Front of House vs Back of House & How to Improve Communication Between the Two

If you’re new to the restaurant industry or you just want to dig deeper into two of its most well-known terms, you’re in the right place.

In the article below, we look at front of house vs back of house, their differences, roles, and responsibilities.

Plus, we will tell you all about technology that can help you improve both, as well as streamline communication between the two.

In the restaurant industry, front of house, also called FOH, refers to all the customer-facing actions and areas in a restaurant’s daily flow.

For example, the dining area is part of the front of house, and so is greeting guests who come in.

A front of house synonym would be public-facing or guest-facing.

Back of house, also abbreviated to BOH, refers to all the areas that customers don’t see, from kitchen to storage, staff break room, and office spaces.

It also includes all the operations that happen behind the scenes, from food preparation to stocking, or plating the dishes.

When you’re walking into a restaurant, here’s what are considered front of house areas:

• Host station
• Dining area
• Waiting area
• Bar area
• Checkout counter
• Outdoor seating
• Customer bathrooms

These are all the behind-the-scenes areas of a restaurant:

• Kitchen
• Dishwashing area
• Storage area
• Food prep area
• Waste management area
• Loading dock area
• Employee breakroom
• Employee bathrooms
• Manager offices
• Maintenance area

Depending on the size and scope of your restaurant, these are the most common positions covering front of house operations:

• Server
• Bartender
• Host
• Busser or food runner
• Cashier (most common if you also serve items over the counter)
• Shift supervisor
• Floor manager
• General manager

Here is a list of the staff that would typically cover back of the house operations in a restaurant:

• Head chef
• Sous chef
• Pastry chef
• Line cook
• Prep cook
• Dishwasher
• Kitchen manager
• Maintenance team
• Accountants

What is front of house staff in charge of? Let’s find out:

• Greeting and seating customers
• Answering phones
• Managing online orders and reservations
• Taking dine-in orders
• Sending orders to the BOH staff
• Serving food
• Making and serving drinks
• Front of house customer service (i.e. presenting the menu, answering customers’ questions, addressing complaints)
• Upselling
• Handling payment transactions
• Resetting tables before they seat the next party
• Taking the dirty dishes to the kitchen to be cleaned

Moving on to the back of house architecture, here’s what your BOH staff is in charge of:

• Preparing food orders transmitted from the FOH through the kitchen printers
• Cleaning the dishes
• Cleaning and sanitizing all the kitchen surfaces
• Menu planning and development
• Managing supplies and reordering inventory
• Managing food waste
• Organizing inventory and cleaning supplies
• Following food safety standards
• Coordinating with the FOH staff to ensure fast and effective order delivery

Technology can make your front of house staff’s work easier. Here is some software you should consider investing in for your FOH:

1. Front of house POS system

A restaurant POS system can help you:

• Quickly and easily process multiple types of payment
• Increase table turnover
• Reduce order errors
• Improve communication between FOH and BOH
• Keep track of inventory to prevent food waste
• Make informed business decisions based on information from your POS reports

2. Online ordering system

In this day and age, you can’t just rely on your dine-in sales if you want your restaurant to thrive and stand the test of time.

You should also accept pickup and delivery orders, which is a task that usually falls on your FOH staff’s shoulders.

But what if we told you that you could take that off their plates? How? By using the GloriaFood POS system, which comes with free built-in online ordering.

You can activate it in minutes, and orders will be automatically received by the POS and transmitted to the kitchen for preparation – zero effort from your FOH staff.

Learn more: POS System with Online Ordering

3. On premise ordering system

Would you like to eliminate the back-and-forth that normally happens when a new customer comes in? (bringing the menu, taking their drinks order, coming back for the food order, etc.)

Replace your physical menu with a digital QR menu ordering code that customers can simply scan on their smartphones. They can then browse the menu, place an order, and pay for it, all without interacting with a server.

Good news for you: If you’re already using the GloriaFood POS and online ordering system, you can enable on premise ordering for free in seconds.

Simply create the QR codes, print them on flyers, and display them on every table. From now on, you can make unlimited changes to the menu without having to reprint them every time.

Curious to see how this works? Watch the video below to see how your customers will be able to order & pay by scanning a QR code.

P.S.: Take out your phone and scan it yourself to see 😊

Check out this video tutorial to learn how to enable on premise ordering:

4. Table reservation system

Your front of house staff is not only in charge of accepting online orders, but reservations as well.

No need to look for a separate service to help you accept table bookings. You can do it from your GloriaFood restaurant dashboard.

And there’s more! You can also enable the pre-order feature that lets your customers order and pay for their food in advance when they book a table.

That way, you can attract customers who are in a hurry and just want to stop by for a quick meal.

To ensure your back of house staff work better and faster, here are some tools you should consider:

1. Kitchen display system

A kitchen display system, also called a KDS, is a digital screen that can show orders to your kitchen staff in real-time.

They are a useful but potentially pricey option, especially if you run a small restaurant. If budget is on your mind, buying one or several dedicated kitchen printers will do the trick.

You might also like: How to Improve the Restaurant Kitchen Workflow with a POS System

GloriaFood POS offers some of the most reliable kitchen dot printers on the market. Here’s why:

• Designed to withstand temperatures of up to 50 degrees, which can be common in a restaurant kitchen;
• Capable of supporting up to 90% humidity;
• Print without ink so you don’t run the risk of smudges or only partially printing an order;
• Optimized for high-speed throughput and crisp printing;
• You can print right-side-up or provide two-color printing for exceptions.

Read more: Restaurant printers

2. Inventory management system

This tool helps you easily track stock levels and know when it’s time to repurchase an ingredient. It can also help minimize waste and food costs, so it comes in handy in any restaurant kitchen.

If you can’t afford a separate inventory management system, look for a POS with inventory functions, such as the GloriaFood POS.

You can keep track of stock levels by setting a quantity for every menu item and updating it as you go along.

Plus, if you’re also using GloriaFood to accept orders online and on premise, items will be automatically marked as out-of-stock on the menu when you input quantity “0” on the POS.

This way, customers make informed decisions and can always be in the loop about what items are available for them to order.

3. Employee scheduling software

Employee scheduling software can help larger restaurant chains or franchises automate their staff’s schedules due to the large number of employees.

If you own a small restaurant with few employees, the high price point of such a tool might not be worth it for you.

4. Restaurant procurement software

You can automate purchasing inventory and other goods with restaurant procurement software. However, this can cost up to $75,000 a year. Unless you can afford to invest in this type of technology, you can designate someone on your team to be in charge of procurement.

Balancing front of house vs back of house operations can prove tricky if you don’t know where to start.

You should start with a POS system. Why? Because it provides instant communication between your FOH and BOH.

For example, you can connect multiple printers to your POS workstation for different kitchen destinations. Then, assign specific printers to different menu categories.

That way, when an order is sent to the kitchen, it will go directly to the designated printer, so the kitchen staff can start working on it ASAP.

This automated process also lowers the risk of human error (e.g.: the server speaking the order out loud in a noisy kitchen and the chef misunderstanding).

You might also like: Your Complete Restaurant POS Guide: How to Choose the Best Option for You

And you know what the best part is? This communication between your FOH and BOH won’t be affected by technical issues like an unreliable internet connection.

GloriaFood POS’s offline mode ensures you can continue your work as usual, including order-taking, sending orders to the kitchen, and payment processing, without missing a beat.

Are front of house vs back of house operations giving you a headache? There is a quick and easy way to streamline operations between your restaurant’s two main teams: a POS system.

The right POS system will improve communication between FOH and BOH, which will lead to happier employees and equally happy clients.

What are you waiting for? Give GloriaFood POS a try.