?
Invisible.
High prices and low standards are a deadly combination.
They don’t just disappoint guests.
They teach them not to come back.
So the next time you hear yourself say:
“It’s hard to find good staff these days…”
Pause.
Maybe the issue isn’t people.
Maybe the problem is hiring without standards, training without depth, and leading without accountability.
There’s no such thing as bad staff.
There are wrong hires who need to be removed.
Undertrained people who need support.
Unsupported teams who need leadership.
And leaders who haven’t owned the mess yet.
