Train your floor to one standard and build the rota from covers, not habit
The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit gives restaurant, cafe and quick-service managers every file for the job: the steps of service, the covers forecast and rota, briefings, the allergen relay, service recovery, the training ladder and the cash-up.
- A 19-sheet Front-of-House Workbook: covers forecast by daypart, staffing guide, weekly rota with labour % and flags, reservations and no-shows, RevPASH, training ladder, recovery, reviews and cash-up
- A 7-sheet Covers, Turns and Labour Calculator for capacity, table-time and staffing what-ifs
- 4 fillable PDF forms (13 pages): steps of service observation and sign-off, first-week plan, briefing and end-of-shift checklist, service recovery
- 57 guest phrases, 20 briefing scripts, 25 AI prompts and a 6-page print pack for the wall and the pocket
The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit · Bodhih Pro Kits · 237 by Bodhih Training, trainers to 2,000+ companies since 2008.
How do you schedule restaurant front-of-house staff around covers?
Forecast covers for each day and daypart from bookings and walk-ins, divide covers per hour by what one server handles well, add hosts and runners at set thresholds, then stagger shifts to follow that curve and check labour % and local rules. The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit by Bodhih Training does the arithmetic in one workbook.
Want the full free guide first? Read How to Schedule Restaurant Staff Around Forecast Covers.
You already feel the problem. Here is what it is costing you.
The rota is last week's rota
Everyone starts at five and stays to close. The afternoon is thin, the late daypart is heavy, and the peak still has nobody whose job is the door.
Labour feels high and the floor feels short
You know the weekly labour bill but not which day or daypart drives it. Cutting hours blindly hits the people who keep reviews and spend per head up.
Training means 'shadow Priya'
New starters learn whatever their buddy happens to do, and nobody can say who is ready to run a section alone or serve alcohol on a busy Friday.
Allergies live in a free-text note
The order says 'no gluten' at the bottom of the ticket, the kitchen misses it on a busy line, and only luck turns an incident into a near miss.
Complaints are fixed and forgotten
The table is recovered, the cause is never logged, and the same slip happens next Friday and turns up in a review.
Picture the next few weeks with the kit open beside you.
Imagine Friday at 16:50. You gather the team by the pass and run a nine-minute briefing straight off the board: covers, big tables, the lamb count, the sesame allergy at table 14, tonight's one focus. As you open the rota you built from the covers forecast on Monday, you can see a host at the door from 16:30 and a runner from 18:30, exactly when the curve rises.
At 19:40 the room is full and calm. The allergen relay runs the same way at every table because every server carries the card. When a steak comes back overcooked, the server remakes it without hunting for a manager, because the recovery limits are written down and everyone knows theirs.
After close, two people do the cash-up on the workbook sheet and the variance is explained before anyone goes home. You type the actual covers, open the Dashboard and read the numbers that matter: labour % next to covers per labour hour, the no-show rate, complaints per 100 covers and the rating trend.
Whether you start with the workbook tonight or put the print pack on the wall tomorrow morning, the whole job is in one place, from the first briefing to the quarter review, and every number on the dashboard is one you set yourself.
20 files that do the work for you
The e-book shows you how. The tools make it happen. Here is exactly what you download.
The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit (e-book, PDF)
The guide: methods, worked examples, scripts and exercises
Start here: front-of-house map
Your first hour, Brand it in five minutes, your first week, the job in nine steps with the file to open at each, and a 30/60/90 day plan.
Front-of-House Workbook
19-sheet workbook: settings, dayparts, covers forecast, staffing guide, weekly rota with hours, breaks, labour cost and flags, daily labour %, reservations and no-shows, turns and RevPASH, training ladder, pre-shift log, service recovery, reviews with themes and trend, cash-up and three dashboards.
Covers, Turns and Labour Calculator
7-sheet calculator for one service: realistic capacity, table-time what-ifs, people needed and labour % at each level of trade, and spend per head against RevPASH, with a chart.
Steps of service observation and skills sign-off
Four-page fillable form: a scored observation of one live service against the ten steps, coaching notes, a 13-skill sign-off record and the sign-off declaration for the training ladder.
New starter first-week plan
Three-page fillable plan for a new server, host, runner, counter or cashier: before day one, days one to three, days four to seven and the end-of-week review.
Pre-shift briefing and end-of-shift checklist
Four-page fillable form: the ten-minute pre-shift briefing sheet, the post-service debrief, the end-of-shift floor checklist and the cash-up and handover record.
Service recovery form
Two-page fillable form: what happened at the table and how it was recovered, then the root cause, cost, follow-up and the fix, with a safety box for allergen incidents.
Guest phrase and message library
57 ready-to-edit phrases and messages in 9 groups: greeting and waitlist, menus and recommendations, allergens and dietary needs, timing and delays, mistakes and complaints, bills and tips, bookings and no-shows, review replies, and difficult moments.
FOH service standards and training manual
Brand-ready template in two parts: the ten steps of service as observable standards, with allergen, alcohol, fair treatment and teamwork rules, then a training plan for host, server, runner, counter and cashier roles and the four-level ladder.
Pre-shift briefing scripts
20 ten-minute briefing scripts for the situations that come up most on a restaurant floor, plus the five-step post-service debrief.
FOH rota and tips policy discussion sheet
Brand-ready discussion sheet in two parts: how the rota is built and published (notice, swaps, breaks, fairness) and how tips and any service charge are shared, with decision tables to agree with the team and check with an adviser.
Worked example pack: a 60-seat bistro rebuilds Friday
A composite case worked end to end with the numbers: Friday forecast by daypart, the old and new rota compared, the service standard focus, and the briefing, observation, service recovery and first-week forms shown filled in.
AI prompt pack for front of house
25 tool-agnostic prompts in 6 groups (standard and training, briefings, forecasting and rota, reservations, guests and reviews, drinks and money), each with what to paste in and what to check before you use the output.
Service recovery card and mistakes to avoid
Two pages: the five recovery steps, an 'if this happens, do this' decision table with who decides, your recovery limits, and twenty front-of-house mistakes with what to do instead.
Numbers that matter: FOH KPI card
Fourteen front-of-house numbers with plain-words definitions, exact formulas, where each lives in the workbook and what to do if it moves.
FOH rules by country (October 2026)
Dated orientation sheet: tips and service charges, breaks and young workers, alcohol service and allergen rules for the UK, US and India, with where to check in Australia, Singapore, the UAE, the EU and Canada.
FOH rota and training calendar
37 events over twelve weeks: the first-week set-up, a weekly forecast and rota slot, weekly numbers reviews, observations and sign-offs, four-week standard focuses and quarter reviews. Import into Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar.
FOH task board
32 set-up and operating tasks with list, owner, due day, priority and the kit file to use. Import into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
FOH floor print pack
6 pages to print and laminate: steps of service poster, pre-shift briefing board, allergen question cards for servers, service recovery cards, and the FOH opening and closing checklists.
Chapter by chapter
Each chapter opens with a real situation, gives you a method and ends with something to do today, using the tools in your kit.
- Format
- PDF e-book + XLSX + fillable PDF + DOCX + printable PDF + ICS + CSV
- Files
- 20 files plus a one-click ZIP
- E-book
- 61 pages
- Works with
- Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Word, Google Docs, Acrobat Reader, Google, Outlook and Apple Calendar, Trello, Asana, Notion
- Best for
- Restaurants, cafes, bar-restaurants, quick-service outlets and food trucks with 2 to 40 front-of-house staff
- Currency and country
- Any currency; dated rules sheet for the UK, US and India with where to check elsewhere
The Friday Night That Ran the Manager
Why the front of house needs a system rather than a hero, and the nine-step weekly method on one page.
The Steps of Service You Can Teach
The ten steps of service written as behaviours anyone can watch, and how to train two steps at a time.
Service Styles, Sections and the Floor
Table, counter, QR, buffet and delivery pick-up styles, balanced sections and a floor plan with an owner for the door.
Hosting, Reservations and RevPASH
Covers, turns, table time and RevPASH (after Sheryl Kimes), booking slots, the waitlist, no-shows and fair deposit rules.
Talking to the Kitchen: Tickets, Timing and Allergens
Tickets, the KDS and the pass, timing courses, and the five-step allergen relay from order to table.
Recommending, Upselling and Responsible Drinks Service
Recommendations guests welcome, drink and dessert attachment, beverage basics and responsible alcohol service.
Building the Rota Around Covers
From forecast covers to people per daypart, a rota that follows the curve, labour % with covers per labour hour, breaks and fairness.
The Pre-Shift Briefing and Running the Floor
The ten-minute pre-shift briefing, running the floor during service and the five-minute debrief.
Service Recovery, Difficult Guests and Reviews
Five recovery steps with limits by role, difficult and intoxicated guests, staff safety, fair treatment and review replies.
The Training Ladder: From First Shift to Trainer
A four-level ladder from trainee to trainer, thirteen skills signed off on live shifts, and training on the rota.
Closing the Day: Payments, Tips, the Cash-Up and AI Helpers
Payments, tips and service charges by country, the two-person cash-up, closing checklists, AI helpers and the numbers that matter.
The Quiet Friday
What a quiet Friday looks like when the system holds the details.
Not just reading. Tools you will actually open again.
Start here
- 00-Start-Here-Front-of-House-Map.pdf: your first hour, Brand it in five minutes, your first week, the nine-step job map and a 30/60/90 day plan
Workbooks
- Front-of-House-Workbook.xlsx: 19 sheets including settings, dayparts, covers forecast, staffing guide, rota, daily labour, reservations, turns and RevPASH, training ladder, pre-shift log, service recovery, reviews, review themes, rating trend, cash-up and three dashboards
- Covers-Turns-and-Labour-Calculator.xlsx: 7 sheets for capacity, table time, staffing levels and spend per head
Forms (fillable PDF)
- Steps-of-Service-Observation-and-Skills-Sign-Off.pdf (4 pages)
- New-Starter-First-Week-Plan.pdf (3 pages)
- Pre-Shift-Briefing-and-End-of-Shift-Checklist.pdf (4 pages, including cash-up and handover)
- Service-Recovery-Form.pdf (2 pages, with an allergen incident box)
Word templates (brand-ready)
- Guest-Phrase-and-Message-Library.docx: 57 phrases and messages
- FOH-Service-Standards-and-Training-Manual.docx: the ten steps and a training plan for five roles
- Pre-Shift-Briefing-Scripts.docx: 20 scripts and the debrief
- FOH-Rota-and-Tips-Policy-Discussion-Sheet.docx
- Worked-Example-Pack-60-Seat-Bistro.docx: the Friday rebuild with filled-in forms
- AI-Prompt-Pack-for-Front-of-House.docx: 25 prompts with the human review rule
Cheat sheets
- Service-Recovery-Card-and-Mistakes-to-Avoid.pdf: recovery steps, decision table and 20 mistakes
- Numbers-That-Matter-FOH-KPI-Card.pdf: 14 numbers with exact formulas
- FOH-Rules-by-Country-Oct-2026.pdf: tips, breaks, alcohol and allergen notes, dated
Print pack
- FOH-Floor-Print-Pack.pdf: 6 pages: steps of service poster, pre-shift briefing board, allergen question cards, service recovery cards, opening and closing checklists
Calendar and import
- FOH-Rota-and-Training-Calendar.ics: 37 events over twelve weeks
- FOH-Task-Board.csv: 32 tasks for Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira
E-book
- The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit e-book (PDF, about 9,800 words, 10 chapters and 2 appendices)
When you have worked through it, you will be able to…
Every outcome is practised with a worked example and a tool, not just described.
- You will be able to write a ten-step service standard your team can see and you can observe
- You will be able to forecast covers by day and daypart and turn them into servers, hosts and runners
- You will be able to build a rota that follows the curve of covers and check labour %, covers per labour hour and local rules
- You will be able to run a ten-minute pre-shift briefing and a five-minute debrief every service
- You will be able to run the same allergen relay at every table, from question to plate
- You will be able to recover service at the table with clear limits by role and log the cause
- You will be able to train new starters up a four-level ladder with skills signed off on live shifts
- You will be able to close the night with checklists and a two-person cash-up, and read the numbers that matter each week
Know your starting point. Prove your progress.
People who measure before and after improve faster and can show it. AssessAll, our sister assessment platform, has AI-graded assessments that pair with this kit. Take one now, work through the kit, then re-take it.
Customer Aggression and De-escalation Assessment for Frontline Staff
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentThe Front Desk: Judgment When Everything Arrives at Once
Take the assessment →AssessAll assessmentWorkforce Planning and Scheduling Assessment for Contact Centre and Service Operations Teams
Take the assessment →JobularyLearn by doing: the 70-20-10 model explained (Jobulary)
Make it a growth plan →A taste of Chapter 6
FOH labour % is front-of-house wages and on-costs divided by sales without tax. It is the number owners ask about, and on its own it is dangerous: the quickest way to lower it is to cut the people who keep spend per head and reviews up. Read it with covers per labour hour, which tells you how many guests each paid hour served. Quiet dayparts will always show a high labour % because you need a minimum team to be open safely. That is a cost of opening, not a failure. The workbook's Settings sheet holds your labour budget as a percentage. There is no universal right number: concepts, countries and pay rates differ too much. Set yours from your own accounts and adjust after eight weeks of real data.
The honest comparison
| Free templates and typical advice | This kit | |
|---|---|---|
| Rota | A blank weekly grid | A rota built from a covers forecast by daypart, with labour %, covers per labour hour and short or heavy flags |
| Service standard | A list of adjectives on the wall | Ten observable steps, an observation form and a poster |
| Allergens | Not covered, or a generic poster | A five-step relay from question to plate, pocket cards and an incident box on the recovery form |
| Training | Shadow someone for a week | A four-level ladder, thirteen skills, a first-week plan and sign-off on live shifts |
| Country rules | One country's rules presented as universal | Principles in the book, specifics in one dated sheet with the official source named |
| Worked example | None | A 60-seat bistro's Friday rebuilt with the numbers and the forms filled in |
Made for you if…
- Owners and general managers of independent restaurants, cafes and bar-restaurants
- Managers of quick-service outlets, bakeries and food trucks
- Restaurant supervisors and assistant managers who write the rota
- Head chefs and kitchen managers who also run the floor
- Franchisees who need a front-of-house system that travels between sites
- Cloud-kitchen and delivery operators who run a pick-up counter
Probably not for you if…
- Kitchen food safety records and HACCP plans: see The Kitchen Operations and Food Safety System
- Off-premise catering and event orders: see The Catering and Event Orders Kit
- Anyone looking for legal advice on wages, tips or licensing: the kit points you to the official sources and an adviser
Built by trainers, tested in real rooms.
Bodhih Training has designed and delivered corporate programmes since 2008. Bodhih Pro Kits package what works in those workshops into a guide plus the exact tools we use, so you can apply it the same day without a facilitator in the room.
From here to using it in three steps
- STEP 1
Tap Get the kit
Name, email and country. UPI, card or netbanking in India; international cards everywhere else. No account to create.
- STEP 2
Download instantly
Your download page opens at once, with every file and a one-click ZIP. A permanent link lands in your inbox too.
- STEP 3
Open the first tool
Start with the quick-start chapter, then the main spreadsheet or planner. Most buyers use something from the kit the same day.
Give the floor a system before the next Friday
Open the workbook, type next week's covers and watch the rota take shape around them. Whether you start with the forecast tonight or the posters and allergen cards before tomorrow's lunch, the whole front-of-house job is in one kit.
Personal licence for the buyer's own use (and use with your own team within your own business where the kit says so). Please don't share or resell the files. Team and company licences: solutions@bodhih.com.
What buyers say
No ratings yet. Only people who have bought this kit can rate it - every buyer gets a one-click rating link a couple of days after their purchase.
The Bodhih family, when you are ready for more
The Catering and Event Orders Kit
Take, quote, plan and deliver catering and bulk food orders.
The Restaurant and Cloud Kitchen Opening Kit
Open a restaurant, cafe or cloud kitchen with a plan.
The Menu Costing and Engineering System
Cost every dish, price for dine-in and delivery apps, engineer the menu with real sales da.
AssessAll
250+ AI-graded assessments to measure skills and earn verified credentials.
Jobulary
Individual development plans that start from evidence and stay yours.
Bodhih Training
Run this topic as a live workshop for your team, in person or online.
Pewple
Book a vetted coach for career, leadership or communication. Pay per session.
Bodhih.org pathways
Certification pathways in Applied AI, Workplace English and management.
The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit: FAQs
Read the free guideAlready bought? Resend my linkCan I use this with my staff?
Yes. The personal licence covers use within your own business, including printing the posters and cards, sharing the forms and training your own team with the manual. For several sites, a group or a franchise network, ask about company and multi-site licences at solutions@bodhih.com.
Does it work in my country?
The method works anywhere: covers, rotas, service steps and training are universal. Amounts work in any currency. The dated rules sheet covers the UK, US and India in detail and names where to check in Australia, Singapore, the UAE, the EU and Canada. Wage, break, tips, alcohol and allergen rules must still be checked locally.
How do I schedule restaurant staff around covers?
Forecast covers for each daypart, divide covers per hour by what one server handles well, add hosts and runners at your thresholds, then stagger shifts to follow that curve. The workbook's Covers Forecast, Staffing Guide, Rota and Daily Labour sheets do the arithmetic and flag short or heavy days.
What is a good front-of-house labour percentage?
There is no single right number: concept, country, pay rates and service style change it. The kit has you set a budget from your own accounts and read labour % alongside covers per labour hour, complaints and reviews, then set targets from your first eight weeks.
Is this food safety or legal advice?
No. The kit is educational and covers the front of house: the conversation and hand-offs around allergens, not kitchen records or HACCP. Allergen, licensing, wage, tips and data rules vary, so the kit points to your food authority, licensing authority and an adviser, and it does not make a business compliant on its own.
How do I train new servers quickly without cutting corners?
Give them a named buddy, one focus per shift on quieter services first, and sign skills off only after a trainer has watched them on live shifts. The first-week plan, the observation and sign-off form and the Training Ladder sheet take you through it.
Does it cover counter service, QR ordering and delivery pick-up?
Yes. Chapter 2 shows where each step of service happens in table, counter, QR and pay-at-table, buffet and takeaway or aggregator pick-up styles, and the library and briefing scripts include counter, rider and delivery situations.
Where should I measure my starting point?
If you want an outside view of your team's judgement, AssessAll offers the Customer Aggression and De-escalation Assessment for Frontline Staff, The Front Desk: Judgment When Everything Arrives at Once and the Workforce Planning and Scheduling Assessment for Contact Centre and Service Operations Teams. They are separate products, not part of this kit.
How do I turn this into a development plan for my supervisors?
Use the Training Ladder to see each person's next skill, then plan most of the learning on real shifts with coaching and a little reading. Jobulary's explainer on the 70-20-10 model (jobulary.com) shows how to turn that into a development plan.
Do I need special software?
No. Everything opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Word, Google Docs and a PDF reader, the calendar imports into Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar, and the task board imports into Trello, Asana, Notion, Planner or Jira.
How much does The Front-of-House Training and Rota Kit cost?
₹999 including 18% GST for buyers in India, or $29 for buyers outside India. One-time payment, no subscription, with an automatic invoice.
How do I get the files after paying?
Instantly. Your download page opens the moment payment succeeds, and a permanent download link is emailed to you. Download each file separately or everything in one ZIP.
What software do I need?
Any of the usual tools: Excel or Google Sheets for spreadsheets, Word or Google Docs for templates, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, Xodo or GoodNotes for the fillable PDFs, and Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar for the calendar plan.
Can I get a refund?
Because it is a digital download, kits are not refundable once downloaded. We always refund a duplicate charge or a failed delivery, and if a file is corrupted and we cannot fix it within 3 working days. Full terms: bodhih.org/refunds.
Can my company buy this for a team?
Yes. Team and company licences, and workshops on this topic run by Bodhih Training, are available. Write to solutions@bodhih.com or call +91 99000 11601.
