Importance of Hiring A Manager

Wanted: Restaurant Manager (Episode 6 FINAL)

Wanted: Restaurant Manager (Episode 5)

Wanted: Restaurant Manager (Episode 3)

Wanted: Restaurant Manager (Episode 1)

Seeking Restaurant Manager (Episode 4)

Wanted: Restaurant Manager (Episode 2)

New Bogota Tshirts Are In

Get yours today only at Bogota!

We Met At The Center

Mojito Loco

It is Valentines Day and I am sitting alone in Mojito Loco. For a small place in a very out of the area, they are busy with about 16 people ... most of whom are couples. The place has not been adequately staffed. There is one guy running around looking like a chicken with his head cut off and a short dark haired latina woman who looks like Imelda Marcos who is running in and out of the kitchen. They are doing the best they can but it does come across as quite amusing.
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Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza

Farid and George

New Orleans for Xmas

Tomorrow, Christmas, is also my birthday and as a gift to myself I decided to travel to New Orleans. I just arrived and am very very excited about being here! Happy birthday to me!!
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Keep Your Employees Focused this Holiday Season

Keep Your Employees Focused this Holiday Season

by Patricia Schaefer

'Tis the season for all good employees to become distracted.

Stress. Gift shopping and giving. Sending holiday cards. Parties and holiday lunches. Decorating. Gift wrapping. Family obligations and gatherings. How can you keep your employees focused on their work-at-hand without them having visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads? Just what's an employer to do?

Set an example
Leadership is crucial to maintaining productivity during the holiday season. If your attitude and goals are lax during this time -- coming in excessively late and producing less than usual -- chances are your employees will take your lead and slack off as well. Stay focused on your end-of-year goals and chances are your employees will do the same.

Reinforce your mission statement
This might be a good time to remind employees of your company's fundamental purpose, and your short and long-term goals. Set some new goals, and let your inspired excitement and drive be contagious.

Don't be a “scrooge"
If you find yourself saying “Bah Humbug" to anything celebratory, think again. Perk up morale and productivity by giving your workers a holiday treat to look forward to or enjoy; i.e., a celebratory luncheon, festive decorations, or a holiday cookie or Secret Santa exchange. Consider giving each employee a company holiday gift, although this practice may be too costly for larger businesses. If this time of year is your busiest, keep employees' spirits high with small tokens of appreciation like bringing in bagels and coffee, or simply expressing your heartfelt thanks for a job well done.

If possible, try not to demand excessive overtime or weekend hours. When additional work time is necessary due to seasonal demands, consider using temporary help to augment your regular work force. If feasible, allow some flexibility in work-time shifts so employees can get those critical holiday errands accomplished. Contemplate scheduling company holiday celebrations and parties during normal business hours so you don't take away from workers' personal time.

Don't let history repeat itself
Did productivity suffer last holiday season? Identify what went wrong and come up with viable solutions, seeking input from workers whenever possible. If work time and employee relations suffered because certain employees took overly-long lunch breaks, set down strict guidelines about lunch-time limits for all. If company orders were up last holiday season but you didn't have enough customer service help to keep up in a timely fashion, plan on employing more people or temporarily shifting work responsibilities in order to handle the load.

Reflect on and share accomplishments
Take the time to think about all the great things you, your business and employees have accomplished during the year. Focus on the positive contributions and achievements, and be sure to share these with your staff, being certain to thank each and all for whatever part they played. Being appreciated lifts the spirits and goes a long way to staying motivated during stressful and harried times.

Employing some or all of these methods should help maintain your employee productivity level during the holiday season. But do keep in mind that realistically you may experience some decrease in worker output. If this should happen, eat one of those holiday cookies, take a sip of some company eggnog, smile and exclaim, “Peace on Earth, Goodwill towards Men."

Customer Raves - bogota bistro

"Dear Bogota"

I just wanted to write a quick letter to let you know that our party had a fantastic time last night. From the minute that I came in I was warmly greeted by yourself and all of your staff -- from the hosts to the other servers who weren't even involved with our party...all were friendly and accomodating. Bridget provided excellent service ... there was never a moment when we had to ask for anything because she was consistently attentive and made sure that were were never lacking drinks, napkins, plates, etc.

The busboy (I am unsure of his name) was extraordinarily friendly with us and was constantly pre-bussing our tables and filling our water. I was extremely impressed with the teamwork and harmony of your entire staff and how well they worked with us and with each other.

Everyone who attended the party was satisfied with the service and that says quite a lot. We are all involved in the restaurant industry and we understand that hosting a party like ours can be stressful. Your staff, however, from the back to the front of the house demonstrated remarkable professionalism and treated us like VIPs. Myself and my coworkers will return to your restaurant in the future and I will definitely recommend Bogota Latin Bistro to other people as well.

Thanks again,
Valerie P."

Yelpers Love Bogota Bistro

Yelpers love Bogota Bistro! Yelpers have been busy reviewing Bogota Bistro and have rated us an average 3.9 stars out of 5! Moomtaz!

Halloween at Bogota 2007

and the winner of the 2007 Halloween Best Costume Contest is...

Live From Brooklyn Public Library

Characteristics Of the Ideal Employee

Characteristics of the Ideal Employee

1. Dependability

2. Honesty & Integrity

3. Positive, Proactive Attitude

4. Willing to Work

5. Uses Down Time Productively

Management and executive staff and corporate employers overall see Dependability in these good qualities:

1. Always Follows Directions
2. Consistently Accurate
3. Works Independently
4. Gets Along with peers, management, and clients
5. Good Grooming and Hygiene
6. Always On Time to work and back from breaks.
7. Cooperative, but asks good questions
8. Upbeat and Proactive Attitude
9. Team Player

HONESTY & INTEGRITY

This is more than just telling the truth. It includes doing your best work for your work team, your company and your boss. Holding back because one is afraid of working more than others and not be rewarded for it is an immature belief; such an employee needs to sit down with the supervisor or boss and ask about the chances for advancement and raises and how to accomplish them.

The action of doing as little as possible while others make up the difference is not a likeable personality trait at work, at home, or anywhere else. Remember that many founding colonies and new nations began by leaders telling their settlers, "He who does not work, does not eat." Such an employee will make enemies of coworkers and also not be promoted. In addition, this negative trait will definitely show up as a problem on annual performance reviews.

Examples of dishonesty and lack of integrity:

• Working more slowly than the standard pace.
• Having coworkers clock in for them when late. This is usually illegal as well.
• Pilfering work-related supplies and equipment.
• Extended breaks and rest room visits.
• Completing personal tasks on the job, using company equipment and supplies, including the telephone and Internet.

POSITIVE, PROACTIVE ATTITUDE

Attitudes project your beliefs and values, and what you think of your job, coworkers and boss. It is shown in the quality of your work. The boss is aware of your individual attitudes at work and is watching them every day. They are as important as the work that you produce. A "positive" attitude does not always mean "happy", but it is better to be upbeat at work rather than brooding and angry, "Positive" can also mean proactive, which means you go after things and don't wait for them to come to you (using initiative).

Good Attitudes:

• Smiles
• Good posture
• Pleasant tone of voice
• Complaining through proper channels, while offering ideas for improvement.
• Respect and courtesy
• Managing conflict and anger
• Good job performance
• Interested in others

Bad Attitudes:

• Blank facial expression or a frown
• Slumping in chairs, leaning on walls
• Sarcasm, unmodulated voice, mumbling
• Complaining on the work floor
• Trash talking about the company to coworkers; enabling bad attitudes among others
• Displaying anger inappropriately
• Substandard job performance
• Ignoring people at work

Good attitudes help get you promoted, make friends, please customers and raise sales. Good attitudes increase your value to your company.

WILLING TO WORK

You show your willingness to work with these qualities:

1. Ability and Desire to Communicate- Organizing and present your thoughts clearly.
2. Intelligence- Showing common sense and the ability and desire to learn.
3. Self-Confidence - Showing assertiveness and initiative.
4. Accepting Responsibility - Takes on new challenges, admits mistakes and fixes them.
5. Leadership - Being a good example, taking charge.
6. High Energy Level.
7. Imagination.
8. Flexibility - Adaptable, accepts changes.
9. Gets along with others.
10. Handles Conflict
11. Sets and Achieves Goals - Continuous improvement. Has personal direction,
12. Occupational Skills - Able to do the job and accept new training.

USES DOWN TIME PRODUCTIVELY

When you are not busy at work, or between major projects, be productive by doing these things:

1. Read trade journals and magazine articles about your company and the industry in which you work.
2. Read about current trends in your industry on the Internet.
3. Ask for, or find, new tasks to do; help someone else.
4. Think of a better way to do something in your job or in the company.
5. Clean and organize your work area.
6. Update your filing systems, clean out old email messages, etc.
7. Write an article about your job or your industry and share it with your boss.
8. Take an online class that is relevant to your job. Some of these are free of charge.