The interruption tax, itemized
The talk itself, the switch away from whatever the answerer was doing, and the re-entry afterward. Call it 90 seconds for a short call and five minutes for an order call, times 30–50 calls a shift.
That's an hour-plus of floor attention, extracted in the least convenient increments possible, from your most guest-facing people — worst exactly when the room is fullest.
What operators notice first
Week one: the door works — the host stays at the host stand and walk-ins get greeted. Week two: sections tighten — drink times and check-backs smooth out.
Week three: the manager resurfaces onto the floor during the rush instead of absorbing overflow calls half-in the office.
Don't let the slack evaporate
Recovered attention is shapeless, and shapeless gains evaporate. Name the use in advance: raise the greet standard, give sidework its slot back, put the manager on two table-touches a night.
Watch one number weekly — answer rate, greet time, or drink time. If the slack is real, it moves.
Measure the before
Your phone log shows answer rate and interruption counts today; your POS shows phone revenue. Take the baseline this week, change one thing about how the phone gets answered, compare in thirty days.
The phone is the only station staffed by people who already have another job. When it stops ringing at them, both jobs get done properly.
