Quail Creek Board of Directors
The past two years have been very trying times for all of us.
HOA operations throughout the Robson Communities have been struggling since spring of this year to rehire and train new employees in every department, particularly in the Food and Beverage (F&B) department. In 2020, due to mandated closures, our combined F&B operations lost over 300 employees, including servers, bussers, bartenders, food runners, banquet and catering staff, dishwashers, and culinary team members.
The recruiting of replacement team members has been exhausting, as many former employees are not returning to the industry: Many former F&B employees are worried that another closure may occur; however, many have found replacement jobs in other industries and will not be returning to F&B. We have only been able to replace half the empty positions, which leaves us extremely understaffed at many locations. The biggest challenge has been filling front-of-the-house positions (servers/bussers). This causes service delays, unavailable seating, and slow service times as more guests start to go out to dine and socialize.
At this time, we are asking for patience and understanding as we continue to struggle to recruit team members. We encourage our guests to make dining reservations in the evening whenever possible. Walk-in guests will encounter longer wait times for tables based on availability. The number of guests we can handle in our dining rooms is dependent upon available wait staff. You may see empty tables and wonder why you are still waiting to be seated. It’s likely because we don’t have enough servers to cover all the tables.
This is where your patience and understanding are requested. We have encountered disgruntled guests lashing out at our hostesses, servers, and managers. Many of these staff members are new, and some of them have left due to the hostility, requiring us to recruit yet another new staff member.
Unfortunately, this staffing issue is projected to continue throughout 2022 in every industry. We have hired a full-time recruiter in our human resource department and have increased wages to entice future employees. Your patience, understanding, and appreciation of the staff that we have will go a long way in keeping these valuable assets in our operations. Thank you.