During a peak morning at Trade Winds, what was the key action that reduced guest waiting time?

• A. Cross-training and moving staff to run food
• B. Hiring more waiters
• C. Extending the kitchen hours
• D. Limiting service to certain items

Answer: (A)

Maximizing throughput by making front-line staff flexible to move between roles speeds up service. In a peak morning, the bottleneck is getting meals from the kitchen to guests. Cross-training staff to run food allows team members to perform multiple duties—serving, bussing, and delivering plates—so the dining area can respond quickly as demand spikes. This reduces the time from kitchen output to guests receiving meals, shrinking wait times and helping tables turn faster. While hiring more waiters can help, it’s slower and more costly, extending kitchen hours doesn’t directly improve in-service speed, and limiting items would worsen the guest experience and likely increase waits.