Natural disasters have been widespread so far in 2011, testing again and again the soundness of the restaurant industry’s disaster preparedness and recovery plans.
From devastating tornadoes in Alabama, Missouri and even Massachusetts to wildfires in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas and flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, Mother Nature has been less than kind and undiscriminating in those she assaults. And there’s likely more to come. The Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1, is expected to produce “above normal” activity, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
Being ready for the unexpected is one way to minimize — or at least more strategically handle — a disaster’s impact, according to operators who’ve recently navigated destructive incidents. More importantly, disaster-preparedness plans that outline communications with employees, flexibility in supplies, insurance contacts and other procedures can expedite efforts to get businesses back up and running.
Preparing for disaster is not easy, especially for those who have been previously pummeled, said Adolfo Garcia, chef-owner of six restaurants in New Orleans, where Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc in 2005. Among his eateries are RioMar, a Mano, La Boca and Gusto.
“Storm warnings for we New Orleanians are kind of like encountering a rabbit on the side of the street,” Garcia said. “We don’t look at them directly, but we keep them in our peripheral vision. We think if we don’t look them straight in the eye, neither of us will be bothered.”
Emergency broadcasting
But history is a powerful reminder to revisit disaster preparation annually, said Annica Kreider, vice president of marketing for the 305-unit McAlister’s Deli chain, which earlier this year had units damaged by tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Joplin, Mo.
“As we get into hurricane season, we re-evaluate our disaster plan,” said Kreider of the Ridgeland, Miss.-based company.
McAlister’s uses a third-party provider for communicating with employees via phone, text and e-mail, Kreider said.
“For us it’s about the constant communication,” she said. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have a detailed communications plan. It should be written: Who do you call first? Where does it go? Who is responsible for com- municating to your restaurant-level, hourly employees?
“You don’t want to have confusion,” she continued. “It’s already a confusing situation as it is; you want to make sure the chain of command is clear and the communication plan is clear. That’s critically important.”
Kreider said McAlister’s plan proved effective following the Alabama tornadoes, when a restaurant manager at a company-owned Tuscaloosa unit was able to broadcast storm damage and news to the entire system with one call.
“In 2008 we did not have the automated system yet,” she said. “We set up a war room, and someone was watching the hurricane reports nonstop. We still would do that, but the automated system allowed us to take it up a notch. It also works for something else you might need to report.”
While smaller operators don’t need as sophisticated a communications system, one should still be in place, operators said.
“Have a game plan of how you are going to get your people back into town and how you are going to get them back working,” Garcia said. “Ask them, ‘In the worst-case scenario, how do I get in touch with you?’”
Garcia said all his employees have provided at least two contacts for use in the event that they are displaced in a hurricane evacuation.
“Those people that are the closest to the core of the restaurant, we keep contacts and all the numbers. We have multiple ways to keep in touch, including e-mail,” Garcia said.
Weathering a wallop
The federal government, under the direction of the Department of Homeland Security, provides a website — www.ready.gov/business — with downloadable templates for disaster-preparedness plans.
The website highlights areas that need to be addressed in the event of a disaster, such as emergency payroll procedures, financial decision making and accounting, identification of suppliers and other resources, a contact list for business contractors, and other crisis-management procedures.
“We offer our franchisees the disaster-preparedness handbook we’ve created and suggest they use that as a tool,” said Kreider. “They certainly don’t have to, but it does offer the best practices that we recommend.”
The templates also include checklists for more mundane but still crucial items, such as having emergency kits in each store.
Kreider said McAlister’s units each have a plastic bin with items such as flashlights, batteries, a weather radio, a first-aid kit and other items that could be needed in an emergency. Other items such as water, a wrench or pliers for turning off utilities, moist towelettes for sanitation, garbage bags, filter face masks, a whistle for alerts, and duct tape also are suggested.
“It’s important to think about the front end — how am I going to make sure all my team members are OK, obviously first and foremost — but you have to think about the back end,” too, Kreider advised.
“Restaurants are so critical to the recovery efforts,” she continued. “We identify alternative sources of food. If there is a disaster, we might serve 2,000 power-company employees. We work with our distribution company to find alternative sources when it’s difficult to get into areas affected. You have to have a back-up plan. We had refrigerated trucks brought in, so we can hold food and operate a restaurant with or without power.”
Foreseeing needs is important, Kreider added.
“If we feel like there’s something coming, at the corporate level we will typically stockpile things at our office,” she said. “We’ll send vans out to get things like cash. You have to foresee needs you’ll need to fulfill afterwards.”
That was the case in May when the Joplin, Mo., tornado missed an Applebee’s unit by 200 yards.
The Lenexa, Kan.-based casual-dining company “sent a convoy of assistance — a generator, mobile hand-washing stations, cases of water and other sanitation supplies — to Joplin,” according to officials.
Applebee’s also dispatched eight team members from Kansas City, Mo., and four from Springfield, Mo., to provide further assistance. In addition, Applebee’s in Springfield, 68 miles east of Joplin, made 800 boxed lunches and delivered them at lunchtime to Red Cross triage centers.
“It’s important to take care of your own team members, because they are a very important part of the recovery of the community at large,” McAlister’s Kreider said. “Going to a restaurant and eating a meal is a big part of our life, and it helps get everything back to normal.”
In the recent Tuscaloosa tornado, McAlister’s found that employees who were at the restaurant working had the windows blown out of their cars, lost their homes and couldn’t access cash because ATMs were not working.
“People don’t have access to cash to satisfy their basic needs,” she said. “As a company you have to anticipate the needs of your team members.”
Chef-owner Garcia said that he learned in the weeks after Katrina, “cash is king.”
Asked if there were one thing he would do differently in preparation for Katrina if he had to do it again, Garcia laughed.
“Open a restaurant in Kansas? No, no. Then the tornadoes would have gotten me. I guess the answer would be: pray.”
Communication Is key
“Your employees and co-workers are your business’s most important and valuable asset,” the government website Ready Business, www.ready.gov/business, advises. It offers these suggestions to provide the two-way communication with workers that is critical before, during and after a disaster:
- Communicate emergency preparedness information through in-company tools such as newsletters, company intranet or periodic employee e-mails.
- Set up a telephone calling tree, a password-protected page on the company website, an e-mail alert or a call-in voice recording to communicate with employees in an emergency.
- Designate an out-of-town phone number on which employees can leave an “I’m OK” message in a catastrophic disaster.
- Provide all workers with wallet cards detailing instructions on how to get company information in an emergency. Include phone numbers or website passwords for easy reference.
- Ensure you have designated staff members who are responsible for communicating regularly to employees.
- Talk to co-workers with disabilities and find out what special assistance they might need. Also, identify employees willing to help those colleagues.
- Review and practice, at least annually, what you intend to do during and after an emergency, using regular in-store drills and exercises.
Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
