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What is the difference between managing Front of House vs. Back of House operations?

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Question added by Jagan Kumar , Senior Manager - Quality and Compliance , British Council
Date Posted: 2013/06/10
amer jayyousi
by amer jayyousi , Business Development Consultant , freelance

managing is an art, whether you are managing back office or front office, you are still managing people and is accountable for delivery and end results.

in my experience the approach in dealing with either one is different but end results must be aligned with company's goals.

whether our efforts are geared or steared toward employee's or customers interfaces,we must always bring our operations to excellence.

after all a well motivated employees will bring satissfaction to customers.

 

Richard C Joseph
by Richard C Joseph , Advisor to Chairman , Panel Products

Hi Jagan, Greetings of Peace!!! First let us understand the difference between Front of the house & Back of the house.
(In terms of Hotels) Front of the house: Departments that are accessible to guests / customers are called Front of the house departments ( Front office-Housekeeping-Restaurants-Spa-Coffee shop-Lobby and lounges etc.) Back of the House: Administration offices-Kitchen-Pantry-Maintenance & Engineering-IT-Carpentry-Tailoring (All internal departments that are not directly accessible to guests are called back of the house) Now with the ever growing completions and pleasing the guests more and more hotels are making it convenient for the guests to see their back of the house areas.
Operations are similar only.
Hope this helps.
Warm regards-Richard

Deleted user
by Deleted user

The terms “back of house” and “front of house” are used in the restaurant community to distinguish between different areas in a restaurant.
The back of house is the staff area, where cooks and other support staff work.
The front of house is the area where diners sit.
Different types of staff work in each area, and rivalries sometimes crop up between back of house and front of house staffers, especially in large restaurants which can get extremely busy.
As a general rule, the back of house is a staff-only area, although it may be opened to the public on a limited basis for tours.
The back of house is the area in which food is stored and prepared, and it typically includes other staff areas such as a break room and changing area.
Cooks, expediters, and dishwashers work in the back of house, usually largely unseen by the public.
In most kitchens, the back of house has a strict hierarchy, with each staff member performing a specific task.
In the front of house, waiters, waitresses, and hosts interact with guests.
These staff are said to be “on the floor,” since they are visible representatives of the restaurant.
Floor staff are supposed to be courteous, informative, and neatly dressed, since their behavior determines whether or not guests enjoy themselves.

Krishna Chaitanya Darbhamulla
by Krishna Chaitanya Darbhamulla , Sr. Consultant/Sr. Risk Officer - Operations Risk Management , FGB (through 3i-Infotech & FGCS Operational Risk Mgmt)

Perfectly answered, in addition to the listed.
Back office also acts a control for the activities of Front office to avoid errors and fraud that front office can indulge in.
Majorly front office controls will lie in back office and hence back office can not be underestimated.
Precisely, Front Office is revenue generation team and back office is considered as support to the front office interms of admin, regulation, compliance etc.,

Adeel Sabir
by Adeel Sabir , Assistant Operation Manager , Pakistan Cricket Board

Front Office has direct interaction with customers/clients and back office supports front office staff in resolving customers issues and operational challenges .

thirupathi balakrishnan
by thirupathi balakrishnan , Assistant Procurement Manager , Hassan and Habib Sons Of Mahmood

Hi Sir,

 

I thought back end process is plays a vital role in operations because that only holds support services over the process flow.

Frontoffice: Related to customer and Business

Back office:Relates technology and management

Deleted user
by Deleted user

in simple terms, front office (as it is popularly called) is the role that requires one to interface directly (face à face) with the client and in contrast back office is practically all other roles that deals with client issues without personally meeting with clients............this includes admin, hr, data management, social networking e.t.c.

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